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.

How are people ordering ozempic? Do you need a prescription?
I'm a bit scared to start because of the side effects of nausea. Would you say they are worse in the beginning and then settle?
How long does it take for the nausea to settle?
Has anyone struggled with a lot of weight loss from the face?

Yes, you just have to ignore it. It is really sour grapes and just another way to try to shame overweight people.

@Howtonamechange there are another group of threads called 'I started ozempic last night' that would be good for you to read and answers all the early in the journey type questions.

@Howtonamechange I would say the same, you will be better off on the other thread. About losing weight in the face, it is just like any weight loss, it will happen to your face too, how much depends on how fast and how much you lose. Regardless of weight loss as we age we all lose fat in the cheeks, resulting in saggy jowl.

@Howtonamechange - most of us are buying with private prescriptions from online suppliers. You have to meet the criteria and fill in a consultation and will be approved if you meet the criteria. However supplies are very very low at the moment and even those who have been prescribed for diabetes by their GP are struggling to get it so it’s not a great time to start. Prices have rocketed too.

@Howtonamechange I would try saxenda instead, I had great results with it and no dupply issues. It works the same way.

Has anybody been prescribed oral steroids (prednisolone) whilst on Ozempic?

I have sinus issues which are greatly helped by a fairly low dose of prednisolone (10mg per day for 10 days) but I don’t want to waste my time, or the GP’s time, getting a Doctors appt if they shouldn’t be taken together. Dr Google is inconclusive!

Saxenda has the same supply issues, out of stock and majority suppliers not taking on new patients, it’s the same manufacturer

A great article on Ozempic and the myths that surround it.
https://time.com/6290294/weight-loss-drugs-ozempic-demonization-essay/

That is an excellent article. I really hope we are seeing a change to how obesity is viewed.

I personally see this medication as life changing. It is life changing for me. I am aware I am lucky enough to be able to afford it. And I am ready to defend anyone's use of it against anyone who just says 'eat less, move more'.

Brilliant article. Dr Freedhoff is a real legend in obesity treatment. A lot of the sanctimonious twats on here should read it but they would probably just say he was a shill for big pharma 🙄

Congrats back! And great idea about the post-Ozempic support group - I'm in!

Great article @mumwheresmyribena - thanks for sharing. Agreed @Athena51. But you can’t fix stupid. No medication for that yet sadly!

It’s been life changing for me too @TheGoodEnoughWife.

Interestingly I went for an NHS health check yesterday. The nurse obviously checked back info from my last one and said wow - you have lost a LOT of weight since your last check. She wanted to know how. I said Ozempic and she’d never heard of it! We had a bit of a chat about it and she was a bit concerned that nobody is “supervising” me on the drug but said I did seem to know a lot about it. So it’s obviously going to be on my medical record now which is fine by me. I was pretty surprised she had never heard of it though.

That's a great idea - still a bit to go but this community has been such a support and it would be great to carry that on.

A nurse who hasn't heard of Ozempic? How weird! But great to get feedback on your health and weight loss.

No loss this week but our scales packed up and we had to buy new ones and they weigh a couple of lbs heavier (DP and I both tested them). I'm the same as last week on the old scales so I probably have lost really

I bought 2 pens recently so I'm fine for a while but starting to think about if, how and when to come off it. I struggle to eat enough to fuel my weight training and could really do with upping my calories a bit but I find it quite difficult to eat more (not a sentence I thought that I would ever type!). I'm still only taking 0.75 a week, I must be a super responder, they should study me

@Athena51 - I was amazed too that she hadn’t heard of it - I even said it was used for diabetes. Still didn’t seem to ring any bells!

You do seem to be a super responder all right! Brilliant results for such a relatively low dose. I’m now on 1.5 and not seeing much difference from when I was on 1mg so am going to drop back down today in an effort to make my pens last longer. I also have two so am ok for a bit. But with the ongoing shortages I’m wondering about having to stop too.

Love that you are finding it hard to eat enough! Completely get what you mean! Although I seem to have managed quite a bit last night for some reason. I suppose you could maybe go down to 0.5 and see if that helps you eat what you need but not cause any gain?

The nurse did mention exercise and alcohol intake and I need to get both of those under control. I love red wine waaayyy too much. But am going to switch to weak white wine and soda with ice which I do also really enjoy. And I’m going to join the gym and book some sessions with a PT. Been saying it for ages but really need to actually do it.

I'm thinking I must be a super responder too, lost 21. Lbs in 10 weeks (6 weeks 0.25 and 4 weeks 0.5).

Like others, I've found the food noise has come back a bit since being on 0.5 and there is less appetite suppression. I've got another month on 0.5 before moving up to 1 although may ask about 0.75 as had horrible side effects after the first 2 lots of 0.5.

I'm the lightest I've been in 3 years. Still want to knock off another 1.5 stone. I'm feeling lighter and stronger and able to exercise harder now which feels great.

Well done on all of your losses.

Week 11 for me, sticking to 0.5 for now as I get a few days of quite bad nausea & still getting appetite suppression on this dose.
I've coasted along not really watching what I eat, lost 6lb the 1st week & a steady 1lb every week after.
This week something clicked, I figured I'm spending alot on ozempic that I really need to be putting my all in. So I've been doing low carb, counting every calorie & have lost 3lb this week 😁-18lb so far
Going on holiday in 42 days & hoping to be a clothes size smaller by then.

Has anyone spread their injections out so the pens last longer, whilst stocks are low? I'm sure I saw some suppliers are recommending this.
We had a death in the family a little while ago, which led to me being 4 days late taking the jab. Then took the next one 3 days late to get me back on track for my usual Friday injection. Due to inject tonight but wondering wether to start injecting every 9 days instead, as I'm still getting appetite suppression.

I'm 60lbs down today since the start of February and I feel like a completely new person.
It has really been life changing for me.

The appetite suppression wore off after about 8 weeks but I wasn't just depending on that but completely changed my eating habits and lifestyle which I think is the key.

I still have about 3 stone to get to a healthy BMI which I expect to be slow and steady.

I have 4 months worth of pens stockpiled and will have to reassess after that due to stock availability and price rises.

Im hoping the new habits will be well and truly entrenched by then.

I joined the gym this week which is HUGE for me considering 6 months ago I struggled to put my shoes on and needed to sit down for a rest after going upstairs.

Loving all the weight loss updates this morning. I'm 35lbs down since March and really really pleased with that. Life changing is absolutely the way to describe it.

Some amazing results this morning! Wow.

Great to hear everyone's results and thank you for sharing the article. Super responder here too + giving it my all, down 44lbs from March, only went up to 0.75ml last week + the jab removed my alcohol dependency (!).
Estimate reaching target weight in September.
Absolutely life changing for my health and confidence.

23lbs here as well since mid march, also hoping to come off in September after another 12lbs. More importantly waist now down to 82cm from 89!

plan is to get my bmi to about 22 ish, drop to a low .25 dose for a month or two, then hope I can maintain. I will still be on metformin for pcos so I’m hoping that will help but we shall see. I’m actually sad to be thinking about stopping, I love how I feel on ozempic and have now kicked Coke Zero addiction (2+ litres a day) without any challenge as it tastes gross and syrupy and it’s done wonders for being able to predict when my periods will start. Might actually mean I stand half a chance of getting pregnant next year when we want to try.

Am I new to this thread? About to start Ozempic. Actually tomorrow! I’m proud of all of your successes. Can’t wait for mine.

Btw back in 2014 I went on Victoza for just 6 months and I dropped 10 kg in 3 months reaching an excellent weight for my height. I managed to keep it up 7 years (along with regular exercise) all the way until the pandemic. Then I got pregnant, gave birth, breastfed for over a year and all the while I had gained 20 kgs. I managed to lose 10 kgs on my own (lots of hard work) but then my weight stalled. No matter how hard I’d exercise and meticulous with my calorie counting. The scale and the measurements wouldn’t budge.

So went to see an endocrinologist today along with my husband (who also gained a lot of weight) and we’ve both been prescribed Ozempic.

The endocrinologist said if I had responded so well to Victoza back in 2014, then he expects a lot more from Ozempic. He referred to Ozempic as the powerhouse of weight loss.

I am hopeful as I haven’t felt like myself in maybe 3 years…

Fingers crossed.

Thank you for reading.

I'm 2 stone down now. 10lb of that was slimming world, last Autumn. And the rest is the oz that I've been on. I'm on 0.5 and seem to be slowly losing weight still at that level so in no hurry to up it, esp as it means my 1mg pen lasts longer that way.