Thank you, and thank you for remembering that I was trying, what, back in 2018 or 2019? That never stopped - I’ve been working out religiously all that time, and the weight kept increasing. I was so so despondent.
I forgot another benefit: I no longer have to use a CPAP machine; my sleep apnea and snoring have stopped. And my husband can sleep in the same bed with me again. This is not a vanity drug for me. Sometimes I’m in the gym lifting 25-pound kettle bells and marveling that I use to be carrying TWO of those around every minute of the day. I’m really happy with the way I feel now - I’m not breathing hard when we go on hikes, and I can scramble up the hills without having to stop to catch my breath. My joints and back are fine now - even at 60 - and that was really starting to worry me, because of my mother’s weight and arthritis history.
My doctor makes me come in every three months for a checkup and bloodwork. He’s really inspired for me and cheers me on.
Oh, on the compounded meds: the FDA and the drugmakers have issued warnings, pointing out that they are not approved or regulated. I’ve considered going that route but have been able to keep paying for the brand name. If that was all I could afford or if the supply dried up, I would definitely try it. It’s that important to me.
Weight loss for me is not a cosmetic issue. I am trying to increase my lung capacity after covid damaged them. It affected my heart. I ended up on 3 cardiac meds. I gained more weight. I ended up hospitalized with appendicitis and then needed a hysterectomy. My body has gone through a lot in the last 3 years. I want to be able to exercise in the same capacity I did years ago. Of course my diet could be better. But it also isnt awful. I am off one of the cardiac meds already. I have labs drawn regularly. I see both my internist and my cardiologist for checkups. I’ve had a cardiac stress test. I get ekgs. I have maxed out on our health insurance premiums the past 2 years.
My mom is morbidly obese and has limited mobility and uses a scooter. She has a long list of chronic health problems. My dad had a CABG (heart bypass) when he was 50. I want to live and for me that means dropping weight. Admittedly I need support to do that right now. I am totally fine with spending the $400-500/month for a weekly medication that is working as an adjunct to the other changes I am trying to make.
My friend, who I mentioned above, went to the Biggest Loser Ranch and went through their weight loss program. I believe it was a month-long program and cost approx. $15k. It was restrictive - mandatory exercise, no leaving the compound except for group trips with a chaperone, no social media, a chef cooking meals. I think my friend lost around 35 pounds while there but once home and back into having to cook for herself, taking care of kids, having to find time to exercise, working full time, etc., she gained everything back and then some. She has also tried WW, Nurisystem, Jenny Craig, Noom, tons of other commercial diets and has had a gastric bypass. She’s bigger than she’s ever been.
Also not mentioned are chronic illnesses like PCOS and depression, and medications that cause weight gain and make losing/maintaining difficult. There’s been other CC threads that touch on this subject and references have been made to larger sized individuals, known in popular culture, who do work out regularly and eat healthy and are still larger sized. Genetics plays a role. A six-foot-two-inch tall woman is probably never going to be a size two, unless they have serious health problems.
I commented that there were a boatload of facebook ads about this stuff, but my friend (who has now lost 11 lbs) used a local “ clinic” who mailed her the meds to be compounded. She didn’t buy from a facebook ad. I think the plethora of facebook ads increased after I curiously looked up her clinic on line. I do admit to being quite curious, as I gained some weight after I broke bones skiing in January (annd then couldnt exercise while recovering, so just sat and ate all the food we were brought. But now it’s uncomfortable. So while I am being better about what I eat and trying to exercise (also dealing with plantar fasciitis) I am intrigued about this additional possibility to help.
You are correct. I married into a family of extremely thin people. For them, it has nothing to do with making healthy choices in either diet or exercise. It is not about self control. Each of them will tell you they have always eaten whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted. They simply aren’t hungry very often, and it doesn’t take much to make them feel full. They enjoy food, but they don’t think about it very often.
Many years ago, I reacted to a very upsetting adverse life event by totally losing my appetite. I simply had no desire to eat. I lost thirty pounds in three months, and even in the midst of a mindset i would never want to go back to, I marveled at how simple it was to lose weight when you simply didn’t want to eat.
As I said above, constant,constant having to think about every single thing you eat, or don’t eat, turns into the simulacrum of a food disorder. I would love to be able to get rid of that noise.
If someone is obese, their weight is a very serious medical condition. I think it’s wrong to begrudge anyone with a serious weight problem using a medication that helps them to lose weight. It’s not about “vanity” and it most certainly is not the fault of people using drugs approved and prescribed for weight loss, that the pharmaceutical companies (who are making obscene amounts of money) aren’t keeping up with demand.
I do not recommend compounded semaglutide (or tirzepatide, which is the generic name for Mounjaro). Compounded medications are not evaluated by the FDA for safety and efficacy. In addition, there are no generic forms of semaglutide or tirzepatide–only the branded versions. You do not know where the chemicals in compounded semaglutide came from (they may be foreign sources) or even what chemicals they are. The FDA has warned that some of these products appear to be semaglutide salts (which have not been shown to be safe or effective) rather than the “base” drug in the branded version. Medications Containing Semaglutide Marketed for Type 2 Diabetes or Weight Loss | FDA. People have reported getting vials labeled semaglutide but also labeled “not for human use” or “for research only.” Rather than the injection pen which allows precise dosing, people report being given vials of liquid or powder to be mixed with saline, along with needles, and told to mix it themselves and inject it. This leads to the risk of infection or mis-dosing. Counterfeit semaglutide sold over the internet has also been reported. News details
Semaglutide and other medications like it can be excellent drugs for carefully evaluated patients with type 2 diabetes or obesity. However, they do need to be taken long-term (like medications for other chronic diseaes like high blood pressure). In addition, while most side effects like nausea and vomiting improve over time, especially with careful slow increase in the dose, there can be serious side effects. That’s why it’s important that these drugs be prescribed by a health care professional who carefully monitors you for how the medication is affecting you, need to adjust other medication, need to adjust dose, and impact on your health.
So, no–I wouldn’t take compounded semaglutide myself or recommend compounded semaglutide to any of my friends or family. Especially prescribed over the internet by someone with whom I don’t have a clinician-patient relationship.
Maybe reread what I’ve said throughout this thread. I take issue with those using this as a vanity drug - not being obese or having weight or medical issues. I specifically called out celebrities who admit to abusing this drug, with zero regard for those who need it.
I come from a family that leans that way. None of us are foodies, and we are kind of picky and averse to processed/high-fat food. When we were kids, we would sometimes forget to eat. As adults, the women have to be more careful, but in general, we maintain weight just by banning junk food/soda.
I married into a family has much much hungrier genetics and persistent food noise. I have so much compassion now. I see how hard it is for those of our kids who got the hungry genes. They do not eat unhealthy—they are simply too hungry. Hunger is an incredibly strong biological drive.
I think they will develop oral versions of semaglutides in many different strengths and I’m very thankful.
Yep. And science is only just starting to understand hunger and its flipside --satiety.
I think about bears. When late summer arrives, their hunger flips on, and they eat and eat all day without stopping. Then when late autumn arrives, their hunger flips off and they abandon food. If you offer them food, they don’t want it. These are powerful biological drives.
I’m sorry but this sentence does seem to me to be disparaging the use of weight loss drugs for vanity, and especially derogatory toward “celebrities”.
Sadly, many celebrities livelihoods do depend on their maintaining unnaturally low BMIs. Personally, I blame our culture for glorifying levels of thinness which puts so much pressure on people (particularly women) who make their living in the public eye.
I take Trulicity which is similar but slightly different formula. I take it for diabetes. I have lost 0 pounds (I seem to be a ‘non-reactor’). What I can tell you is the price has doubled.
I asked my doc if I could go off it because of the cost. For now, I don’t have to pay so she said no, but come Jan with different insurance coverage I won’t have a choice. I also was shocked at the price of Januvia (I guess those commercials with people dancing through the streets aren’t free). It is one of the 10 drugs congress is getting the drug companies to negotiate the price with medicare, but that’s in 3 years.
The costs are just too high for the people who need the drugs (me).
