Going to go on Ozempic (without insurance) and have a few questions

[Anonymous]

I do not quality though I am well over 30 lbs overweight, a bummer that we cannot go through insurance so I am going to be paying out of pocket and will try for a month or two.I am giving up something else I enjoy doing (a hobby) so I can go on this without insurance...not a cheap endeavor but I am feeling desperate.

Question- for anyone who's been on it. Did you notice immediately the quieting of the "food noise". When I first head about the I nearly fainted, Thought I was the only one. I think of food all the time...even when I am not hungry so this made me feel much more normal.

How soon did you notice that you stopped feeling hungry/craving food?

If you experienced side effects, were they immediate or took time to feel them?

Would you have done it again if you were starting over?

[Anonymous]

The food noise quieted for me in about 3 days.

I've had mild side effects. Some upset stomach at first occasionally. I used Immodium a couple of times, but not since. The occasional burp haha. But nothing else.

Yes, I would do it again. It's been beneficial for me. I'm on Wegovy.

[Anonymous]

Literally the first day.

I had side effects and lost a lot of weight, then I got to one of my “set points” and it sort of stopped working as well. But I’m maintaining a the weight loss very easily! Good luck.

[Anonymous]

It started working for me the first day.

I still feel a little nauseous a lot of the time. I actually am not even up to the highest dose and may never use it because the lower doses are working fine and I’m still losing a pound or two a week. But, the slight nausea is what is keeping me from eating. I feel full and slightly sick even though I’m not eating much. I’ll take it though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Literally the first day.

I had side effects and lost a lot of weight, then I got to one of my “set points” and it sort of stopped working as well. But I’m maintaining a the weight loss very easily! Good luck.

np - are you still on it?

[Anonymous]

The food noise stopped almost immediately. I have had very few side effects — I had an occasional upset stomach, but it’s hard to say it was related to the medication. I have been on the medication for about 6 months and have lost about 35 pounds.

OP, if you are more than 30 pounds overweight, how do you not qualify?

[Anonymous]

I just gave myself my first injection on Monday and was surprised by how quickly the food noise stopped! I haven’t felt any hunger at all today and am eating less than before. I just seem to get fuller faster. I felt some nausea yesterday morning and today, both times before I ate breakfast. Nothing too bad, just like mild morning sickness. I’d been wanting to get in ozempid for a LONG time, so I’m really excited about this journey.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The food noise stopped almost immediately. I have had very few side effects — I had an occasional upset stomach, but it’s hard to say it was related to the medication. I have been on the medication for about 6 months and have lost about 35 pounds.

OP, if you are more than 30 pounds overweight, how do you not qualify?

NP (not the OP) - I'm 30+lbs overweight and only 5'3" so it's a lot. My insurance (Carefirst PPO) declined to cover any of these drugs. I hadn't thought of trying to pay for 1-2 months out of pocket; I assume I'd need to cover at least 6 or more months to really see a lasting effect. And I can't swing $6k plus to do that. I hope the OP keeps us all posted on how the 2 month experiment works. That might be worth a shot for someone like me.

[Anonymous]

Here's a few things to know....I have been on Ozempic for 8 months.

1. Go to the Ozempic website...they have a discount code there for your pharmacy. Saves me $350 a month. But it's still $1300.

2. Have crackers or pretzels around. As soon as you feel nauseous have some. I do this a few times a day.

3. I noticed a difference almost right away.
4. Drugs stores run out of it. So have the prescription called in 2 weeks before you need it.
5. I have gone from 205 -170. I am at the highest dose. My weight lose seems to have slowed.
6. My cholesterol/blood pressure are MUCH LOWER! I can't believe insurance companies don't pay for this when people have high blood pressure.

Godd Luck!!!

[Anonymous]

Have you considered Zepbound? It has a savings card that brings it down to $550 and it/Mounjaro have been slightly more effective with fewer side effects in trials.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Literally the first day.

I had side effects and lost a lot of weight, then I got to one of my “set points” and it sort of stopped working as well. But I’m maintaining a the weight loss very easily! Good luck.

np - are you still on it?

Yes!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I do not quality though I am well over 30 lbs overweight, a bummer that we cannot go through insurance so I am going to be paying out of pocket and will try for a month or two.I am giving up something else I enjoy doing (a hobby) so I can go on this without insurance...not a cheap endeavor but I am feeling desperate.

Question- for anyone who's been on it. Did you notice immediately the quieting of the "food noise". When I first head about the I nearly fainted, Thought I was the only one. I think of food all the time...even when I am not hungry so this made me feel much more normal.

How soon did you notice that you stopped feeling hungry/craving food?

If you experienced side effects, were they immediate or took time to feel them?

Would you have done it again if you were starting over?

A month or two won’t help you. You have to ramp up to the full dosage and that takes about 6 months.

[Anonymous]

I started three weeks ago (semaglutide, I am the same as you and did not qualify through insurance). Immediate food noise quieting, reduced appetite. I have lost 5lbs so far. You still do need to watch calories to some extent, but it is a lot easier than it has ever felt in terms of dieting and willpower for me. Only side effect I have are slight nausea at times, lots of burping, frequency of bowel movements has decreased a little (but not terrible constipation and zero diarrhea). I am very please and at the lowest dose now, so hopefully going to lose more once I ramp up.

[Anonymous]

I was on Mounjaro and for me the food noise stopped right away. I was not hungry.

But I felt consistently nauseated and achy, like I had the mild flu. I was never able to tolerate more than 5mg (dosing goes from 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5, etc). It made me crazy because I'm generally not sensitive to medications (at all!) and yet my body just did not get used to the Mounjaro. I honestly felt so crappy that I couldn't function most of the time. I was on a message board at the time with other patients who tolerated it with no side effects and were on much higher doses than it was.

Ultimately I did lose some weight (25 pounds?) but it basically felt like complete crap for those 3 months. I don't think I could do it again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The food noise stopped almost immediately. I have had very few side effects — I had an occasional upset stomach, but it’s hard to say it was related to the medication. I have been on the medication for about 6 months and have lost about 35 pounds.

OP, if you are more than 30 pounds overweight, how do you not qualify?

NP (not the OP) - I'm 30+lbs overweight and only 5'3" so it's a lot. My insurance (Carefirst PPO) declined to cover any of these drugs. I hadn't thought of trying to pay for 1-2 months out of pocket; I assume I'd need to cover at least 6 or more months to really see a lasting effect. And I can't swing $6k plus to do that. I hope the OP keeps us all posted on how the 2 month experiment works. That might be worth a shot for someone like me.

You can get it much cheaper from a compound pharmacy. So many telehealth companies do it now: quick consult, then they send your prescription in and you get it delivered at home. I paid about $600 for three months.