Disclaimer:  I am not a medical professional! There are real risks associated with prescription medications, so I am grateful that Ozempic and other forms of semaglutide are available only by prescription.  Please listen carefully to the advice of your doctor and do your own research prior to starting this or any other medication.

Also, I don’t want this post to be misunderstood for body shaming.  I wasn’t all together put off about being a curvy girl.  I liked some of my curves, and I really did want to be one of those voluptuous ladies like Ashley Graham, Adele, or Queen Latifah.  I am not stating here that weight loss is for everyone or that everyone should do it.  For me, I wasn’t healthy, first and foremost.  When I learned of the pre-diabetes diagnosis, I wanted to get out in front of it right away. Diabetes is a progressive disease; I will be monitoring this for the rest of my life.  I hope to prevent a full diagnosis as long as possible. 

Also, I confess it is a vanity issue.  I have a very small bone structure.  You need only to look at my wrists, they are quite small.  I didn’t carry the extra weight very well.  I carried it mostly in my torso and my waist had all but disappeared.  I also carried a lot of weight in my face of all places, which only made me look swollen and puffy.  I had all but lost any noticeable bone structure in my face.  Thus, I didn’t feel or look healthy.

Before I dive into this post, I want to present a little of my medical background so that you understand why I even inquired about Ozempic in the first place.  Bear with me and I’ll share the nitty gritty details, I promise! Or feel free to skip my story and scroll to the end for a summary about semaglutides, cost, insurance, side effects and a list of pros and cons.

My weight and health have been generally good for most of my life.  I have a family history of various cancers, heart disease and diabetes, so I have always been rigid about annual checkups, mammograms, bloodwork, etc.  I had my only child at age 30, and although I gained 40 lbs, I was back to my starting weight by the time my son turned one.  By the time he was in kindergarten, I had gained 25-30 pounds. I went to a weight loss clinic and lost all of that weight and kept it off for several years.

At around age forty, I noticed my weight was creeping back up again.  I started running and that helped me maintain my weight and feel better.  A few years before, I had been diagnosed with hypothyroidism, and advanced osteoarthritis.  The result of those two things is that my energy levels sometimes tank, and I feel better if I work out consistently.  I feel my absolute best if I get my heart rate up and break a sweat.  From 2017 to 2022, I worked out at Orange Theory Fitness religiously four times a week for most of that time.  OTF is high intensity interval training, and I tell you, I loved it!  Of course, I took a break during Covid when things shut down and had occasional lapses during especially busy weeks a few times a year.  While I was working out at OTF, my weight was consistent, climbing only slightly, a pound or two a year.  The trainers and my doctor always reassured me that it could be muscle gain – “muscle weighs more than fat”, or that my metabolism could be slowing down as I age.  Since it was only a pound or two a year, I didn’t really worry about it.

One day in February of 2021, I worked out at Orange Theory then went to brunch with a friend.  We sat for a couple of hours while we ate and caught up.  When I stood at the end of our meal, my left knee was in severe pain.  I was often sore when I worked out at OTF, but this was different.  Over the next several days, it didn’t improve, and I couldn’t bend it, squat down or extend my leg fully. I made an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon who scheduled a MRI and it was determined that I had a torn meniscus.  Surgery would be required, and I was supposed to take it easy.  I tried to continue working out at OTF, modifying the exercises I couldn’t do and skipping the ones that couldn’t be modified, but I wasn’t getting a good workout and the pain was increasing in my knee, so I cancelled my membership.

I had knee surgery in May of 2021 and struggled with rehabilitation.  I had a physically demanding job at the time that had me on my feet a lot and I pushed myself more than I should have.  It was December 2021 before the pain in my knee finally eased off.  I gained quite a bit of weight during that time of not being able to work out, and saw my weight continue to climb as 2022 rolled around.  In May of 2022, we went on our second trip to Italy, and I was miserable.  I was out of shape; all of the walking was taking a toll on both of my knees and my hips.  I was at my highest weight ever and my body was feeling every ounce of it.

Even though I had some struggles with weight prior to this, I hadn’t come close to being clinically “overweight” until 2022.  At that time, I was 50 years old, and my BMI had reached 29, which is at the top of the overweight classification, with anything over 30 being obese.  I was right there on the edge, and it scared me to death for multiple reasons.  First, I was concerned about my health. 

In October 2021, I sought a second opinion regarding my thyroid, concerns about menopause and a few other issues that were affecting my quality of life. All my health issues were also leading me into a major depression.  I went to a functional medicine doctor in Sandy Springs, GA that had been recommended by a trainer I met while working out at Orange Theory Fitness.  The basis of this practice is that they run extensive blood tests, looking at all aspects of your health instead of just the basics, and treating the root cause instead of medicating the symptoms.  I’m so glad I did this because it revealed that my glucose was high and that I was approaching pre-diabetic levels.  This doctor came up with a comprehensive health plan for me that would start me on a path to better health.  He put me on metformin (a diabetes medication in pill form), changed my thyroid medication to a cleaner version, he prescribed B-12 shots to help with energy levels and he recommended some supplements for cholesterol control and sleep improvement. I was so excited to have some answers and an action plan, and I am still on these medications today.

During this time of weight gain, I was struggling to work out.  The only thing that didn’t hurt while I was doing it was walking, so I was doing that sporadically.  When I did walk, I would feel sore afterwards to the extent that I had to take Tylenol for the pain.  It was this ridiculous cycle of not feeling well enough to work out but knowing that I needed to in spite of the pain and discomfort.

By April of 2022, just before we went to Italy, I was feeling better in general, but my weight was still climbing. Now I was gaining a pound about every two-three months.  I had a checkup with my primary care physician, and I told her all about the appointment and treatment plan with the functional medicine doctor.  While my PCP wasn’t completely on board with some of the supplements that the progressive medicine doctor had prescribed, she noted from the bloodwork panel he had ordered that my glucose was high.  Also, my chart now indicated a pre-diabetes diagnosis due to the metformin prescription, so we talked in depth about that.  I had heard of Ozempic through a commercial, and done some initial research, so I asked her about it.  As it turns out, my PCP’s sister had been on Ozempic for a while and had greatly benefitted from it and was now on a maintenance dose.  I was very grateful my PCP was willing to prescribe this for me and I started taking it in mid-May 2022.  By the time we went to Italy at the end of May, I had already lost about four pounds.  By the time I had my next PCP appointment in July, I had lost eleven pounds.  I averaged four to six pounds lost every month after that, until in December I was ten pounds away from my goal weight, but I felt amazing.  I decided that I was satisfied with the total weight loss of fourty pounds, and I had my PCP drop the dose down to a maintenance level in early 2023.  I’ve been able to maintain since that time, losing and gaining back about three pounds here and there depending on how active and busy I am.  Even better, my glucose and A1C levels have been great at every doctor visit.

My husband is a picture of health on paper, but he was overweight as well.  We have the same PCP and he inquired about Ozempic for weight loss and our doctor put him on Mounjaro, even though he is not in diabetic range at all.  He has lost about 35 pounds and is now on a maintenance dose.

Some background info on Ozempic:  Ozempic is one of many brands of semaglutides, which are a class of medications prescribed by a doctor to treat Type 2 diabetes.  In 2021, several of these medications were approved by the FDA for treatment of chronic weight gain, after years of diabetes patients reporting weight loss as a welcome side effect for their treatment.  The brand names you may recognize are of course, Ozempic, Mounjaro, Wegovy, and Rebelsus.  Most of these currently are injectables, but Rebelsus is an oral tablet.  It is important to note that semaglutides are not currently available over the counter, nor is there a comparable over the counter medication available, despite what you may read on the internet.

SUMMARY:  Now that you know my long and drawn-out story, I will share with you some pertinent information in summary.

Side effects:  The most common side effects to these medications are nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.  The worst side effect for me is the nausea.  The nausea is a lot like morning sickness when you are pregnant. Remember when you were pregnant, and you felt absolutely ravenous but also like you were going to throw up at any moment?  That is what the nausea feels like for me.  I learned that I must make myself eat for the nausea to go away, and I also have to make sure that I eat some protein with every meal.

I have had no vomiting at all, but in the beginning, I did have some burping and gagging at night when I laid down that was probably due to overeating.  It takes a few weeks for your body and mind to comprehend that you can’t eat as much as before.  The gagging stopped for me when I figured out smaller portions at mealtime, and STOP when you feel full.

I have had zero issues with diarrhea or constipation.

One side effect I also struggled with was a general feeling of weakness and lack of energy.  Over time, I realized that was a result of not eating, or for me, not eating enough protein.  Any time I feel that way, I must make myself eat something.  Some go to snacks for me are mixed nuts, peanut butter, deli sliced turkey or chicken and smoothies with protein powder.

My husband reported very similar side effects, and I’ve heard the same from other friends who have been on semaglutides.

Cost/Insurance:  Cost is a major factor in using semaglutides as a weight loss treatment.  Because of my pre-diabetes diagnosis, my injections are covered by insurance, except for a small co-pay.  My husband’s prescription is not covered by insurance.  He was able to get a coupon online for Mounjaro, but we have recently learned that the coupon is only applicable for a few months, and that time has ended for him.  Our PCP wrote him a prescription for Wegovy, which is less expensive, but there is currently a shortage due to demand until September 2023.  Right now, he is paying out of pocket using our healthcare flex spending account that is part of our medical insurance to cover the cost of Mounjaro. He will switch to Wegovy when it is available again.

“Requirements” for getting a prescription:  A diabetes or pre-diabetes diagnosis is required to get a prescription for any semaglutide for treatment of diabetes.  For weight loss treatment, generally, a BMI of 29-30 or higher is required to receive a prescription.  Of course, your doctor may have other reasons to prescribe, and there are some more complex health issues that will prevent you from receiving a prescription. 

Where to get an Rx:  I would first recommend that you have a full discussion with your Primary Care Physician about any health issues you are dealing with.  Request a full blood panel if you haven’t had one in a while.  Ask them how they feel personally about semaglutide as a treatment for weight loss.  I would much prefer that you get a prescription from an in-person visit to a medical professional, and I think you would prefer that too, as they monitor your usage. You will likely need to check in at least quarterly while you are taking a prescription.  There are also weight loss clinics that can prescribe for you; however, they sell the prescriptions in house and usually do not accept insurance.  I believe that on average, costs with a weight loss clinic are about $350/month. 

Do your research – so much information is available online!  If you want to read a review against semaglutides, Jillian Michaels has been very outspoken against it.  I will tag an article for you below.

Transparency:  When I started Ozempic in May 2022, I weighed 180 pounds.  That was the heaviest I have ever been.  I am 5’ 6” tall for reference.  I was wearing mostly size 12 pants, a Large - XL in tops and even had a few size 14 dresses.  I was miserable. Here is a before and after photo:

I now weigh 135-140 pounds, for a total of forty to forty-five pounds lost depending on the day, what my activity level has been and what and how much I have had to eat.  I am down to a size 6 in pants and a size medium in tops.  I didn’t really measure inches throughout this process, but I did have to drop down a band size in my bra from a 36 to a 34-band size.

My overall impression is that this has been a life saver for me and a second chance at better health.  I feel so much better, my joint pain, especially knee pain is so much better since losing weight. 

Pros:

• Weight Loss

• Fewer food cravings

• More energy

• Less joint pain

• Confidence/feel pretty

• If diabetic or pre-diabetic, helps keep A1C in check

Cons:

• Side effects take a while to get used to and for some do not get better at all

• Cost if not covered by insurance

• Some people are adverse to injectables

• Will need to continue using to maintain weight loss

• Some doctors may not prescribe for weight loss

• May gain weight back when you go off medication

• Sagging skin on face or other body parts where weight was lost

Here are some links that may help you in your research: 

Semaglutide information on Wikipedia

Body Mass Index Calculator

Ozempic website

Jillian Michaels Against Ozempic

Semaglutides help curb addictive behaviors

If you have any questions regarding this post, I would love to hear from you! You can write me by clicking on the green “Contact” button in the to right corner of the website and I will respond in kind.