“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.

I’ve taken my 3rd dose of .25 oz today so that’s two weeks I’ve been on it and have lost 7lbs which hasn’t felt difficult although with bmi still @41 I’ve got a long way to go. I’ve been lucky and not had any major side effects so all good so far. I was aware of thinking about food more in the last couple of days and being hungrier but it didn’t drive me to eat sugary rubbish which I’d normally do.
So this two weeks of not eating choc/cake etc has been amazing for me and I hope it’s helping a lot towards lowering my pre diabetic levels also. I did speak to my GP when I was starting it as I’m on other meds and have agreed that I could have another blood test in 3 months to check cholesterol and blood sugar levels (both are high along with high blood pressure) as I said it would help motivate me also if I could see change with those.

I’ve been reading the entire thread today, thank you for sharing your wisdom. I’m right on the border of overweight/obese but have PCOS and Rheumatoid Arthritis so really think I’d benefit from taking it.

Do all the UK providers want to contact your GP?

Manual do not need to contact your gp.
Ignore this question leave it blank and they will aak you to provide a torso photo in a tight fitting t shirt .

manual.co/r/U-zssqedIpja

Start the weight loss assessment answer the questions truthfully and eventually they will recommend the .25 Ozempic pen.
It's a little daunting to start the assessment but actually quite easy most of us place the first order at the discount price and then move on to another supplier with another discount 😊

Just administered my first dose! Excited to be on this journey, BMI 38, first goal is 1.5 stone down within 3 months ready for a summer holiday!

Before perimenopause I used to be able to lose weight if I put on too much- always after giving up smoking.

Perimenopause brought me a two stone weight gain after many years of my weight being stable. I've put another two stone on since then. I just haven't been able to eat little enough to lose any weight, it just seems absolutely impossible. I don't exercise as much because the weight makes it so much harder, also menopause has totally taken away my motivation.

So this is a bit of a miracle for me. I've been worried about how my weight is impacting my health and suddenly there seems light at the end of the tunnel. If I could even lose 2 stone I think I'd feel better.

I take my second injection tomorrow. I have eaten a lot less this week- I just don't want as much food. Yesterday I had a biscuit- I only wanted half of it, I left the rest on the plate!

I'm going out for Sunday Lunch on Sunday- I don't know how that will go. I won't want to tell my friends that I literally can't eat much of it!

Taking my second pen tonight. I’m down 5lbs since last Friday. Plenty more to go!

Thank you @Beenalongwinter

Hello all! I'm so glad this thread exists.

I'm taking my first dose before bed tonight. I'm 57, post-menopausal and I have about 40-50lbs to lose, but I only plan to take Ozempic for 6 months. My BMI is 33 and i currently weigh 193lbs.

I signed up with Manual for my first pen but I will be keeping an eye out for vouchers here.

I walk at least 10,000 every week day, and I don't have a sweet tooth but I live alone so I stress/boredom eat because there's no one to see me and frankly, my job is quite stressful. On the plus side I don't have to keep foods I want to avoid in the house.

I'm watching the thread and still catching up on the entries but I wanted to introduce myself!

Ok I've done it. I didn't even feel the needle going. Hope I did it properly!

Well done. It's scary first time and then you wonder what all the fuss was about. Did you count slowly to 6 before you removed it?

I counted to ten! :-)

@Polkadotties, what a good start you have made. Well done.

I had first dose of 0.25 mg Ozempic yesterday morning. Yesterday I ate ladle of chopped up fruit with 2 spoonful of low fat Greek yogurt, 1/2 tin of beans on toast slice of bacon and sausage and 2 egg omelette with lean ham. Today had ladle of fruit with low fat Greek yogart and 1 slice of bread with a bit of tinned salmon that was left in fridge. I thought I'd have other half of tin of baked beans and fish but just did not feel hungry and did not think I could eat it. Are others feeling like this? Is it best to try to eat a bit or not to bother if just not hungry? My blood sugar was 5.8. Nurse told me I must keep it above 5 so have to check it twice a day, morning and evening.

Mine arrives tomorrow. I’m starting in 0.5 as I selected this and they did the call the discuss with me and didn’t seem concerned. Am I wrong going straight in for 0.5???

im nervous.

It’s unusual to start at 0.5, is there any reason for it? Normally people start at 0.25& even at that dose some people like me get very nauseous or other side effects. I would take at least the first couple of doses at 0.25mg to see if you get side effects before moving onto a higher dose.

@Twiglets1 i don’t really know! I just selected one with the logic that the pharmacist would be calling me anyway. Think I will take a half dose so ease myself in. Thanks for responding x

You should have selected 0.25 if this was your first time using Ozempic or similar. Oh well, I think it will be safer for you to take 0.25mg anyway. It might seem like a small dose but it makes plenty of people tired or nauseous so start with the first dose and then move up after four weeks to 0.5mg if you’re ready to. And Good Luck with losing weight 🤞

It is usual to have 4 weeks at 0.25 to get used to it.
You can use the 0.5 pen to do this I think and the bonus is it will last you longer. You can easily buy spare needles online.

Well I just got paid, been watching the clock for the money to arrive into my account and got the first one from Manual. Let’s see how this goes! I’m worried about feeling sick as am emetophobic so fingers crossed I don’t get that side effect!

Hope everyone is feeling OK. I'm taking dose 3 tomorrow, will weigh myself on Monday and let you know when the numbers are in. Current BMI 32.5. I got a really strong appetite suppressing effect from day 2 and have barely thought about wine or carby salty snacks (normally my downfall, so a great win health wise regardless of the weight). Calorie deficit is the only way I lose weight (as my GP said, diet is 80-90% of weight loss; "Exercise is great for many things but where you lose weight is in the kitchen") and I've never found it so easy to consume less than 1200 kcal a day as with Ozempic. It's also really made me think about portion sizes, the nutritional value of my food, and how I have been self medicating with pure junk/comfort eating for so long. It really feels like an eye opener to get a "break" from self destructive behaviours iyswim.
I burp more but my main side effect has been (sorry if TMI) v loose bowel movements (every day except one). I don't have a gallbladder and I wonder if that might be linked. It's manageable though.

I started on 0.5 because the site I used only offered that or 1mg. No particularly noticeable side effects for me, mild nausea on occasion but that's about it.

Glad it worked out ok for you.
Nevertheless, the official guidance is to start at 0.25mg to minimise side effects so that is what people should aim to do. There is no way of knowing before you start Ozempic whether you will be someone who suffers bad side effects or not.

The site you used had probably run out of 0.25mg, but in that situation I would advise people to use a different supplier or to buy the 0.5 pen but only administer a 0.25 dose for the first 4 weeks by counting the clicks.

When I started taking Ozempic before there were so many suppliers, I was advised to start at 0.5 as 0.25 was considered to be the starting dose for diabetics and 0.5 for weight loss.

I did have some nausea, tiredness and sulphur burps but it was fine overall. Advice may have changed but starting on 0.5 isn't necessarily a disaster.

Thanks for all the advice. Think I’ll just got for .25 this week to see how I feel. Really appreciate the feedback from someone that’s actually taken it. I’ve done quite a bit of research but it wasn’t all that clear with mixed messages about the dose x

When does the nausea subside? I’m a couple of days in and I’ve felt very queasy and have had lots of gallbladder type pains that eased when I used Buscopan.

Happy to stick it out but would be great to hear experiences of others 😊