Wegovy/Saxenda for weight loss?
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Anonymous
| Calibrate seems so expensive! I mean, I'd definitely pay $1500 to lose the pesky weight but explaining this to my DH will be interesting. Anyone have any reviews for the actual program vs. just medication? |
Anonymous
I meet with the same coach every 2 weeks and we talk about the required readings. She's great and helps keep me accountable. Calibrate knows how to deal with insurance and they'll refund you if your insurance won't cover the meds despite their efforts. Honestly not dealing with that was worth it. The initial intake with the doctor after my blood tests was very good. |
Anonymous
| It does, but it breaks down to $140 ish a month plus $25 in medication costs. It's a year program. So, it's not too bad. |
Anonymous
To me it's been well worth it for the results I'm getting. I'm super-annoyed with my insurance company for not covering the GLP-1 medication -- it's got to be a lot cheaper than me getting Type 2 diabetes -- but it's still affordable for me at least for now with the coupon, and I hope that insurance coverage will be in the future. GLP-1s for weight loss are fairly new but they've been used for Type 2 diabetics for years now and have a good track record. |
Anonymous
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Oh, and to answer 11:42's question -- yes, I have a coach I meet with biweekly. Calibrate sends a scale and requires you use it daily, so that's giving me accountability. The diet program is not at all crazy hard in my view, although I've been eating low-carb(ish) off and on for a long time so I know the drill. I really liked the doctor I saw at the outset; she's a board-certified endocrinologist and as I also have hypothyroidism and a strong family history of diabetes I felt I was in good medical hands (even though I really like my primary care doctor, she doesn't have a practice treating obesity).
The accountability is really important for me too -- I *know* how I should eat, how I should exercise, etc. but knowing and doing are two different things. |
Anonymous
All good points. I think I am going to sign up. Is there a better time to take the weekly meds? Do the meds affect you more (nausea etc) the first few days after taking it? Also, do you have to keep the meds refrigerated? What to do about travel? If you have any insights, that would be awesome. Thank you. |
Anonymous
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I got an Rx for Ozempic from my doctor, which my insurance covers with a $25 copay. Because you need to taper up on the medication, the box lasts for more than a month. I lost 7 lbs fairly quickly without doing much of anything, exercise-wise due to a flare up of plantar fasciitis in my foot. I am not diabetic, but I have high blood pressure and she was able to fudge somehow to get it for me.
The nausea is a bummer, but it gets better as you become accustomed to the dose. I do take Zofran, which sort of helps. I inject it into my leg, which is supposed to help, and do it at night. I’m not doing any kind of a program, as those tend to be really triggering for me; I come from a family with eating disorders and get totally freaked out by anything that feels restrictive or that dictates foods I can or can’t eat. The plus side of the medication is that I simply don’t want to eat anything. Like all medication, taking it is serious. I would not recommend for someone who just wants to lose a few pounds or who is a reasonably healthy weight but wants to be skinny. I need to lose 30-40 pounds to be at a healthier weight, so I feel like it makes sense for me, especially for my metabolic health. |
Anonymous
This is me. Sorry, I meant it is under $1000 for a THREE MONTH supply. It was late when I posted. |
Anonymous
No. I'm one of the OP on the first page (I have the eating disorder) and I got a prescription from my PA. You send in your prescription to the Canadian pharmacy, one of their doctors "approves" it and then you send license and payment information and it gets shipped out. My PA put me on semaglutide almost immediately after it was approved for weight loss, so my first pen was a sample pen from my medical clinic. When I told the pharmacy in Canada that I was on my last dose, they rushed the medication and I got it in three days. They were so helpful. I called, found out exactly what I needed to do and how much to pay, and then everything else was done by text message (except for giving them payment info, I did that over the phone.) If you decide to ask your health care provider to give you a prescription, make sure that they write "semaglutide" on the script and not 'wegovy'. That's not available in Canada yet. It works out to be about $300 a month for me. In Mexico it's even cheaper, but unfortunately my passport lapsed during the pandemic and I haven't gotten it renewed yet. Even so, I actually prefer paying a little more to get it from Canada, I just feel safer. Look, I know from the outside looking in that this is crazy. But I had my first pen for free and I lasted me through six doses (6 weeks). I KNEW that it worked and I was unwilling to consider any other options. My dh is a doctor, and he encouraged this for me after studying up on it. Paying $300 a month is a small price to pay for how much this medication helps me and how effective it is. |
Anonymous
Thank you for this information. Did you also experience nausea like the other posters? If so, how did you deal with it? I think this could be a good solution for me (need to lose 60 lbs) but the possibility of constant nausea is making me nervous. |
Anonymous
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Hi, it's me (OP who orders from Canada)
I should probably talk a little about the side effects that I've experienced while on semaglutide. I have been on it since July and my side effects have been pretty mild for the most part. I started on the lowest possible dosage (0.24) and stayed there for six months. I did/do have a bit of nausea, but it was never bad at all, it never got to the point where I thought I was going to be sick or anything. I quickly learned that I get nauseous when I don't eat, and since eating is always the furthest thing on my mind while on this medication, it seemed like I could get nauseous throughout the day. Once I eat a couple of Wheat Thins or a real meal, the nausea always goes away. By far, my biggest unpleasant side effect was constipation. I had one particularly bad episode and then set out to find a solution. I now drink at least one packet of Liquid IV Hydration and eat two pieces of sugar free candy every day, and that keeps me pretty regular. Some days I have to hype myself up to drink the Liquid IV and to eat the candy because I cannot tolerate sweet stuff at all. Expecting to get nutrients out of food the way you did before might not work, at least it doesn't for me. I can eat maybe 1 cup of salad or 1 cup of kale greens or something during a meal, which is not enough food to really make an impact. If I'm eating a "regular" meal, this is how much I'm eating: About roughly 2 ounces of meat 1/4 cup rice 1 cup veggies For breakfast One 1/4 slice of french toast (one triangle only) 1/2 sausage patty Some other side effects are directly related to food. If low carb works for you, then you should absolutely continue to do what works best, but it's not something I need to bother with. I was put on this medication so I could eliminate food tracking, and so there's no need for me to count carbs or calories because I'm eating so much less than I typically do. I cannot consume more than two cookies or a tiny sliver of a cake. My niece had the gastric sleeve done, and she says that my diet is almost identical to hers. Before I started my first pen, I went out and bought a bunch of "healthy" foods. This was a mistake lol. Most of the fresh stuff went bad before I can eat it, and the rest of the stuff I had zero desire to eat, so that went bad as well. Most prepared meals, give me a good 3 servings. I would suggest just eating whatever food you have in your kitchen until you get a better understanding of what you can and cannot eat or tolerate. The worst side effect -- I have lost my taste for coffee for the most part. It takes me all day to drink one cup. Sad. Good thing I only drink decaf, so I didn't have to deal with any withdrawal symptoms. |
Anonymous
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Yikes! I just keep forgetting to add everything that keeps popping up in my head.
I wanted to say that I take either CBD tincture or Delta 8 tabs for nausea and it works like a dream. Someone actually suggested that on the semiglutide subreddit and I've been using it ever since. It rarely gets bad enough for me to need it, but I always keep a packet of tablinguals on me just in case. |
Anonymous
| Thanks for that information - that's really incredible. Did you have a hard time drinking water? Sounds like your stomach was sensitive to volume. Was it hard staying hydrated? |
Anonymous
You know, plain cold water isn't so bad, but I definitely have limits as to how much I can tolerate. My niece (the one with the gastric sleeve) told me about hydration packets, and honestly, it has been a lifesaver. If I drink it really quickly, it almost has a laxative effect on me, similar to coffee. If I sip on it for a couple of hours, then I feel like I getting hydrated normally. A classic sign of dehydration for me is chapped lips and I haven't experienced that since starting on liquid iv. One packet a day, and I get a box of 24 from Costco. I had to basically give up sparkling water, it got me full way too quickly, just like with coffee. I also can't eat ice cream anymore, I just don't have the appetite for it. I kind of miss it. |
Anonymous
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I tired Saxenda. I didn't lose any weight and it was $500 a month.
I now do keto with success. |