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.

Where are you getting the Ozempic, and why do you not want your Dr to know. Excuse, just being really nosey also think you should tell your Dr as there may be changes they can attribute to that rather than recommending testing when you don't need it.

Excellent result @Athena51! That is fantastic. You must feel so good.

Well here I am 12 weeks in, I've done 6 weeks at 0.25mg and 6 weeks at 0.5mg and I've lost 2st 9lb!!!🥰🥰.
SW 20ST 8LB
CW 17ST 13LB

Some weeks have been great and some not so. The last 2 Weeks I've had a couple of days where I've had crippling wind one day and then horrendous diarrhoea the next. (apologies if TMI) I have to admit I'm finding it difficult to pinpoint what it is that's causing it although I think it could be beef. I'm having steak salad for lunch today so we'll see. I've not missed a thing, I've had no real cravings, sweet or savoury. I have not begrudged myself of anything. I had my first bag of crisps last week and think that they gave me the dreaded sulfur burps 🤢 come Friday morning.
My DH is getting on my nerves however, to be honest I think I've come to the conclusion he's a feeder. I'm eating more or less same as him just much smaller portions, (I've bought smaller bowls/plates just for me and that's helping too) but I'm not clearing my plate and then he tries to kind of coerce me to finish it or if he's left something he'll ask do I want it and then if I say no he'll go on "aww go on, feel terrible throwing it in the bin" or something else to the same effect and for years I probably would have, which is partly the reason I'm the size I bloody am!
I'm just loving having my "control" over food back.
I do still find myself getting up and down looking in the fridge or cupboard but 9/10 times I don't actually take anything away. It's a 20 odd year habit that'll take time to break. I make 5 days worth of jelly pots so I know they're there if I fancy one.
I'm cautious of increasing to 1mg today and thinking of splitting my dose to 0.5mg every 4 days to see how I get on to minimise side effects. Has anyone else tried this successfully or should I just go for it and jump straight up?

@Diedre44 - I tried splitting my dose, thinking it would be better for me personally but it really didn't have the same effect at all and I yo-yo'd through May.

I'm now on my second week of 0.75 weekly and I'm back to feeling the ozempic effects properly and am annoyed I wasted several weeks/doses basically.

I lost count of my clocks last night (using the 1mg pen for 0.5 doses)

I think I'm going to do it very carefully next week then mark the dial with a sharpie to show the point.

I've lost and gained the same lbs for the past 2 weeks which is annoying the so dithering about going up to 0.75. I have enough constipation and days where I feel stuffed to not want to go up to 1mg. I shall see what this week brings....

So I'm back on ozempic after a break due to no stock and finances. I'm on the lowest dose and so far (week 3) I've only lost 4 lbs. The only side effect is constipation but I'm watching what I'm eating and just feeling about frustrated that it's coming off so slowly as last time I was able to stay on the lowest dose for ages and lost a fair amount. Do I do my 4th week of the low dose or just move up to the next one?

I follow a weight training programme 4 times a week, do yoga most days and try to generally be as active as possible.

I am worried about stopping it and probably would take a maintenance dose long term if that was an option. I'm only on 0 75 a week currently and still losing steadily and I've made significant lifestyle changes, so I'm doing my best to set myself up for success I think

@DrMadelineMaxwell You can actually reverse click back to the beginning and start again if you lose count. Been there, done that 🤷🏼

That's good to know. Thanks.

What are the rules for when BMI drops below the threshold for prescribing Ozempic?

Mine started at 37, currently at 32 and my understanding is you need a BMI or 30 or more to be prescribed for weightloss.

@Athena51 you are an inspiration! How long has it taken you and did you ever feel disheartened? I'm feeling a bit low as went away and although I was still portion controlled I ate ALL the carbs!
The food noise however was less but i didn't stop eating when full but didn't binge either if that even makes sense!

Where is everyone having luck in getting hold of 1mg pens at the moment? (And, dare I ask, how much are they charging?!)

@greylad most people seem to be getting them from quickmeds. I got one from them last week, paid £170 (with £5 discount code).

It's taken since early 2022. It was hard going when I hadn't yet started to see the benefit. Even with the Ozempic you still have to put the work in. It's really only this year that I've started to feel that I look much better.

How long do quick meds take to send? Will it say when it's shipped?

Only so I know when I'll need to be in

@FatAgainItsLettuceTime I was honest with manual as I’m now 25.5 BMI but am from a background that the NHS recommends a healthy BMI of 23 max so I’d like to get to that. I’m waiting to see what they say.

They are vey quick (appropriately considering their name!) I did my last order on June 8 and had the parcel via Royal Mail on June 9 - I have ordered from them a number of times though so they approve me very speedily.

They will email you when the order has been approved and dispatched. They are very efficient.

They're a bit erratic. One of my quickmeds orders was about a week until dispatch, the others have been quicker. The order I placed last week was dispatched the following day and arrived either 1 or 2 days later. The dispatch email arrived a few days later 🙄. I usually get a notification from Royal Mail re when they're going to deliver it.

Just checking in! Started my 13th week, just had first 1.7 dose and I'm 20lbs down. I am really feeling the side affects today of the increased dose, very fatigued and I was nauseous all day yesterday and heartburn today. I will be interested to see if my weightloss increases on the higher dose, I've been very slow and steady so far.

I saw one of the juniper consultants reply to someone asking what happened now they were under bmi 25 - said juniper would keep supporting them until they hit their target weight and also maintenance if desired. I doubt any of the programmes kick you off as soon as you get under a bmi of 30 or 25 or any arbitrary cutoff, not sure about the pharmacy ones though where you don’t have a history with them.

F

Hmm I’ve been trying repeatedly from there for a few days but they’d persistently out of stock.

Gosh I'm in 2 minds about carrying on with it.

Did great on 0.25 for 6 week, no side effects and steady loss.

Moved to 0.5 11 days ago and 😭 - took it on the Friday and spent the weekend vomiting/diarrhoea, recovered by the Tuesday.

Took 2nd 0.5 last Friday and was worried would have a repeat. Has been better and worse.... starting getting the sulphur burps and diarrhoea early hours Sunday. Felt weak and unsettled stomach most of Sunday and had to lie in bed semi-upright Sunday night (hardly slept due to stomach).

Spent yesterday quite listless, barely able to eat and more diarrhoea. Finally vomited late last night and that now seems to have calmed everything done. Although the room was spinning and feel light-headed.

TMI: the vomit was very thick, like all this food had just been sat there for a couple of days.

On the other hand, I'm down 20 lbs and some of my smaller clothes nearly fit me again. Just scared of taking 3rd 0.5 and having to go through all of that again.

Has anyone else carried out and pushed through it - does it get better?

@TheWayOfTheWorld
I've been about the same although without the actual vomiting (have been v nauseous just not actually sick) I have found it to be when I either eat too much red meat or higher end of carbs. I've upped to 0.75mg this week and going to try and make the effort to be much lower carb this week to see if it makes much difference. Light salad with chicken/tuna etc. I had my first packet of crisps last week and felt choked up so won't be having any again for while.

That sound so stressful @TheWayOfTheWorld - poor you.

Were there any food triggers for all of that?