Not losing weight on Wegovy

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:9 months and down 40 pounds. Some weeks I lose 1-2, some weeks I lose nothing (esp week before my period, but week after is always 2 pounds down). I eat much less because I feel full after eating much less. And I don't eat because I'm bored (I *think* that's what people mean by saying Wegovy stops the food noise - I'm just not thinking about food all the time). I would like to lose 5 more pounds, and then attempt maintenence. Went from a size 10-12 to a size 2-4 (which I still cannot believe)

Did you go up to the maximum dose?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wait, where are you finding Wegovy? I have a prescription, but I haven't been able to find it anywhere

Me, too. I got a month of free sample (.25 mg starter dose) from my doctor - lost 10 pounds in a month - I have 20 more to lose. My insurance approved six months of the .5 mg dosage but i CANNOT find it anywhere. I have been sticking with the diet - less than 1100 calories a day for a 57 year post-menapausal woman - as I am determined to maintain at a minimum. I am going to ask my doctor for a 1 mg dose RXX - that is the lowest I have found available in DC area.

[Anonymous]

If he has only been on the medication for a month, he would not have gotten to the max dose yet because it's a dose that they titrate up after so many weeks. He may still be on the lower doses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Not a troll. He did the customary ramping up over several months. He is at the full dose now and has been for at least a month. I think this is 2.4 but I’m not sure. I’m also not sure how many times he has seen the doctor. What I do know is that it doesn’t seem to be taking away the urge to binge eat, which is why he isn’t losing any weight. He is still eating all of the junk that he was eating before and just as much.

things to discuss with doctor: mounjaro; ; wellbutrin; naltrexone. The latter two are a few medications that are effective for some people with BED. Perhaps there are more.

what is BED?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If he has only been on the medication for a month, he would not have gotten to the max dose yet because it's a dose that they titrate up after so many weeks. He may still be on the lower doses.

OP here. He has been on it for several months and has been at the max dose for at least one month.

I’m not sure where he is finding it. I misspoke though and he is actually on ozempic (though I think they are the same exact thing).

BED is binge eating disorder.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DH is morbidly obese. He needs to lose at least 270 lbs. I’m not sure exactly when he started Wegovy but he has been at the full dose for at least a month. He is down zero lbs. I expected the weight to come off quickly at least initially because he is so overweight. Has this happened to anyone else? Did it eventually start working? (He is going to discuss this with his doctor at his appointment next month.)

Contrary to myth, it isn’t some magic thing that causes weight loss. There needs to be lifestyle changes including more exercise and restriction of carbohydrates. The drug does reduce appetite. But some people on it still force feed themselves. Does he drink alcohol?

Also for a considerable percentage of people it just doesn’t cause weight loss.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If he has only been on the medication for a month, he would not have gotten to the max dose yet because it's a dose that they titrate up after so many weeks. He may still be on the lower doses.

OP here. He has been on it for several months and has been at the max dose for at least one month.

I’m not sure where he is finding it. I misspoke though and he is actually on ozempic (though I think they are the same exact thing).

BED is binge eating disorder.

They are the same drug, but different dosage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If he has only been on the medication for a month, he would not have gotten to the max dose yet because it's a dose that they titrate up after so many weeks. He may still be on the lower doses.

OP here. He has been on it for several months and has been at the max dose for at least one month.

I’m not sure where he is finding it. I misspoke though and he is actually on ozempic (though I think they are the same exact thing).

BED is binge eating disorder.

OP, if he's on Ozempic, is it possible he's only at 1 mg a week rather than 2? 1 is not very high for weight loss (although it is an appropriate dose for Type 2 diabetes). If he's not up at 2 mg a week, he's not maxed on Ozempic. Wegovy, which has the same active ingredient (semaglutide) as Ozempic, goes to 2.4, which is the therapeutic weight loss dose.

If he's really not losing on max Ozempic, it's likely time to switch to Wegovy or better yet Mounjaro. I've been on all three and had the best results, in terms of weight loss plus the lowest side effects, on Mounjaro.

But I agree with PP that he has to want to lose weight. I'm not a subscriber to the "minimal calories maximum exercise" theory that you have to be doing both those things in addition to the drug, but at minimum a discussion with his doctor and a referral to a BED therapist are in order, because the drug is just not doing enough to help him combat this disease he's suffering from (and yes eating disorders are diseases, not just a matter of lack of willpower, for people who have never experienced one).

I know you can lead the horse to water and all. I'm sorry you're experiencing this and know how frustrating it must be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m sorry OP. I had about 120 to lose. 5 months in. Just hit 50 pounds down. But, I had to really make the decision to go for it. I didn’t like being obese. All I had thought about was losing weight. As I gained on antidepressants over a period of years But I couldn’t make it happened. In fact, I ancelled two appointments with my weight loss center before I started.

But once was really ready to start, I made a plan and have stuck with it. I see a dietician and a PA every month (was every 2 weeks during loading doses and when my diet was newer), have a 1200 calorie, 100gs of protein, 100 ozs of water diet plan. Have had zero rice, pasta, alcohol, fried foods, etc. in 5 months. Not one piece of pizza. Not one scoop of ice cream. No sweets at all except an occasional bite of DH’s dessert when eating out. And just one bite is plenty on the meds. A personal trainer and weight training twice a week. 3 45 minute cardio sessions. Checking in with my therapist to discuss how I’m doing with the process and vent when I get frustrated and feel stuck (yep, I have a history of depression).

For me, Wegovy has made it possible to make the lifestyle changes I had decided I wanted 5 years ago and just never been able to make happen. IME, It’s not going to work well unless you use the appetite suppression to make healthy good choices and go into calorie deficit.

I’m sorry OP. I have an awesome husband, who is very supportive of my weight loss. In a concrete— hey, let me make you your favorite high protein smoothie way. But, he couldn’t help me until I was ready to make the changes. Not just take a shot. That’s easy. But to do large scale weight loss. IME diet, cardio and weights have to play a role. The medicine isn’t magic and medicine alone might give some people some weight loss benefit with slowed digestion and appetite suppression. But not BMI > 40 to non-obese type benefit.

One thing that helped is that although I made a plan, I did it one thing at a time. I started meds. Then with some (minimal) appetite suppression on the lowest dose, I tackled the diet. And it took a month to get my calories that low and protein that high everyday. And on loading doses, I still had excess calories the last 2 days of TJ eek. I also had to play around to find the foods that worked for me. And once that was under control I added strength training. And then I added cardio. Took about three months total. Staring down that many lifestyle changes at once was overwhelming.

And most insurances do require 5% weight loss in 6 months to continue. I have very good fed coverage. Still have to lose 5% the first 6 months. After that, I have to maintain the weight loss.

Honestly, if your husband is at 2.4 and has made no diet modifications and has not started any form of exercise, it seems like he needs to be in therapy. With someone who specializes in binge eating type issues. He doesn’t sound like he’s in a place where he can do the work yet, which I guess is why he would fail the psych exam. But never say never either. That doesn’t mean he can’t get there. It just means he’s not there yet.

I started Wegovy in early June, but have only been able to fill my prescription twice in four months due to the supply chain issues. Does that mean my insurance will cut me off in December, even though I may still be on a loading dose then (if I’m lucky enough to find that)?

[Anonymous]

I was on wegovy six months and did not lose weight til I hit full dose 2.4. Coincidentally, it was the same time I titrated up to therapeutic dose of Prozac - could possible be related because I tend to eat well all day and eat in the evenings when I am bored/ stressed/ worrying.

[Anonymous]

OP, I tried Ozempic last fall and after 4-5 months had not lost any weight. I've been on Mounjaro since April and have lost about 10 lbs. I have 60 lbs to lose to get to a normal BMI so it's not that I don't have weight to lose. PP's comment that these drugs don't work for everyone is the first time I'm hearing that, because otherwise they seem to work for everyone but me (and your DH). I'm so, so, so tired of monitoring/tracking my water intake, protein (goal of 100g per day), and calories with basically nothing to show for it. I feel for your DH because I'm there, too.

[Anonymous]

OP, I haven’t read the whole thread but I wanted to mention that using the Noom app has been really helpful for me to identify disordered eating patterns and get a grip on some of my emotional/stress eating patterns. I don’t take wegovy yet, because I wanted to get a hold of this stuff first. I am not losing a ton of weight on Noom but I’m definitely improving my habits and I am thinking about taking the next step with the medication, with the hope that it will help. Maybe he could try pairing it with the meds.