“I started Ozempic last night” THREAD TWO

[HermioneWeasley]

Here’s a shiny new thread for everyone who’s been sharing their experiences on the original, and of course all new starters are welcome too!

but shouldn't you be on 1mg now?
The plan they sent for me said that.25 for 4 weeks then 0.5 two weeks them 1mg which the pharmacist said was the dose at which i would see some changes.
They were so clear that was was the trajectory so why are you still on 0.5 after 6 weeks?

Thanks for the new thread @HermioneWeasley

I’m now approaching the end of my second week and so pleased with the way things are going, 13 pounds gone 😁

I had a moment earlier when I discovered a box of M&S Colin cakes that I had put away after having friends round last week (that in itself was a miracle as I would normally have scoffed them on the spot) and I briefly considered cheating and eating them, but - PUT THEM BACK! A revelation!

I’m still on the 0.25 dose but waiting for Sunday and then will decide whether to stay on this dose or up it to 0.50. I’ve also decided that if I get really tempted to cheat tomorrow or on Saturday I’ll change my dosage day.

I have no idea? The clinician said I’d be on 0.5 for 3 months - when I questioned this she said they may move me to a higher dose by month 3 but they had limited stock. They are now trying to keep me at 0.5 which is doing nothing. As you say, I know that 1mg is an effective dose so super frustrating I am being kept at 0.5.
When did you start do you mind me asking?

sorry i meant to say 0.5 for 4 weeks then 1mg

only in December

so i'm still on the 0.5 dose fir another two weeks.
if they are short of the 1 mg why can't they issue you with two 0.5? pens?
maybe change to another supplier?

is it because of the saxender?

You must feel so frustrated 😔

A couple of thoughts:

Definitely change supplier - I am using The London Slimming Clinic and ordering from them has been very straightforward.

I have a similar amount of weight to lose to you and, whilst I know we are all different, 1500 calories a day sounds like a lot (I appreciate that if you aren’t getting any appetite suppression it is really hard to cut down on calories, but changing supplier and upping your dose should sort this). I try to keep my daily calorie intake to around 1000 and find that I only really lose if I make sure I don’t go over that. Could you aim for 1200 instead of 1500 per day to start with, once you are on a higher dose?

I’ll see what they say tomo if I can get a response. I do feel really fobbed off though and disappointed as I paid extra for a ‘premium’ service. I am guessing maybe they don’t have enough stock so are ‘managing’ stock levels rather than working diagnostically.

Thanks Abeachsomewhere - I do feel really frustrated. I’m constantly hungry on 1500 calories and hoped the meds would help me get appetite under control so I can lower calories further so shift the weight. If I get no joy from Juniper I will try your recommendation.

good luck tomorrow xx

@MaryPoppinjay - are you limiting carbs? I find it works much better if I do. Which makes sense as it doesn’t just work on appetite etc like Saxenda but on insulin.

Thanks orangelous - much appreciated x

@Peridot1 i’m not actually. Perhaps that is the next step as I do have PCOs and am insulin resistant. Usually fairly low carb but have been focusing on calories rather than macros. Thanks for the reminder

Hope it helps. I’ve known of quite a few people in a FB group I’m on say they were losing on 0.5 but stopped when they moved up to 1mg. So it definitely works differently for different people.

I've been getting mine from Numan rather than Juniper. Perhaps try changing to them?

This isn't good advice!
the whole point of ozempic is appetite suppression. 1500 calories isn't a lot, it's a losing figure for most moderately active overweight women. Cutting calories to 1200 will leave her hungry which is literally what we are trying to avoid on ozempic and means she might as well not bother.
ideally we would want to get down to that number effortlessly due to the appetite suppression but if it's an effort to stick to that then something is wrong.

However in other positive news, I'm wearing my pre-pandemic jeans today. It's not the most attractive fit I've ever seen 🤣 but it's the first time I've been able to get them on and done up since 2020. Which is very motivational.

@Abeachsomewhere @OneAndDon3 do you know if your suppliers have 1mg? I’m concerned a new supplier will start me from the beginning again or obfuscate like Juniper if they don’t have the 1mg.
@MaireadMcSweeney thanks for your advice - I know I should be losing at 1500 calories but I think for some people taking it that little lower is necessary - as you say I just can’t as I’m too hungry at 1500 to go even lower. I’m really hoping the higher therapeutic dose will work on appetite as I do believe in the product.

I switched to the virtual slimming clinic after not losing enough weight for my previous suppliers liking despite not having got to 1 mg. They were happy to continue on the trajectory and I got my first 1mg pen from them as my first order (having been on 0.5mg)

I think they import some supplies - not had a problem getting more (yet)

Whoop whoop @OneAndDon3

I'm having about 1600 at the moment ( not counting but I'm seasoned enough to know roughly what's what!) and lost 1lb a week which is not a lot but has been easy so far. I'm hoping to cut that down when my dose goes up but I'm not going to make myself hungry to do it as then I'd might as well not be paying £200 a month 😆 maybe weird logic but that's it

i completely misled you! Sorry just looked at my prescription and it is 0.5 for two months not one as i told you.
I must say i'm
really disappointed as i'm not losing any more weight and am
feeling as hungry as ever.
So solidarity with you here.
From what you have said looks like little point in asking the dose to be increased . i'm going away today for two weeks so i am going to just hope I can keep a lid on things and not regain what i have lost!
good luck

If you read my post, I said to reduce calories only once she is on a higher dose which then means appetite suppression. There is no way I would be able to eat what I am eating if I wasn’t on Ozempic and it wasn’t suppressing my appetite. I was just relaying my experience - with the appetite suppression - which is that eating at around 1000 calories yields weight loss. Everyone is different.

@MaryPoppinjay I’m not counting calories at all as I’d gotten into a really bad headspace a few years ago with dieting in general. But I know carbs are not our friends generally. And ultra processed foods. So I am trying to avoid them as much as possible. Reducing carbs and upping protein should make you feel fuller.

I started Ozempic on 0.5mg as recommended by the first supplier I used - The Virtual Slimming Clinic. I then switched to a different supplier - MedicalWeightLoss4You who I am still using. I switched because I joined a FB group about Ozempic and they run it. Even 0.5g is a fairly low dose although when I started it drastically cut my appetite. However Wegovy is prescribed up to 2.4mg. (It’s the higher dose version of Ozempic and although it’s been approved for use in the UK it’s not available yet. In the US Wegovy has been used for quite a few years. (If you know all this already I’m sorry but I know some people aren’t aware of the different drugs or names.)

So 0.5mg may well not be enough for you. But if I were you - especially with PCOS and insulin sensitivity I would definitely reduce the carbs and up the protein for a couple of weeks and see if that makes a difference.