Ozempic for those a few months in - part 3

[DrMadelineMaxwell]

Thread was full so I've started a new one. 😀

Asked QM about their pricing for Wegovy but they say they don’t know yet. I’m anticipating sticker shock so anything less will be a pleasant surprise.

Fingers crossed!
How does one work out what Wegovy dose to go for after several months of Ozempic? I understand the semaglutide content differs. Would really appreciate someone explaining it to me like I'm three years old please.😅

I am not at all sure @VanellopeVonSchweetz99. I think it will be best to take advice from whoever prescribes it. I’m hoping that as Boots and Superdrug and other actual pharmacies will be stocking it that we will be able to get proper advice on it.

I am using one supplier at the moment as they are only supplying people who order from them regularly and they do offer advice and support so I will probably stick with them as they know the dose I have been on.

@nebulae on the pricing, I’m on Saxenda rather than ozempic so don’t know about their ozempic pricing, but regularly buy saxenda from rightangled (and am hoping to switch to wegovy once it’s available). Their pricing fluctuates between £49 and now £79 per pen depending on their stock and what I can only guess is website traffic. One order it changed price by £17 whilst I was mid-order and at times it’s cheaper to eg. buy 1 in multiples of 5 in one order than a pack of 5, as much as £20 difference, relying on people not doing the maths and that order even turned up in a pack of 5. I do think they may have worked that out recently as they have taken the different options off and now only have option of 1 pen that you can buy in multiples whereas they were doing options on multiples too.

I’m pretty sure they track it, which is fair enough they are a business but if they get huge traffic on orders for wegovy once it’s available the price will rocket

@VanellopeVonSchweetz99 Here's how the dosing works for Ozempic & Wegovy. Explaining the method I've used, so that everyone can check my thinking 🙂

If you're moving from one to the other, the 'mg' is the bit you're interested in - that's how much Semaglutide is contained in each dose. 1mg Ozempic = 1mg Wegovy.

For those on higher Ozempic doses, you'll need to inject less fluid if you use Wegovy. For those on lower Ozempic doses, you'll inject less if you stay on Ozempic.

Ozempic comes in one strength, 1.34mg of Semaglutide in every 1ml. The difference between the pens (0.25, 0.5 & 1mg) is simply the volume that you're buying. That's why 17 clicks on any pen are equivalent. 1mg of Semaglutide using Ozempic is 0.75ml of fluid you inject.

Wegovy comes in different strengths, see attached.

OMG I've just had THE worst constipation. Spent 2 hours feeling like I was giving birth 😭😭

I feel utterly worn out now and determined to find a way of not letting that happen again

@Littlesnail Thank you, thank you, thank you!

@TheWayOfTheWorld Commiserations. I swear by 1-3 DulcoEase CAPSULES/day (every other laxative gives me horrible cramps and scared to leave the house) + 1 psyllium husk capsule + 1 magnesium citrate capsule. Normally also 3-4 sugar free Werther Originals sweets every day with my coffee. Plus double your water intake. Does the trick.

I bought The Times today as the front cover was about ozempic/wegovy. It's a story about how they can improve heart failure in people. There's info here if anyone is interested:

www.bhf.org.uk/what-we-do/news-from-the-bhf/news-archive/2023/august/wegovy-weight-loss-drug-has-benefits-for-people-with-heart-failure-and-obesity

Only thing is I read this and thought 'oh no, the shortages will get worse'!

This quote struck me as very true: ‘What we do need is to live in a society that makes the healthy option the easy option’. Unfortunately we don’t. Great that the symptoms of heart failure can be improved - It isn’t totally clear but I assume that is because of the weight loss rather than the drug itself?

it’s so great that there are drugs that work for this now - I am sure that in two or three years time they will be widely available with two or three manufacturers competing and so the prices will come down. Maybe I am being wildly optimistic there.

But how to change the environment to make the healthy option the easy option? That would require a very brave government.

I read that article yesterday too @SwimmingFree and @RunningAndSinging. I also couldn’t make it if the heart improvement was as a result of the weight loss or not.

I am also sure that there will be different drugs available soon that are similar. Mounjaro is already in the market in the US and other countries but hasn’t yet been approved in the UK.

Very interested in all the talk of wegovy coming. @Littlesnail thankyou for explaining the doses.

I'm on 0.75 of ozempic that's costing me a bomb. I'm interested in wegovy for maintenance so likely a low dose.

I read that telegraph article about cardiac benefits of ozempic, I think the coming years will be fascinating with obesity and possibly addiction and the use of ozempic.

It's been a life changing drug for me as it has for many on here.

@TheWayOfTheWorld that constipation sounds horrendous. I take psyllium Husk which is vile but does the job x

The constipation is real. I'm in Spain at present (lovely) but going abroad always has that effect on me anyway, so I chose to skip a dose in part to avoid making it worse!

I'm having the opposite problem in Mexico . It's a slight relief having suffered constipation on ozempic. The Americans here swear by taking a daily probiotic drink two weeks before travelling to avoid stomach problems from a change in diet abroad.

I've had both on ozempic, week to week you never know if you are going to be hideously constipated or stuck on the toilet with the runs.

I went out for lunch today. Had fish and chips, and now feel extremely uncomfortable. I feel a bit queasy actually, although I only ate about two thirds of it, and no alcohol.

I think an afternoon nap on the sofa is called for!

Very risky to order from a random Instagram account @angelaheyes

Rightangled had 1mg in earlier for anyone hunting

Weigh in day and I'm under 11 stone! BMI 25.6.
I was 15 stone in March, on a short frame.
I'm close to tears, happy ones.

That's excellent @VanellopeVonSchweetz99 - well done!

Congratulations @VanellopeVonSchweetz99 That's amazing!! Well done

Thanks guys. It's been far from effortless (I'm in extreme calorie deficit and have to be pretty organized about it and log more or less everything, but still have treats - I think that will be key for me going forward) but it's far, far easier and more pleasurable than any other method I've ever tried because no hunger pangs! Life changing.

I've never really believed the hype about changing injection site to change effect, and always done my stomach, but I follow a tiktoker who broke a weeks long plateau changing to the arm and decided to give it a try as I've been on 0.5 for so long due to shortages and I could tell it wasn't having the same impact anymore.

Woke up this morning feeling sooooo nauseous, so some side effects are definitely back, hopefully I'll feel the impact of it this week!

@WeKnowFrogsGoShaLaLaLaLa interesting, please report back! I'm also on plateau, but always put in my legs.