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.

You’ve just sent me down a rabbit hole. For £100 there’s a cooler from Amazon that looks like a fat sonic screwdriver and fits four pens. For a more practical tenner I can get one of those sleeves. These are great! Thank you!

I've got a new pen to start tonight. I've been away on AI and will find out tomorrow morning what the damage there has been in terms of gain. I've been on 0.5 for several weeks and am debating giving it a bit of a boost and going to 0.75 for a few weeks.

I've got 8 x 0.5 doses in my 1mg pen so could do a few 0.75s, then drop to 0.5 for a few weeks, then use the remaining for 0.25 doses as I'm going to wean myself off it unless the supply issue has improved. I have no interest in paying these prices to only get 4 weeks out of a pen.

Hi Im a long term poster (changed from v long Bedknobs and Broomsticks name) I've just hit my 5 stone weight loss today since starting Ozempic in February and also had my hair cut where she confirmed what I already knew - my hair has been falling out loads during the weight loss. She was quite shocked how thin it's got ☹️ does anyone have any recommendations for Biotin or any other supplements to help this? I wouldn't be surprised if my iron levels are low so will look into this too.

@tregunamekoidestrecorumsatisdee wow that’s an amazing loss! Particularly to keep up that rate for months. Can I ask what you have done alongside ozempic? Huge calorie deficit??

@tregunamekoidestrecorumsatisdee I have a Novomins biotin and active iron every day and have been lucky not to lose any hair. I also take C, D, and calcium along with magnesium so not sure if it’s the biotin alone or the combo but it works for m.

I was hoping for some thoughts. I have been on oz since Jan, I've lost quite slowly but have attached my weight loss chart from juniper, I really didn't lose much on 0.5 but once I started 1ml I have consistently dropped from 115kg to just over 102. It's changed my life so positively.

I still have loads to lose. I have 1 x 1ml pen in the fridge and as I'm with juniper I'll love to 0.5. Based on my previous weight loss on 0.5 I'm not hopeful I'll be able to continue losing. I think I'll be a great candidate for wygovy, I get great effects after my shot for 3/4 days then the last days before my next dose it starts to wear off and I have to start fighting my food demons again.

Wondered what everyone else would do in the same situation, should I go down now on my new 1ml pen to either 0.75 to try and get a higher dose for longer or just stick with the dosing schedule, another 4 weeks at 1ml then move to 0.5? Or anything else I haven't thought of!

@SwimmingFree I don't have an answer but I'm in a similar boat to you. My weight loss has been slow and when I was just noticing a difference the shortage kicked in and I spent over two months on 0.5as I didn't have the foresight to buy several pens. My weight hardly moved.

The last two weeks I've upped my dosage to 0.75 and managed to lose (whilst being on holiday). Luckily,
I've secured a 1mg pen and decided my next dose will be a full dose to see the full effects.

Hopefully by then there will be a bit more in the supply chain.

Unfortunately @UsernameFail the issues with the supplies of Ozempic and similar drugs are not expected to resolve themselves until at least mid 2024 according to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC)

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/jul/30/prescription-of-diabetes-drug-ozempic-for-weight-loss-contributing-to-uk-shortage

Yes I have read the various articles @Twiglets1 but I'm still trying to be hopeful.

I am hoping the lack of Oz is a bit like the egg crisis last year when suddenly you couldn't get eggs anywhere because everyone was told there was an issue and mass bought.

I imagine this investigation might be more of a worry for long-term for Novo Nordisk. It also says there's no Wegovy launch in the UK imminent because the manufacturer is prioritising its North American market, presumably because they can charge far more there than they'll ever be able to charge the NHS.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/jul/26/weight-loss-drugs-under-review-in-uk-after-reports-of-suicidal-thoughts

It would be nice if it was like that or like loo rolls during Covid! Where there was actually plenty to go round but people were stockpiling them for fear of what would happen if the UK couldn't get loo rolls anymore.
Once people calmed down over buying dozens of loo rolls the shortage disappeared 😂

@Inkpotlover The lack of the launch of Wegovy in the UK has been a disappointment to so many people, I'm sure. I remember putting my name down on a waiting list at Boots or Superdrug back in the Spring when we were being told it would probably be launched around Easter time 🙄

It doesn't sound like it will be this year. It's purely financial, too. The demand for it in the US is so great, why is NN going to stress about supplying the NHS when they'll make far less return for it? And because they've got a contract with the NHS to honour, I don't think they can't give it to private suppliers first.

I also remember there being an article about the imminent arrival of other weight loss drugs like Wegovy to be launched (shortly after) but I can't for the life of me find it now

It’s right that they prioritise the NHS and I guess it’s understandable that they prioritise customers in the US if they can make more money that way. They are a private company after all.

I do think some of their practices have been shady though. Like they shouldn’t have been accepting new customers in the U.K. for as long as they did. They should have prioritised existing customers rather than let new people start a drug they wouldn’t be able to stay on for long anyway due to the increasing supply issues.

Sadly I can't see Wegovy launching in the UK this year given recent reports in the US about shortages becoming an issue there.

Sorry @Inkpotlover I misread your message about Wegovy and was getting mixed up with Ozempic.

Yes it seems that NN would rather supply Wegovy to the US to make more profit than supply it to the NHS to help obese people here.

It's not NN's call who gets it though. Suppliers like Juniper and Quickmeds source it from NN, then they take on patients. They just manufacture it.

Ok I think the private suppliers like Juniper, QuickMeds etc have been shady where they have continued to accept new Ozempic customers when they were already struggling to meet demand from existing customers

100% this! They must've seen the supply issues coming down the line but kept taking on new patients regardless.

Absolutely agree that juniper who I'm with have not thought of their patient. It took me four months to titrate up to get to 1mg only to find out it's unavailable. I did an extended titration due to side effects. It was very much sold as a six month treatment plan and many of us have invested money and energy in a treatment plan that now won't happen. They continued to take on new patients throughout when they clearly knew they couldn't fulfil the demand. Their response was to offer a discount on their meal replacement shake which of course did not go down well.

No that’s a pathetic response from Juniper who I remember from my Ozempic days were pretending they would offer a lot of support to people on their treatment plan.

I've gone up to 0.75 for the first time, and for the first time I'm having those eggy burps that people refer to. Def the meds as I don't eat eggs!
I managed to put on 2lb on an AI week away, which is a lot less than I have in the past.
I'm def cancelling my prescription with juniper. I have in the past and it doesnt remove you from their list, it allows you to then re activate it at a later date without going through all the hoops again.

Juniper aren't the only ones. I can't remember if it was this or another thread where I posted that Manual sent me a generic 'start your weight loss journey with Semaglutide' type email and when I asked whether they had 1mg in stock, they of course don't.

Why encourage people to buy a product when they know they don't have any available!!! It shouldn't be allowed

@Twiglets1 Rather amusingly, the Guardian article is illustrated by a product that's never been available in the UK - 2mg!

@Inkpotlover Wegovy isn't just available in the USA, it's in Denmark and Norway, South America (at least Brasil and Colômbia) and just been launched in Germany. Probably other countries too 🤷🏼