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.

Hi @Btrsun10 what is your daily calorie intake?

Ozempic helps with regulating sugar if your body needs that help, it has a side effect of reducing hunger to enable a diet, but not everyone has that side effect.

Ultimately though it works by allowing us to eat less calories below our basal metabolic rate so that we start to burn fat stores.

Perhaps because you haven’t followed the dosing regimen properly? (Not judging, I’m on 0.75 right now which isn’t a proper ‘dose.’)

Two months at 0.25 will have very little effect, I would step up to 1.0 now if I were you and see what happens.

Thanks for your messages.
You are all correct of course.
I probably dont need any help regulating my blood sugars and should just jump up to 1mg. I guess I didnt before as I was being a skinflint but actually that has maybe back fired!

Weigh in day for me after 3 weeks of not weighing, I've been dreading it since I've had a holiday and some work stress, and a bit more alcohol than in my new regime too. I had been feeling hungrier as well and have just gone up to 0.75 thanks to great advice here.
Just to add my method is extreme calorie deficit focusing on protein + volume eating. Since I'm 50 and short, my maintain number is 1100 kcal a day which is bugger all really, and to stay under it is not easy without appetite suppression - no wonder I was obese. Add emotional eating and a real soft spot for wine. Not great.
With the jab I've tried to keep my weekly average intake around 800 kcal/day which sounds like nothing, and I won't lie, it's taken some adjusting. Happy to share what I eat if anyone's interested. I really do feel this is something I have to think about for the rest of my life now. And I'm OK with that. I never want to be that miserable person again. I feel rewired and I've had a real eye opener about portion size and why I actually (used to) eat.
So: Early March when I started the jab, my BMI was 35+, weight about 95kg or 15 stone, dress size 18-20.
Today I'm BMI 28, Weight is 76.2kg or 11 stone 14lbs, dress size 16.
I'm really pleased. Most side effects are gone and losing 20kg+ or 3 stone in about 14 weeks is something I didn't think possible before this.
Losing another stone would make me normal weight (!) and my goal is to do that, and a bit, in the next 12 weeks.
But yes. my effort has been extreme compared to many. The calorie deficit has been similar to that of a bariatric patient. My friend who is 35 and a similar starting BMI has not been counting calories or made any major changes and she has lost 6kg or nearly a stone in the same 14 weeks.

Sorry about the essay and thank you for all the support here, it's been life changing for me.

Anyone finding that appetite suppression fades and food noise creeps back? I've been on for almost 4 months and the last two weeks have definitely been feeling "snacky" like before. I'm on a higher dose (1.5, in the US) and this is worrying to me! Is it just a plateau? How long have plateaus lasted for others? For a while I did not have to think about calories because I just wasn't that hungry, now I find that I do and my sweet tooth has returned.

I've plateaued on 1mg and 1.25 mg. Just went up to 1.5 and alleluia, appetite suppression is back.

I don't normally have a sweet tooth but suddenly I was all about the sweet things. My dietician said that after significant weightloss the body can crave dopamine and thus the sweet cravings. She recommended selenium and zinc as a supplement to help with this and it is working for me.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-66022263

this is a shame, both for diabetics and for weight loss. It’s more expensive but also more effective than ozempic both for blood sugar control and weight loss, although potentially more side effects because of it.

Yes I’ve found this - I had really strong appetite suppression/no interest in food on .25 and .5 doses when I first increased dosage for several weeks, I’m now on .75 and not noticing strong appetite suppression. They do say that the appetite suppression is a side effect which goes over time - I’m going to increase to 1mg to try and compensate.

Oh that's bad news about mounjaro! Anecdotally it seems to have a much smaller side effect profile and to be more effective. It's been approved here in Australia but who knows when it will arrive here and what the cost will be? I doubt it's going to be approved for cheap authority scripts.

I have plateaued on 1mg. At least I am not gaining but hoping Wegovy will become available at some point so I can try a higher dose. Also I am having lots sweet cravings and giving in to them (hence the plateau I guess). but perhaps that is just me and if I quit sugar (again) they would go away.

I'm a couple of months in and now going onto my second 0.5 pen... plateauing at the moment but trusting the process... wondering if anyone else had experience gagging as a side effect and has any tips on what to take/do to minimise it?

It's not heartburn and it's not due to an empty stomach but it's like the gagging you get if you smell a bad smell or like you're going to throw up (but I never have thrown up from it).

NICE have asked for more info so fingers crossed. Also note that this is NICE which recommends what the NHS uses rather than what can be legally prescribed (like most of us are prescribed Ozempic). However AFAIK Mounjaro isn't approved for any use in the UK atm.

@JinroStrawbs I am frequently gagging and retching when I brush my teeth these days, it’s awful. I don’t know what I can do about it though.

@JinroStrawbs why aren't you increasing to 1mg? It's not unusual to plateau in 0.5mg, it's not necessarily a high enough dose. There are people that continue on 0.5mg, but only if it's working!

Will Mounjaro not being available on the NHS, prevent it being available privately in the UK? I would think most of us aren't going to be eligible via the NHS anyway?

I'm assuming it's approved safety-wise, just not cost-wise?

@AndSoFinally Mostly because when I started I was with Juniper and their plan was 0.5 for two months before moving up to 1.0, so assumed that was the best way to build up, although now thinking maybe that’s wrong!

I couldn't find non-NICE MHRA approval when I looked this morning, but found it with a serving look this evening. MHRA are the regulatory approval body for the UK
products.mhra.gov.uk/search/?search=Mounjaro&page=1

Serving = second

Thanks for the encouragement re plateaus! I will try selenium and zinc. I am going to follow the good example of others that have seen great results with calorie restriction, it's at least POSSIBLE though it isn't effortless the way it was a couple months ago.

Thanks @mumwheresmyribena, hopefully will be available off license on a private script then!

I'm now down to the last 10kg to lose! It's been slow going in recent weeks/months, but I've had a lot going on in the last couple of weeks so the weight is dropping off! Less than 10kg to go to target weight!

Can't find a 1 mg pen anywhere. Has anyone had any luck this week

Congrats!! I’m down to last 7kg, hoping at half a kilo a week it’ll be beginning of October.

it’ll be good to get a post ozempic support group once food noise etc comes back.

@Karmakamelion Health Express had some on Monday morning. Quick Meds don't seem to have had any this week though.

Nebuale thank you. Its so bloody frustrating! And the thread about how selfish we all are is really pissing me off. From what I gather its mainly prescribed for type 2 diabetes which is something we are all trying to prevent!