Wegovy/Saxenda for weight loss?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s really a shame these drugs are so expensive. We actually have a viable solution to the obesity epidemic here.

There are a LOT of side effects. It's not a magic cure.

For some people it essentially is, though. I have a close friend who has lost 45 lbs easily with minimal side effects. It is causing her to do some work in therapy because it is causing her to examine many years of self-flagellation about “self-control” that turned out to be inappropriate self-loathing; it turns out on Wegovy “self-control” is a non-issue. In other words what she perceived as a moral failing turned out to be a straightforward physical issue.

What is interesting is that though she has very good blood sugar levels (surprisingly good A1C for instance), she always believed that her blood sugar levels were hiding some pre-diabetic issues because she would occasionally have issues with hypoglycemia (measured with a pin prick). She has been tested for blood sugar issues many times but her fasting tests have always come back in very healthy ranges. But after about a month on Wegovy, after she adjusted (a couple of weeks) but before she lost significant weight, she was calling me to talk about how much generally “better” she felt. She wasn’t hungry all the time, wasn’t thinking about food all the time, but also as she said she just “felt better.” Her take on it is that she’s had low-level blood sugar issues for years, that were undetectable by normal A1C tests, but that the Wegovy alleviates. She had to stop Wegovy for about two weeks a month ago because of supply issues and not only did the food cravings come back, she said she felt a lot worse generally. She is trying to figure out what to do now because she doesn't want to stop the Wegovy even though she is almost at her goal weight because she feels so much physically better on it. Oddly her fasting A1C hasn’t changed much at all, but she hasn’t had any hypoglycemic incidents since she started.

I sort of wonder if there are a lot of sub clinical diabetics walking around out there, probably people who struggle with weight.

I keep asking her to do a DCUM AMA because I think folks would find it interesting but so far she isn’t interested.

Ozempic isn’t having the same supply issues and it is the exact same thing. She can take it instead.

She actually switched to Ozempic after several months on Wegovy, I think. I am not 100% positive. I will ask. Maybe I can do an AMA for her haha.

[Anonymous]

My doctor gave me the script to order in Canada. She’s also giving me a sample pen to start with so I’ll take my first dose tonight!

If there’s any interest in updates here with how it goes let me know and I’ll do my best to share my experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My doctor gave me the script to order in Canada. She’s also giving me a sample pen to start with so I’ll take my first dose tonight!

If there’s any interest in updates here with how it goes let me know and I’ll do my best to share my experience.

I would love to know! Thank you!

[Anonymous]

I’m the PP with the friend. She did switch to Ozempic, I asked. She doesn’t want to do an AMA herself but she did say that she would tell me answers and I could write them down if people are interested. Would anyone be interested? It would sort of be a delayed AMA.

[Anonymous]

I just got back from the pharmacy: Ozempic was covered, and I start tomorrow. Very excited. And grateful to everyone here. You inspired me to get my blood work done. They came back with prediabetic numbers. I talked with my doctor on Thursday, and she suggested Ozempic. I have 40lbs to lose.

Fingers crossed for minimal side effects.

55 year old female

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just got back from the pharmacy: Ozempic was covered, and I start tomorrow. Very excited. And grateful to everyone here. You inspired me to get my blood work done. They came back with prediabetic numbers. I talked with my doctor on Thursday, and she suggested Ozempic. I have 40lbs to lose.

Fingers crossed for minimal side effects.

55 year old female

Thanks for sharing. Did you have to get preapproved by the doc/insurance or just go to the pharmacy and hope for the best? Also, is your doc who prescribed a general practitioner or an endocronologist? Thank you!

[Anonymous]

It wore off on me. Saxenda worked for about 3 months, and I lost about 15 pounds. I was pretty nauseous, but I didn't care. It made it harder to eat. It was awesome.

Then....it just stopped working.

I switched to Wegovy at one point and that didn't work either.

So, I think that can happen. I know I'm not the only person. I still do actually take the Saxenda, but I'm not sure why. I have tried stopping for a week and then restarting, but I can't say it's much different. I've also noticed it will sometimes give me intense hunger pangs in the middle of the day.

It was amazing. I was so sad it stopped working.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It wore off on me. Saxenda worked for about 3 months, and I lost about 15 pounds. I was pretty nauseous, but I didn't care. It made it harder to eat. It was awesome.

Then....it just stopped working.

I switched to Wegovy at one point and that didn't work either.

So, I think that can happen. I know I'm not the only person. I still do actually take the Saxenda, but I'm not sure why. I have tried stopping for a week and then restarting, but I can't say it's much different. I've also noticed it will sometimes give me intense hunger pangs in the middle of the day.

It was amazing. I was so sad it stopped working.

Did you get up to the max dose of Wegovy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just got back from the pharmacy: Ozempic was covered, and I start tomorrow. Very excited. And grateful to everyone here. You inspired me to get my blood work done. They came back with prediabetic numbers. I talked with my doctor on Thursday, and she suggested Ozempic. I have 40lbs to lose.

Fingers crossed for minimal side effects.

55 year old female

Thanks for sharing. Did you have to get preapproved by the doc/insurance or just go to the pharmacy and hope for the best? Also, is your doc who prescribed a general practitioner or an endocronologist? Thank you!

My doctor is a general practitioner. She called it in to the pharmacy that afternoon, and it was ready for pick-up when I got home. $25 for a pen that will last 8 weeks. I’ll start with 4 weeks at 0.25mg and then step up to 0.5mg.

I started on Saturday. Definitely feel different. No desire to snack mindlessly in the evening. I’m also very tired. Thankfully no nausea.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Eh - I want to believe but am waiting for the longterm health risks of this stuff to emerge like it has with every other medicine before it for weight loss.

I had terrible side effects, and I stopped using it over two months ago and am still having abdominal pain. CT scan showed diverticulitis that was spurred by inflammation caused by Wegovy. I probably already had it, but it was asymptomatic until the Wegovy caused serious inflammation in my body and now it's active, inflamed, and not going away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Eh - I want to believe but am waiting for the longterm health risks of this stuff to emerge like it has with every other medicine before it for weight loss.

Ozempic was developed in 2012. It was put on the market in 2017 to treat diabetes. It’s now just been reclassified as a weight loss drug.

That's still pretty new.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Eh - I want to believe but am waiting for the longterm health risks of this stuff to emerge like it has with every other medicine before it for weight loss.

Ozempic was developed in 2012. It was put on the market in 2017 to treat diabetes. It’s now just been reclassified as a weight loss drug.

That's still pretty new.

It is relatively new, but if there were short-term catastrophic problems, we would be seeing them by now.

[Anonymous]

I've been on Wegovy since January
The past month at 1.7
No effects whatsoever. I have no negative side effects no hunger reduction nothing. Well... I am much poorer since I joined Calibrate but that's it.

[Anonymous]

On Ozempic through Calibrate. Started Calibrate mid Jan and Ozempic 4 week later. Was 186 lbs. Now 167 lbs. Still lots more to lose as I am short and still obese but its a game changer for me. Started at 0.25 for 4 weeks, 0.5 for 4 weeks, then 1.0 ever since. No side effects but the medication definitely curbs my appetite. I occasionally indulge in crap food but get full much quicker. Since I am not usually craving stuff anymore I am focusing on eating more healthy. The meds make it easier to make wise choices. Like a switch has been flipped.

[Anonymous]

If you can't get good rates through your insurance via your primary care doctor or Calibrate, try a weight loss center. A friend just went through this and is paying weight loss center about $400 per month for weekly medication. That is more than $25 per fill when insurance covers but much less than regular pharma price of $1200-1600 per month. You should easily get a qoute from your pharmacy if your primary writes a prescription and you can get Calibrate to give you a qoute based on your insurance too without joining. Or start with the weight loss centers around town.