To NOT use the new wonder drug Ozempic??

[Poopoolittlekitten]

It’s the one that you inject once a week and has amazing weight loss results for most people.
DP has been hinting heavily that I should try it, they would support me, cost would be irrelevant if I wanted to use it ( about £150 a month in the U.K. on private prescription)

I am 100 LBs overweight. I do need to do something about it, although at the moment I don’t have many issues to do with weight , yet. No diabetes, no pre diabetes, blood pressure normal etc but I would qualify for the drug on weight alone.

I am hesitant because I have heard about ‘the rebound’ where studies have shown that most people who stop the drug after a year, pile ALL weight back on very quickly. Plus, side affects.

YABU - try it you need something drastic, short term gain will be worth it

YANBU - you need to have major lifestyle changes and not ‘cheat’ with a drug

I wasnt planning on prescription, i would just pay the cost myself for it

This is a big area of medical research at the moment, this is an area I do know something about as one of our labs is working on something very (very) similar but will be a once a month injection. As I understand it drug was originally designed for type 2 diabetes, the weight loss is a side effect of that. The drug is a derivative of something called GLP-1, GLP-1 is a natural chemical in your body but after release it is removed from the blood within 5 mins or so. This drug is virtually the same thing but linked to a fatty acid so it binds to a large protein in the blood (albumin) so it lasts longer.

You will loss weight, you will also stop drinking (water) as much as well. When you stop the drug unless you can control yourself you will put the weight back on.

just to add as well, i am classed as clinicaly obeses due to my height my BMI is 38

The companies I used to buy from want to know your weight and height to work out your BMI and they provide this information to your GP so you cant lie

You said you think its a quick fix, it isnt, it just enables you to stick to to the lifestyle changes and habits that you need to and in your case you're saying thats working anyway because you're losing weight. I wouldnt spend money on it if I were you if you're already losing weight.

@Jusmakingit Not sure if there is a confusion here. Just because you are paying for the drug yourself, doesn’t mean you don’t need a prescription. It’s a prescription only drug, so your GP, Consultant or someone at the online provider will need to sign off the prescription.

YANBU but I'm only recently seeing that for some people the inability to lose weight is because they are compelled to eat because of chemicals/hormones.

I've been overweight forever, but ordinarily don't eat like a fat person (less than 1200 calories a day and exercise regularly, yes I'm telling the truth, no I don't have a thyroid problem, yes my GP is also baffled).

However I've recently had to start taking anti-anxiety medication and for the first time in my life I need to eat almost all the time. It doesn't matter how full I am, I still crave eating. It's absolutely nuts. Whilst I was getting used to the medication I didn't really pay attention but after just 4 weeks I gained a stone that previously took ages to lose.

Exerting my willpower over a compulsion is much more difficult than just being sensible about what I eat. I'm at the point where I'm seriously considering whether this anti-anxiety medication is worthwhile because it took me so much work to get from BMI in excess of 42 to 'only' 34 where I've stalled

From this perspective, if you're a compulsion eater then ozempic might be worth the gamble to help remove that compulsion.

If it's just a matter of willpower to chose a salad over a baguette (in the simplest of terms) I don't think I'd risk medicating to try and lose weight - I'd use the money for help with meal and exercise planning instead.

Sorry my perspective isn't from someone who has taken the drug, but I have read a lot into it because I'd love to be a normal size and was hoping there was something magic in there that could help burn fat - but it's only an appetite suppressant.

Are you in the UK? If you are, you absolutely need a prescription. You can't buy it without one. I'm not talking NHS prescription but a private one, i.e. buying it online.

Unless you change habits long term the weight goes back on, take it from a yoyo dieter

I was approved for it by an online company so I guess it could be classed as a prescription by them, I didn’t have to give much information just the basics weight height etc and then said I would be perfect for it and it would meet my expectations after I spoke to them. I guess that could have been someone qualified but it was very informal .

also when I said prior it’s a quicker fix I mean it perceived as that to most people , i know it isnt in the long run

Yes, that's a prescription. If you haven't used it within a certain time frame though you'll need it reissued.

I can only speak from my own experience, but I have taken Saxenda, which is similar. I was on it for 1 year and lost 56 ibs. I used it as a way to lose weight but also figure out my disordered eating. The side effects were challenging to begin with, but manageable for me. I have gotten pregnant since and have managed to gain only the recommended amount and binge eating is a thing of the past for me. I have found it has worked and plan to use what I have learnt after the baby has been born to continue with another 2 stone loss to get within normal.

I need to lose 2.5st, don't think I would try to do this. I have an underactive thyroid and it might fuck up my metabolism even more than it already is.

Just fyi although I think everyone has a different situation; if you are worried about your thyroid, I have mine for medical reasons from an actual consultant endocrinologist and it’s fine with under active thyroid and thyroxine.

There is definitely some misinformation on here. I have no clue where someone got the idea that it “constricts your oesophageal”. This drug acts on appetite. I’ve been taking it for 8weeks, no side effects at all except I eat less, don’t think about food all the time and get full more quickly. Yes that won’t be the case for everyone but it is for me. I’m using this to lose some of the large amount of weight I need to lose. I’m not diabetic but do have high blood pressure and non alcoholic fatty liver, both related to my weight. I’ve been overweight since my teens, classic PCOS/insulin resistance, which I have passed on to one of my children (adult) too. I have lost weight, but only by going on to a 800-1000 calorie diet which really isn’t sustainable long term. I’m thinking of this as a drug to help my medical issue, in the same way my husband took antidepressants when depressed. He then came off them in time, I will hope to do the same with this.

Having been on for a while, do you think your stomach is now used to smaller meals?

So. I tried the daily liraglutide injection. Paid for it privately through an online pharmacy (UK).

I used it for 12 weeks and lost only 10lbs (@5% of body weight). I had significant side effects, getting worse as the dose got higher. It cost over £500.

By the end I really wasn't noticing it's effects - the amount I was eating had crept up to 'normal' levels.

6 months later, I had regained the whole 10lbs.

Just my experience. I know semaglutide is slightly different (and cheaper) but I don't think I would be happy to use it for the rest of my life and I don't think it would work long term for me.

I would only use it as a last resort, if the lifestyle changes etc weren't suitable.

But I'd also tell DP to fuck right off if he kept making shitty digs about my weight.

Thank you!

The point remains that most people regain weight after any kind of diet unless they make changes.

Maybe have read of the 4 long ozempic threads on here?
the side effects are nothing to worry about. A bit of indigestion (get that anyway when I binge) a bit of constipation in the first week (sorted by a senokot) and that's it. It's not a magic cure but for people who are obese and morbidly obese we clearly are shit at managing our weight alone and also are at risk of T2 diabetes so why not consider it?

regarding regaining weight - this happens with EVERY weight loss plan if you don't make permanent changes. There is no reason why ozempic would be any more likely to cause this than any other plan.

The thing that woukd worry me about Ozempic would be your appetite whooshing back with gusto once you stopped taking it. That could be hard to deal with.

Constricting the oesophagus is absolutely not an effect of ozempic. It might be a very rare side effect (though I've just googled and can't see it referred to) but saying this is just wrong. That's not how it works.

I wouldn't. I'd try to choose higher fat/protein foods, low carb no sugar first in order to feel less hunger.

I know when i was younger I'd diet but telling on foods in a wrapper, so I was always starving. I've been losing weight so slowly but since new year, I'm eating v healthily. Nothing complicated, just low carb, no sugar.

I agree that if you are obese or morbidly obese it’s something to consider.

Glad you have read positive threads. Just don’t underestimate the side effects I would say. Lots of people on MN have had brutal side effects causing them to be off work sick and even stop taking the drug altogether.

I take mine for other reasons but have still had brutal side effects as well. And the trouble is it’s in your body the moment that jab goes in so you don’t get to just stop taking it until it wears off naturally.

its just something to consider but everyone is in a different position.

good luck whatever you choose. X

The thing is the appetite suppression isn't linear and also reduces over time. In the first few weeks the effects wear off towards the end of the week so the appetite does come back and you have to learn to manage that. I've been on it for 11 weeks and the appetite suppression is much less than it was at first. However the effects of hormonal balance mean I can far more easily choose to make good choices, not binge and not snack. It's really not a quick fix and IMO does give space for people to find our issues with food and work on them.
i am really hoping that if I can use ozempic to get into 'overweight' not 'obese' I will no longer have the issues with insulin and blood sugar that are linked to my binge eating and will therefore find it much easier to continue with good choices even when I come off the medication.
anyone thinking it's a magic pill or a quick fix has misunderstood (probably due to the ridiculous media attention and the rumours of celebs using it to drop 20lbs in 3 weeks. Just not possible.)