First shot of Semaglutide today 😬

bxvezina

Hi 👋 I'm Brittany!
And,
I have PCOS and have tried basically everything to try and lose weight. I was prescribed Ozempic to see if I can get anywhere with it. First shot of 0.25 down today! What's been your experience with Ozempic and PCOS if you've tried it? Any suggestions for possible side effects or tips and tricks!?

samgettingfit25

Specific to glp-1 side effects... The most common side effect is digestive issues (it can go either way). The nutritional advice some prescribing doctors and others give mitigates this. The advice I've heard is to eat smaller portions frequently, not to eat enough to feel over full, eat protein at every meal, work up to eating high fiber, and drink lots of water. You don't have to go low fat, but you may not be able to digest a lot of fat at once. I can eat eggs, avocado, nuts, oily fish, Greek yogurt, a little cheese without issue but too much fried food or creamy sauce is trouble.

Also, I eat at least one probiotic food every day, this is just my personal thing, my doctor didn't suggest it. I cycle among kimchi, kombucha, Greek yogurt, kefir, sour krout, and a probiotic cottage cheese. My digestive side effects have been minor, so I think this, plus the water, fiber, and protein helps.

Just a note about fiber, I jumped in with food logging, strength training, lower carb, high protein, drinking more water within a couple days of my first injection. I have no idea what quantities I was eating before because I didn't log. I did initially have issues with different foods than I was warned about. I was warned I might have digestive issues following high fat or high processed carb meals. I actually had the most noticeable issues with large salads. I asked Dr. gpt, my actual doctor, a dietitian and they all mentioned it might happen if I went from low fiber to very high fiber diet. I walked it back a little, I am currently at 25 grams of fiber +/- a few grams daily. I ate vegetables and homemade food before, but likely not quite that much fiber. (I never thought about it before). At this point the large salads are fine, but for a while I ate smaller salads alongside more protein. Some people on Glp-1 meds take digestive enzymes or even medication to help, I haven't but people's side effects vary.

Another big side effect that can happen is muscle loss. That's one of several reasons doctors, dietitions, and trainers familiar with glp-1 meds recommend focusing on protein. Also, some (but from what I hear not enough) recommend resistance training.

Chiccaboom

Thank you for this information! I am 55 years old and my 20 yo daughter and I have an appointment today with our Dr to ask for GLP-1 help and I'm nervous. There's a lot of historical trauma associated with being obese and it's REALLY hard to ask for help! I'm an intelligent woman who has tried every everything through the course of my life to be smaller. The lowest I've managed to get was 200lb (I'm 5'7") back in my 20s with severe calorie restriction and tons of working out. Now, thanks to menopause and cumulative injuries ( I have suspected EDS,a hyper mobility issue, daughter too) I am at 255.

It breaks my heart to see that my daughter has also internalized a lot of shame and is deeply unhappy in her body- she suffered a major emotional set back last year when she entered the work force in her chosen dream of welding and was consistently harassed and shamed until she quit. She fell into deep depression and the Dr put her on an antidepressant - she was scared of weight gain as she'd already put some on with the stress, and she asked him for help. His answer was 'watch your carbs and move more'. She didn't feel able to advocate for herself. Subsequently packed on a rapid 30lbs within 4 mo of being on it and she weaned off it. She started fitness pal for tracking and I came on board to support. She had some success, losing about 15 lbs, but found herself becoming unhealthily obsessed with the tracking and so quit the tracking- meanwhile the weight is creeping back up.

Enough is enough. Enough shame. Enough silence and suffering. Obesity can be an inherited disease and we need help! This is the first time in my life I have ever reached out. I must advocate on my own behalf and my daughter's. We deserve to be heard and seen.

Any tips or advice about how to start the conversation with the Dr is much appreciated, as is hearing stories of hope and success. I am afraid for my daughter of the possible mental health side effects of glp1s - the potential depression or suicidal ideation. She thinks that it's unlikely, since if she's losing weight she will feel very happy indeed!

pridesabtch

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/48578077#Comment_48578077

I'm glad you and your daughter are taking steps to be healthier. I do want to caution that even though weight loss can make us "happy" we still need to deal with the trauma. Seeing a therapist in conjunction with your weight loss plan may be very beneficial for both of you. Best of luck!

Chiccaboom

@pridesabtch thank you, that is on our list too. We live in a smallish town in BC and it's very tough to get seen. My daughter did see someone weekly, online, about the work trauma, for several months. I think it helped. They focused on work though. My daughter will find it tough to open up about weight. I suspect that she is high masking Autistic and her trauma was a melt down after 20 years of masking. It is very difficult and expensive to get identified as an adult. Long wait-lists.

I will encourage her to consider seeking support/therapy in this journey. And me too!

KitKat_615

I was on Wegovy for about a year and have been off of it for about 3 months now. Went from 192 to 137 during that time. I've intentionally come up a bit in weight since then and have been hovering 140-145.

My advice: Avoid heavy foods, especially fried foods - essentially anything oily will wreck your stomach/make you feel terrible. Also, eating enough protein and not dipping too low into a calorie deficit is really important. Your body really starts to feel the lack of calories after a while.

My negative side effects: diarrhea was the big one in the beginning - I've always had stomach issues (IBS, acid reflux) but actually those issues have completely gone away and stayed gone since about 8 months in. The higher doses gave me terrible nausea, you can get nausea medication to help this tho. Some people have that early on but it didn't happen for me until dose 1.0+. Just overall body fatigue was also a problem. Working out was hard during this time. I definitely lost muscle. I also struggled to eat anything that was really strong in flavor, which could sometimes make me nauseous if I tried to eat it. Hair loss also was something I struggled with at about month 9-10 until I got off Wegovy. That's why I say making sure you don't go too far into a calorie deficit is important. Bc it's all fun and games until your hair starts falling out. Another thing that happened to me (not sure if it's specifically related) but my teeth would hurt like a day or so after I took the injection on the higher doses. No idea why, I asked my doctor about it and they said that likely wasn't the medication but I disagree. Probably my biggest problem there at the end was struggling with depression/anxiety. This wasn't as big of an issue until the higher doses, but it became a serious problem there at the end (one of the reasons I'm happy to now be off the medication).

Positives: Your relationship with food is probably going to change a lot (food literally tasted different for me). For me, this was for the better. It like peeled back the curtain on how much I was overeating bc I just really loved the taste of food lol. Now I have a better recognition of when I'm actually full/just eating bc I like the taste of something. Also, I did lose like 50 lbs which is amazing, but probably not the best to do in such a short period of time. I had actively been trying to lose weight for a few years before going on this medication and no amount of exercise and counting calories really helped me, so this really has been life changing for me.

Really important note: If you want to stay at a dose amount at a certain point, fight for it. You don't have to keep going up. You can tell your doctor you'd rather be back on a previous dose amount or go slower than the increasing dosage every month. I noticed that dose 1.0 was my ideal amount. Dose 1.7 like doubled my side effects (nausea, depression) and I gave it multiple tries and I told my doctor this and we agreed sticking to a lower dose with less side effects was the way to go. Though, eventually my insurance wouldn't cover it unless I was at dose 1.7 (which is crap), so I had to move up but I switched to taking my dose every other week instead (still not great for my mental health though, which is one of the reasons I'm no longer taking it). That being said, you are in control of the journey you have on this medication - fight for what's best for you.

Post wegovy notes: After about two-three months off the medication my hunger cues are back to pre-wegovy levels. I've jumped back on this platform to make sure I'm keeping myself accountable of what I'm eating. I have intentionally tried to maintain weight/gain a bit of weight since the whole hair falling out situation, and I'm really pleased with how things have gone since getting off the medication. I feel stronger and more in shape than I have in almost a decade. I'm working out like 5-6 days a week, I'm running again, I feel strong and like I have the energy to do so much (wildly different than when on wegovy). Also, my mental health is vastly improved. I didn't realize how bad of shape I was in there at the end but the medication was absolutely sending me into a bit of a spiral (PSA. Therapy is good). My therapist was actually the biggest advocate for me getting off the medication there at the end, and I'm so glad to no longer be on it. I'm thankful that the medication got me to a place where I feel like I can maintain or lose weight if I want to, but I'm really glad to be done with it too.

Chiccaboom

@KitKat_615 thank you for all your shared wisdom and experience! It is really helpful. I am happy you are feeling so good physically and mentally now!

I have concerns regarding the potential for mental health side effects so I will be vigilant and keep an open dialogue going with my daughter.

It's motivational to hear that despite the negatives, you still found it worthwhile!