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.

I'm sure it will change as more drugs come on the market and there is longer-term evidence. I think we are just at the beginning of effective medical treatment for obesity. Mounjaro (tirzepatide) is supposed to be more effective than semaglutide and there will be others I'm sure.

When there's more competition then prices will come down, the next few years will be interesting!

I'm in ROI so only a few providers ship from UK to here and shipping is costly. I started on saxenda in September and changed over to ozempic in November. I'm down 35lb and taking 1mg. I am now in a healthy weight range and would love to stay on a maintenance dose. Anybody tried doing this?

That's me just completed week 6 and I'm now 10lbs down.

I'm on 0.5mg and I felt it wearing off around day 5 but I don't mind as for me this is about changing my habits around food and exercise so I make life long changes and don't gain the weight back. I've been reading a lot about weight training so that's my non scale target for the next month.

For anyone interested, here are the NICE guidelines, which govern what the NHS does. You can still go private for as long as you're prepared to fund it I think, but as a PP suggested, it's evidence based and NICE only goes by (currently limited) available evidence.

The other thing is that you have to have a weight related health issue - diabetes, certain heart problems, high blood pressure etc.

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/TA875/chapter/1-Recommendations

Hi all,
I've increased to 2mg a week and it's finally working. Just to say, I am Type 1 diabetic (not to be confused with type 2!!) but as I am a bit overweight (BMI of 31) and very insulin resistant and have fatty liver disease, my consultant has agreed to me being funded on the NHS for it.

My blood sugars are SO much better on it, even though I am Type 1. 0.5mg and 1mg didn't touch me, but I was on Victoza previously so I think my body was just used to it.

I came off ozempic after getting to my goal, I gained 10 pounds rapidly. I’m now back on 1mg but my appetite is increasing.

That’s really interesting @mummylondon16. And frustrating I’d say. Can I ask what sort of things you are eating? Did you change how you ate while on Ozempic? Are you exercising? Did you decrease the dose gradually or just stop once you got to your goal?

sorry if that seems a bit 20 questions!

I’m probably a bit of an odd case. I have autoimmune thyroid disease which was undiagnosed until I was 30. When I started realising something was wrong ( memory loss, hair loss, rapid weight gain, bowel and skin issues), I basically spent the last 10-12 years researching, and started taking natural dessicated thyroid plus started testing my blood so I knew where my thyroid/inflammation/vitamin levels were. Eventually that resulted in losing 3 stone and becoming very active: I was ecstatic. However at some point when I hit 40 things went weird again despite my bloods being good. I gained 2 stone back. Even with calorie counting and being very active ( running, walking, doing weight training). I was doing between 15-20,000 steps a day at that time. I don’t drink and I’m veggie so my diet was pretty good.
anyway when I started on ozempic I just stearted a new job so I was super busy: I think I was eating around 1000-1500 calories a day and still running and walking loads.
currently I’m still eating very few calories but my appetite is back, and I’m still super active, 25,000 steps a day on average. I’m worried about what I do now whether I stop altogether or increase. Between oxempic & NDT I pay £300 a month so it’s a big dent in my finances.

yes I stopped suddenly which was stupid on reflection.
I would say if you don’t have metabolism issues like me and approach it smartly you might fare better: try weight training anc eating high protein ( the scales might go up but you will look slimmer, take photos and measurements), also reduce gradually- learn from my errors!

Has anyone taken their pen in hand luggage on a flight?

yes i took it in hand luggage ( needles in the checked bags) to thailand recently all in all took 5 flights was not asked once to explain anything.
i put it in the clear plastic bag.
I think they are used to insulin pens.
I originally got mine from juniper and they wrote a covering letter plus a prescription which i printed out but did not need.
I'm travelling again on Thursday but have changed supplier so do not have the covering documents so hoping all will be ok .

Thank you. I'm only taking hand luggage so I'm worried about the needles.

I bought my last pen from Quick Meds so have sent them a message. Fingers crossed they can help. I only need to take 1 needle.

in your case i'd fix the needle to the pen so it's ready to go and it presents as a unit.
Those needles are so minuscule you couldn't really harm anyone with one as far as i can see 😊
Have a great trip !!

@mummylondon16 - thanks for the detailed reply. Sounds like you really got hit by a whammer of complications all of which contribute to your issues with weight. It seems extremely unfair you have to fund it all yourself. I wonder if your insulin response is out of whack along with the thyroid? I’d have said you would be a great case for an interested endocrinologist if you could find one. At 40 your hormones will be all over the place too I’d say. I’m reading a book called The Miracle of Bio Identical Hormones which is interesting on the subject of oestrogen. The author calls it a fat builder or similar. So many women gain weight around peri-menopause and menopause and sometimes that’s exacerbated by HRT. Sometimes it’s helped by HRT of course. I think if I were you I would go back on Ozempic (finances permitting) and try to get back to where you were and then gradually decrease the dose. And see how you go. Find your sweet spot as it were. A bit like the old Atkins diet - the recommendations there were to lose the weight and then gradually increase carbohydrate intake (healthy carbs) in increments to see how many grams of carbs you could eat without gaining. In this case reduce your dose to see how low you can go without gaining again. And maybe investigate the hormone side too. I wish you the best with it all.

@HolibobsinApril - I’ve taken it on flights both with and without the needles. No issues. Keep it in the box with all the info. They are used to people carrying insulin etc.

Thanks @Peridot1 and @orangelotus

With regards to Menopause.

What happens with hormones after menopause? I'm thinking that if I can get through menopause with Ozempic (and any other help needed) and come out the other side lighter than I am now, do you think it will all settle down? Or is that very naive?

No idea really @HolibobsinApril. Ozempic is still a relatively new drug obviously. And while hormones fluctuate a lot and can lead to weight issue etc before, during and after menopause it’s really hard to say how each person reacts as we are all different.

Hi, I feel like I might be ready to graduate to this thread! Maybe in mindset rather than in weeks under my belt. I'm on week 5. Slow weight loss so far - I'm hovering at 9lbs down. Started at 227lbs so I've got a long way to go. My goal is anywhere near to 140lbs. As far as I can get!

I've read all the posts in this thread! And I do appreciate the thoughtfulness and time spent on research by many long timers.

My question is: how do you manage your continued loss? How do you eat? What tools do you use to manage being 'on plan'?!

Now I'm 5 weeks in, I know how it works for me. I have appetite suppression, and I can't eat a big meal. I've stopped eating all carby snacks. High fat foods are out. I eat more protein and veg, I drink more water. It still requires a fair bit of willpower. I need to start moving my body more - waiting on a gym induction but I have mobility problems after breaking my leg really badly last year.

I am in this for the long haul so glad to be here for the support.

Sounds like you are doing well @themuminator. Mind set is a big part of it all. And a plan going forward is important.

I’ve been on it a year and have lost three stone but have been up and down since December. Partly my own fault - too many carbs and too much wine. Partly a holiday - again too many carbs and too much wine! I’ve upped my dose this last week as I’ve been on 1mg for quite a while and I felt I was ready to increase so I’m now taking 0.75 twice a week.

Eating wise I try to really limit carbs during the week but relax a bit at the weekend. I try to concentrate on protein and veg and fibre during the day and have a normal family dinner but I eat much less. I should drink more water so that’s this weeks aim. And less wine!

I haven’t been exercising but am about to join a gym.

It’s a long game. And I don’t know how it will go going forward. It’s such a new drug really.

A good book to read is Why We Eat (Too Much) by Andrew Jenkinson. There are some threads on here where people are following his advice. The Obesity Code by Jason Fung is a good read too although more scientific. They explain why what we eat is so important.

Thanks for your response @Peridot1 I must get around to reading Why we eat too much. I think that might really help to shift my mindset for the long term too. You have done really well, 3 stone is a big change. I like your idea of making sure week days are on plan, and then any small treats can be at the weekend. Previously, every day was treat day for me so I never really appreciated them!

I'm just trying to get into a new way of life after decades of eating whatever crap I liked. It's taking some time to adjust.
Giving up sugary things is actually quite easy, but changing what lunch and evening meal I make is harder. I had too much fat and too many calories in total in my meals before. I've been eating quite simple protein and veg meals since starting on Ozempic, but I'd like to branch out a bit now and build my go to healthy recipes for the long term.

Hi just checking in. I agree the other thread is full of codes and questions! It’s interesting to know that juniper will let you use 2mg a month and switch to two pens, I’m on 1mg but doing it in two separate doses which is working well for me. I have about 2stone left to lose. I read somewhere wegovy will be available in April so we’ll see.

I almost posted looking for a code earlier.

I have just ordered from QuickMeds for the first time. A 1mg pen which was £149.95 which is £30 cheaper than my usual supplier. Interestingly I told them I am taking it already and on 1.5mg per week and they offered me 1.5 in the form of two pens - a 1mg pen and a .5 pen for £249.95. Which seems like good value until you work out it’s better value to get two 1mg pens. You think you are getting the 0.5 for £100 which seems good but the 1mg is obv better.

So I just bought a 1mg for now as have quite a bit left in my current pen and next time I wil look at Juniper.

There was a post a while ago about taking glucomannan in the couple of days before jabs are due to assist with the appetite suppression. I’ve found this really helpful but I accidentally bought a new one that contains chromium which apparently interacts with ozempic. Anyone have any experience of this?

I’m six weeks in and really struggling with side effects since moving up from 0.25mg to 0.5mg
I have stomach pain, nausea and, I think, constipation? I can’t really tell. I can’t eat anything at all. If I eat any carbs, I’m sick. Anything else gives me stomach cramps. Help, I had this all day at work today, I felt like crap.

Sorry to hear that @ErmineAndPearls it sounds horrendous. I think I would try going back down to 0.25mg to hopefully reduce the side effects.

Sorry to hear that, that sounds awful and really no way to live. Definitely consider dropping back down to 0.25.