To try and get Ozempic even though I’m not obese?

[Campensation]

Named changed and a regular user.

Being completely transparent here, I want to lose a bit of weight in a rush before a holiday. Hands up, I’m crap at dieting and it’s my own fault.

I am looking at getting a private prescription to assist this so that my clothes arent tight and all I hear and see is that Ozempic seems to have excellent results. I have researched and there are companies where you can order online by submitting weight /height and a photo.

My BMI is 23. So not overweight really. It’s purely for aesthetic reasons.

I think this is actually happening quite a bit in the USA (ie normal-sized people are using Ozempic to shed a few kilos for vanity purposes) and it looks as if it can be done safely enough if you can afford it and don't mind risking the side effects.

Nonetheless, there is always the potential for rebound weight gain once you discontinue, as well as the need for weekly injections, which wouldn't appeal to me. Also, I think the average weight loss among obese people is about 10% of body weight in six months....i'm thinking that might be a bit too late for this summer already?

BMI is based on height vs weight, so even if the OP is 4'2 she is still slim!

I have a history of disordered eating so would stay well away from Ozempic and the like but isn't it an appetite suppressant more than anything? I've always assumed that for someone like me - who doesn't eat because they're hungry but because they're trying to fill an emotional need - it wouldn't do anything much.

@PussBilledDuckyPlait very true. I was thinking if she was her current weight, at 4'2 😁 But yes you're right of course 👍

@Campensation - I get you about the dieting and restriction. I did it for years. Every bloody diet. Every bloody diet book. All of it. (I’m 58). I ended up depressed and felt a complete failure. I have huge issues with the diet industry as a whole.

I tried to reframe it all mentally. It’s taken time but I’m trying to look at it all differently. I’m on Ozempic now but I know that going forward I need a plan. Or I’ll just put all the weight back on again.

So I’m reframing my approach to exercise. Previously every exercise plan was purely to lose weight. Now I’m reframing it - I need to walk/move as our bodies need to move, it makes me feel better, it gives me more energy. Strength training is because I want to feel stronger.

Food - I do better with lowish carbs but not no carbs. So I limit them Monday to Friday. Not cut out completely but limit them. If I’m hungry I eat. But I try to eat protein. Keeps me full. And I’m trying to eat healthier foods because I generally just feel better when I do. It’s not a punishment. I’m not keen on counting calories as I just get obsessed and feel shit.

You don’t need a drug like Ozempic. You need to feel better in yourself. You need to eat healthy sustaining foods because they are better for you and your energy levels and your skin and hair and everything else. You need to do some form of exercise for time for you, for your energy levels and to be able to stay fit and healthy.

You deserve to feel fit and healthy and full of energy. You don’t need any sort of punishing regime.

@mynameiscalypso - there is some appetite suppression but that wears off. It’s not how the drug works.

Why would you do this with a BMI of only 23? This is a drug made for diabetic patients to bring their blood sugar levels back into line and is now for patients with a BMI of 30 and over. You have to load the dose in 3 stages, which takes around 10 or more weeks before you're on the full dose. Before then you get a ton of headaches and feel quite sick and only a small weight loss. I find this, frankly, pretty ridiculous.

Plus - when you come off it again you're absolutely ravenous and put the weight back on (and for some more than you actually lost in the first place) pretty quickly.

I can tell you that I definitely don’t look like that silhouette!! 😂

Ok I’m getting the picture that this might not do what I want it to. Appetite suppressant is what I had in mind. But I wouldn’t want to stay off it to avoid rebound.

Thanks to everyone who has posted about their own experiences, seems it may not be quite as good for everyone as I’m reading on the Ozempic threads on Weight Loss Chat. But there seem to be a LOT of people on there who are saying it is life changing and they have stopped thinking about food and the ‘chatter’ in their head has gone. I assume they are not making this up.

Rather than take a drug that isnt FOR you, and has the potential to completely fuck your body up JUST so you look good in a bathing suit, perhaps you need to work on confidence, self esteem and fitness to tone up and make you feel better about yourself.

Imagine something happened and you were sick, and you couldnt spend time with your children because you were worried about how you looked in a swimsuit?

You need to give your head a fucking big wobble, because I guarantee your arse isnt!

This isnt about weight at all. This is about self esteem.

Ok great I’ll just sort myself out with a complete personality transplant in 4 weeks 🙄

I can’t fathom why you’d want to risk your health when it’s totally unnecessary. I’d suggest some counselling might help instead

I was prescribed Ozempic last year. I am hugely overweight...probably more than anyone else on this thread. For me it was life changing. Yes there was nausea, some vomiting etc., but my appetite was diminished, my cravings disappeared. I was refusing chocolate as I genuinely preferred some fruit. It was great....then the shortages happened. So many people are ordering it on private prescriptions etc. that there is a huge shortage. I haven't been able to get it since December. My pharmacist keeps trying, but some months only get two or three pens which he has to give to diabetic customers.
I wish people didn't try this as a quick fix for a couple of pounds.

You don’t need an entire personality transplant.

Your overeating seems excessive to you. But if your bmi is 23 it’s not excessive. You are maintaining a perfectly healthy body weight.

So unless you are throwing the food back up, you aren’t over eating. You are eating the right amount of food. If you are throwing the food back, you have an eating disorder. And not disclosing that, is really dangerous for you. You have come here and asked advice on something potentially damaging to you, without disclosing an eating disorder. That could lead to really bad advice. Or it could have led people to supporting you, when they really shouldn’t.

also if you have an eating disorder, and don’t disclose that while trying to get a prescription, you are putting yourself in danger.

you don’t need to lose weight. You need to build muscle I would guess. Also very difficult in 4 weeks.

You could, however, make some small changes. Even if it’s live on ready meals to take the thought out of it and eat fewer calories than you are now. Or swop a couple of snacks a day. Or just track what you are eating and work to reduce it. But again, if you do have an eating disorder then you probably shouldn’t do any of this

A drug isnt going to cure you of what is clearly disordered eating/image in 4 weeks either.

It's OK for people to feel unhappy with their size/weight even if they are within the clinically healthy range. If someone has been say a BMI of 19 all their adult life and then finds themselves at BMI 23, that would be quite a lot of weight and not be ideal for them.
Posting on an anonymous forum to voice these opinions and admit that it is for aesthetic reasons is IMO fine.

Are you aware that in the trials it caused thyroid and throat cancer in Rats. Tells you this in the small print if you read it. not really a chance I’d be willing to take to shift a few extra pounds…

Be prepared to be on it for life, with the cost and side effects, or be prepared to put weight back on.

More people need to look into Zoe, fantastic science backed by Tim Spector. Specific results on your own blood sugar, gut health. It’s expensive and a one off cost, no need to keep paying for the app once you e switched your diet.

I went from approx size 10 to size 8, just what I wanted. Feel wonderful, loads of energy. Have stopped in pregnancy but plan to start up again at some point.

No quick fix, just eating for my body and being sensible most of the time.

I don’t think you’d get it on a private prescription anyway if you’re not overweight. I know someone who tried it and side effects were awful.

@Campensation - I’m on lots of the Ozempic threads in weight loss chat. Yes a lot of people say the food chatter goes. It did for me initially. It’s back now though. The other thing you have to remember is that most of the people on those threads are quite overweight or obese.

One of the suppliers of Ozempic even recommends a fibre supplement to help with appetite suppression - glucomannan. That tells you it’s not all about appetite suppression with Ozempic.

Why not have a look at the dedicated ozempic boards? Most of the people over there have a LOT of weight to lose. A BMI of 23 is literally a dream for many many people.

With so little to lose (must be a few lbs at most?) I would be looking at a calorie deficit in the short term but being strict with it. Ozempic is designed for long term use.

I'm not trying to belittle you. But to feel so bad about a few lbs, I do feel PPs are right that you maybe need to look at your self esteem. Our bodies change when we have babies. I’m v v v overnight (BMI 38+) and have been for most of my life. But I carry my weight completely differently since having DC.

Lots of judgey pants today. I am taking Ozempic for 3 months. Im half way through. I'm menopausal and have to almost starve and work out 5 times a week to lose half a pound. I have lost half a stone in the past month and a half and silenced the constant food chatter in my head. I was overweight but not hugely. I confess I was creative with my BMI answers when applying. I did feel a bit queasy during the first week but think that was just because my blood sugar was dropping as I was eating less. I've also had slight constipation but am otherwise grand. I also have no desire to drink alcohol so that's helping with weight management and general health. I don't have adverse effects if and when I do drink. Going on holiday in two weeks and relieved to be a bit wobbly rather than fat.

You would be an absolute twat to do this. People who need the drug for genuine medical conditions (including a close family memeber) are struggling to get it due to the craze. They can get it but the price has sky rocketed (they are not in the uk) and they are not sure now how much longer then can actually afford to keep taking it

God, look, I'd be tempted as well because my willpower is fucked and I always leave things to the last minute.

When I had trouble zipping up my wedding dress 3 weeks before the wedding I did a few weeks of the Paul McKenna's gastric band hypnosis audio- I lost over 3kg before the wedding which was enough to make the dress fit me nicely again.

I must start it up again. It was brilliant, I had no cravings or anything!

That might work for you OP if it's only a few KG you want to slim off you and it's less drastic than off label medications