Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect, @loresull.

I personally was prescribed semaglutide (Wegovy) and lost 53 pounds. However, I had really challenging gastrointestinal side effects and finally asked my doctor about switching to tirzepatide (Zepbound). My husband, meanwhile, started the semaglutide (Wegovy) as well. He had no GI side effects and lost around 30 pounds on it before hitting his insurance cap for coverage of weight loss shots. He's since gained back 20 pounds.

In retrospect, switching weight loss shots was a mistake for me, mostly due to running into an insurance cap for weight loss medications and losing time. I hit this cap right about the time I got to the highest tirzepatide dose, as I had to start at the bottom dose and work up to the highest one. The tirzepatide did not suppress my appetite like the semaglutide did, which was crystal clear. I also had not lost more than 1 pound on it before I got to the insurance cap. This seemed odd, as I'd understood tirzepatide to be more effective than semaglutide. But it didn't turn out that way in my case.

In order to test to see if the semaglutide was causing my GI distress, I had to be off all weight loss shots for a month. Then, as I mentioned, I had to start all over with the tirzepatide. All this led to my gaining back 24 pounds. Super frustrating.

All this is to say that one's response to these weight loss shots appears to be highly individual. I would consult with your doctor and look at the best plan for you with any medical insurance caps you may have for weight loss shots very much in mind.

What does your doctor recommend you do at this point, loresull?

@loresull
Hi there, I feel like I’m a professional dieter which gives you the story of all the weight loss I’ve done and weight gain. After gaining almost 80 pounds after an accident and being wheelchair bound for two years, I finally upped my exercise. My doctor sent me down and we figured out how many calories I needed to maintain the weight I was at then we removed 500 cal. He was kind of shocked that I needed to drive to 1000 cal to kickstart my system into losing weight. It’s not many calories so I had to make it extremely nutrient dense. Any grains or whole grains, I would marinate chicken and have chunks of it in a baggie in the fridge to grab for snacking or throw on a salad. Same thing with some steamed shrimp, etc. I would make a gallon baggie of salad with every vegetable I could think of and I ate that once my breakfast of one egg, one egg white and a little cottage cheese had passed. I didn’t eat anything else until that salad was gone and it really did get tiring, but it also filled me up and kept my system running. We’re all vegetables have lots of needed nutrients in them that we need to keep from getting depleted. I enjoyed a small medium potato, actually quite often because of the potassium. It’s a starch not a carb really .
Anyway, it took about three weeks before my body finally kicked in to weight loss and from that point on it was pretty easy. I did use protein bars occasionally and I would slice them up in 1/6 of a bar and keep them in the freezer. I’m an anxiety eater so I had to have food to munch on and I prepped cucumber chunks, celery, sticks, and anything crunchy like that to have on hand. It took me a year and a half to lose the weight but I have kept it off. I probably have about 1200 cal a day now. I can’t do a lot of exercising because of the damage from the boating accident which pretty much mangled my right lower leg. Long walks are out for me so is riding a bicycle but I can push a mean vacuum cleaner lol
Anyway, you have to find out how many calories you maintain your weight at then you’ve gotta remove 300 maybe to start and if it’s feasible remove 500 cal from your allowance then you will lose weight. I guarantee it. If I were to have had access to a GLP one at the time I would have used it absolutely but with the above. If you don’t change your behavior, you will just gain the weight back. Of the GLP ones I would certainly use Terzepitide compounded with B6. I think. Search out a good compound Pharmacy. Big Pharma has got these things so high priced under brand name. It cuts out most people. I helped my daughter and it cost us $50. Per 10 milligram units of Terzepitide. I mixed with sterile, prescription grade micellar water and all sterile syringes and protocols. She’s lost 20 pounds with the cost of $100.
I understand everyone’s concerns and FDA likes nothing better than to you into submission, but there are some great Terzepitide peptide resources available GLP 1 peptides reconstituted with sterile pharmaceutical micellar water is a game changer for those that can’t afford the big box and whose insurance doesn’t cover weight loss. It worked just the same as my friend who is using the brand pharmaceutical pens. Cost her close to $4000. But do your homework and be safe and good luck on your weight loss journey.