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What's your experience with Ozempic or Saxenda for weight loss?
Bariatric Surgery & Weight Loss | Last Active: Nov 15 7:06pm | Replies (62)Comment receiving replies
@beachy - The best next steps are all super hard to figure out when you are experiencing what seem like extreme side effects. I am not medical staff in any sense, but this is what happened in my experience: I eventually got so weary of the extreme cramping, random vomiting and bad diarrhea that even caused a little "explosion" in my bed twice overnight, that I finally asked my doctor to switch me from semaglutide (Wegovy) to tirzepatide (Zepbound). She agreed that my side effects were bad and put me on the path to a switch.
In the end, I feel like this was a mistake for me, simply due to time constraints with my insurance coverage. I had to be off all weight loss meds for one month, to be sure the side effects were coming from the semaglutide (Wegovy). They were, and all side effects stopped. Then I had to wait a little for my insurance to authorize the tirzepatide (Zepbound). During this time off of the shots, my weight went up quite a bit. Then I had to start all over with the tirzepatide (Zepbound). By the time I got to the top dose, my insurance coverage for weight loss shots had run out. And for whatever reason, the tirzepatide (Zepbound) did not work for me at all - I lost maybe 1 pound total on it. I'd lost 53 pounds in my time on semaglutide (Wegovy). I essentially went backwards in my weight loss, which was frustrating.
So, in retrospect, I wish I had stayed on the semaglutide (Wegovy) and figured out with my doctor how to work with it and the side effects (e.g., going down in dosage, frequency of shots, antidiarrheal meds).
Ultimately, only you can say what is the best path for you, beachy.
Hoping perhaps other members in this discussion on weight loss shots such as @edwardw @therese0327 @writer418 @projfan @ekrahenbuhl will have some input for you on the nausea/vomiting/cramping side effects you've had to deal with as you try to determine how to manage this and the way forward.
Replies to "@beachy - The best next steps are all super hard to figure out when you are..."
@lisalucier et al
Oddly enough, I'm usually one of the people who do not experience side effects (except to Aspirin which gives me tremendous heartburn).
I was on Ozempic but my endocrinologist thought Zepbound/Mounjaro (the Italian weight loss drug...haha) was a better drug here I am 3 months later having lost 15 pounds. I would have lost even more but had to hold off bc of an operation that required me to be intubated. You must avoid Mounjaro for a couple of weeks before that and now I'm in my third week post op and not on drug again yet. Because operation was to my throat, I am not eating as much anyway so the weight has gone down a little.
I did have big burbs on Mounjaro so I made sure to be clear of the drug before intubation. Otherwise no side effects. The drugs do cause constipation BUT I drank a lot of water and kept to my mantra of fiber, fruit, protein and water and the evacuation slide worked better.
@lisalucier I'm exhausted just reading your post -- what an ordeal.
It drives me nuts when the studies essentially dismiss the GI side effects of these drugs as "mild or moderate". Whoever writes up the results of the clinical trials has clearly never had to live with such side effects every day, day in and day out.
I have nothing brilliant to suggest. Just keep the dosage low if your symptoms get worse as the dose gets larger, take your time with the ramps up/down, consider drugs to help with the side effects (yes -- taking drugs to fix other drugs is something of a slippery slope, so it's a question of how important it is to you), and be open to switching within the class of GLP-1RAs (which is, as you say, easier said than done when insurance gets involved). Also and finally, if you haven't already done so, consider transitioning from the GLP-1RAs to bariatric surgery.
I'm on Linzess for the constipation, Ondansetron to prevent nausea, candied ginger to treat nausea (the stuff from nuts.com is most effective for me). I eat small amounts frequently, heavy on protein, and push fluids, mostly weak unsweetened tea.
Unfortunately, and not surprisingly, it looks like the oral forms of the drugs in clinical trial have about the same side effects as the injectables. The older GLP-1RAs (the ones injected daily) can have fewer side effects, but they are also optimized for glucose control and don't produce as much weight loss. They may also be worth exploring if tirzepatide and semaglutide are both intolerable.
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@lisalucier thank you for this comment. I started Mounjaro (tirzepatide) for diabetes and weight loss bc on Jardiance, I was experiencing severe yeast infection side effects, even tho it kept my AIC in check, I still struggled with weight gain. Currently, I have no problem with insurance coverage. I tolerated 2.5 mg for 8 weeks, then 5mg for one mont then 7.5 for these past 4 weeks. I did notice I needed to adjust my food portions, have trouble with acidic, greasy and dairy foods. Will definitely keep all these suggestions in mind. Thank you.