Anonymous wrote:I have no issues about being on a medication for life, since I’m on a statin and a thyroid medication for life. But I hate the Ozempic-face look — thinking that I want to be on it but at a low dose that has only marginal efficacy but also marginal side effects. I am a muscular, cardio-fit guy 63-year-old with OK bloodwork measures (10% heart attack risk) but a BMI in the obese range. Thoughts?

The "ozempic face look" is just weight loss. Many people who are overweight look older and a bit tired when they lose the fat in their face. It is nothing specific to Wegovy/Ozempic.

There is no guarantee of "marginal side effects" with a "low dose." Like many meds, some suffer horribly from side effects, some have few or none.

I started Wegovy with a BMI of 34. I'm down to 29, and still losing, and my doctor advises I will be on it for life. I have had bad side effects, but for me it is worth it. I feel sooooo much better in my body with that weight gone. YMMV.

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Anonymous wrote:I want to lose 10-15. Have been trying for years and can't do it. Can't resist sweets and binging. I just want to take the weight off quickly and stop the food noise. Can anyone share their experience with taking medication for weight loss when you don't have that much to lose? I'm currently 5'7 145 lbs. How would I even get medication? Online and fudge numbers?

Dear lord start working out and stop overeating. People
Like you give us a BAD name!!! I had to go on it bc my A1C was prediabetic and I was in obese range!! I only had to lose 30 lbs but my doctor ok’d it bc of obese BMI and the high A1C. I lost the 30 lbs and am at my best weight! I am tapering off the meds after 5 months. I work out like a beast and eat very healthy st a calorie deficit. You can do this without the medication!
Sounds like you are flabby and. Red to tone; your BMI is fine. Please stop the delegitimization of this lifesaving medication!!!

Okay…but you couldn’t do it without the prescription so why are you shaming the OP? Why didn’t YOU just workout harder and eat healthier do you could lose the 30 pounds? Or is it just okay for you but not others?

It’s not shaming. I have serious insulin resistance and spike in glucose levels so it was this or another medication!! I was working out for months before starting and eating a very radically restricted diet. The tirzepatide steadies your blood glucose so you don’t get spikes. My BMI was in the obese range and my A1C was pre diabetic and cholesterol high. I met all the criteria for the medication!!! OP does NOT. Plus this medication stopped me from becoming diabetic, a win win. You’re the one shaming. 30 lbs is no joke and obese BMI to healthy BMI is a big deal.

Not op but many women like me are short and 20 extra lbs means getting close to obese. So why wait until you are actually obese? I don’t get the gatekeeping at a specific bmi when peri weight gain on top of overweight likely means obese down the line.

It is an anti-obesity medication. I don't get how you don't understand that.

And it can be used off-label for weight loss in non-obese individuals

Yes if you like Russian roulette

Plenty of prescriptions are for off label uses. Once generic versions of Ozempic are approved, everyone will use that for weight loss instead of paying hundreds of dollars for name brand wegovy.

Having said that, I would not take compounded meds for 15 pounds. That’s too risky for me.

Very reasonable stance. Doctors should explain (and quantify) the risks and let you choose whether you want to take or not.

No, all doctors don't need to write prescriptions for off-label uses they don't support. In any event, it sounds like you will have trouble finding someone more flexible in her approach.

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Anonymous wrote:I want to lose 10-15. Have been trying for years and can't do it. Can't resist sweets and binging. I just want to take the weight off quickly and stop the food noise. Can anyone share their experience with taking medication for weight loss when you don't have that much to lose? I'm currently 5'7 145 lbs. How would I even get medication? Online and fudge numbers?

Dear lord start working out and stop overeating. People
Like you give us a BAD name!!! I had to go on it bc my A1C was prediabetic and I was in obese range!! I only had to lose 30 lbs but my doctor ok’d it bc of obese BMI and the high A1C. I lost the 30 lbs and am at my best weight! I am tapering off the meds after 5 months. I work out like a beast and eat very healthy st a calorie deficit. You can do this without the medication!
Sounds like you are flabby and. Red to tone; your BMI is fine. Please stop the delegitimization of this lifesaving medication!!!

Okay…but you couldn’t do it without the prescription so why are you shaming the OP? Why didn’t YOU just workout harder and eat healthier do you could lose the 30 pounds? Or is it just okay for you but not others?

It’s not shaming. I have serious insulin resistance and spike in glucose levels so it was this or another medication!! I was working out for months before starting and eating a very radically restricted diet. The tirzepatide steadies your blood glucose so you don’t get spikes. My BMI was in the obese range and my A1C was pre diabetic and cholesterol high. I met all the criteria for the medication!!! OP does NOT. Plus this medication stopped me from becoming diabetic, a win win. You’re the one shaming. 30 lbs is no joke and obese BMI to healthy BMI is a big deal.

Not op but many women like me are short and 20 extra lbs means getting close to obese. So why wait until you are actually obese? I don’t get the gatekeeping at a specific bmi when peri weight gain on top of overweight likely means obese down the line.

It is an anti-obesity medication. I don't get how you don't understand that.

And it can be used off-label for weight loss in non-obese individuals

Yes if you like Russian roulette

Plenty of prescriptions are for off label uses. Once generic versions of Ozempic are approved, everyone will use that for weight loss instead of paying hundreds of dollars for name brand wegovy.

Having said that, I would not take compounded meds for 15 pounds. That’s too risky for me.

Very reasonable stance. Doctors should explain (and quantify) the risks and let you choose whether you want to take or not.

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Anonymous wrote:Yes. 5’6, started at 145, down to 115 and holding steady. I feel great at this weight. Working out and drinking a lot of water is helpful.

OP. Thanks for sharing. Are you still on the meds to maintain?

I just finished day 2 and am feeling elated and pretty certain this will work for me. Yesterday, I ate a normal dinner and I was intending to have something sweet later…sort of a last hurrah before starting my diet in earnest today. But I found myself, shockingly, not at all interested in binging (or even having a little bit of) junk food. I was also surprised that I was not at all hungry when I went to bed even though I ate dinner before 5 pm. This is huge for me.

I had some mild nausea this morning but it didn’t stop me from going to my spin class. I didn’t feel hungry at all. Forced myself to have eggs and grapefruit for lunch. Had an apple before dinner because the lady at the spa recommended it for fiber; said constipation is a common side effect. Went out to dinner and didn’t eat much - but felt satisfied. Probably ate 1,000 calories today. And not hungry. At all. The food noise is already gone.

I did feel a little weak and a dull headache today, and I’m thinking this is from not eating nearly as much as usual. But nothing I couldn’t easily tolerate.

They said they’ll up my dose next week (started with .25 I believe and they said next week will be .5) but if I continue to feel like I did today, I may ask them about keeping it the same.

I'm still on the meds out of fear. I love how I look and feel and am scared to regress if I stop taking them. I've remained at a low dose I (got up to .5, but now I'm back at .25 and holding as I'm at my ideal weight and don't want to lose anymore) and haven't had any of the adverse side effects that other people have mentioned other than a nauseous feeling the first couple of weeks.

PP following up:
It’s a triple drug combo where I go: phentermine, carbidopa, 5Htp.
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/pharmacology/articles/10.3389/fphar.2019.01327/full

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Anonymous wrote:Why it is okay for people who are clinically obese to take semaglutides and continue taking them even when they have reached their goal weight (or more!), but it's not okay for someone who is only slightly overweight? Like the OP, I have struggled to lose 10-15 lbs for years. My BMI is 26.1, and I am on an 80MG statin. Some of my friends who are on semaglutides have BMIs around 20 now. But somehow it's okay for them to continue taking them, but I can't--even with my high cholesterol. Should I gain weight so I can take them?

are you confused? This isn’t about fairness. The medication has risks so it just is not justifiable for people who are already at normal BMIs like you and OP. I don’t think it’s really known yet how long formerly obese people need to take the drugs but I’m sure that there is no reason to assume it’s actually healthy for them to be almost underweight. it may be better than being obese (as they would be without the meds) but for people who are already at healthy BMIs, there is no justification except vanity.

I’m not confused. I am taking 80MG statin for high cholesterol. My friend—who had a high BMI—didn’t have high cholesterol or high blood pressure. It now looks like they are underweight. Yet, they can continue taking it at 20 (or less) BMI but I cannot. If I can’t take it at 26 BMI, why can someone keep taking it at 20 BMI? I’m truly happy for them. I’m not saying they should stop taking it if they don’t want to. Like someone said earlier, I just don’t understand the gatekeeping.

OP, I hope it works out for you!

To hear OP tell it, there is no”gate keeping” at all.

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Anonymous wrote:I want to lose 10-15. Have been trying for years and can't do it. Can't resist sweets and binging. I just want to take the weight off quickly and stop the food noise. Can anyone share their experience with taking medication for weight loss when you don't have that much to lose? I'm currently 5'7 145 lbs. How would I even get medication? Online and fudge numbers?

Dear lord start working out and stop overeating. People
Like you give us a BAD name!!! I had to go on it bc my A1C was prediabetic and I was in obese range!! I only had to lose 30 lbs but my doctor ok’d it bc of obese BMI and the high A1C. I lost the 30 lbs and am at my best weight! I am tapering off the meds after 5 months. I work out like a beast and eat very healthy st a calorie deficit. You can do this without the medication!
Sounds like you are flabby and. Red to tone; your BMI is fine. Please stop the delegitimization of this lifesaving medication!!!

Okay…but you couldn’t do it without the prescription so why are you shaming the OP? Why didn’t YOU just workout harder and eat healthier do you could lose the 30 pounds? Or is it just okay for you but not others?

It’s not shaming. I have serious insulin resistance and spike in glucose levels so it was this or another medication!! I was working out for months before starting and eating a very radically restricted diet. The tirzepatide steadies your blood glucose so you don’t get spikes. My BMI was in the obese range and my A1C was pre diabetic and cholesterol high. I met all the criteria for the medication!!! OP does NOT. Plus this medication stopped me from becoming diabetic, a win win. You’re the one shaming. 30 lbs is no joke and obese BMI to healthy BMI is a big deal.

Not op but many women like me are short and 20 extra lbs means getting close to obese. So why wait until you are actually obese? I don’t get the gatekeeping at a specific bmi when peri weight gain on top of overweight likely means obese down the line.

It is an anti-obesity medication. I don't get how you don't understand that.

And it can be used off-label for weight loss in non-obese individuals

Yes if you like Russian roulette

Plenty of prescriptions are for off label uses. Once generic versions of Ozempic are approved, everyone will use that for weight loss instead of paying hundreds of dollars for name brand wegovy.

Having said that, I would not take compounded meds for 15 pounds. That’s too risky for me.

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Anonymous wrote:Why it is okay for people who are clinically obese to take semaglutides and continue taking them even when they have reached their goal weight (or more!), but it's not okay for someone who is only slightly overweight? Like the OP, I have struggled to lose 10-15 lbs for years. My BMI is 26.1, and I am on an 80MG statin. Some of my friends who are on semaglutides have BMIs around 20 now. But somehow it's okay for them to continue taking them, but I can't--even with my high cholesterol. Should I gain weight so I can take them?

are you confused? This isn’t about fairness. The medication has risks so it just is not justifiable for people who are already at normal BMIs like you and OP. I don’t think it’s really known yet how long formerly obese people need to take the drugs but I’m sure that there is no reason to assume it’s actually healthy for them to be almost underweight. it may be better than being obese (as they would be without the meds) but for people who are already at healthy BMIs, there is no justification except vanity.

I’m not confused. I am taking 80MG statin for high cholesterol. My friend—who had a high BMI—didn’t have high cholesterol or high blood pressure. It now looks like they are underweight. Yet, they can continue taking it at 20 (or less) BMI but I cannot. If I can’t take it at 26 BMI, why can someone keep taking it at 20 BMI? I’m truly happy for them. I’m not saying they should stop taking it if they don’t want to. Like someone said earlier, I just don’t understand the gatekeeping.

OP, I hope it works out for you!

Anonymous wrote:I dunno. Old people, as they age, lose body fat and muscle mass. This drugs does the same thing. The drug also does not change your thought process, to keep that in mind. It will not give you will power. It also will not let you lose 10 lbs and then you take the medicine away and you are all good

OP responding to this, 3 days in. Do you speak from experience? In my case, the drug has indeed changed, almost instantly, my thought process about food, and it has given me willpower. Actually, it doesn't even feel like willpower because I'm not fighting cravings/obsessive thoughts about food. Those things have disappeared, and so willpower is unnecessary.

I fear you are right about not being all good once I stop the meds, but time will tell.

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OP. Thanks for sharing. Are you still on the meds to maintain?

I just finished day 2 and am feeling elated and pretty certain this will work for me. Yesterday, I ate a normal dinner and I was intending to have something sweet later…sort of a last hurrah before starting my diet in earnest today. But I found myself, shockingly, not at all interested in binging (or even having a little bit of) junk food. I was also surprised that I was not at all hungry when I went to bed even though I ate dinner before 5 pm. This is huge for me.

I had some mild nausea this morning but it didn’t stop me from going to my spin class. I didn’t feel hungry at all. Forced myself to have eggs and grapefruit for lunch. Had an apple before dinner because the lady at the spa recommended it for fiber; said constipation is a common side effect. Went out to dinner and didn’t eat much - but felt satisfied. Probably ate 1,000 calories today. And not hungry. At all. The food noise is already gone.

I did feel a little weak and a dull headache today, and I’m thinking this is from not eating nearly as much as usual. But nothing I couldn’t easily tolerate.

They said they’ll up my dose next week (started with .25 I believe and they said next week will be .5) but if I continue to feel like I did today, I may ask them about keeping it the same.

So you posted two days ago that you had no idea how to get it or where to start and now barely two days later you say you're on day two? Is this a troll post?

Hi, it's not. I was in my office Friday morning feeling disgusted with myself for already not sticking to my New Year's resolution of eating better and losing weight, and I posted here, then got to googling the local medspa which has been heavily advertising semaglutides. Watched some of their compelling testimonial videos. Called them, they offered an appointment same-day, which I then changed to the next day. Had my consultation and had the shot before I left. Like I said, I was taken aback that there seemed to be no criteria I had to meet to qualify for the meds. I've entered my info into different virtual pharmacies online, Noom, etc. and it's always come back with "Sorry you don't qualify because your BMI is under xxx." Taken aback, but really, appreciative. I came there to get meds and they gave me meds, pretty much no questions asked (a few questions about allergies, if I exercise and explaining that exercise is important because you can lose muscle when you lose weight quickly, explaining the difference between the semaglutide and the tirzepatide, how much I wanted to lose, how dosing works).

Day 3 today. Woke up with the same very mild nausea that I've had since yesterday. I did feel like I needed to eat something, but not in the same way I normally do, where I debate with myself, how long can I wait before I eat, how little can I eat and still feel okay, should I just blow it today and get a sausage egg biscuit at McDonalds? That's my constant "food noise" that I'm always fighting (unsuccessfully). It's so miraculous feeling that I'm now just thinking, "What can I eat that will nourish me and hopefully take away the nausea?" I made myself a peanut butter banana smoothie and drank 3/4 of it. I enjoyed it, but not passionately like I usually love food.

I'm just very excited and happy right now. I have been thinking and reading about this for a year and kept thinking I don't want to resort to meds, I'm a smart, successful person I know I can do this on my own. I know what I have to do. I think my last straw was making a plan for what I was going to do on January 1 and failing miserably, giving in to cravings and my binge tendencies, and just deciding I want help. I am really glad I did it! Thanks to everyone who has chimed in with similar goals; I would love to keep hearing them, and I'll update here.

I really hope this can reset my mind and that I won't revert back to my horrible eating when I go off these meds. I weighed myself this morning and was 142...so I think I'll be at my goal weight in under 2 months if I keep feeling the way I feel now.

Anonymous wrote:No one but experienced and specialized medical professionals should be commenting on this topic.

I don't think anyone is using this site, or Reddit which is full of many threads on the topic, as a place for actual medical advice. But it is useful to know how other patients' experiences have been. As for op's question, the answer is very obviously yes, people have. A room full of such people were at the Golden Globes yesterday, an event ironically sponsored by Lilly.

No one but experienced and specialized medical professionals should be commenting on this topic.

I have no issues about being on a medication for life, since I’m on a statin and a thyroid medication for life. But I hate the Ozempic-face look — thinking that I want to be on it but at a low dose that has only marginal efficacy but also marginal side effects. I am a muscular, cardio-fit guy 63-year-old with OK bloodwork measures (10% heart attack risk) but a BMI in the obese range. Thoughts?

Anonymous wrote:You're not overweight. No reputable doctor is going to give you drugs for vanity weight loss.

+1

Gross

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Anonymous wrote:Why it is okay for people who are clinically obese to take semaglutides and continue taking them even when they have reached their goal weight (or more!), but it's not okay for someone who is only slightly overweight? Like the OP, I have struggled to lose 10-15 lbs for years. My BMI is 26.1, and I am on an 80MG statin. Some of my friends who are on semaglutides have BMIs around 20 now. But somehow it's okay for them to continue taking them, but I can't--even with my high cholesterol. Should I gain weight so I can take them?

Because there are risks to taking the medication. The risks are worth the benefits to keep people from being obese, because that can kill you. The risks are not worth the benefit, medically, to help a person lose 20 pounds. (I feel discouraged that I need to explain this, but here we are.)

I don’t think the science backs this up and furthermore people have different risk tolerances.

DP.

Ok ... fine. Go ahead and take the Wegovy for the 15 pounds you need to lose to fit into that dress for your DS's wedding. Or whatever event.

And I hope you have the side effects I have had as I fight the obesity that has resulted from a medication I need to survive. And find yourself crying on the way home from lunch with your husband, like I did yesterday, because the pain of your bowels spasming is horrific and you think you might not make it to a bathroom. Or find yourself worrying about managing at your job because the fatigue is so debilitating. Or find yourself unable to fall asleep, and when you do the nightmares are horrible.

I won't wish the constipation on you -- having an impaction removed at an urgent care is something I wouldn't wish on anyone.

But by all means ... take this very serious drug for your 15 pound loss. I sure as hell wouldn't. But yeah -- people "have different risk tolerances." So.

Sorry to hear you had such a bad reaction to it. My experience has been very positive.