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*Treatment results may vary
100% Worth It, but Not a Miracle Drug
I’m in middle age, headed towards menopause, have a highly stressful job, a the caretaker of a mother with dementia, and I’m an emotional eater. You probably see where I’m going with this.
For the past 2 years, as I’ve aged and my stress levels have risen, I’ve struggled to control my weight. From my 20’s through my 40’s, if I overindulged on vacation or over the holidays, I could drop the weight in 2 weeks or less if I just kicked my exercise regime up a notch and cut back on my calories. Those glory days are over for this diva, I can tell you that. Even when “dieting” and exercising 6 days a week, the scale has been slowly creeping up by a pound or two a month.
I work in an industry where looks matter - especially if you’re a woman over 30 (which is just about every industry, if I’m being honest, amiright?). It was bad enough to be getting older - putting on 20 pounds in 2 years was just compounding a felony. I felt so out of control of everything - my life, my career, my body - I started adding a few cocktails to my evening routine, which only sped up the weight gain. Then, one day when visiting my GP for my physical, I was bemoaning my fate and she said, “Why don’t we try you on Ozempic for weight loss?” I was like, wait, what? I’d heard about celebrities using Ozempic, and I’d seen some dramatic transformation pics, but I never thought it was something I’d be able to do. My GP said Ozempic also caused some people to have an aversion to alcohol, which was only a plus for me because I admitted to her that I’d been starting to look forward to my nightly cocktails a little too much.
So anyway, she prescribed it, and the bottom line is that I hope I can afford it until I retire (after that, I’m gonna embrace my inner crone and let everything hang loose and low).
That said, it’s not side-effect free, so here’s the skinny (pun intended) on my experience:
1. So far, I’ve lost 15 lbs, with 9 lbs coming off in the first 6 weeks.
2. The best, most extreme results, in terms of appetite control and alcohol aversion, happen in the first few months of treatment. That’s also when the side effects are worst.
3. My side effects have been: a headache the day after each injection (pretty bad the first month - now I hardly notice them); extreme exhaustion for a half-day after the weekly dose; moderate constipation.
4. Mild/moderate nausea, but only the first 1-2 days after an injection. This is *kind* of a side effect, but not one that bothers me. For me, the nausea is the “ugh, I don’t want to eat or see food” level; it’s not so bad I’m incapacitated.
5. It is CRITICAL that you stay hydrated (2 liters of water a day) when on this medication. It not only helps with the headache, it also helps keep you regular.
6. You do have to continue to exercise and maintain a reasonable diet - this is not a miracle drug that lets you eat whatever you want and not lift a finger to stay in shape.
7. It’s expensive ($1,000+ for a syringe which lasts about 4 months at the weight loss dose), although there are pharmacies in Canada who sell it for less than that. It’s still hard to get though.
Full disclosure: I’m 5 months in on Ozempic and I’ve pretty much plateaued on the weight loss - part of that is because I’ve figured out how I can “slow feed” around the drug (my GP says this is pretty common). Yes, I continue to have small meals, but I’ve learned that I can keep a bag of chips or a bar of chocolate at my elbow and graze on it throughout the workday without that uncomfortable feeling I get from eating a full meal (Ozempic’s mechanism of action is slowing the emptying of your stomach, so if you eat too much too fast, you’re going to be uncomfortable). BUT, Ozempic also gives me the ability to go hours without eating when I’m traveling or if I don’t bring snacks to work - it used to be that I would get hangry if I didn’t eat every few hours, and now I can work from 7:30 to noon, and noon to dinner without eating (if I don’t sabotage with snacks).
Bottom line: I will continue using this drug. It gives me enough willpower and control that I’ve been able to significantly cut back on my eating and drinking - I now rarely finish a whole cocktail and some nights I don’t drink at all - without feeling like I’m depriving myself in a life that is already almost too stressful to manage. If you can afford it, my recommendation is to give it a try.
For the past 2 years, as I’ve aged and my stress levels have risen, I’ve struggled to control my weight. From my 20’s through my 40’s, if I overindulged on vacation or over the holidays, I could drop the weight in 2 weeks or less if I just kicked my exercise regime up a notch and cut back on my calories. Those glory days are over for this diva, I can tell you that. Even when “dieting” and exercising 6 days a week, the scale has been slowly creeping up by a pound or two a month.
I work in an industry where looks matter - especially if you’re a woman over 30 (which is just about every industry, if I’m being honest, amiright?). It was bad enough to be getting older - putting on 20 pounds in 2 years was just compounding a felony. I felt so out of control of everything - my life, my career, my body - I started adding a few cocktails to my evening routine, which only sped up the weight gain. Then, one day when visiting my GP for my physical, I was bemoaning my fate and she said, “Why don’t we try you on Ozempic for weight loss?” I was like, wait, what? I’d heard about celebrities using Ozempic, and I’d seen some dramatic transformation pics, but I never thought it was something I’d be able to do. My GP said Ozempic also caused some people to have an aversion to alcohol, which was only a plus for me because I admitted to her that I’d been starting to look forward to my nightly cocktails a little too much.
So anyway, she prescribed it, and the bottom line is that I hope I can afford it until I retire (after that, I’m gonna embrace my inner crone and let everything hang loose and low).
That said, it’s not side-effect free, so here’s the skinny (pun intended) on my experience:
1. So far, I’ve lost 15 lbs, with 9 lbs coming off in the first 6 weeks.
2. The best, most extreme results, in terms of appetite control and alcohol aversion, happen in the first few months of treatment. That’s also when the side effects are worst.
3. My side effects have been: a headache the day after each injection (pretty bad the first month - now I hardly notice them); extreme exhaustion for a half-day after the weekly dose; moderate constipation.
4. Mild/moderate nausea, but only the first 1-2 days after an injection. This is *kind* of a side effect, but not one that bothers me. For me, the nausea is the “ugh, I don’t want to eat or see food” level; it’s not so bad I’m incapacitated.
5. It is CRITICAL that you stay hydrated (2 liters of water a day) when on this medication. It not only helps with the headache, it also helps keep you regular.
6. You do have to continue to exercise and maintain a reasonable diet - this is not a miracle drug that lets you eat whatever you want and not lift a finger to stay in shape.
7. It’s expensive ($1,000+ for a syringe which lasts about 4 months at the weight loss dose), although there are pharmacies in Canada who sell it for less than that. It’s still hard to get though.
Full disclosure: I’m 5 months in on Ozempic and I’ve pretty much plateaued on the weight loss - part of that is because I’ve figured out how I can “slow feed” around the drug (my GP says this is pretty common). Yes, I continue to have small meals, but I’ve learned that I can keep a bag of chips or a bar of chocolate at my elbow and graze on it throughout the workday without that uncomfortable feeling I get from eating a full meal (Ozempic’s mechanism of action is slowing the emptying of your stomach, so if you eat too much too fast, you’re going to be uncomfortable). BUT, Ozempic also gives me the ability to go hours without eating when I’m traveling or if I don’t bring snacks to work - it used to be that I would get hangry if I didn’t eat every few hours, and now I can work from 7:30 to noon, and noon to dinner without eating (if I don’t sabotage with snacks).
Bottom line: I will continue using this drug. It gives me enough willpower and control that I’ve been able to significantly cut back on my eating and drinking - I now rarely finish a whole cocktail and some nights I don’t drink at all - without feeling like I’m depriving myself in a life that is already almost too stressful to manage. If you can afford it, my recommendation is to give it a try.