Ozempic - For those of us a few months in

[Lndnmummy]

Hi all, thought I would create a designated space outside of the newbie zone for those of us who are in it for the long haul and are a few doses, stone, months down the road.

For those of you worried about supply issues it may be worth thinking about switching to the tablets (Rybelsus) if you can’t get hold of the pens.

Hi everyone,

I’ve been on ozempic for 2 months now, switched from saxenda. I’ve lost a stone but still have 5 to go! Took my last dose of 1mg on Saturday and haven’t been able to get supply anywhere.

Is anyone else worried about how they’ll keep losing once the effects of 1mg wear off now wegovy has been pushed back indefinitely? I’m considering doing a reset, coming off and starting from scratch. I did that with saxenda a couple of times and it worked but I only needed to stop for 2 weeks. I’m not sure how long it would take with ozempic because of the longer half life….

I know some suppliers are prescribing over 1mg but it also costs £250-£300 per month then and I switched from saxenda to save on costs.

That's a good idea @Peridot1.

My take is that the shortages have made me even more determined to stay on 0.5 as long as I can and try using daily soluable fibre, low carb, highish protein, GLP-1 agonistst promoting food and 16/8 IF to manage my food intake with Ozempic just there to bolster all of that.

I realise that I'm just making this up as I go along, it's not the "Way of Ozempic" that many choose but if I can maintain a slow but steady loss this way without seemingly impacting my daily life at all I'll be a very happy bunny. I suppose I'm going for consistency over speed - It also means that each 1mg pen lasts 8 weeks so gives me time to source supplies.

Lots of people are only increasing dosage when it wears off. I did that, it took me 5 months to titrate up to 1 mg. We've had shortages of ozempic for nearly a year here so people are playing with dosages to keep their pens useful for as long as possible. My GP was happy I was doing this

@LovelaceBiggWither Yes my GP is happy with this approach too. He's not able to prescribe it but I'm updating him monthly now, he's fully supportive - he's a good 'un!

I've just managed to source a 1mg pen from juniper although it hasn't been dispatched yet, so fingers crossed. I am hoping to stay on the 0.5 dose for as long as possible because so far it is working. I am only losing a lb a week but I'm actually happy with the slow and steady approach. Hopefully supplies will be back up by the time I need my next pen!

I’m still trying to decide whether to go up to 1 or stay on 0.5. My week stall seems to have broken now so hopefully was just a combo of a bad bank holiday weekend and the fact I turn into a water balloon a few days before my period. Not due to go up until Sunday so I think I’ll do the 0.5 I’ve got leftover from my original 0.25 pen and then decide in another week whether to increase to 1 (or even try 0.75).

officially a stone down as off today, not too bad for eight weeks! Bmi is now just a touch over 26 so I really expect that loss to slow down as I get close to 25. Hoping to get to 25 by the start of July.

Anyone who has ordered from Bury - so you place the order and then make a bank transfer?

I started my 2nd 1mg pen yesterday after sourcing it via Juniper last week, but by the sounds of it everywhere is running out of stock. @orangelotus is was me who posted about Bury pharmacy last week, but sounds like their also out of stock too which was my back-up if Juniper couldn't supply a 1mg pen. @mumwheresmyribena I'm contemplating going back down to 0.5mg next week to stretch this pen out and being a bit stricter with eating as must admit I've been slowly increasing my carbs which only makes me crave more so must be working against me too!

I'd lurked on these threads for months before starting in February as wanted to research more into it and make sure it was the right option for me. I have observed a massive increases in new users on these threads alone over the last 3-4 months which probably has been fuelled by the media too so inevitably contributing to the supply issues. Also not sure if I read it on mumsnet or reddit but UK supplies appear to have been impacted by Canadian pharmacies sourcing Ozempic from the UK. Additionally increased demand in Canada has been due to people in US sourcing it from Canada as it's apparently much cheaper ($800-1200 per pen in US without insurance, that's about £630-950!), thankfully Canada have put measures in place to block non-Canadian orders but probably not tight enough. Also have seen threads on reddit from people in US asking where they can buy online in UK, although shipping costs would probably double the price of the pen, it's probably still cheaper than the US prices, hoping UK suppliers are also cracking down on this! It's absolutely bonkers! I'm assuming Nova Nordisk must be having a serious supply issue if they're pushing back on Wegovy in the UK indefinitely:

https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/drug-maker-novo-nordisks-q1-beats-forecasts-2023-05-04/

I saw someone else suggest that purchases from the USA could be partially to blame for our shortages but when I checked Quickmeds, MJ and Manual none of them would ship to the USA. I would have thought Mexico would have been anyone in the USA's next port of call or even South America

OMG, I'm getting 'Ozempic arms'!!! No Ozempic face yet, but I just noticed the loose, slightly orange peel-ey skin on my arms....yikes! I guess I'll have to start doing some arm exercises although I hate them...😞

I've been on Ozempic (Juniper) for three months now. I am a stone down, but I lost most of that in the first eight weeks. I had to have a week off about three weeks ago - my side effects were just too much. Since getting back on it, I've felt ok, but I haven't gone back to the same appetite suppression. Here's my question: do you remember what it was like when you moved up from 0.5 to 1mg? Am I likely to have those side effects again?

Supply seems to be getting very bad. I have been on 1mg for a while but think I am going to go back down to 0.5 for a few weeks to eek out what I have left.

I ordered through Bury last week. I paid through my banking app. I had to confirm that I was aware it might be a scam but happy to proceed. I got a message saying I needed to do the online consultation and then they would send it out. It came 2 days later. I ordered from Quickmeds last night as going away soon so need my next one in the fridge. I’m awaiting confirmation of dispatch.

I wondered if I could ask if any of you donate blood? I am due to donate again next week and wasn’t sure if they would accept me as I am injecting myself. I have rung and asked but the chap on the phone appeared confused about what I was taking and said it was fine. Anyone else give blood?

I saw on Tiktok that Health Express will be prioritising current patients and if you have ordered from them before they are holding stock specifically for you. If its showing as out of stock, make sure you are logged in.

I've stuck with Juniper from the beginning, mostly through laziness to be honest, but they've not given me any issues or worries so far in 4 months and 4 deliveries

@MiniCooperLover They won't take mine any more, my veins don't cooperate with their "new" equipment, it was perfectly fine for 35 years then decided it wasn't - hrmphh. Anyway I can't find it on the English site but the Welsh transfusion website thinks you're OK. https://www.welsh-blood.org.uk/can-i-give-blood/taking-medication/

I tried to get a 1mg pen from Ozempic today (my second 1mg from them).

They were showing as out of stock but I could still make payment.

I'm wondering if it's worth paying and hoping for the best? Problem is I can't afford another £150 if I get a fortnight down the line with no delivery and my current pen is finished.

Can anyone advise?

Has anyone ordered on dailychemist?

I ordered and paid mid April and haven't received anything. I have emailed them to enquire....

This is interesting but didn't work for me.

Yes - also ordered mid April and chased them up around a week later and then it was delivered.

I've gotva horrible metallic taste . It seems to be worse 2/3 days after injection. Is there anything I can do to help this?

As of this morning I am 14st 8lbs with a BMI of 32 (I'm 5ft 7). When I started I was 20st 2 with a BMI of 44, so I've lost 5st 8 since January 2022 with the odd break here and there.

My next target is 14st 2 which is my 6 stone loss and will take me under 200lbs - a real milestone. Then it's to get to 13st 9 which will make me just over weight and not obese. Final goal is around 11stone and a BMI under 25.

I was a size 22 (at least, elasticated waistbands hide a multitude of sins! Now I'm a 14-16 depending on how fitted, style etc. I'm an hourglass who carries weight fairly evenly but not really round my middle so I go up and down clothes sizes quite slowly.

Life is very different to how it was at 20 stone. I eat healthily, I go to the gym 4 times a week and weight train. I don't binge anymore. I still have to work at it but I have never had to go above 1mg. In fact at the moment I am taking 0.75 a week and still losing consistently. I hope that means that I will be able to to come off it and maintain the weight loss with the new lifestyle that I have used Ozempic to adopt.

I'm post menopausal and in my mid-50s. I had real issues with emotional eating that I have worked on. I have been a yo-yo dieter since my teens. I was contemplating weight loss surgery. For me Ozempic has been a life saver, it's as simple as that. Hopefully I can still get hold of it and get to my goal!

That's absolutely amazing Athena keep it up.