Ozempic - for those of us a few months in - Part 2

[Peridot1]

Just spotted the other thread had filled up so started I new one.

Food choices might be crap but I'm getting my steps in at this conference 18736 steps so far today, my legs might fall off before the end of tomorrow.

Some advice from those with experience please? I'm 14 weeks in, and on week 10 with 0.50mg (it's worked well so far + supply challenges). But the effects are wearing off, I'm hungrier and the (in my vase very manageable) side effects are vastly reduced. So far I've lost nearly 2.5 stone fairly easily with extreme calorie deficit (I'm 50 and short) but then I had a lot to lose, now plateaued.
Starting BMI 34-35, current BMI 29-30, would like to get to 23-24, ie lose another 2,5 stone and a bit.
Do I increase to 0.75 or go straight to 1mg? (If I can get hold of some, that is.)
Many thanks in advance.

I would go up to 0.75 @VanellopeVonSchweetz99

You will see improvements on that increase and still have somewhere to go up to.

I have just gone up to 1mg after eight weeks at 0.5mg. With hindsight I should have just gone up to 0.75mg. Would have been a bit extra, a 1mg pen would last a little longer and side affects probably not as bad. As it is I felt really wobbly the day after I injected. This has passed now though so I will stick at 1mg but would advise going to 0.75mg a good idea imo.

Thank you both, I appreciate it.

I did four weeks at 0.25, four weeks at 0.5 and now I’m in my sixth week at 0.75 (although due to shortages I’ve taken them every 7-9 days). I’ve started to plateau again now on 0.75 so l’ll go up to 1.0 next week.

I’m really pleased I’ve done it this way; not just for the side effects but also because let’s say for the past six weeks I’d have been on 1.0, I’d be plateauing now but have nowhere to go next?

This way I know I should be able to see more weight loss for the next four-six weeks and extend the effects of the drug. As to what happens come end of July, I’m not sure!

Struggling to get a 1mg pen anywhere, how many weeks at 0.75 dose from a 0.5 pen does anyone know?

@Diedre44 you'd get 2 x 0.75 plus 1 x 0.5 out of a 0.5mg pen, so not great value.

You'd get very nearly 3 doses of 0.75mg if you didn't prime the pen each time as it contained around 2.2mg in total

I've got one last dose left this week and been searching and searching for 1mg pen for about 10 days. I'm starting to stress a little I must admit. I've signed up to every alert. I can't believe the wild difference in prices though. Some companies are almost certainly cashing in.

Have you tried Health Express? I've never had a problem getting a pen from them but I'm on 0.5 so haven't tried for a 1ml

Hi everyone, I'm posting on here as well as the 'last night' thread, as I'm looking for some advice please! I'm on week 14, 0.25mg a week (never upped from the starting dose). I have lost a lot of weight (not sure exactly how much as I don't like to weigh myself) but have gone down a dress size. Probably lost around 2 stones.
Yesterday after dinner I had horrendous pain in my upper stomach and back and went to hospital, it was something to do with my gallbladder, not exactly sure if it was a gallbladder stone, or inflammation. Anyway it was incredibly painful, but I had some medication and it subsided after about 5 hours.
Now I'm not sure whether to keep taking my weekly 0.25mg or stop. I've been reading up and it seems rapid weight loss causes gallbladder problems. I don't know if it will be made worse by taking ozempic, although I am on the lowest dose. Any advice/ experience would be appreciated!

@FatAgainItsLettuceTime
Yeah that's who I'm currently with. I spoke with them yesterday and they're unable to give any update as to when the 1ml be back in stock. They do have 0.5 available and I am considering just getting one but will only get 3 doses at most from it. If I have no luck by next Monday think I'll have to.

Hello ladies I'm on week 14 of ozempic, I have three doses of 0.5mg left before I move up to one mg. I did an extra month at 0.5mg due to horrible side effects. Mainly nausea and fatigue. Can I ask those ladies who have suffered side effects if they were hit hard with moving up to 1mg.

My weight loss has really slowed and I only lost three pounds in the last four weeks. Hence the move up to 1mg. I am very worried about side effects but my losses have slowed so much. I'm with juniper btw.
Thanks x

Scales say I've gained 5lbs in 2 days at my work conference and while I can admit to having eaten more and worse than I have been, I think it's more likely that I am dehydrated as hardly got any water and it was hot as the fires of hades in that event centre, I think my muscles are holding on to what water I have too as my legs are just so so sore from all the walking and standing.

Hoping that a couple of days recovery, drinking lots and eating right will fix it.

@Rosie219 I'm not sure 2 stone in 14 weeks would count as rapid weight loss? That's the government advised amount

Gallstones are common in fair, fat, females in their forties. Do any of those apply? It could well just be coincidence

The next "big thing"??? It'd be great if they could actually work on getting the supply right for their existing catalogue first though.
https://fortune.com/2023/06/21/ozempic-wegovy-novo-nordisk-new-drug-weight-loss-obesity-prevention/

Quickmeds have stock at the moment if any of you need a pen.

Interesting piece about "food noise"
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/21/well/eat/ozempic-food-noise.html?smid=url-share

This is the same article run through archive.ph to remove the paywall
https://archive.ph/BChly

@AndSoFinally thanks for your reply, yes they do, although trying to lose weight so I'm less at risk of these types of things! Just not sure whether to continue or if it will increase my risk of another episode. I only take the 0.25 starting dose.

@Rosie219 you need to speak to your GP, have you notified them that you're taking Ozempic and did you declare gallstones/gallbladder attacks when filling out the forms for the prescription?

@AndSoFinally Sorry if I'm being thick here but when you say "if you didn't prime your pen", what exactly does that mean?
What is priming the pen, and why does it "waste" the stuff? Does it mean inserting the needle? Is it better to leave it in? Or maybe I'm misunderstanding.
I'm really keen to get as much as I can out of my new 0.5 pen while increasing my dose to 0.75 and would really appreciate your advice. I'm thinking the normal 0.5 + an additional 19 clicks should do it?
Thank you.

The leaflet suggests every time you put a fresh needle on, you do a couple of clicks and then just squirt it into the air to make sure that the needle isn't blocked and to fill up the needle. That's priming the pen. That obviously wastes a bit if you're doing that 4 times per pen, so the pens contain about .2mg more than needed to account for that waste. If you don't do that, then you can inject that .2mg instead, meaning you'll get 2x .75mg and 1x .7mg out of a 2mg pen (roughly)

@AndSoFinally Thank you so much.

Really? I don’t prime my pen, I think it says you only have to do it when you’re using a new pen for the first time.