Ozempic not working :-(

[Wildflower922]

Hi everyone,

I am entering my third week of using ozempic and the scales haven't moved- I haven't gained but I haven't lost a single pound.

I have been walking, eating very small amounts (handsize portions) no takeaways and plenty of fruit. I still do feel quite hungry on the 0.5 dose, should I move up to 1.0 after this pen?

I am very constipated and I'm going over to the pharmacy this morning to get a remedy but this can't be the reason the scales aren't moving.

I was also diagnosed with an under active thyroid which I started taking levothyroxine for 4 weeks ago, so I'm wondering should I contact my GP and ask if the pen is a waste of my time while on Levo.

Feeling a bit disappointed!

If you’re not losing weight then you’re eating too much and need to reduce your calorie intake or increase your exercise. Ozempic works by helping you reduce your portions, it’s eating less that makes you lose weight not some magic in the ozempic itself.

I'm only managing 1200 calories per day and it's healthy food, I really don't think I should be dropping the calories as that's pretty low. I'm walking 10k steps per day, I'm going to try increasing that with 3 bootcamp classes this week to see if I notice any difference.

I do think my thyroid is playing a part in this because when I hear other peoples experiences the weight seems to drop off with less effort than I'm putting in. Maybe some patience required also 😂

Hi there - there's a few threads running on other forums where it seems some people need to get to 1mg dose before they lose weight? If you Google it you should find it.

But worth checking out the interaction with Levo with your Gp

I was told by the pharmacist that prescribed my pen to give it 6 months; if by then I hadn't lost at least 5% of my starting weight, that would mean the medication didn't work for me and I shoud stop taking it. So, in your shoes, and especially with the thyroid issues, I would give it more time and climb to 1mg (as .25 and.50 are loading doses and too low to cause weighloss for some people).

Regarding feeling hungry on the medication, I strongly recommend increasing your protein intake at every meal (and snack, if you have them). Protein helps satiety, and is useful for so many things in the body (not just muscles and bones, but also hormones, enzymes and even neurotransmitters!).

My friend was on Ozempic for a couple of months and didn't lose a pound. But she is on heavy epilepsy meds and they cause her weight gain, so it just wasn't suitable...her extra weight isn't down to food. Check with your GP to see what the side effects of your medication are.

www.drugs.com/drug-interactions/levothyroxine-with-ozempic-1463-0-3878-18733.html

I suspect the levothyroxine is making the ozempic less effective. Definitely worth revisiting with your GP.

Weight gain is a symptom of an underactive thyroid so perhaps the levothyroxine on its own will help with your weight management?

Ok I've lost 7lb this month..turns out Ozempic does work, just requires some patience 😂

Another thing to contemplate is that fruit is high in sugars and relatively low in long-term energy-giving foods like protein. Swap out the fruit for protein (which will give you more nutritive value and energy - and keep your hair attached to your head, amongst other things…) It should spark metabolic response (despite levothyroxine) even though your thyroid response is slower.

What does it do? Reduce your appetite?

Download the nutracheck app , it's brilliant!

I wasn't losing using my fitness pal and got this then started losing on 1200 cals ..

It's very accurate and being short it makes a difference if you go over a few hundred !

I picked up my prescription today. I thought about everything I have coming up in the next few days, and realised that to minimize side effects affecting my plans I had to do it immediately. I gave myself my first shot in the tummy while sitting in the car in the car park looking very dodgy indeed. (Needles don’t freak me out, but giving it to yourself is a different kettle of fish to giving it to others!) No side effects so far!