“I started Ozempic last night” THREAD FOUR

[HermioneWeasley]

Can’t believe we’re on thread 4

welcome back to previous posters, and welcome to those who are new or interested.

a few of us have been on Ozempic with a range of experiences for a few months now, so if you’re interested in how it goes in the early days, the earlier threads might be a good place to start.

I’ve been on it for about 6 months now and have lost around 20lbs. It has been effortless. I used to be ravenously hungry all the time, and now I’m not. I had very mild side effects at first (just some nausea), but none now.

most of us have referral codes for various providers, so if you are starting, do ask on the thread and someone will PM you.

@Peridot, I do know I am very lucky my GP prescribed it for me. I am so grateful. I collected it today. 4 boxes of Ozempic. I've got to keep it refrigerated. I was a bit surprised to get so many boxes at once. Each box comes with 4 needles so 4 weeks supply I am assuming. If I can only use a box for 4 weeks there will be 4 injections wasted from my first box. I am going to get extra needles and let DH have the 4 injections as he is overweight too. His GP would not prescribe but if he uses 4 shots from my first pen he can buy 0.5 supply and onwards. I'm hoping we can lose weight together.

Finally got round to taking my first dose. I wanted to avoid a few days this weekend where it would have been a shame to have any side effects interfere with them.

I followed all the steps and didnt feel a thing. To the point where I wondered if it went in at all! When I took it off a bead of liquid formed on the tip which I hope doesn't mean I took it wrong. The counter went back down to 0 and I counted to 6 after so I hope it is alright. It is expensive stuff to make a mistake with!

I'm def going to order some more needles. If I get results on 0.25 I'm not rushing to go up to 0.5. As much to limit medication in my system as to save money. Some people on a site sharing stories about it said they were able to stay on 0.25 for a fair few months and still got results so we will see. They were 3.99 for a box of needles from one online chemist which is much better than amazon.

I also got the bead of liquid the first time I took it and the second time there was a tiny drop of blood on my skin but they still worked fine (I would count to 10 to be absolutely sure). Often you don’t feel a thing, that is normal and it sounds like you did it right.
If you get results on 0.25 then I agree no point rushing to increase the dosage.

Can I please ask, is this the tablets? How do you get this stuff please? How do you take it? I'm not keen on injections but a tablet once a day could help me. I've tried everything else so might as well try a tablet. Is it expensive though?

Rybelsus is the tablet form of the similar drug. Please do some formal research.

Weigh day.
SW 103kg
CW 97kg. Loss of 1.5 kg this week
That's nearly a stone in 3wks ( 6kg)
Am happy with that!

I really would not describe them as injections , not even a scratch like the covid injection. On a scale of 1-10 I would describe it as a 1 you won't even notice when you inject. Just pinch the skin and go for it . I wish I had started months ago. Once a week is much easier than a tablet a day.
I am just over a week in and already 6 lb down already with sensible eating.
Someone gave me a Manual code and ordered at the weekend and my order arrived Tuesday, I took first dose before bed.

manual.co/r/U-zssqedIpja

I wouldn't even know what to do with the needles, how to set it all up etc, and I wouldn't want any kind of needles around with the kids (mine and niece/nephew). Also that site you linked to is seemingly for men? I've got bad vision so I think I'd struggle with attaching needles etc hence asking about tablets.

@caringcarer - good luck with it all. It’s amazing your doctor gave you four pens.

@NicolaSturGONE - the tablet form is called Rybelsus. Please research it before deciding to buy it or Ozempic. The needles are extremely easy to use. The setting up is literally just screwing the needle in its container onto the pen. And no danger to children as obviously you would keep them safely as you would any other medication.

But please research the drug and how it works and why and decide if it is right for you.

I’ve been on this for six weeks and I’m still having side effects. I’m determined to persevere, but I woke up this morning and was sick. TMI for a Sunday morning, sorry.☹️

Yes Manual is for generally aimed at men but it is ok for females to order the Ozempic from Manual too , there is a box to tick for females and lots of ladies on the whatapp support group , they send you a video showing you how to to set the pen up and use it and you will be allocated a member of staff to support you , in fact you select one based on your own preferences.
Lots of the vitamins are suitable for males and females I am taking the vitamin D. The shampoo is brilliant too.
As previous posters say , do your own research , it is very important to j Dees arms the drug and how it works but it is also very easy to use.

That's very unfortunate Ermine, try mint tea or ginger and lemon. Sorry you are struggling.

Day 4 for me today. The bloating and constipation has improved thankfully. I did have a huge sugar (read:chocolate!) craving yesterday. No healthy thing I ate was satisfying and I was eating more just to try to avoid it if that makes sense. Relented and made myself a hot chocolate which hit the spot. Managed not to let that be a slippery slope to a whole evening of bad food choices though so, although I was disappointed at the time and questioned whether the ozempic was working for me, I think it probably did help. Just need to wait and see what happens on weigh day (Thursday for me).

Could I ask some advice - I am eager to do my first dose but I have a horrible cold - can it just wait until better (is there a time frame that I have to start within a certain amount of days or is it safe in the fridge ?) sorry if that is a really silly question - or would you take the dose now anyway ?

It will be done In the fridge.
I find the effects start to wear off towards the end of the week . Think about what day you want to take the injection and which end of the week you have more willpower.
Friday night seems a good time to take it in case you feel a bit anxious.

Sorry , I meant it will be fine in the fridge.

@ErmineAndPearls - what did you eat yesterday? Too much fat or sugar or both could have made you sick.

@Sleepdeprived42long - if you are only on day four the medication will not necessarily be working fully yet so you shouldn’t really try and judge yet if it’s working for you. It can take time to build up in your system. Especially if you are on a low starting dose.

@Beenalongwinter thank you

Second dose day today! I feel the first dose has worn off to the point it is not doing anything, I feel 100% normal and felt fine after a meal out and a few drinks. Hopefully the second starts to build it up so it lasts more than half a week.

@Peridot1 yeah that makes sense. I’m just in my danger zone for chucking it all in and binging on unhealthy stuff so I’m determined not to this time!

Don’t be hard on yourself. One hot chocolate will not be too bad at all and you did well not to let your cravings escalate.
You’re only on day 4 and while some people do feel the appetite suppression immediately, lots of people need longer so just keep eating as healthily as you can and you will see some results soon.

So I had my first adverse side effect yesterday. We had steak, chips, veg and peppercorn sauce for dinner which is the richest thing I’ve eaten since starting ozempic and I could not get off the loo all evening! That sounds like a LOT of food but I had about 10 chips (skin on fries not big chips), a 1/3 of steak and a dessert spoon of peas with about 100ml of sauce. After weeks of constipation it had the opposite effect which was initially a relief but given we were trying to watch “everything everywhere all at once” (best film ever btw if you have Amazon and 2.5hrs to spare definitely give it a go) and had to keep pausing for me to run to the loo it got really annoying! Feeling very wrung out today. One thing I’ve noticed is that there aren’t really many foods I enjoy anymore. Once a week we have a bacon and egg bagel for breakfast which I used to love and now I eat about 1/3 of and don’t actually enjoy. I was eating it this morning thinking I’d rather be having porridge!

Oh and I started on 13th feb at 12st 12lb and I’m now 11st 10lb! I’m only 5ft 1 so have about 2st to go.

Funnily enough the feeling of not enjoying food anymore was a big element in why I decided to stop taking Ozempic. It did make me sick from
time to time and that was a big factor too. But even when I felt ok, I just had no enjoyment in food anymore and I really missed that!
I’m guessing that in time, people on Ozempic do start enjoying food again. But does that go hand in hand with eating more again and thus gaining weight? I don’t know. It must be hard to get the balance just right where people have little interest in food, but just enough that it is still a source of pleasure.

I get my first injection on next Wednesday. I've been practicing eating very small portions this week. I've managed to loose 1 kg all by myself. I'm determined to make it work with Ozempic. I've never been good with dieting but I'm booking a holiday for October half term for just me and DH as we have only had a few weekend breaks for last 2 years due to my weight and not being able to walk far. As it will be 7 months away I'm hoping to have lost 3 stone by holiday. Is this a realistic aim?