What's your experience with Ozempic or Saxenda for weight loss?

I have been on Ozempic, then switched to Wegovy due to insurance, for over a year. I pay $20/month and have the shot weekly. I have had three bariatric surgeries, all revisions of the prior ones due to complications. Never lost significant weight from those. With the semaglutide, I am down 85 lbs so far. I have cut out all sweeteners, all flour and all alcohol and I feel absolutely wonderful. Those were addictive substances for me. I am using my semaglutide in conjuction with following Bright Line Eating, a way of eating that addresses addictive behavior around food.

Hello, I have been on Trizepitide (Mounjaro, now Zepbound). I’ve had tremendous success. I’ve lost 75lbs and would have gained some back by now if not for this medication. I never went past 7.5mg and made every effort to completely change my lifestyle. I now exercise 4 days a week and eat 80/20 lifestyle with much more focus on healthier (Mediterranean diet) whole foods. This medication help me turn off the food obsession and finally have the freedom in my brain to read a lot of books on nutrition which has been very motivating. The worst thing I did in my life was be on strict diets that eliminates certain food groups. I now know how bad that is for your metabolism. I’ve actually gone down in dose and able to still lose a little more weight. I’m now on the starting dose of 2.5mg, I tapered off very slowly. I also added the lowest dose of Bupropion to my regimen. Seems to help a little but no miracles here. I would suggest a book “The Secret Life of Fat”. It’s a great read, and will give you a lot of insight. Best of luck to you

The warning on wegovy says you gain back weight up stopping using it

I had surgery in 2006. I kept the weight off, through some hard work, I also have Diabetes 2. About 1-1/2 years ago my doctor put me on Ozempic, because I couldn’t tolerate Metformin anymore. I am on a low dosage of .5 to control my Diabetes. Initially I lost 25 pounds, but, I have stayed at the same weight since. I understand people without Diabetes tend to lose at a faster rate then Diabetics. I’m happy where I am. I’ll need Ozempic for the rest of my life to control my blood sugars. I really don’t have any side effects. Again, I’m sure my body tolerates the drug in a different way than non-diabetics.

I am a type II diabetic taking Ozempic (2 units). My blood sugar control has improved but I am experiencing GI symptoms. I am glad that you are tolerating Ozempic well.

I had bariatric surgery about a decade ago, lost about 70 lbs, and gradually added about 30 lbs back on. When I was told I was a poor candidate for knee replacement surgery for osteoarthritis, I finally bit the bullet and started tirzepatide (zepbound). On the one hand, I've lost 30 lbs since June and the arthritis is a lot better. On the other hand, I've had a replay of pretty much every side effect from every medication I've ever had, and I'm now on two migraine preventives to get those back under control.

Please be aware that this is a minority response -- the majority of people on this drug are just fine. (Although anyone who describes "mild to moderate nausea and vomiting" as acceptable, which is what a lot of the literature does, has never had to face it as a permanent lifestyle; there is no such thing as "mild" when you expect it to never go away.) (Sorry for the rant.)

A few thoughts:
-- Someone suggested titrating slowly, and you bet -- wonderful advice. The clinical trials were based on 4 weeks between increasing doses and I stretched that to 8 weeks instead, which helped deal with the fact that every dosage increase restarted the side effects. (I'm now two weeks into slowly moving down to find a maintenance dose, and so far, that actually is helping the side effects. For me, they really do seem to be dose dependent.)
-- These are sledgehammer drugs that hit every GLP-1 receptor in your body, and are not targeted to the receptors that control weight loss as such. This is why they seem to produce positive side effects (my arthritis may be better in part due to this, and there are signs they improve heart health), but also why they trigger negative side effects (for example, they make my migraines a lot worse, but for some people, they make migraines better).
-- If dropping down the dosage isn't fully successful, I'm going to switch to semaglutide. They don't have a lot of data yet on changing between GLP-1 RAs, but it is clearly an option.
-- The evidence so far argues you will be on it for life, which is not a surprise. Affording the drug can be an issue for most people. I'm on Medicare, which doesn't cover it, so it's out of pocket for me. The zepbound manufacturer is now making it available at a lower retail cost directly to the consumer with a prescription, but its a vial-and-hypodermic rather than the self-injector.
-- There's a race going on to produce an oral form of GLP-1 RA, so if giving yourself shots is a concern, you may have a better answer if you wait a while. That being said, those of us who are post-bariatric don't necessarily handle oral meds well.
-- You can, in fact, give it a try, and if you don't like it, stop. I believe all the current GLP-1 RAs fully exit our systems within about a month. What's problematic is going on and off and on and off and on and off, which some people have been forced to do as they have had difficulty finding the drug. (The availability problem seems to have largely been solved.)
-- I would strongly encourage you to avoid a compounding pharmacy. The non-brand stuff is creating all sorts of problems, even if it is cheaper. It really isn't the same product.

I have been on Zepbound for a year, and I have lost 44% of my original weight. I am now a couple of pounds from my goal, which is lowest I have ever been in my adult life. However, I am still losing. Does anyone have experience in slowing or stopping weight loss while taking Zepbound or Monjouro? My doctors don't seem to have a definite answer. I don't want to stop taking the medicine, because from what I have read, I would likely regain the weight.

@quinceykk

Congratulation on your weight loss. I understand your fear of gaining weight back if you stop the medication. I am going to tag @blynn9030 who commented earlier about her success with Zepbound and tapering off the dosage.

Lifestyle changes are important to maintain your weight loss. What lifestyle changes have you made?

Correct. But that’s just a warning, not a guarantee. Everything in you has to shift completely. You must come to terms that the old you is gone. Most people won’t be able to accept this and move on. This is common with most things in life. Habits and behavior are extremely hard to change and accept. Most people will fail, let’s be honest. It’s always on my mind, I’ve accepted that. I have nothing more in me to blame my past experiences, or choices anymore. You either accept this is your new way of life or you don’t. It’s that simple. It’s a constant daily battle, it’s not easy.

Hi @quinceykk, congratulations on your weight loss! I have lost a total of 38% so I am right there with you. I have been overweight off and on my entire teenage and adult life. Been on all the diets, therapy, and so on. Trizepitide has been the only medication that has helped changed my life completely. I am not completely off of it yet. I have tapered down from 7.5mg to 5mg, to 2.5mg.. I added Wellbutrin to the mix on a low dose as it does help very little with the cravings or just not focused on food. Wellbutrin (Bupropion) is an anti-depressant, it's stimulating so not for everyone. It does make my anxiety slightly worse BUT because of that, I have been forced to learn new strategies to help with anxiety. It's funny how when you what something bad enough you seem to manage things. My weight is one thing, but my health is up most important now, especially since I have seen so many positive changes. I could go on, but to answer your question; here are my thoughts based on my own personal experience.

1. It's tough and a daily battle. It's not easy and never will be. So throw any idea out that you will just maintain easily, you most likely won't. You'll have to do things you don't feel like doing, and miss out sometimes.
2. Through my entire process I lost, then gained some, or stayed at the same weight even though it wasn't my "goal". I gave into those times, especially when I maintained. I personally feel it's crucial to let your body gain homeostasis balance during this process. Give your body time to adjust to a new weight and body. I've never been a fan of constantly losing weight, if you do that, then what? How will you ever learn to maintain if your focus has always been on losing. Let your brain adjust to a new setpoint. Just my opinion.
3. I weigh myself every other day. I know some people fear this or it stresses them out. Get over it. Life is stressful, don't overthink things. I needed to toughen up. Keep track closely before it gets out of control because it will.
4. I stop complaining and whining. Who cares why I am overweight, doesn't matter anymore. The only thing that matters is moving forward.
5. Get a Dexa scan; I paid for mine through a company that checked different biomarkers, not just bone but muscle mass and my V02 Max and also my true RMR. So I had an idea of where I was and what I needed to work on. I think it was DexaFit (the company).
6. Make sure you have the right focus on your goals and go from there.
7. Avoid diets unless you think this is the only way you can maintain. Diets made me fatter. Come up with a plan that works for you. I don't do cheat days anymore. I have figured out a way to eat mostly healthy with some additions of what I like. We have choices, we better choose wisely most of the time.
8. Be grateful. Most people can't get this medication, and I did not take that for granted. I worked harder because I felt it was a privilege I didn't deserve. I was given a second chance. My dad has T2DM. It makes me sad he didn't have the opportunity to change his life earlier on like I have. I am forever grateful, and I try to live my new life this way. With gratitude; optimism is sustainable.
9. This is more for newcomers, but respect the medication. Don't play games and use it in an unsafe manner, or under unsanitary methods remember it's a medication which changes your biochemistry.
10. Let go of who you were, and understand that person is no longer. Accept the change, and habits. It will be difficult but the most rewarding to maintain your new weight and health.

Good luck to you 🙂