Ozempic for weight loss

Options
2»

Replies

  • Lori11223344
    Lori11223344 Posts: 14 Member
    Options
    These injectable glucagon like peptides are now primary weight loss medications in Canada, as well as many other countries, for non diabetic people suffering from obesity.
    They have an NNT of 2, about as profound as any pharmaceutical for any illness.
    They produce, on average a 10-15% body weight reduction, compared to 2-3% for placebo.
    They improve quality of life for half the people who take them.
    Like anything else, you need to continue healthier eating habits after you stop them, or you will regain weight.
    I mention my expertise, not as an authority, but to stress that I, like many people with obesity, employed every other means over decades, unsuccessfully, before trying this medication.
    Simply put, it worked.
    So for those struggling over many years, talk to your doctor, and do not give up hope.
    Summary and simplified references for Canadian physicians can be found in the link
    https://www.cfp.ca/content/67/11/842
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,068 Member
    Options
    Ozempic can be combined with oral diabetic meds or with insulin, that is correct.

    I'm sure somewhere in the PDF would confirm that.

    Obviously (in Australia anyway) under Dr's supervision since it is a prescription only medication
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,018 Member
    Options
    ghrmj wrote: »
    Lori11223344 wrote: »
    These injectable glucagon like peptides are now primary weight loss medications in Canada, as well as many other countries, for non diabetic people suffering from obesity.
    They have an NNT of 2, about as profound as any pharmaceutical for any illness.
    They produce, on average a 10-15% body weight reduction, compared to 2-3% for placebo.
    They improve quality of life for half the people who take them.
    Like anything else, you need to continue healthier eating habits after you stop them, or you will regain weight.
    I mention my expertise, not as an authority, but to stress that I, like many people with obesity, employed every other means over decades, unsuccessfully, before trying this medication.
    Simply put, it worked.
    So for those struggling over many years, talk to your doctor, and do not give up hope.
    Summary and simplified references for Canadian physicians can be found in the link
    https://www.cfp.ca/content/67/11/842
    "Bottom line
    Used with lifestyle changes, 2.4 mg of subcutaneous SGT weekly resulted in a mean 10% to 15% weight loss (10 to 15 kg) over 68 weeks versus 2% to 3% (3 to 4 kg) with placebo (PC). Most (70% to 80%) lost 5% or more of their body weight. About 75% had gastrointestinal side effects, but few discontinued treatment. Weight was regained on medication discontinuation."

    So do you have to keep taking it forever? Like this is an ongoing lifetime commitment?

    I wonder for how many people excessive hunger is the basis of their obesity. For me personally I don't think hunger has much to do with my weight issues, I don't over eat because of hunger but because of bad habits and poor food choices. So I would imagine an appetite suppressant wouldn't be of much benefit.

    Most medications generally address symptoms and not the underlying cause and it makes sense that when medication ends that the symptoms return and, in this case, weight gain. Cheers.
  • Lori11223344
    Lori11223344 Posts: 14 Member
    Options
    ghrmj wrote: »

    So do you have to keep taking it forever? Like this is an ongoing lifetime commitment?

    I wonder for how many people excessive hunger is the basis of their obesity. For me personally I don't think hunger has much to do with my weight issues, I don't over eat because of hunger but because of bad habits and poor food choices. So I would imagine an appetite suppressant wouldn't be of much benefit.

    I don't think we have enough research to say its a lifetime commitment. Its really only been studied for weight loss for the last 7 years or so. That said, current theories suggest that obesity is a chronic health condition that is partly genetically based, and probably also one of the inflammatory diseases, so taking medication long term would make intuitive sense. Not everything intuitive in medicine is correct however.

    My personal experience is that I am very experienced in nutrition, dietary management, and did not have any eating disorders, nor did I significantly overeat in my lifetime. What I do have is many generations of famine survivors in my ancestry. If I look back at pictures of women in my family for the past 150 years, the women are all overweight and hypothyroid appearing, once they had survived the various famines and wars they went through. So although I may eat what all the BMR calculators think is right for the average woman of my size, I will gain weight on what is a baseline maintenance diet for someone else. In the same way, some of my “naturally thin” friends who have struggled all their lives to gain or maintain weight, generally eat about twice as much as I do when we go out together. Metabolism is highly individual.

    My endocrinologist suggests that once one develops insulin resistance on the basis of excess weight, overpowering hunger is often a symptom. End tissues are resistant to the effect of insulin so that glucose in the bloodstream is not easily absorbed into most cells where it can be used for energy, but fat cells readily take up and store the extra glucose, so even when you eat, you are still starving at the functional cellular level, but are gaining weight through fat storage. My hope is that by reducing weight, my insulin resistance will also be reduced, and that may be why, after losing 15 lbs with the Ozempic, my overpowering hunger did not return even after I quit the med.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,018 Member
    Options
    Lori11223344 wrote: »
    ghrmj wrote: »

    So do you have to keep taking it forever? Like this is an ongoing lifetime commitment?

    I wonder for how many people excessive hunger is the basis of their obesity. For me personally I don't think hunger has much to do with my weight issues, I don't over eat because of hunger but because of bad habits and poor food choices. So I would imagine an appetite suppressant wouldn't be of much benefit.

    I don't think we have enough research to say its a lifetime commitment. Its really only been studied for weight loss for the last 7 years or so. That said, current theories suggest that obesity is a chronic health condition that is partly genetically based, and probably also one of the inflammatory diseases, so taking medication long term would make intuitive sense. Not everything intuitive in medicine is correct however.

    My personal experience is that I am very experienced in nutrition, dietary management, and did not have any eating disorders, nor did I significantly overeat in my lifetime. What I do have is many generations of famine survivors in my ancestry. If I look back at pictures of women in my family for the past 150 years, the women are all overweight and hypothyroid appearing, once they had survived the various famines and wars they went through. So although I may eat what all the BMR calculators think is right for the average woman of my size, I will gain weight on what is a baseline maintenance diet for someone else. In the same way, some of my “naturally thin” friends who have struggled all their lives to gain or maintain weight, generally eat about twice as much as I do when we go out together. Metabolism is highly individual.

    My endocrinologist suggests that once one develops insulin resistance on the basis of excess weight, overpowering hunger is often a symptom. End tissues are resistant to the effect of insulin so that glucose in the bloodstream is not easily absorbed into most cells where it can be used for energy, but fat cells readily take up and store the extra glucose, so even when you eat, you are still starving at the functional cellular level, but are gaining weight through fat storage. My hope is that by reducing weight, my insulin resistance will also be reduced, and that may be why, after losing 15 lbs with the Ozempic, my overpowering hunger did not return even after I quit the med.

    You lost weight from ozempic's effect on satiety and you ate less, which is not surprising but it will be up to you going forward whether you continue to eat less, because that is the reality. Hopefully your inspired and you continue to eat less, cheers.
  • zutshihora
    zutshihora Posts: 30 Member
    Options
    So here is an update. Several.monyhs later,on the fill dosage and NO weight loss beyond the 6 odd pbs ! The blood sugars a re almost normal. The side effects have settled,the IBS does it's own thing...
    Me thinks maybe an on the other end of the spectrum where the loss is the slowest if at all?
    Will take the blood glucose being near normal.most times !
    I do eat less. Keep logging diligently,eat carefully, workout daily. Don't know what else I can possibly do
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,018 Member
    Options
    zutshihora wrote: »
    So here is an update. Several.monyhs later,on the fill dosage and NO weight loss beyond the 6 odd pbs ! The blood sugars a re almost normal. The side effects have settled,the IBS does it's own thing...
    Me thinks maybe an on the other end of the spectrum where the loss is the slowest if at all?
    Will take the blood glucose being near normal.most times !
    I do eat less. Keep logging diligently,eat carefully, workout daily. Don't know what else I can possibly do

    Yeah, when they do these studies the variability among participants will cover the whole spectrum of results and I would imagine there will even be a few that gain weight. If it's helping your A1C and reducing your IR then that does go into the win column. Cheers
  • Melwillbehealthy
    Melwillbehealthy Posts: 893 Member
    Options
    I’ve been taking ozempic for 4 months now, and have had similar reactions to it.. My A1C level has dropped and I’ve lost 30 lbs. For me, I don’t think it would work as a weight loss drug by itself. I’ve changed my lifestyle a lot. Maybe it just gave me the mental ‘hope’ to start eating and living healthier. I’m on 1 mg. A week , and since it’s lowered my blood sugar level I don’t want to increase my dosage unless the doctor insists on it. At this point she agrees with me.
    I don’t notice any nausea reactions to it as I did when I first started taking it, but I have severe diverticulitis, and sometimes it comes into play. Since I’m eating healthier and exercising more, a lot has improved, even my gut issues.
    I really think some of us need to believe it’s helping us lose weight in order for us to be successful. Even a little, tiny feeling of appetite suppression goes a long way mentally. It’s something overweight people can grab onto, and work with it, and be successful, maybe for the first time in their lives.
    If it’s prescribed as a weight loss drug, I believe most people know or are told to change some bad habits and work with the drug. Some don’t I guess.
    Ozempic is a drug that is giving hope to people that before felt hopeless. That’s a wonderful thing. It is still a drug though, and you have to decide how long you want to take it. My goal is to get off drugs. I have been taking more control of my own health since I started ozempic, and checking in with my doctor more often. I have a lot more weight to lose, and won’t be expecting ozempic to do it for me, but, it is definitely assisting me at this point or visa versa.
    There shouldn’t be controversy around a drug that helps people. There’s no shortage here.

Categories