Saxenda support thread

[EmmaH2022]

Hi all

Continuing on from here

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/weight_loss_chat/a4172903-Saxenda-journey-all-welcome?msgid=115224282#115224282

First week done for me and I've lost 3lb. Bit disappointed as I've seen others lose a good amount their first week, but onwards I go and increasing to 1.2 this week.

I've just received my first pen and injected myself with the starting dose. I can't afford to lose weight too quickly because of a grumbling gallbladder, but I'm desperate to surpress my appetite as I could eat for England and my weight is increasing. I'm pre diabetic and my clothes are too tight. I'll be happy with a few lbs a week and to get off the chocolate.

I'm low carbing due to the pre diabetes. I can't eat wheat or oats because they spike me like crazy. My general health isn't bad. I'm really excited to stop eating all the time 😄

I'm
On day three and 3llbs down which feels unbelievable- staring weight 13:3 so not a huge amount to lose . Feel fine - slight dry mouth that's all.

This is now my 3rd week on Ozempic, not having huge losses like others on here, although some might be on Saxenda

I just dont know what others are eating calorie wise to lose so much so quickly. Im still on around 1k cals per day and its a steady 2lbs per week.

it is keeping my hunger and cravings at bay. Its like a miracle drug. No side effects so far.

I've been looking at Ozempic, as Saxenda is going to work out more costly in the long run, want to do this right to target weight. There are three different pens, 0.25, 0.5, and 1mg. Is that per pen, or the dose for 4 weeks? Do you start on 0.25 and increase if it doesn't work as well. I also like the idea of just injecting once a week.

I'm planning on doing Saxenda for a few months, then moving to Ozemoic. Has anyone done that, or is it best going to Ozempic now? I'm only in to week 2 of Saxenda and it's been great so far with very few side effects.

Yes thats why I chose Ozempic. What I had read on here and online was

• fewer side effects from what I could gather (or at least ones that werent going to affect me too badly, I wouldnt cope with dizziness or nausea and insomnia. I havent had any side effects on this
• cheaper, as far as I could make out, I found it impossible work out the cost of Saxenda with all the different amounts and increases, decreases etc
• convenient, I dont want to have to remember every day and keep track of doses, I would lose track and it would probably go wrong

So my pen is 0.25, each dose is that amount as I understand it. It comes in the pen which gives 4 doses, so just under a month. Mine was £140 but I found the prices varied wildly and probably go up and down. Im deliberating now whether to order my new pen at a higher dose or not.

Im not sure what it will give me to go higher, I only eat 1k calories per day, I think if I ate less I would get ill. I suppose I could go up to the 0.5 to see if I could go as low as 800 cals per day but not sure about my health if I did that. Sometimes my blood sugars are low I think, bit tired and shakey.

Im not hungry and to be freed from wanting food, craving food, thinking about food, planning food but equally planning how to not consume food is like a miracle for me. What a shame this was not invented 20 years ago. I just hope it keeps working on me. It will take me about a year or more to get 8 stone off at this rate

That's my worry @bellac11. I need to lose at least 5 stone, and Saxenda is £250 a month, whereas Ozempic is only £140/£150 which is more manageable long term. Where do you order yours from, and did you try Saxenda first?

I’m not losing big amounts on Ozempic @bellac11. 11 pounds over 6/7 weeks. I’m in a FB group for Ozempic and most people are similar. I know we al, want to lose quickly but its taken time to put the weight on so it’s bound to take time to lose it. 1000 cals is very low if you have 8 stone to lose. I have 5 stone to lose and am aiming for 1400 cals although to be honest not counting too much.

I took my second dose of Ozempic yesterday and so far I've no complaints or major side effects. I was on saxenda a while ago but found the daily injections far too much. Weekly suits me better. I did weigh in on Sunday but I think I'm going to give it a few weeks and no obsess about scale numbers. My appetite is reduced, cravings largely gone but I'm still eating with the family but smaller portions. Only side effect is constipation which I'm battling with that tea from Holland and Barrett.

@AdditionalCharacter

That's my worry *@bellac11*. I need to lose at least 5 stone, and Saxenda is £250 a month, whereas Ozempic is only £140/£150 which is more manageable long term. Where do you order yours from, and did you try Saxenda first?

No, I went straight for Ozempic, I got mine from pilldoctor, there are others though. I have my last dose next tuesday evening and then I will order again, just need to work out whether I stick to the same dose or not. I forgot a slight side effect, I am a bit bunged up which is very unlike me, not going to the loo every day is out of character for me.

@AdditionalCharacter - I initially got my Ozempic from The Virtual Slimming Clinic for £190 per 0.5 pen. This time I’m using MedicalWeightLoss4You and it was £150 per 1g pen I think. There is UK based Facebook group - “Ozempic for weight loss Support Group UK” which is linked to MedicalWeightLoss4You which is how I found them.

@bellac11 - constipation is my worst side effect. I’m struggling to drink enough water which doesn’t help. I’m taking Movicol and magnesium which is helping. Trying to eat more fibre too.

I started Saxenda 10 days ago, I was 14 stone 13lbs, I'm now 14 stone 5lbs.
I'm up to 1.2mg and , so far, no real side effects, tiny bit of nausea after going up a dose but nothing to write home about. My appetite is hugely reduced, I was a real binge eater, even of healthy food. Now I can manage a few mouthfuls and I'm full. I'll feel hungry, make myself my normal sized meal and manage a quarter of it.
Not worrying too much about how little I'm eating on any one day but trying to look at a week over all.

I think that if one had weight loss surgery you would be eating very little afterwards and Ive taken the approach that this medication is a non surgical version of it, so perhaps i should go up a dose and eat less. I wonder how many calories someone eats after surgery for around 6 months when they lose all that weight really quickly, are they eating around 500 cals a day or something?

@bellac11 - I don’t know how low people can go calories wise after surgery but it’s not the same as Ozempic. It’s taken you a long time to get to be 8 stone overweight and it will take time to lose it. Dropping your calories too low could make you feel weak and ill and could be counterproductive. 500 calories a day isn’t sustainable.

How much have you lost so far? What are you eating day to day?

I know some people are using Ozempic in conjunction with Slimming World and are having good results.

Ive lost 2lb per week the weeks I have been on the medication

I lost 7lbs the week before going on it but that was mostly water weight I beieve (first week of the diet thing, always happens to me)

It didnt take me long to be this overweight Im afraid! I do smile when people say this, I can put on weight in an incredibly quite time, so the weight went on in massive chunks, over quick time and stayed on. I can put a stone on in a couple of weeks without any effort and then its there for good.

I compared this sort of medication to weight loss, not because its the same as such but because if you have weight loss surgery, some of the bits of the stomach that are removed/bypassed/etc remove the trigger hormones to want to eat or to feel hungry and you cant fit much food in, in any case so this drug has done that for me, Im not hungry, I dont crave food, Im not interested in it, its a revelation for me

Therefore if you have weight loss surgery, you naturally cannot eat many calories per day, you would have to do that anyway if you had the surgery, it takes a lot of getting used to, so I will therefore feel the same as this in my head on this drug.

Im eating meals that I make myself, I batch cook low calorie,, high protein meals and freeze them, so lentils for breakfast, chicken and veg curry for lunch, usually a salad for tea, I try to stick to around 1k cals a day but must admit there have been lunches at work recently so some bread has crept in which Im trying to stay away from as its not good for me

Well I stand corrected on it taking you a long time to gain the weight! That’s quite unusual. To gain so fast rather than me being wrong that is,

You sound like you are doing really well I think. 2lb a week is great.

@Peridot1

Well I stand corrected on it taking you a long time to gain the weight! That’s quite unusual. To gain so fast rather than me being wrong that is,

You sound like you are doing really well I think. 2lb a week is great.

Well I do admit yesterday and today I didnt do great so back on the wagon tomorrow.

I've lost 3lbs so far. I'm low carbing, so I know it's mostly water, but it's still progress.

Not hungry and calorie intake has probably halved. Some willpower needed, but not much. Clothes already feeling a bit more comfortable.

Can I join please?

Just started taking Saxenda 2 days ago. Feeling cautiously optimistic. Am thinking about food a lot but not hungry if that makes sense.

My plan is cutting down on the huge portions of food that I eat and cutting out most of the snacks I also eat. I have a lot of weight to lose. Completely my own fault.

Does anyone get Saxenda by post rather than courier? Express pharmacy have run out who I usually use and everyone else seems to use couriers (who don't deliver to my area)

Thinking of taking the plunge but v apprehensive.

@cleaning247 - I think Lloyds pharmacies, Boots and Asda do Saxenda.

Do you know if they send out by post? I think I tried Lloyds but they were DPd. I don't have a boots or Asda within 50 miles

I use SimpleOnlinePharmacy for mine and they send out the pens by post.

I've lost another pound, so 4lbs now in total in under a week. I'm eating around 1000 calories a day. I don't know whether I'll increase the dose as I'm happy with the effects so far and it's stopped the sugar cravings at least. I do have to use the willpower, but I can't say it's too difficult. I'm drinking lots of tea.

Good luck to you all! I lost nearly 50kg on Saxenda last year, so it really works! I felt really sick for ages but you do get used to it.