To be considering buying Ozempic

[Spring5]

Anyone else on it? Whats your take on it?

im 40, 17 ish stone, 5ft 8in. The thought of another summer.. i dont want another fat summer, id like a head start on weightloss. Am i wrong to be considering this?

I posted a similar question few weeks ago and I got mixed replies. I am considering this because I am already hypertensive (brought on by pregnancy and childbirth) and on medication for if for the past 8years + & I am gaining more weight with work from home 5 days a week and I go no where at all so more or less housebound 🙈 & no motivation to exercise (sort of dealing with a lot personally as well).

I have been thinking of creating the time to research how to get Ozempic over the counter etc to go on it because I am at risk of heart problems if I do not control this weight although my last hear screening was perfect but then I am worried as I am getting older and the wait for the screening result few weeks ago was exhausting because I was very worried as I know that my diet and weight is gone worse and sudden love for food knows no bound.

Pls OP, can you put the link of where you signed up to get Ozempic otc here please.

Can you use it if you're not massively overweight? I need to lose two stone but thanks to PMDD I can't. I'd love to take it to lose that two stone.

You will get a lot of negative comments ('lose more muscle than fat' - wtf?) however I have nothing but positive things to say about it has been absolutely life changing for me.

Started last April and am now 7st down and feel great (BMI from 37.8 to 24). I am now weaning off of it but maintaining my weight loss.

It has changed my eating habits massively. I feel great. I have had some nausea (but haven't been sick) and some headaches. That's it.

For those that rush to say there are some real negative side effects (source?) there are some really negative side effects to being obese too!

Also it is easier to maintain my normal weight once I got here. It is too abstract to have enough staying power to stick to a diet when in reality you are so far from being a 'normal' weight not having that extra bit of food today is too far removed from being a normal weight in a years time iyswim?

Kate Moss said 'nothing tastes as good as being slim feels' - this means fuck all when you are obese. I had been overweight/obese for 20 odd years. I had no idea what being slim felt like! Now I do know it feels great and I will skip that extra bit of food to stay like this.

Absolutely life changing (also expensive - buying smaller clothes! And I love buying clothes now.)

I'm another one who has found it life changing. I've been on it nearly a year (ozempic then wegovy) and have lost over 5 stone, BMI down from 35 to 24. I have also been trying to consistently work hard at the gym. I believe that there is evidence that if you lose weight quickly without exercising then you lose muscle as well as fat (pretty obvious really) and can end up with frailty issues so it is important to also try to exercise to some degree. I think a recent panorama programme about it was saying this. I have found side effects very tolerable. I have got gallstones, which could be linked, but then I was a sitting duck for gallstones anyway as a fat, fair, forty year old female. It is absolutely something to be taken very seriously and important to research it will. But I'm so delighted with the effects. Very determined to keep up my exercise and continue managing my diet and maintain my weight when I come off it soon. I'm now getting it from Boots. I would echo the recommendation to check out the ozempic/wegovy/mountjaro threads on the weight loss board. And good luck, whatever you decide!

PS - Vinted will be your friend for smaller clothes 😁

I'd recommend bodyline clinic if you are in the NW. They medically supervise all WL medications. I chose the WL daily pills are they are cheaper rather than the weekly wegovy/ mounjaro jabs. I've lost 2st in 4months.

It's been an absolute godsend, I'm eating better and have established a great training routine.

@OhSmitty thanks

What is NW? 🙈

North west England.
Bodyline

There are lots of threads about ozempic, wegovy, orlistat, saxenda etc on the weight loss board

Following as I would like to start it also bit unsure how to source etc

Are there any you don't have to inject?

Is it a one off payment of £300?

No it's about £170 to £200

My doctor would likely prescribe it

but if you get terrible side effects from the injection, you’re stuck with them for at least a week? I have changed my rating and stopped taking ADs but progress is slow.

That's amazing well done! 👏

I’m a GP-

I’m supportive of it for weight loss reasons but where I work (and I believe most trusts) it’s not permitted for GPs to prescribe on NHS. Don’t blame your GP if they say no, it’s out of their control. I suspect there are negotiations going on in the background about who will be able to prescribe, to whom, where will the funding come from and be funnelled to etc…

It’s NICE approved and as long as prescribed and monitored appropriately in the private sector I think it’s a great new addition to the obesity toolkit. I have several patients getting it from private sector- we get copied in all prescriptions and monitoring (as can interact with anything we prescribe etc) and there are some decent and conscientious practitioners out there. There may be complete charlatans I don’t know about and never hear from… so do your research. Possibly chat with your GP… if they can’t prescribe due to formulary rules do they know of any reputable prescribers locally?

The infrastructure (clinics, appropriately trained prescribers with capacity to monitor) simply isn’t there in the NHS at the moment. The supply is an issue and concern (like so many medications now), especially when it impacts supply for people who already have diabetes and all the risk that diabetes brings. But that’s not your problem so I don’t think that should come into your own person decision matrix.

Does it interfere with HRT at all? I’ve just started an HRT trial but would really like to try ozyempic as well.

I don’t know of any interactions but I’d defo suggest get established on one medication trial before embarking on another.

Otherwise if you get positive or negative effects you can’t tell what the culprit is.

Trial the HRT, give it maybe 6 months with dose titration, and then see where you’re at.

I got saxenda but couldn’t bear to inject myself!! Waste of money

It costs somewhere around £150-300 a month, depending on the dose so it's expensive but worth it if you can afford it. I think few people get it prescribed by a GP, I didn't, but bought it privately online.

Im happy to pay for it, i believe its worth it for sure but wanted to go via gp to keep under their guidance/monitored

thank you for giving the GP perspective

You are getting a lot of horrible advice on here OP. Some wild internet rumours being repeated as ‘facts’!

It will help you lose weight. Primarily because it stops you eating. Some of that weight will be fat + some will be muscle. If you make an effort to do some weight based exercise along side your meds it will help counteract muscle loss

It is imperative that you use the time you are taking it to address the issues that lead to your initial gain - plenty of people manage to taper of it without significant regain if they’re sensible.

in your shoes I 1000% would. If I struggle to lose the weight after baby 3 I definitely will!

I started 10 months ago and have lost nearly 4 stone, going from 13st 2 to 9 stone 3.

I've combined it with intermittent fasting and added on lots of exercise - I've built up from puffing up hills on walks to running 3x a week (inc a 10k) and 2x PT. Whilst I may have lost a bit of muscle overall, I'm actually a lot more toned and can feel/see my leg muscles and abs in a way I couldn't before.

My BMI is now 23, my fat % has dropped from 42 to 26.5, my resting heart rate is 59 (down from 72), my VO2 max is now above average, my recovery rate has improved by 20 points.

I never went above 0.75 and did most of it on 0.5. I did have awful side effects for the first 3 doses of 0.5 (d&v, etc) but then I learned to eat extremely plainly in the day or two after the injection.

I'm so pleased I did it and persevered.

Pleasure.

Do, if you have a GP you know or trust, book an appointment to discuss it. Health promotion and risk reduction is part of our job. Patients motivated to improve their health are always a pleasure. They possibly (probably) can’t prescribe but they may also have signposts to other funded weight loss services.

Yes I agree you need to use the "breathing space" to ground new, better habits.

I am now much better at ignoring my "hunger" pangs - I realise it's just a sensation and that actually I'm not hungry. 9 times out of 10 I power through without caving into snacking etc. which is a huge win.