Where are people getting Ozempic and what does it cost?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hope this is ok to share here, but I am basically tearful with jealousy at all the posters whose insurances are covering it even though they don’t have “medical conditions”. I am overweight- I should be under 150 for a BMI of 25, and I’m 170. I have no other health problems. I CANNOT lose the weight and I’ve actually gained 10lb this past year when I stopped being hyper vigilant about calories and weighing myself daily. I am struggling so much and have so much self loathing for my lack of “willpower” or whatever it is that’s causing this. But I cannot afford a thousand dollars a month. I can’t even afford 550 a month like one of the posters.

I just want to take this drug and reduce my insane appetite and lose this weight and be healthy and feel good. I am so angry and sad.

Same here. I am 40 pounds overweight and have struggled to lose more than a few pounds. I persuaded my doctor to prescribe Weygovy, insurance wouldn't cover it, CVS wouldn't dispense without insurance coverage, and doctor basically said tough luck. I'm thinking of switching doctors in hopes of someone who will help me figure out a way to get one of these drugs.

That’s very strange! Why won’t cvs dispense it without insurance coverage? I know a ton of people on it and they just pay out of pocket .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hope this is ok to share here, but I am basically tearful with jealousy at all the posters whose insurances are covering it even though they don’t have “medical conditions”. I am overweight- I should be under 150 for a BMI of 25, and I’m 170. I have no other health problems. I CANNOT lose the weight and I’ve actually gained 10lb this past year when I stopped being hyper vigilant about calories and weighing myself daily. I am struggling so much and have so much self loathing for my lack of “willpower” or whatever it is that’s causing this. But I cannot afford a thousand dollars a month. I can’t even afford 550 a month like one of the posters.

I just want to take this drug and reduce my insane appetite and lose this weight and be healthy and feel good. I am so angry and sad.

Same here. I am 40 pounds overweight and have struggled to lose more than a few pounds. I persuaded my doctor to prescribe Weygovy, insurance wouldn't cover it, CVS wouldn't dispense without insurance coverage, and doctor basically said tough luck. I'm thinking of switching doctors in hopes of someone who will help me figure out a way to get one of these drugs.

That’s very strange! Why won’t cvs dispense it without insurance coverage? I know a ton of people on it and they just pay out of pocket .

Agree. My CVS text that it’s waiting on insurance approval even says I can pick up at my own expense if I don’t want to wait.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hope this is ok to share here, but I am basically tearful with jealousy at all the posters whose insurances are covering it even though they don’t have “medical conditions”. I am overweight- I should be under 150 for a BMI of 25, and I’m 170. I have no other health problems. I CANNOT lose the weight and I’ve actually gained 10lb this past year when I stopped being hyper vigilant about calories and weighing myself daily. I am struggling so much and have so much self loathing for my lack of “willpower” or whatever it is that’s causing this. But I cannot afford a thousand dollars a month. I can’t even afford 550 a month like one of the posters.

I just want to take this drug and reduce my insane appetite and lose this weight and be healthy and feel good. I am so angry and sad.

Same here. I am 40 pounds overweight and have struggled to lose more than a few pounds. I persuaded my doctor to prescribe Weygovy, insurance wouldn't cover it, CVS wouldn't dispense without insurance coverage, and doctor basically said tough luck. I'm thinking of switching doctors in hopes of someone who will help me figure out a way to get one of these drugs.

That’s very strange! Why won’t cvs dispense it without insurance coverage? I know a ton of people on it and they just pay out of pocket .

I had that happen at Walgreens with my son’s ADHD meds. Insurance wouldn’t cover the more expensive drug and wanted him to switch to generic Ritalin against his dr’s advice. I tried to pay out of pocket while I fought it out with the insurance company, but the Walgreens pharmacist refused to sell it yo mr without insurance coverage. Most ridiculous thing I ever heard.

[Anonymous]

I hope this is ok to share here, but I am basically tearful with jealousy at all the posters whose insurances are covering it even though they don’t have “medical conditions”. I am overweight- I should be under 150 for a BMI of 25, and I’m 170. I have no other health problems. I CANNOT lose the weight and I’ve actually gained 10lb this past year when I stopped being hyper vigilant about calories and weighing myself daily. I am struggling so much and have so much self loathing for my lack of “willpower” or whatever it is that’s causing this. But I cannot afford a thousand dollars a month. I can’t even afford 550 a month like one of the posters.

I just want to take this drug and reduce my insane appetite and lose this weight and be healthy and feel good. I am so angry and sad.

I have compassion for you. I think this medication is very effective for so many people and it really should be available for people who need it (not the vanity 20 lbs). I think you can get semaglutide easily at many medspas and/or online rx that will send it to a compounding pharmacy. Is it legit? yes, although not name brand. Is it safe? Probably if you know where it was compounded. Is it legal? It is, for the moment. I think its still more expensive than an insurance copay but might be a few hundred bucks a month. There are also people buying it from chinese suppliers directly--I would not do that, although I would also imagine that the compounding pharms are doing that (but maybe they have vetted, tested sources).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hope this is ok to share here, but I am basically tearful with jealousy at all the posters whose insurances are covering it even though they don’t have “medical conditions”. I am overweight- I should be under 150 for a BMI of 25, and I’m 170. I have no other health problems. I CANNOT lose the weight and I’ve actually gained 10lb this past year when I stopped being hyper vigilant about calories and weighing myself daily. I am struggling so much and have so much self loathing for my lack of “willpower” or whatever it is that’s causing this. But I cannot afford a thousand dollars a month. I can’t even afford 550 a month like one of the posters.

I just want to take this drug and reduce my insane appetite and lose this weight and be healthy and feel good. I am so angry and sad.

Same here. I am 40 pounds overweight and have struggled to lose more than a few pounds. I persuaded my doctor to prescribe Weygovy, insurance wouldn't cover it, CVS wouldn't dispense without insurance coverage, and doctor basically said tough luck. I'm thinking of switching doctors in hopes of someone who will help me figure out a way to get one of these drugs.

That’s very strange! Why won’t cvs dispense it without insurance coverage? I know a ton of people on it and they just pay out of pocket .

I had that happen at Walgreens with my son’s ADHD meds. Insurance wouldn’t cover the more expensive drug and wanted him to switch to generic Ritalin against his dr’s advice. I tried to pay out of pocket while I fought it out with the insurance company, but the Walgreens pharmacist refused to sell it yo mr without insurance coverage. Most ridiculous thing I ever heard.

This still makes no sense. I’m on ozempic and pay out of pocket. The insurance company is not my doctor, nor is the pharmacist. I’d definitely have the Rx transferred to someone who can follow doctors orders. What is someone was uninsured? Is cash just not allowed?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hope this is ok to share here, but I am basically tearful with jealousy at all the posters whose insurances are covering it even though they don’t have “medical conditions”. I am overweight- I should be under 150 for a BMI of 25, and I’m 170. I have no other health problems. I CANNOT lose the weight and I’ve actually gained 10lb this past year when I stopped being hyper vigilant about calories and weighing myself daily. I am struggling so much and have so much self loathing for my lack of “willpower” or whatever it is that’s causing this. But I cannot afford a thousand dollars a month. I can’t even afford 550 a month like one of the posters.

I just want to take this drug and reduce my insane appetite and lose this weight and be healthy and feel good. I am so angry and sad.

Same here. I am 40 pounds overweight and have struggled to lose more than a few pounds. I persuaded my doctor to prescribe Weygovy, insurance wouldn't cover it, CVS wouldn't dispense without insurance coverage, and doctor basically said tough luck. I'm thinking of switching doctors in hopes of someone who will help me figure out a way to get one of these drugs.

That’s very strange! Why won’t cvs dispense it without insurance coverage? I know a ton of people on it and they just pay out of pocket .

I had that happen at Walgreens with my son’s ADHD meds. Insurance wouldn’t cover the more expensive drug and wanted him to switch to generic Ritalin against his dr’s advice. I tried to pay out of pocket while I fought it out with the insurance company, but the Walgreens pharmacist refused to sell it yo mr without insurance coverage. Most ridiculous thing I ever heard.

This still makes no sense. I’m on ozempic and pay out of pocket. The insurance company is not my doctor, nor is the pharmacist. I’d definitely have the Rx transferred to someone who can follow doctors orders. What is someone was uninsured? Is cash just not allowed?

I've run into this with other meds. If you take the rx somewhere new and just say you're paying cash, it should be fine. The problem is that your pharmacy knows you have insurance. I am not sure if it's an issue of the contract they signed with your insurer, or the way they get paid by insurance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was prescribed Metformin and it has taken off 15 lbs. in two months, along with exercise. I have less of an appetite. It is much cheaper than Ozempic with fewer side effects. 3x/day pill.

+1

Ozempic is expensive, has lots of side effects, have to worry about pancreatic cancer and good luck finding it. It didn't do much for me and I worked out and definitely ate less. I felt very tired and sick most of the time with unending diarrhea. I stayed on a low dose for a long time because of the side effects. Eventually got up to 1 mg and couldn't deal with the side effects. I hear more success with metformin.

Metformin is useless for most. Well except it will have you with some serious digestive issues. But it in no way works like Ozempic/Wegovy.

NP. It's working great for me. I take it with food, and it curbs my appetite tremendously. No digestive issues. Ten pounds down in two months.

BTW, there are also digestive issues with Ozempic/Wegovy/Mounjaro, etc. I follow the FB group and they comment daily about crapping their pants.

I've been taking Mounjaro for four months and have never crapped my pants or had any uncomfortable side effects at all. I think most people do just fine on it. You only hear negative feedback from those who don't do well on it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was prescribed Metformin and it has taken off 15 lbs. in two months, along with exercise. I have less of an appetite. It is much cheaper than Ozempic with fewer side effects. 3x/day pill.

+1

Ozempic is expensive, has lots of side effects, have to worry about pancreatic cancer and good luck finding it. It didn't do much for me and I worked out and definitely ate less. I felt very tired and sick most of the time with unending diarrhea. I stayed on a low dose for a long time because of the side effects. Eventually got up to 1 mg and couldn't deal with the side effects. I hear more success with metformin.

Metformin is useless for most. Well except it will have you with some serious digestive issues. But it in no way works like Ozempic/Wegovy.

NP. It's working great for me. I take it with food, and it curbs my appetite tremendously. No digestive issues. Ten pounds down in two months.

BTW, there are also digestive issues with Ozempic/Wegovy/Mounjaro, etc. I follow the FB group and they comment daily about crapping their pants.

I've been taking Mounjaro for four months and have never crapped my pants or had any uncomfortable side effects at all. I think most people do just fine on it. You only hear negative feedback from those who don't do well on it.

Agree. I've been on semaglutides for 6-7 weeks, lost 12 pounds so far, and no unpleasant side effects. The only downside is that I simply can't eat that much so going to restaurants or to people's homes can be difficult because I can really only eat an appetizer portion. I tried to eat more for easter brunch yesterday and ended up not being able to eat anything the rest of the day. Of course that's what makes it work, but it is a weird feeling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My doctor has a weight loss specialist. I get my shots there. $550/month. Insurance doesn't cover it as I am only prediabetic.

Can you share where you go? My insurance won't cover it anymore.

Kelly Goodman's office in Bethesda.

[Anonymous]

I’m also on Mounjaro and don’t have any GI issues. I have some bouts of nausea but they are manageable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I hope this is ok to share here, but I am basically tearful with jealousy at all the posters whose insurances are covering it even though they don’t have “medical conditions”. I am overweight- I should be under 150 for a BMI of 25, and I’m 170. I have no other health problems. I CANNOT lose the weight and I’ve actually gained 10lb this past year when I stopped being hyper vigilant about calories and weighing myself daily. I am struggling so much and have so much self loathing for my lack of “willpower” or whatever it is that’s causing this. But I cannot afford a thousand dollars a month. I can’t even afford 550 a month like one of the posters.

I just want to take this drug and reduce my insane appetite and lose this weight and be healthy and feel good. I am so angry and sad.

I hear you. I have struggled with my weight since I was in middle school at least, and I was a high school athlete who also did dance and cheer. I spent over a year bicycling around Europe after college. I have never in my life been "thin." During covid I stopped being so hyper vigilant about avoiding sugar and wheat and dairy and I've put on 10 pounds since 2020. My BMI is now 35, despite going to a gym 3 times a week and overall eating healthy - lots of fresh whole foods, vegetables, almost no "junk" food ever. It's so much harder for some of us. I'm trying to figure out how to get these weight loss drugs. I know a bunch of moms in my group are already on them, but their finances are much different than mine. To the best of my knowledge, I'm not diabetic or pre-diabetic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I hope this is ok to share here, but I am basically tearful with jealousy at all the posters whose insurances are covering it even though they don’t have “medical conditions”. I am overweight- I should be under 150 for a BMI of 25, and I’m 170. I have no other health problems. I CANNOT lose the weight and I’ve actually gained 10lb this past year when I stopped being hyper vigilant about calories and weighing myself daily. I am struggling so much and have so much self loathing for my lack of “willpower” or whatever it is that’s causing this. But I cannot afford a thousand dollars a month. I can’t even afford 550 a month like one of the posters.

I just want to take this drug and reduce my insane appetite and lose this weight and be healthy and feel good. I am so angry and sad.

I have compassion for you. I think this medication is very effective for so many people and it really should be available for people who need it (not the vanity 20 lbs). I think you can get semaglutide easily at many medspas and/or online rx that will send it to a compounding pharmacy. Is it legit? yes, although not name brand. Is it safe? Probably if you know where it was compounded. Is it legal? It is, for the moment. I think its still more expensive than an insurance copay but might be a few hundred bucks a month. There are also people buying it from chinese suppliers directly--I would not do that, although I would also imagine that the compounding pharms are doing that (but maybe they have vetted, tested sources).

Absolutely not legal to compound semaglutide. The below is from the North Carolina Board of Pharmacy, but does a very good job of outlining currently applicable federal law here, which is what compounders are using. No-FDA approved semgalutide bulk is available for compounding. Several states have sent out these notices, they will all do so before much longer. The pharmacy compounding association has also posted notice that it should not be compounded. No reputable compounder will engage in providing compounding this drug. If you pursue this drug from a shady facility, understand the bulk ingredient is not FDA-approved, did not come from an FDA-registered manufacturing facility, and has no studies supporting its safety or stability for compounding for this use.

http://www.ncbop.org/PDF/SemaglutideCompounding.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I hope this is ok to share here, but I am basically tearful with jealousy at all the posters whose insurances are covering it even though they don’t have “medical conditions”. I am overweight- I should be under 150 for a BMI of 25, and I’m 170. I have no other health problems. I CANNOT lose the weight and I’ve actually gained 10lb this past year when I stopped being hyper vigilant about calories and weighing myself daily. I am struggling so much and have so much self loathing for my lack of “willpower” or whatever it is that’s causing this. But I cannot afford a thousand dollars a month. I can’t even afford 550 a month like one of the posters.

I just want to take this drug and reduce my insane appetite and lose this weight and be healthy and feel good. I am so angry and sad.

I have compassion for you. I think this medication is very effective for so many people and it really should be available for people who need it (not the vanity 20 lbs). I think you can get semaglutide easily at many medspas and/or online rx that will send it to a compounding pharmacy. Is it legit? yes, although not name brand. Is it safe? Probably if you know where it was compounded. Is it legal? It is, for the moment. I think its still more expensive than an insurance copay but might be a few hundred bucks a month. There are also people buying it from chinese suppliers directly--I would not do that, although I would also imagine that the compounding pharms are doing that (but maybe they have vetted, tested sources).

Absolutely not legal to compound semaglutide. The below is from the North Carolina Board of Pharmacy, but does a very good job of outlining currently applicable federal law here, which is what compounders are using. No-FDA approved semgalutide bulk is available for compounding. Several states have sent out these notices, they will all do so before much longer. The pharmacy compounding association has also posted notice that it should not be compounded. No reputable compounder will engage in providing compounding this drug. If you pursue this drug from a shady facility, understand the bulk ingredient is not FDA-approved, did not come from an FDA-registered manufacturing facility, and has no studies supporting its safety or stability for compounding for this use.

http://www.ncbop.org/PDF/SemaglutideCompounding.pdf

Should have also clarified that compounders have no access to semaglutide base...which is owned by Novo Nordisk, the manufacturer. They are not providing it to compounders so all compounded forms of this drug are being done with APIs in violation of federal law.

[Anonymous]

Is anyone else willing to share WHERE they get the prescriptions? I saw someone said $550 a month for some kind of clinic. Would love specific names of places to go, preferably around Chevy Chase/Bethesda/Kensington?? Thank you in advance!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is anyone else willing to share WHERE they get the prescriptions? I saw someone said $550 a month for some kind of clinic. Would love specific names of places to go, preferably around Chevy Chase/Bethesda/Kensington?? Thank you in advance!

Your primary care provider can prescribe it for you.