Wegovy experiences?

[Disturbia]

I don’t know if my comments came across as judgy. I didn’t mean them to. I shared my experience and reasons not to take it despite family members having taken it and my Dr pushing me to. I’m not against it, it’s just too risky for me with my existing GI/Liver issues given all its side effects (thyroid cancer and permanent GI)

I personally struggle with insulin resistance liver issues hypothyroid IBS (used to be c and is now d) diastasis rectii etc. I have a frozen shoulder (rotary cuff injury), retrolesthesis (disc slipped in wrong direction) from a fall and degenerated disc disease. I had muscle cramps for years and have experience with chiropractors and PTs for decades (issues persist). I have restless legs as well. I exercise to be able to have the energy to lift my kids and keep up with them.

I struggle to loose weight despite the liver detox (maybe loose net 7 lbs and it comes back quickly once I restart milk and wheat).

For our teen her Dr started her on Metformin and phentermine after extensive testing and body analysis so she wouldn’t develop fatty liver which then leads to all the impossible to loose abdominal fat.

Oh and I’d love to hear some positive experiences with Ozempic if you have IBS-D. I’m pretty scared to exasperate it any further.

 

[HMcH]

I've been taking compounded semaglutide for a month now on the lowest dose, and I'm set to step up tonight. I've lost 9 pounds so far. My best friend and his wife have both been using it for several months, and are averaging 10 lbs a month lost.

All side effects I've experienced have been minimal and were expected given the nature of the drug:
Heartburn (eat some antacids)
Mild Constipation (Magnesium supplement and pre/probiotics)
Early on I experienced some mild trouble sleeping, which is probably due to my bad habit of consuming caffeine in the evenings. Since things are taking longer to digest, it makes sense that the caffeine was hanging around longer than usual. I simply changed my habits and that problem when away.

All in all I've been happy with the medication so far.

 

[Disturbia]

I've been taking compounded semaglutide for a month now on the lowest dose, and I'm set to step up tonight. I've lost 9 pounds so far. My best friend and his wife have both been using it for several months, and are averaging 10 lbs a month lost.

All side effects I've experienced have been minimal and were expected given the nature of the drug:
Heartburn (eat some antacids)
Mild Constipation (Magnesium supplement and pre/probiotics)
Early on I experienced some mild trouble sleeping, which is probably due to my bad habit of consuming caffeine in the evenings. Since things are taking longer to digest, it makes sense that the caffeine was hanging around longer than usual. I simply changed my habits and that problem when away.

All in all I've been happy with the medication so far.

Do you loose abdominal fat or is it weight loss everywhere? I’ve been looking at the EMshape neosculpting but it is expensive. Does the bloating increase? I’m already bloated from water retention due to IBS-D.

How are your energy levels? I have low ferritin and have to keep up with 3 kids.

Edit: the following product worked wonders for hemorrhoids following severe constipation/childbirth (better than any medicated OTC products):

 

[Disneefun]

Even my own PCP is pushing this medication now with signage in the waiting room and a price list on the wall. No mention what so ever about alternatives such as lifestyle changes, downsides, or warnings. Just "set up the appointment to receive your first dose today! (cash only)). To me that's very scary.

Mine is the same. Except the last time I was in, they had added a note that due to shortages, they would only be giving it to "high priority" patients for now. I assume that means diabetics, or people whose weight is an immediate threat to their health.

At any rate, I asked my Dr. about it ( I didn't want the drug, I was just curious how popular it really is, if they have to put signs up) and she told me that so many people just come in demanding it that they decided to capitulate. People even chase practices around town to find one that will prescribe. (I could only think about the most recent South Park special and laugh.)

She said that for years any conversation she and the other doctors in the practice have tried to have with most patients about lifestyle changes have gone nowhere. Some don't want to do the work, others get angry that she's telling them they're overweight and in health trouble, etc. Others may try, but for whatever reason are unsuccessful. So even before the "miracle drugs," she's just kind of given up on those conversations, unless someone seems especially motivated. She said she tells people they have awful numbers (weight, BP, cholesterol, etc.) and reels off the problems they may incur and kind of waits. Some demand the drugs, others just shrug and go on their way. A small fraction may say, "Hey, what can we do about this and what resources can you point me toward so I can try to fix it." Those she tries to help with lifestyle changes. The others have so beaten her down that she's largely given up.

I doubt this practice or my dr. are alone. So I sort of understand now why places are so wired to prescribe it. All of that, plus the likely money they're reeling in, why wouldn't they? If it's almost impossible to get people to deal with their health any other way, why keep having the same argument over and over? Just give 'em the drugs. Sure, there may be side effects down the road, but for now if it's the only way a Dr. can keep you healthy, or the only way a patient is willing to accept, well, maybe you'll buy them an extra few years before the heart attack or stroke. I guess that's how the hippocratic oath is handled in a culture that's run by big pharma, where victim mentality is encouraged, and where people get ragey when you try to help them.

(In case it isn't clear, I'm not saying that all people are like this. Just that my Dr. has seen enough of them that it's changed how she practices, in some cases.)

 

[Disturbia]

Is there a difference in the compounded semaglutide vs Ozempic? The naturopath was asking me to take Munjaro (compounded?). She said these work to reduce insulin output vs phentermine which keeps you full longer and reduces hunger (isn’t that what we want?; I thought both worked the same and why not try the less expensive/non injection option first).

I already take Metformin for insulin resistance along with myo+d chiro inositol (recommended by my RE). The low ferritin can impact glucose artificially but my A1C was 5.8 at last check. I am a stress eater.

After I refused Ozempic/Munjaro the holistic Dr said she will be loosing her privileges to prescribe Metformin soon (ill go back to my regular GP) and would have had me stop Metformin and switch to Munjaro which she can get from her compounding pharmacy. Ugh!

 

[bwilcox]

I take Wegovy from a compounding pharmacy, which is much cheaper and readily available in the US. It costs around $250 per month. I lose an average of 2 pounds per week (for a total of 14 pound over 6 weeks), which is a slow and steady rate that I am happy with. I have no unwanted side effects, other than feeling tired and a little nauseated on the day I went up from .25mg to .50 mg. What people who have not struggled with being obese don't understand is that it is not just a matter of dieting or having willpower. I have tried every diet out there for the past 17 years that I have struggled with my weight. There is a chemical and psychological component of losing weight, which is why diet and exercise alone aren't helping the majority of overweight people. The most beneficial part of the medicine for me is it takes away the constant "food noise" that I didn't even realize was there until it was gone. And as far as the possible side effects, well obesity has many proven health risks, such as increasing risk of heart disease, stroke, cancer, and more. I'll take my chances with a medication that is helping me transform my body to a healthy weight.

 

[Disturbia]

I take Wegovy from a compounding pharmacy, which is much cheaper and readily available in the US. It costs around $250 per month. I lose an average of 2 pounds per week (for a total of 14 pound over 6 weeks), which is a slow and steady rate that I am happy with. I have no unwanted side effects, other than feeling tired and a little nauseated on the day I went up from .25mg to .50 mg. What people who have not struggled with being obese don't understand is that it is not just a matter of dieting or having willpower. I have tried every diet out there for the past 17 years that I have struggled with my weight. There is a chemical and psychological component of losing weight, which is why diet and exercise alone aren't helping the majority of overweight people. The most beneficial part of the medicine for me is it takes away the constant "food noise" that I didn't even realize was there until it was gone. And as far as the possible side effects, well obesity has many proven health risks, such as increasing risk of heart disease, stroke, cancer, and more. I'll take my chances with a medication that is helping me transform my body to a healthy weight.

Why do you have to up your dose? Does it stop working? Can you stay at a low dose and keep reducing 1-2 lbs a week? Is there an end goal and slow weaning process?

I can afford to loose 30 lbs (will be happy with 20). My waist to hip ratio is 1.12 (made worse by diastasis). My BMI is 30.5 after recently loosing 7 lbs with the liver detox. I look like I’ve never exercised a day yet I exercise 4-5 times HIIT and have above average cardio fitness and over 30 lbs of muscle! IR sucks.

The holistic Dr said the cortisol from over exercising is stopping weight loss and I have adrenal fatigue and chronic fatigue (anemia). My cortisol drops to 0 when they do the overnight cortisol test but neglect to run ACTH (undiagnosed addisons? Or just hypothyroid).

 

[aprilgail]

So there are a whole lot of "friend and friends of friends" comments- I will give you it first hand. Growing up in a family of 4, all eating the same foods etc- I continually got fatter and fatter and they all stayed skinny- I was also the most active. Diet after diet, counting calories, fat, exercising- nothing. March 27th, 2023 I took my life back- I went to the weight loss center and got a prescription for mounjaro- I STILL count calories, exercise every day (at gym 1-2 hours a day and walk 3-5 miles along with that)- but with the meds help the weight started to come off- I have lost 150 pounds- I am in size medium clothes from a size 24W (probably was my size in Jr high)-just had a yearly physical and all my blood work is excellent, no longer on blood pressure meds or any other med other than mounjaro. It is a life changer. I'm going zip lining and hiking in 2 weeks and then going to finally be able to start traveling and am going to Greece in August, Italy in April and Punta Cana in June.
I have zero side effects from the meds and the chance of long term issues is no more of a risk than the dangers of being obese. Some people are extremely ignorant and think that everyone can just diet and lose weight- sure some can but others have genetic issues that make weight loss hard or impossible without the help of these meds. My daughter always said she didn't understand how I was so overweight when I didn't eat that much or eat junk- I never understood it either but I am SO thankful for these meds!

 

[robinb]

I know 3 people on GLP-1 type drugs. One is on it for diabetes and two are on it for weight loss. All three have only been on it for a 2-3 months. The one friend has already lost 26 pounds but she was morbidly obese and is still morbidly obese even after losing that much weight.

 

[Wayland10]

So there are a whole lot of "friend and friends of friends" comments- I will give you it first hand. Growing up in a family of 4, all eating the same foods etc- I continually got fatter and fatter and they all stayed skinny- I was also the most active. Diet after diet, counting calories, fat, exercising- nothing. March 27th, 2023 I took my life back- I went to the weight loss center and got a prescription for mounjaro- I STILL count calories, exercise every day (at gym 1-2 hours a day and walk 3-5 miles along with that)- but with the meds help the weight started to come off- I have lost 150 pounds- I am in size medium clothes from a size 24W (probably was my size in Jr high)-just had a yearly physical and all my blood work is excellent, no longer on blood pressure meds or any other med other than mounjaro. It is a life changer. I'm going zip lining and hiking in 2 weeks and then going to finally be able to start traveling and am going to Greece in August, Italy in April and Punta Cana in June.
I have zero side effects from the meds and the chance of long term issues is no more of a risk than the dangers of being obese. Some people are extremely ignorant and think that everyone can just diet and lose weight- sure some can but others have genetic issues that make weight loss hard or impossible without the help of these meds. My daughter always said she didn't understand how I was so overweight when I didn't eat that much or eat junk- I never understood it either but I am SO thankful for these meds!

Congratulations. You’re going to LOVE Greece and Italy.

 

[Disturbia]

The thing is I’ve been on the thin side during my childhood-teens; I was always active and athletic; no acne until stress triggered things during college. I know for a fact it’s not just diet and exercise now that I’m obese. Also I had unexplained dehydration, nose bleeds and muscle cramps for decades (fixed by liquid IV electrolytes; I can handle the sugar during HIIT).

We cannot loose weight until insulin is below 5. That is what these meds do they stop the insulin. It’s not the easy way out, it helps our body work in a normal way. Normal people don’t have high insulin and hence no cravings. No one should feel ashamed of taking these meds. We are doing what’s best for our health.

Our bodies are triggering the survival mechanism during famines and storing fat vs converting food to energy. We feel lethargic and eat more and it becomes more fat and gets stored in the liver instead of converting to energy (viscous cycle).

I read about how hypothyroid causes the body to act like a bear hibernating and that’s really close to how I’ve felt for years.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/metabolism-dysfunction-th_b_6430370/amp

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/ar...hyroid and,of hibernation physiology in bears.

 

[aprilgail]

Congratulations. You’re going to LOVE Greece and Italy.

I can't wait- Greece has been on my bucket list since I was a kid and found out that my bio dad was greek and came over here as a teen- my daughter is such a good "kid" (she is 24 LOL) her in-laws take them abroad every year and when they asked her where they wanted to go this year she said "how about greece and we include my mom"- they bought my plane tickets for christmas! She is also taking me to punta cana next year- Italy I am doing with a friend.

 

[Danicat77]

I have been trying to lose weight for years now. With my oldest starting college I figured I didn’t want the rest of the younger kids’ friends to remember me as being big all their life. I have lost some always to gain it back. I finally decided to go through the hospital weight loss center for support. I was doing ok for the first 3-4 months but losing pretty slowly. The NP finally talked me into trying Wegovy. I started with the compound dose first to build up to the regular dose. She explained: you take meds for all other medical conditions. Obesity is a medical condition. Meds all have potential side effects. But I had hit the point where the side effects from obesity were going to affect my overall life expectancy and quality. The wegovy definitely helped me. I’ve lost 65-70 pounds (I still fluctuate) in less than a year. About 10-11 months. I was nauseous at first, but got used to the med. My face is fine. I haven’t experienced any other side effects. I still get gaggy at times, like when brushing my teeth. I don’t really have cravings much any more, and it really does cut down the food chatter in my head. I have been good about exercising most mornings, and food choices/calories and protein intake. It has worked very well for me and I’ve got a point where coworkers and friends keep saying how skinny I look! I feel so much healthier and just a better role model for my kids. I am very thankful there was this med. I plan to stay on it.

 

[Chirple]

I've read all of the posts in this thread because I might be starting this path soon. I met with an endocrinologist yesterday who was recommended by my GP after I expressed interest. My GP and my oncologist have seen me struggle with obesity and then weight loss and now weight gain (still 70 lbs below highest). For me, it's not simply calories in/calories out. I followed a guideline from an RD for years along with intense workouts. Once my shoulder and knee injuries became too great (reducing physical activity), the food plan stopped working on its own. My metabolic rate and my thyroid are normal; my A1C is below 6.

For those of you using injectables, did you also have to provide a mouth swab? I have mine here. This practice also offers small group medical sessions (HIPAA fully enforced), which makes me think it works as a support group.

 

[Let's Get Kronk]

I took Wegovy last year for about 6 weeks after I barely crossed over the BMI limit to qualify under my insurance. I had never even heard of it until my doctor recommended it. What was jarring was just the constant feeling that you weren't hungry. And I could only eat a few bites of any meal and would be miserably full. I ultimately stopped it because it was causing my heart rate to spike. My resting heart rate went up 20 BPM once I started taking it and my doctor told me that elevated heart rate was a side effect experienced by a small percentage of the population on the drug. He told me to stop taking it immediately, so I did. I had probably lost about 15 pounds to that point. I started a keto diet and lost another 15 pounds.

 

[Danicat77]

I've read all of the posts in this thread because I might be starting this path soon. I met with an endocrinologist yesterday who was recommended by my GP after I expressed interest. My GP and my oncologist have seen me struggle with obesity and then weight loss and now weight gain (still 70 lbs below highest). For me, it's not simply calories in/calories out. I followed a guideline from an RD for years along with intense workouts. Once my shoulder and knee injuries became too great (reducing physical activity), the food plan stopped working on its own. My metabolic rate and my thyroid are normal; my A1C is below 6.

For those of you using injectables, did you also have to provide a mouth swab? I have mine here. This practice also offers small group medical sessions (HIPAA fully enforced), which makes me think it works as a support group.

I did not have to provide a mouth swab. And I will say I wish I had a support system in place. I have been doing well, but while I’ve been losing my husband has been gaining and with kids home this summer now there’s so much more food in the house. It has helped with the food chatter but I still don’t have great self control when things are right there, and would love to be able to bounce ideas and such from others. A support group would be great. However, wondering if they’re maybe just trying to fit more people in? Could be that as well. I hope it goes well whatever you decide!

 

[kuhltiffany]

I didn’t have to do a mouth swab but I did do blood tests to see how everything was as a baseline. I definitely have some internal issues and physical problems going on from carrying all this weight. I’m 54 so want to get my body healthier as I start thinking of retirement and all the stuff I want to do!

I did my first dose last Friday and second one yesterday. As others have mentioned, it’s amazing to not have the constant food noise, to be able to just think about what I need to eat instead of what I want to eat!

No major side effects yet, just a bit of nausea one day and definitely constipation so I’m trying to drink more water, increase veggies and fruits and added more magnesium too.

 

[LoveToDisney]

I’m curious to hear from those who are using the Wegovy/Ozempic. If you are one who does not agree with the use of this product, please move along and be negative in another thread. Thanks.

 

[dez1978]

Just my take and I hope you don't find this personally offensive but,

Friend 1 could probably have lost the weight on a strict Keto diet alone.

Friend 2 was vomiting for 3 weeks. That's 20 pounds right there if one is careful not to overeat afterward and put it back on.

Friend 3 is still eating heavy meals on the low dose which is what the drug is supposed to stop (desire to overeat). The "couple of pounds" could just be normal fluctuation. Heavy people go up and down daily due to water retention/loss.

I'm very anti this whole idea. I'll admit it outright.

Except she said she'd already tried it, and hadn't. And lets not forget that a strict keto diet can also come with it's own set of side effects and problems.

 

[Clifton Tesh]

Age 41
Male

I'm on week 7. First four weeks were .25 mg and then we bumped up to .5 mg.

I've lost 13 pounds.

I was 340 pounds when the doctor started me on it.

I had tried everything, diet, exercise, other prescribed or doctor recommended drugs. I was just gaining weight.

I had no problem with weight until I was diagnosed with graves disease and they started me on the medicine to treat it. Within 3 months of taking methimazole, I had gained 80 pounds and then I just slowly kept gaining.

My only problem is that it has sucked all the joy out of life for me. I no longer enjoy the stuff I once loved eating, drinking, and doing.

Enjoying food (cooking it and eating it) and beer had became such a huge part of my happiness that now that I don't want anything to do with either, it's kind of depressing.

Like I'm not even looking forward to our Disney trip that we have scheduled for March because the all the different food and beer I get to try is the whole reason I love Disney.

I feel I need to state that I did/do not have an unhealthy relationship with food and alcohol. It was not a crutch for me, it was a hobby.