"I Started Ozempic Last Night" THREAD THREE

[Athena51]

Starting a new thread as we are dangerously close to finishing thread two. So great to have this supportive community to share our experiences of taking Ozempic for weightloss.

"Old-timers" and new starters all welcome!

I seem TO lose (that was meant to say)

Welcome to the forum @IcanandIwill ☺️

I had my first pen from Quick Meds. Don't worry, you haven't done anything wrong. I filled out a form just like you did, then as I was new to Ozempic they followed up with a phone call. After that they dispatched my pen and it arrived very quickly. I think from start to finish the whole process only took two days. I contact them via Watsapp if/when I have questions, and they respond pretty quickly.

Hi @Lavendersquare, same and am also a bit apprehensive. Not really about the jab though, I think you will be fine there. I’m more worried I’m not a good candidate as although my BMI is 30, my blood sugar levels are good on a monitor.

I suppose I’m afraid they will go too low or I’ll mess them up naturally by taking a med. (Sigh) I’ll give it a bit more research before starting but am edging towards having another go at sticking to a programme of healthy eating and exercise while knowing I have this in reserve.

Heya!
what does your doctor/endo say about your concerns above? I would be guided by him or her.
have a great evening x

Definitely get off You Tube if that’s where you are sourcing your material; the injection is honestly such a non-even that you will laugh when you realise how easy it is. You coped with post c-section; you have absolutely nothing to worry about here x

When splitting a dose, you count clicks of the pen. So a 0.5mg dose from a 1mg pen is 36 clicks. There are plenty of charts available to tell you the dose per clicks. I've attached one here.

@Lavendersquare if you're very worried about the injection (it doesn't hurt), you'll probably find youve got a numb area somewhere in the vicinity of your c section scar. Just inject in that area

Thankyou @HeyMicky

A deficit of 1000 calories a day. Which means about 1500 most days; days where I do a lot of cardio I can eat a bit more

I had the c section injections and boy you can definitely feel them but with Ozempic I literally cannot feel anything. You'll be absolutely fine don't be nervous 💗

Does anyone have a discount code for my juniper ?

Thank you x

End of day 4/7 and still no desire to eat. Have eaten maybe 150g cold cooked chicken (picked at over the afternoon) and a banana. Feel slightly nauseous. Still in shock at how the drug works....

Sorry I’m probably being thick but clicks?! Does that mean you count each click as you turn to the dose as it also clicks when you’re turning it to check the needle flow. Or does it mean you count as the little dashes?

@Prettybubblesintheair - you count the clicks as you turn to the dose and then just press the button as normal.

The first time you count the clicks to your desired dose you can draw a mark next to that dash with a pen - then you can easily see where to stop next time ☺️

I am having a similar experience to some ladies. I feel the effects waning half way through the week...but i keep reminding myself that ive only had my second 0.25 on friday and in reality i was eating about 2500+ kcal on little exercise as i work in an office and have 3 kids under 7. Also remind myself that the current dose im on is just to get me used to the med. Im really happy to read that ladies who have been on it 2+ months are generally very happy with their loss and improved health. Im definitely having less kcal. Maybe around 1200 kcal 2-3 days after injecting and 1400-1600 kcal for the remainder of the week. To me and my out of control eating that is an achievement. We can do it :)

I also think that the feeling of fullness gives me guilt which is a result of decades of overeating. It may be that im eating less and feeling full (cos it is working) but psycologically feel bad as if ive binged....gives me time to rethink my habits and to try to think differently and food and fullness going forward.

I’m away at the moment so haven’t been reading the thread every day but have just caught up and read @Cherryonthetop2019’s post. I agree that it came across as possible more blunt than she meant. (Although I haven’t read the deleted post which was obviously not in the spirit!)

I have to say I have some concerns that some people don’t understand how the drug works and why before ordering. I think @Shuggbug mentioned low blood sugar - this is a drug that lowers blood sugar so could potentially be dangerous to take. It would definitely be an idea to mention low blood sugar issues to your supplier and be aware of potential issues.

If people just want appetite suppression maybe Saxenda would be a safer option? I’m not sure as I haven’t researched it.

I worry that some people just think this is a magic weight loss medicine and haven’t researched it too much. I’m not sure picking Ozempic over say Saxenda just because it’s a weekly injection as opposed to a daily injection is the right way to go. I think Lloyds chemist will prescribe Saxenda and monitor people taking it so presumably you could speak to a pharmacist about it and get reliable advice.

I am really not trying to be judgemental but I am worried at times.

I’m curious as to why you think Saxenda would be better for people than Ozempic? I believe it is the same active ingredient and has exactly the same side effects listed as a warning like nausea, vomiting etc, as well as the more serious potential side effects like pancreatitis. Like Ozempic, it is only available as a private prescription for the majority of people like us on this thread. If it were available free on the NHS then I expect people would naturally be drawn to it. The only difference I can really see between the two is that one is injected daily and one weekly and a difference in the way they are marketed. And you yourself made the decision to take Ozempic as a long term weight loss drug, so I don’t really understand why you think Saxenda is so much better for other people?

If I thought there was a big difference between the two I might switch to Saxenda because I am struggling with the side effects of Ozempic. But it has exactly the same side effects listed, and so does Wegovy which will become available as a weight loss drug later this year but also has exactly the same active ingredient.

And the low blood sugar risk that you mentioned @Peridot1 is also listed as a potential side effect for Saxenda so switching will not help anyone worried about that.
The side effects of the two products seem identical to me.

@Twiglets1 when I first looked into Saxenda it claimed to reduce appetite and help stop binge eating neither of which applied to me so I didn’t bother looking into it further. When I read about Ozempic it was the effect on insulin that interested me as I always felt there was something going on with me. It wasn’t just the appetite suppression that I wanted. They are different drugs in that Ozempic is prescribed to treat diabetes as you know and it lowers blood sugar whereas Saxenda isn’t so there is more of a difference than it first appears. You can get Saxenda thorough Lloyds pharmacies in the uk - they have dedicated weight loss clinics in stores. So not just online.

I have just been having a quick look and some articles do say that the only difference is the weekly vs daily injections but I really don’t think that that’s the case. Ozempic is prescribed for diabetics to lower blood sugars but Saxenda isn’t. It’s purely for weight loss. Ozempic is semaglutide whereas Saxenda is liraglutide. If they were the same surely Saxenda would be prescribed for diabetes too? But it’s not. So my concern is the blood sugar/insulin aspect of Ozempic and that people don’t seem to realise how it works and the potential issues. And why it works better for some than others.

I admit it’s pretty confusing!

This is me too.
I usually fast until lunch and skip breakfast but I'm finding I need to skip dinner instead.
I didn't want to do this as wanted to eat normally in front of my children! I need to find a good excuse as to why I'm skipping dinner.

I think you can address the low blood sugar issue by eating more frequently.
I think people who are fasting should make sure they are aware of this and eat something sweet straight away if they feel light headed or dizzy.
I make sure I have three meals a day, even if it's just a few bites and enough protein as this stabilises blood sugar.

I think they are basically the same thing and I have done a lot of research. We see a similar situation with Wegovy which we are told is basically the same as Ozempic yet Wegovy will be marketed purely as a weight loss drug. We also know that Ozempic can be used to lose weight as much as to help people with diabetes. The manufacturers of Ozempic have decided to introduce a new product labelled for weight loss and they are calling that one Wegovy. So it’s entirely possible that a drug that has several uses can be marketed as “for weight loss “ or “for diabetes”. That is a marketing ploy and you see the same thing with other drugs.

I know you are concerned about the blood sugar/insulin aspect and that is an important consideration. But the 3 drugs mentioned above all have exactly the same side effects including the risk of low blood sugar. So there would be no point someone worried about low blood sugar switching to Saxenda.

They are not the same drug though @Twiglets1. Saxenda is liraglutide whereas Ozempic and Wegovy are both semaglutide. Ozempic is prescribed for diabetes as the lower doses are sufficient to help with blood sugar. Wegovy is prescribed (in the US) for treatment of obesity as the higher doses have had better results for obesity.