Ozempic has been in the news a lot recently. I’ve been taking it since November. Ask away, and if you’re taking it yourself, jump in with your own experience and responses.
I’ve heard of this (diabetes drug that seems to promote rapid weight loss)
I’m intrigued. Have you researched (I haven’t) people’s success in keeping weight off after they stop taking it?
How’s it going for you?
ETA: Did you have to push your doctor to let you get it? Or do you have diabetes?
I’ve also heard that the weight loss is often due to nausea and vomiting that are not infrequently severe enough to require medication.
I don’t know what the OP has found on this topic, but AFAICT the typical post-semaglutide outcomes aren’t as impressive.
From that second link:
I have type 2 diabetes that I held in check for years with diet and exercise, then adding metformin, then increasing metformin. Lat year my A1c and weight jumped for no discernable reason. I tried to knock them back down, with no luck. My PCP would rather I had started Ozempic two years ago, but I was reluctant. My current PCP would prefer that I increase my dosage because she wants my metformin decreased.
Research says that when people stop taking it, most or all of the weight returns. Newer diabetes meds are in development, so there might be better options in a few years.
I started in November. I stayed on the starting dose (.25 mg) longer than the 4 weeks the protocol calls for. This was due to the shortage and wanting to titrate up slowly due to side effects. It’s not supposed to be a clinical dose, but I lost 17 pounds and my A1c dropped by .8 in 3 months. I went up to a .5 dose last week and will probably stay with that until June.
There’s that, but its primary action isn’t as an emetic. It improves insulin utilization and slows gastric emptying.
One virtue of this class of drugs is that many people do experience weight loss as well as decreased blood glucose while taking it. This is in contrast to many diabetes drugs that maddeningly cause weight gain.
Yeah, that sounds seriously counterproductive!
As many of us have noticed, the body’s homeostasis can get out of whack in ways that are hard to re-adjust, or that create problems that undo the positive effects of the treatment. I’m taking Ozempic now even though my A1c isn’t terrible in part because I had hormone-positive breast cancer and want to reduce my metabolic risk of recurrence. But Ozempic may decrease bone density, and this increases the risk of metastasis to the bone if I do have a recurrence.
My experience of medical interventions is a mix of “miracles and wonders” and “stone knives and bearskins.” It’s amazing what we know and can do, and don’t know and can’t do.
I’m sure you’ve heard of diabulimia, but for people who haven’t, there’s a subtype of eating disorders where people cut their doses of diabetes medication, whether insulin or anything else, and eat what they want because they know their body won’t fully process the calories. It’s incredibly dangerous, as one could imagine.
As a psychotherapist, yes, I’ve had some conversations about that. Ozempic is a weekly injection, so it’s harder to get pulled into the md abuse. Kind of like a depot antipsychotic rather than fighting with oneself about daily dosing.
Are you off the Metformin now?
I’m T2D, on Metformin and Jardiance, and my A1C is pretty consistent in the high 6’s and a 20lb drop in weight would be A Good Thing. I have a family history of heart disease, so trying to find the best outcomes.
I’m seeing my GP in a couple of weeks for my first full physical since Covid and will bring it up with him.
Still taking metformin. That seems to be pretty common, and the two meds appear to work well together.
I hope your appointment goes well!
Someone who needs exogenous insulin (for example) but does not take it loses weight. If that person re-starts insulin, they gain weight. This is because, with the insulin, their body is able to use the glucose in their bloodstream rather than peeing it away.
Makes sense when you think about it.
mmm
True. I’m thinking more of the Sulfonylureas, Thiazolidinediones, and Meglitinides, in contrast to GLP-1 agonists, SGLT2 inhibitors, and metformin. I take your point that insulin may cause weight gain if the person had lost weight due to insulin dysregulation. I worked on a number of psych wards (including eating disorders) and co-led community diabetes support groups, where we tended to see people who refused the then-available meds due to weight gain, or who found themselves on the above-average end of the weight gain distribution.
Have you happened to see research on GLP-1 agonists or SGLT2 inhibitors with people with schizophrenic spectrum disorders or other psych issues with a possible metabolic component?
Which is the whole point of medications like Jardiance, as long as your kidneys are good.
I’m a T2 and I have been on “the shots” (fist Bydureon now Trulicity) for about 6 years I think. I’m also on Metfomin.
I was on the pill Januvia for a bit but it made me low all the time. The shots have been pretty great, no lows and a very steady A1C. I’ve lost about 60 lbs in total since I was diagnosed, maybe 30 lbs since I started the shots.
I already had gastroparesis (slow gastric emptying) before I started the shots, and the shots made it worse but honestly I was fine with it as I was virtually never hungry anymore. I pretty much had to eat like I had bariatric surgery - just small amounts 3x a day.
This long into the process my stomach seems to have figured itself out and I get hungry more often again and it’s super annoying because I’m just not used to having food around or eating that much.
I had a lot of problems with feeling sick when I first started the shots. A few times I thought I was dying from pancreatitis because I had such a pain in my abdomen. My doctor advised me to just eat less. He was right. The nausea lasted for a long time.
I don’t know how people are dealing with being on this drug for vanity. It makes you feel like crap for a long while. I can see using it if you’re morbidly obese (like me) but just to lose 20 lbs or something? Yikes.
I’m about to go on Ozempic. Have been on Trulicity for months at this point, but endo wanted to switch me to Mounjaro. Unfortunately, that one has been out of stock and would cost me $1000 as it’s not covered by my insurance. So then he went to Ozempic, which I had to wait a while for availability but finally got yesterday.
I just took my Trulicity a couple of days ago so will have to wait.
Have had some nausea with the Trulicity, so this Ozempic should be interesting.
Best if luck, and keep us informed!
I’ve gone up to .5 mg but haven’t yet had an A1c.
Well, side effects are statistical in nature. I very rarely see any side effects of drugs that I’m on, and when I do, they’re most often very mild and temporary.