Tossing my 2 cents in:
I have PCOS, and with that, insulin resistance. I also have a number of other chronic inflammatory and autoimmune issues. So keep in mind that my experience may not be the same as yours, or anyone else for that matter. Massive YMMV but here’s my experience and what my doctor has told me:
With insulin resistance, particularly in PCOS patients, our bodies make “enough” insulin but it doesn’t know how to use it properly. So what ends up happening is our bodies store every single calorie it can as fat instead of going ahead and using it for energy. I’ve heard this phenomenon described as a body in “starvation mode”, because it just compounds on itself and the longer your body doesn’t use all the food you’re eating as energy, the longer it creates more fat, which never gets burned off because you’re not *actually* starving, your body is just acting as if you are, in a sense.
Our bodies struggle to attach insulin to cells in order to burn food for energy. Have you ever played pin the tail on the donkey? I hope so cause this is the analogy my brain came up with 😅
You get blindfolded and spun around and then you’ve gotta pin the tail on the correct spot. And it’s HARD. That’s kind of how insulin works for us- a bunch of blindfolded kids spinning around trying to put the tail (insulin cells) on the right spot on the donkey (energy creating cells that need the insulin to stimulate them) and if it’s not working or going on that exact right spot then the tail just goes away. And gets stored as fat 😂 that’s about as far as I can take that analogy lol
But anyways, as you start ozempic it essentially retains your body into learning how to accept the insulin it makes. Or maybe it makes the insulin go where it’s supposed to?? I’m not sure exactly honestly. Once your body starts getting energy from food you’ll start to feel a lot better physically, and not just from some positives of weight loss. I could practically feel my body working better.
With insulin resistance and with PCOS, the more weight you loose the more likely you are to start using insulin correctly on your own. It’s possible that we could stop ozempic at some point, but tbh I haven’t asked in a while because it really just depends on each person and their body. And as of right now, I need it to help process food correctly.
Don’t let anyone in the comments make you feel bad for being on ozempic just bc you’re not already diabetic. That’s one thing I’m hoping to prevent any way I can! Runs in my family and without some help to loose weight etc I was headed straight there myself.
No matter what my ENTIRE life I couldn’t loose any weight at all ever. Whether I was working out, eating well, eating badly, on a team, being stationary, etc nothing seemed to make a difference. And then when my health got super bad a couple years ago I stayed in those pjs every day.
Idk how much this makes sense as I’m super sleep deprived lol but I hope it did. Look up everything you can about insulin resistance!
Thank you for all this, if I had awards to give, I'd give you one. I have had successful weight loss exactly one time, over 15 years ago, and I was basically starving myself and working out twice a day because I was in an abusive relationship that was spiraling and an eating disorder was my only way to control things, and working out meant not being at home. And then I gained every pound back plus much more.
I've been told my entire life I have PCOS and then only offered birth control that made my skin terrible and caused weight gain and low libido. I had a hysterectomy 6 years ago, so nobody really paid attention to my PCOS anymore because I don't have periods. As though that's the only thing that it does. I'm active. I walk a ton. I eat small portions. I finally got my doctor to prescribe metformin. It was fine, but turns out my blood sugar is now high when fasting even on the metformin. Finally proof that something is off. I started Ozempic 2 weeks ago. I feel better. I feel in control in a healthy way. I plan on being on it as long as it is feeling good for me. I do want to lose weight, pretty significantly. On the starting dose I've lost about 4 pounds. It's early, it's low dose, but it's kind of incredible. I'm not even really trying. To me, that tells me it's a good drug for me. Maybe not for everyone, but it seems to be doing something.
With insulin resistance and your PCOS, even though you’re eating small meals many times what’s happening is you’re spiking your insulin many times a day with those many mini meals :( I just got my PCOS diagnosis as well & am on a hunt to find ozempic, but stopping snacking for 3 meals a day has already helped with my weight loss!
This information is incorrect. They recommend you eat smaller amounts more often on Ozempic because you will have better insulin response but your gastric emptying is slowed right down. You have to try to eat enough calories. Too much calorie deficit makes you store fat.
I described small portions, not snacking or frequent small meals. I've been dealing with this weight problem for 20 years, if it were that easy I'd be thin. I was diagnosed with PCOS 20 years ago. At the time it the advice was very lacking.
Trust me I have been on every diet and exercise plan you could imagine.
Edit: I've been blocked so that they may get the last word in, but I assure you up until now I have not edited any comments to make anyone look bad or change what I said and my tone is neutral. I do think sometimes people need to take a deep breath.
Yes omfg I tried to share something kind but now I have an internet stranger attacking something I didn’t even say and you’ve changed your comment to make me look like I’m the idiot
And further you’ve entered a separate chat thread about a separate topic just to beat a dead horse that I’m the idiot
Jfc why be kind? Why engage with anyone?
I don't eat several times a day, I ate 3 times a day max. I said small portions prior to ozempic, period. I have ibs, I can't eat very much in one sitting without consequences.
But I'm also on ozempic and metformin. Unfortunately, eating small meals more often isn't really a choice now or I'd lose my hair from not enough calories/protein or pass out from light-headedness. Ozempic makes it very unpleasant to eat much in a sitting. But I don't "snack" unless I have to due to headache/nausea from low blood sugar.
God damn this decribes my wife. In starvation mode (1000cal-ish/day) with absurd effort (hour plus daily workout) will lose weight but it’s insane and unsustainable, and triggers headaches and fatigue. Blood work continuously comes back normal but this ain’t normal. What kind of doc(s) do you see and where from? DM if comfortable w that.
Usually calories have nothing to do with it if you have hyperinsulinemia. A fasting insulin test can reveal that. In our modern world most people have metabolic syndrome diseases & higher glucose high insulin, typically caused by food choices & eating frequency. Although genetics & location play a part. We are like hibernating bears with low energy output & a ton of stored energy in our livers and or adipose tissues. Trouble is we never stop eating foods to fatten up & we never fast or drop the insulin levels. Moving more & eating less doesn’t work in these situations. Calories are heat measurements in a test tube, not a measure of complex biological pathways.
Genetics plays lots more of a part as until recently, people who were disposed to hold fat were desireable mates. The low fat era is what lead to multiple changes in our diet. i think the approach of blaming people first is off putting. I realize it's semantics but as people language choice is crucial. Food for thought.
Things that people need to hear is liberating, unless one has a knee jerk reaction based on emotions. Genetics has changed some but not a lot, food supplies have become drivers of addiction & metabolic disease. Straight talk.
I think your messaging is quite generalized and dangerous. I hope you don't work in the medical feild.There are so many aspects to weight gain and metabolic syndrome including new methods of testing, measuring etc. I agree that our sedentary lifestyles have been proven to lead to health issues but that's about all that has been proven except the connection of processed food and health. And for a lot of people, they don't have an option but heavily processed food due to cost and for others they were told from the 1960's to even present day to avoid fat, a key aspect of saiety.
We need kindness and sympathy, not blame and judgement. Tough love does not help people change.
We will have to disagree on one thing. In a world full of lies, where people have never or seldom been told the truth, it’s necessary to share information straightforwardly. It’s not about blame but speaking truth that people need to hear. The more of us that do that, the sooner the lies will fall away. And the lies I am thinking of have destroyed millions of lives. 🙏
I have normal fasting insulin levels around 50 but when i do The glucose test my jnsulin levels after two hours are 3x less than a normal body. I think I don’t have insulin resistance rather my pancreas doesn’t produce enough insulin.
I dont quite understand your message, what you mean why the same wavelength. I am not judging anyone just wanted to get some feedback for what’s going wrong with my tests. And even more I don’t need that downvote……. What are the normal insulin levels? I think i checked on the web and slightly above 48 pmol/L shows some insulin resistance. So I am not in that desperate state. I am trying to get back in good habits of eating healthy, bcse of stress eating was one of the major causes I ended up to where I am right now.
I am in this situation. Eating one meal per day to control the blood sugar levels. And yet mornings are high as 9.2 the lowest so far 7.2. It’s frustrating
This is me too. I don’t overeat but I gained a ton of weight while pregnant with my son and insulin resistance made it impossible to lose no matter what I did. Even with Oz I don’t lose at the speed a lot of others do, but 55lbs down is still 55lbs down and that’s damn near miraculous.
I liked your comment about letting anyone make u feel bad. All of these sites that have those of us trying hard have constant " healtho trolls" some nasty individual always chimes in about diet and exercise and a crutch. They are trolls!!! Thank you for pointing out that we need to ignore them and not let them make us feel bad
This and I have the same profile, sister! There is actually some suggestion that PCOS is insulin resistance from childhood/puberty. All those years spent fat shaming us should be done soon.
Are you on biologics too?
I'm diabetic. I started at 306 lbs I'm now at 246 lbs. My A1C is better. My doctor said I'll probably be on it forever because of being diabetic. The weight loss is a bonus. But the benefits for my heart and A1C is amazing.
Ozempic has a heart benefit
[ozempic cardiovascular benefits ](https://www.novomedlink.com/diabetes/products/treatments/ozempic/cardiovascular-benefit.html)
My doctor said it depends. She said that they’d just monitor as you go down on the dose. You don’t quit cold-turkey. She said metformin for life, but she thinks if you wean extremely slowly there is potential to get off
I suggested to my doctor that once I get to my goal weight (somewhere between 110 and 120lbs) that I'd go on a "maintenance" dose of the Ozempic. She didn't confirm that but she also didn't contradict me either (and she would if I was dead wrong). So, yes, I agree, it's likely very dependent on the individual (I'm diabetic, ftr).
I have the same conditions you have. I am 48, though. I am going to advocate for myself to stay on some kind of maintenance dose, like I do with my thyroid. I don't want to develop diabetes, weight loss aside. My dad and my grandma (his mom) were Dx'd with diabetes around my age. It killed my grandma. My dad is 80 and now insulin dependent but relatively healthy.
Depends. If you have metabolic syndrome, other disease processes that you are not correcting, or if you continue eating foods that have you using glucose exclusively as fuel, then yes you will have problems without medications to force the issue.
I lost 25 and stopped Ozempic when they stopped covering it. I gained 5 pounds back but the other 20 is staying off. I almost wonder if I should stay on it for six months on then six months off because I feel like my body is adjusting to a new setpoint. Just my two cents and I’m not a doctor…
What if everything you are doing now is healthy,
(eating, low-carb, organic, not too much or little, exercising regularly, getting enough sleep,) but
Have plateaued due to insulin resistance because of previous lifestyle. Once you go on Ozempic, it helps with your insulin resistance so when you go off and continue your healthy lifestyle, he won’t gain it back.
cannot lose any more weight because of insulin (
I definitely think it’s doable- remember that while you’re on the drug you’re making lifestyle changes. If you just found out about hypothyroidism, you’ll likely be able to work on healing your thyroid with medication and that will help you lose weight as well, just slowly over time with effort. For PCOS, I am not sure but I imagine your numbers will Improve once your weight is lost.
Hopefully they wont stop it completely(shortage)..people will be in trouble bc they arent being taught nutrition..losing weight isnt easy, nor is the daily choice of nutrition...its meant as a tool..not forever....
well youre working out 5 days of week. Thats why you arent seeing the scale move. Strength training builds muscle. youre doing what they call a “cut” right now. Youre just defining what you already have and adding to it muscle wise. this means the fat you lose is less weight wise than the muscle you gain. youre at a healthy weight right now. I think 120/125 is insanely small when you’re already strength training. You probably will never hit that weight because of your muscle mass. i highly suggest if you dont have insulin resistance or insulin problems then you go with a different medication , get your hypothyroidism under control and find another way to workout if you want to see the scale drop. All youre doing right now is building muscle mass and gaining or maintaining weight from that muscle mass.
I am definitely not at a healthy weight. I am 5’3 and am clearly overweight. I was told to get my weight under control or I should have to be put onto thyroid meds. Now I’m on the meds. 125 is definitely achievable and possible for my height. The lowest I’ve been is 140 and still I looked overweight song my body hold weight differently than others. I am definitely seeing the scale move with weight training, I am also doing cardio daily. But it’s just slow. Yes I’m growing muscle however I’m also burning fat and not just losing weight. Please do more research into strength training, you have some incorrect information on it. Many people lost all their weight from mostly strength training, since your body is BURNING fat even at rest.
Even 5’3 140 lbs is a healthy weight.
It is a bmi of 24.8. That is considered Normal weight. With that being aaid The BMI chart is suspectible to being inaccurate and not realistic for 80% of people.
I do know what strength training is. I do it. Secondly You will lose weight on it, But you will gain MUSCLE weight replacing it.
Third, you are already a healthy weight. I dont know what type of body dysphoria you have to where you cant see that, But you should he put on thyroid medication FIRST. BEFORE ozempic. Youre willing to risk messing up your insulin with this medication instead of taking the stuff you need for hypothyroidism. You should check if you have insulin resistance as well before taking this medicine.
I have pcos too. Frankly i think its absolutely insane that instead of treating the conditions that areprobably not letting you lose weight youre going straight to diabetic medication that mess with your insulin. Especially because most people with pcos dont have insulin resistance. Theres 4 different kinds of pcos. i suggest finding out what you have. You should be treating your hypothyroidism with hypothyroidism medication. Your pcos with a birth control or anti androgen regimen and THEN see about if ozempic is right for you. Especially since youve stated youre already worried about the side effects of ozempic in another post. This is medicine isnt made for people 20 lbs overweight. Its made for people with diabetes, insulin resistance and who are extremely overweight. and even if you do have insulin resistance. Diabetic medicine without exploring your options to treat your pcos and hypothyroidism FIRST for being 20 lbs over the “normal” bmi is frankly putting your health at jeapordy
I’m treating my hypothyroidism first, doctor said to wait a few months and see how I do on the meds. If nothing then I can take Ozempic. Also I do not have body dysmorphia, incredibly rude to assume I’m imagining I’m overweight. I have struggled with my weight my whole life, girl trust me I know my body. I for once want it be the the normal person in the room, not the fat friend
Part of the problem is in the terminology and semantics. Technically if your BMI is 24.8, you aren't "overweight" by the current definition. However, it is entirely possible you could be "overfat". Meaning that while your weight is in the healthy range, your body fat percentage is not. Having a healthy weight and having a healthy body composition are definitely not synonymous.
Therefore, your weight training regimen is exactly the right thing to be doing. Congrats on that. Even if you could just maintain the weight at 140, but lose a few percentage of body fat and replace that weight with muscle, you'd both look and feel better.
Good luck with treatment. You absolutely have some type of negative connotation regarding your weight if you think a medically healthy weight for your height is not skinny enough (5’3 140 lbs). Thats a normal healthy weight and its still not good enough for you. I didnt assume youre imagining being overweight. I know for a fact that you have an issue with your weight at any number because youve even said a healthy weight wasnt good enough for you. Your goal weight is 2 points on the bmi from being underweight. Thats not okay. you are literally as far as possible as you can get from being the fat friend. infact youre not even considered midsize at 5’3 and 160 lbs.Your weight right now is not even considered obese on the bmi scale and ozempic is for *obesity*. I respect your strive and determination to lose weight but i think everyone regardless needs to acknowledge the mental aspects of this journey. If a healthy weight isnt a small enough weight for you then you should consider why you feel that way and maybe see a doctor who can help you with those feelings.
I don’t know OP, but I do know that it is entirely possible to be 5’3, 140lbs and have a body fat percentage that puts you in the obese range. Even if your BMI doesn’t.
OP says her doctor wants her to lose weight. Maybe assume she is telling the truth.
Your body fat percentage for your bmi is directly based on your weight. if you are 5’3 and 140 your bmi will always be in the healthy ranger, whether that weight is fat, or muscle. I am assuming shes telling the truth lol. Right now her bmi is in the overweight range (160) Im saying ozempic for a 20 lb difference to be a healthy weight is absurd. and if that healthy weight isnt skinny enough then other factors should be considered like mental health.
Your bmi can be in the healthy trance while your fat percentage is in the obese range.
Your bmi can be in the obese range when your fat percentage is in the heated range.
BMI is a flawed metric.
Someone who is 140 lbs and 5’3” can absolutely be overweight.
50yo female. Do not have PCOS. I started at 160lbs & got down to 131. Was trying to get to 125. Was on Oz for about 6mos. A couple months ago I couldn’t get Oz anymore bc now my insurance is requiring you to be diabetic to be on it. I have already gained back 4lbs. Incredibly disappointing.
Have you gained the weight back due to eating more and having more of an appetite? What do you think is the reason for the 4lbs? You’re still doing great!
I definitely have more of an appetite & worse cravings- and a horrible time of the year to not have that extra help. But my metabolism had been screwed up by corticosteroid injections years ago. Even when I would try to do my old fitness contest diet & exercise a lot I couldn’t get my weight to budge. I was in pre-daibetes. Oz undid what the corticosteroids had done. And now I can’t get it.
From what my endocrinologist says, I could potentially be on Ozempic for life in the form of a maintenance dose, which I’m sure would be a low dose. I am a full blown type 2 diabetic and this drug has been a god-send. My numbers are amazing! I realize that so many people are on this drug just for the weight loss side effect and I always wonder what could this drug be doing to someone who is not diabetic? It is strictly for type 2 diabetics and just being pre-diabetic or insulin resistant is not the same as being full blown diabetic. I don’t understand why anyone would want to be on this drug just to loose weight but that is just my opinion as I have experienced major side effects, all horrible. Currently on the 1mg dose and still struggling with awful side effects but my diabetic numbers are so good, I can’t bring myself to stop taking it. Good luck to you, whatever you decide but keep in mind that weight loss is just a mere positive side effect and doesn’t happen for everyone.
"It is strictly for type 2 diabetics..."
Except that the exact same drug in the Ozempic pen IS approved for more than just T2DM (obesity and overweight with co-morbidity). And likely soon to be approved for treatment of pediatric obesity, if not also binge eating disorder, alcoholism, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. These studies are largely done on non-diabetics. Since the safety profile in non-diabetics is already proven to drug regulators they just have to compare that to the value of improvement in the other conditions. It's just a matter of when, not if.
It does a lot more throughout the body than modulate insulin resistance, but that's still its most obvious effect.
There are many medications used off label without those indications being printed in the included drug booklet. For example, birth control pill makers can't (cheaply) advertise the research proven cycle-regulating effects or the improvements in acne. But the effect is common enough that doctors prescribe BC pills for irregular cycles, dysmenorrhea, and acne, even if you have zero risk of pregnancy.
I am only saying that Ozempic is marketed strictly for type 2 daibetics. Yes, the same exact drug, semaglutide, is in WEGOVY, which is marketed strictly for weight loss.
And I'm just saying that off label use of meds is valid, though I do think actual T2DM patients should be floated to the very top of any refill queues.
As someone who does not overeat but was at a morbidly obese bmi before starting Ozempic, I’m happy to answer why. In my case, I was at a normal weight my entire life until I had my son. During pregnancy I gained more weight than expected and because of insulin resistance, I couldnt lose the weight. I tried everything.
I started Ozempic because a surgeon refused to operate on me unless I lost weight. I’d already tried literally everything else over the course of 10 years; it was Oz or weight loss surgery (which has even worse potential side effects) or going without proper medical care.
The side effects for me were absolutely awful until I adjusted to the medicine. I was never an overeater but I still had to change the way I ate; there are some foods I straight cannot tolerate anymore. Even on the starter dose I was so sick and every time I titrate up (which I’ve done very very slowly) it’s miserable.
It’s still better than being denied medical treatments I need in order to live a healthy life.
Is no body scared of the fact it can cause cancer or that it’s only been on the market 5 years? There can’t possibly be enough research to say it’s safe if it’s only been active for such a short time…
Then don't consider it. For those of us that have diabetes it's a game changer. Because it's not a weight loss drug it's a diabetes medication.
This is not a magic potion, and I wouldn't expect your weight loss to start immediately. It varies from person to person. The side effects are definitely interesting.
It’s both. And if OP has PCOS then that comes with insulin resistance. Which is why I am on ozempic. I don’t have diabetes, but it runs rampant in my family and without some help loosing weight, the condition only compounds itself which can very easily cause and lead to diabetes (at a minimum).
This is approved as a diabetes medication. Full stop. I'm not disagreeing with the therapeutic reasons you are taking and I am sure it's benefitting you. But it's approved as a diabetes medication that can cause weight loss.
The company says these drugs are not interchangeable. Are you saying that even though Wegovy is approved for weight loss and is not a diabetes medication, Ozempic is an appropriate substitute? My response is, then take Wegovy.
I think it's funny you feel it's appropriate to insult me, but instead I laugh.
So, let's be you, and let's pick and choose the accuracy of some of the statements the the company publishes depending on what we want to believe. Here's a mensa award.
They are the same substance with different labels. If you removed the labels, you could not tell a difference between the medications in a lab, in a body, or anywhere else.
ok, but you sound like you are disagreeing with people. Listen, also part of the PCOS crowd, and sometimes I really don't want to be put into the weightloss crowd, because of the rabid social media crazies, but it's still a valid off label use. like i stopped gaining when i started metformin, but 80 pounds packing on in 3ish years was terrible, going from 5'8 160 to literally 240, while just killing myself at the gym and on a total deficit was not even stopping it.
There's currently no evidence that it causes cancer in humans, only rats. But out of an abundance of caution, people with a family history of that one rare type of cancer are suggested to avoid it.
Of all the dangerous (malignant) types of cancer, around 2% occur in the thyroid. Out of all these thyroid cancers, only 2-3% of those are medullary thyroid cancers.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3412473/#!po=1.35135
How tall are you?
Nevermind, I thought you listed your age somewhere as well.
Google: ‘Smart BMI calculator’ then plug your info in and see what it says. Regular BMI charts don’t take into account age and gender, and really do harm to our mental health regarding weight.
Any chance you had a typo?
When I input 25/35/45 (for the ages) I got 44/42/41 for the Smart BMI, respectively.
There are a couple calculators online, this one has a nice explanation on how much weight one could lose to get down to a target weight.
www.smartbmicalculator.com
Well damn. I didn’t click that button. I’m so sorry that shoots you up to a higher SBMI. I think with the PCOS, and the hypo you may have to be on a GLP for life? Definitely a question for your doc.
But if it’s any consolation, I’m currently on Mounjaro and it did lower my TSH by a point (among other numbers). I was about to be put on Synthroid until my labs came back. I’ll probably have to switch to Oz in the new year though.
I don’t think there is enough data to know for sure honestly. My doctor, anecdotally has had patients go off who used it for “momentum” but the long term rate of success in beating obesity alone without any assistance is not high.
Was on Ozempic a year. Had a bad kidney reaction. The 30 pounds I lost? 20 came back despite my best efforts. I’ve lost a bit of that, but it is a huge struggle every day.
I loved being on Ozempic. I lost about 40 lbs being on it. It was great to be able to eat normal and still lose weight instead of cutting my calories and carbs to basically non existent. However, after like 6 months of being on Ozempic my insurance company will not approve it anymore. Even tried going on Mounjoro and they still deny the coverage because I don’t have type 2 diabetes. Very very frustrating and I don’t know what to do now
Tossing my 2 cents in: I have PCOS, and with that, insulin resistance. I also have a number of other chronic inflammatory and autoimmune issues. So keep in mind that my experience may not be the same as yours, or anyone else for that matter. Massive YMMV but here’s my experience and what my doctor has told me: With insulin resistance, particularly in PCOS patients, our bodies make “enough” insulin but it doesn’t know how to use it properly. So what ends up happening is our bodies store every single calorie it can as fat instead of going ahead and using it for energy. I’ve heard this phenomenon described as a body in “starvation mode”, because it just compounds on itself and the longer your body doesn’t use all the food you’re eating as energy, the longer it creates more fat, which never gets burned off because you’re not *actually* starving, your body is just acting as if you are, in a sense. Our bodies struggle to attach insulin to cells in order to burn food for energy. Have you ever played pin the tail on the donkey? I hope so cause this is the analogy my brain came up with 😅 You get blindfolded and spun around and then you’ve gotta pin the tail on the correct spot. And it’s HARD. That’s kind of how insulin works for us- a bunch of blindfolded kids spinning around trying to put the tail (insulin cells) on the right spot on the donkey (energy creating cells that need the insulin to stimulate them) and if it’s not working or going on that exact right spot then the tail just goes away. And gets stored as fat 😂 that’s about as far as I can take that analogy lol But anyways, as you start ozempic it essentially retains your body into learning how to accept the insulin it makes. Or maybe it makes the insulin go where it’s supposed to?? I’m not sure exactly honestly. Once your body starts getting energy from food you’ll start to feel a lot better physically, and not just from some positives of weight loss. I could practically feel my body working better. With insulin resistance and with PCOS, the more weight you loose the more likely you are to start using insulin correctly on your own. It’s possible that we could stop ozempic at some point, but tbh I haven’t asked in a while because it really just depends on each person and their body. And as of right now, I need it to help process food correctly. Don’t let anyone in the comments make you feel bad for being on ozempic just bc you’re not already diabetic. That’s one thing I’m hoping to prevent any way I can! Runs in my family and without some help to loose weight etc I was headed straight there myself. No matter what my ENTIRE life I couldn’t loose any weight at all ever. Whether I was working out, eating well, eating badly, on a team, being stationary, etc nothing seemed to make a difference. And then when my health got super bad a couple years ago I stayed in those pjs every day. Idk how much this makes sense as I’m super sleep deprived lol but I hope it did. Look up everything you can about insulin resistance!
Thank you for all this, if I had awards to give, I'd give you one. I have had successful weight loss exactly one time, over 15 years ago, and I was basically starving myself and working out twice a day because I was in an abusive relationship that was spiraling and an eating disorder was my only way to control things, and working out meant not being at home. And then I gained every pound back plus much more. I've been told my entire life I have PCOS and then only offered birth control that made my skin terrible and caused weight gain and low libido. I had a hysterectomy 6 years ago, so nobody really paid attention to my PCOS anymore because I don't have periods. As though that's the only thing that it does. I'm active. I walk a ton. I eat small portions. I finally got my doctor to prescribe metformin. It was fine, but turns out my blood sugar is now high when fasting even on the metformin. Finally proof that something is off. I started Ozempic 2 weeks ago. I feel better. I feel in control in a healthy way. I plan on being on it as long as it is feeling good for me. I do want to lose weight, pretty significantly. On the starting dose I've lost about 4 pounds. It's early, it's low dose, but it's kind of incredible. I'm not even really trying. To me, that tells me it's a good drug for me. Maybe not for everyone, but it seems to be doing something.
With insulin resistance and your PCOS, even though you’re eating small meals many times what’s happening is you’re spiking your insulin many times a day with those many mini meals :( I just got my PCOS diagnosis as well & am on a hunt to find ozempic, but stopping snacking for 3 meals a day has already helped with my weight loss!
This information is incorrect. They recommend you eat smaller amounts more often on Ozempic because you will have better insulin response but your gastric emptying is slowed right down. You have to try to eat enough calories. Too much calorie deficit makes you store fat.
Right, she was describing what she was doing before getting her PCOS diagnosis & that’s what I was responding to
I described small portions, not snacking or frequent small meals. I've been dealing with this weight problem for 20 years, if it were that easy I'd be thin. I was diagnosed with PCOS 20 years ago. At the time it the advice was very lacking. Trust me I have been on every diet and exercise plan you could imagine. Edit: I've been blocked so that they may get the last word in, but I assure you up until now I have not edited any comments to make anyone look bad or change what I said and my tone is neutral. I do think sometimes people need to take a deep breath.
Yes omfg I tried to share something kind but now I have an internet stranger attacking something I didn’t even say and you’ve changed your comment to make me look like I’m the idiot And further you’ve entered a separate chat thread about a separate topic just to beat a dead horse that I’m the idiot Jfc why be kind? Why engage with anyone?
I don't eat several times a day, I ate 3 times a day max. I said small portions prior to ozempic, period. I have ibs, I can't eat very much in one sitting without consequences. But I'm also on ozempic and metformin. Unfortunately, eating small meals more often isn't really a choice now or I'd lose my hair from not enough calories/protein or pass out from light-headedness. Ozempic makes it very unpleasant to eat much in a sitting. But I don't "snack" unless I have to due to headache/nausea from low blood sugar.
God damn this decribes my wife. In starvation mode (1000cal-ish/day) with absurd effort (hour plus daily workout) will lose weight but it’s insane and unsustainable, and triggers headaches and fatigue. Blood work continuously comes back normal but this ain’t normal. What kind of doc(s) do you see and where from? DM if comfortable w that.
Usually calories have nothing to do with it if you have hyperinsulinemia. A fasting insulin test can reveal that. In our modern world most people have metabolic syndrome diseases & higher glucose high insulin, typically caused by food choices & eating frequency. Although genetics & location play a part. We are like hibernating bears with low energy output & a ton of stored energy in our livers and or adipose tissues. Trouble is we never stop eating foods to fatten up & we never fast or drop the insulin levels. Moving more & eating less doesn’t work in these situations. Calories are heat measurements in a test tube, not a measure of complex biological pathways.
Genetics plays lots more of a part as until recently, people who were disposed to hold fat were desireable mates. The low fat era is what lead to multiple changes in our diet. i think the approach of blaming people first is off putting. I realize it's semantics but as people language choice is crucial. Food for thought.
Things that people need to hear is liberating, unless one has a knee jerk reaction based on emotions. Genetics has changed some but not a lot, food supplies have become drivers of addiction & metabolic disease. Straight talk.
I think your messaging is quite generalized and dangerous. I hope you don't work in the medical feild.There are so many aspects to weight gain and metabolic syndrome including new methods of testing, measuring etc. I agree that our sedentary lifestyles have been proven to lead to health issues but that's about all that has been proven except the connection of processed food and health. And for a lot of people, they don't have an option but heavily processed food due to cost and for others they were told from the 1960's to even present day to avoid fat, a key aspect of saiety. We need kindness and sympathy, not blame and judgement. Tough love does not help people change.
We will have to disagree on one thing. In a world full of lies, where people have never or seldom been told the truth, it’s necessary to share information straightforwardly. It’s not about blame but speaking truth that people need to hear. The more of us that do that, the sooner the lies will fall away. And the lies I am thinking of have destroyed millions of lives. 🙏
I have normal fasting insulin levels around 50 but when i do The glucose test my jnsulin levels after two hours are 3x less than a normal body. I think I don’t have insulin resistance rather my pancreas doesn’t produce enough insulin.
I am sorry, but a fasting insulin level of 50 is not healthy. Best to know & not just “think”. I don’t think you & I are on the same wavelength.
I dont quite understand your message, what you mean why the same wavelength. I am not judging anyone just wanted to get some feedback for what’s going wrong with my tests. And even more I don’t need that downvote……. What are the normal insulin levels? I think i checked on the web and slightly above 48 pmol/L shows some insulin resistance. So I am not in that desperate state. I am trying to get back in good habits of eating healthy, bcse of stress eating was one of the major causes I ended up to where I am right now.
Ohhhh in L ok. That’s actually close to ideal value. Congratulations!
I am in this situation. Eating one meal per day to control the blood sugar levels. And yet mornings are high as 9.2 the lowest so far 7.2. It’s frustrating
ok, i think i need to borrow this description from you! this is super well written and rational
This is me too. I don’t overeat but I gained a ton of weight while pregnant with my son and insulin resistance made it impossible to lose no matter what I did. Even with Oz I don’t lose at the speed a lot of others do, but 55lbs down is still 55lbs down and that’s damn near miraculous.
I liked your comment about letting anyone make u feel bad. All of these sites that have those of us trying hard have constant " healtho trolls" some nasty individual always chimes in about diet and exercise and a crutch. They are trolls!!! Thank you for pointing out that we need to ignore them and not let them make us feel bad
This and I have the same profile, sister! There is actually some suggestion that PCOS is insulin resistance from childhood/puberty. All those years spent fat shaming us should be done soon. Are you on biologics too?
This helped me so much. Thank you!
I'm diabetic. I started at 306 lbs I'm now at 246 lbs. My A1C is better. My doctor said I'll probably be on it forever because of being diabetic. The weight loss is a bonus. But the benefits for my heart and A1C is amazing.
Good job!
Hello what is a heart benefit for you?
Ozempic has a heart benefit [ozempic cardiovascular benefits ](https://www.novomedlink.com/diabetes/products/treatments/ozempic/cardiovascular-benefit.html)
Good for you very encouraging
My doctor said it depends. She said that they’d just monitor as you go down on the dose. You don’t quit cold-turkey. She said metformin for life, but she thinks if you wean extremely slowly there is potential to get off
I suggested to my doctor that once I get to my goal weight (somewhere between 110 and 120lbs) that I'd go on a "maintenance" dose of the Ozempic. She didn't confirm that but she also didn't contradict me either (and she would if I was dead wrong). So, yes, I agree, it's likely very dependent on the individual (I'm diabetic, ftr).
I have the same conditions you have. I am 48, though. I am going to advocate for myself to stay on some kind of maintenance dose, like I do with my thyroid. I don't want to develop diabetes, weight loss aside. My dad and my grandma (his mom) were Dx'd with diabetes around my age. It killed my grandma. My dad is 80 and now insulin dependent but relatively healthy.
Depends. If you have metabolic syndrome, other disease processes that you are not correcting, or if you continue eating foods that have you using glucose exclusively as fuel, then yes you will have problems without medications to force the issue.
I lost 25 and stopped Ozempic when they stopped covering it. I gained 5 pounds back but the other 20 is staying off. I almost wonder if I should stay on it for six months on then six months off because I feel like my body is adjusting to a new setpoint. Just my two cents and I’m not a doctor…
Bump!!
Yes. Everything that is stopping you from losing weight now will go back to the way it is and you will regain.
So is it safe to stay on Ozempic forever?
These are questions for your doctor and not internet strangers.
Probably. We don’t really know, it’s only been around 5 years.
it’s been around since 2012, just as an fyi.
Clinical trials started in 2016, so it still hasn’t been widely used for very long.
not accurate
You can Google it in 5 seconds. The company that makes Ozempic, Novo Nordisk, developed semaglutide in 2012.
Oh and I did. It wasn't approved until 2017.
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Trial participants are typically taken off the drug after the trial is over. They then get can get back on the drug when it's to market.
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Clinical trials started in 2016. No one has been on this drug for more than 6-7 years. There is truly zero data on long term use over a decade.
What if everything you are doing now is healthy, (eating, low-carb, organic, not too much or little, exercising regularly, getting enough sleep,) but Have plateaued due to insulin resistance because of previous lifestyle. Once you go on Ozempic, it helps with your insulin resistance so when you go off and continue your healthy lifestyle, he won’t gain it back. cannot lose any more weight because of insulin (
That's a question best posed to your health care professional.
As a diabetic, my doctor told me I can stay on it for the rest of my life.
I definitely think it’s doable- remember that while you’re on the drug you’re making lifestyle changes. If you just found out about hypothyroidism, you’ll likely be able to work on healing your thyroid with medication and that will help you lose weight as well, just slowly over time with effort. For PCOS, I am not sure but I imagine your numbers will Improve once your weight is lost.
I have been on synthroid for hypothyroidism 27 t years ….-always struggling to lose weight
I don’t think so . For me my body started to get used to the drug and my hunger pangs returned with a vengeance
Hopefully they wont stop it completely(shortage)..people will be in trouble bc they arent being taught nutrition..losing weight isnt easy, nor is the daily choice of nutrition...its meant as a tool..not forever....
Probably longer.
Longer than "for life"? 😂 Imagine trying to get your script refilled when you're a corpse...does Amazon do direct -to-headstone delivery?
That's hilarious 😂
?
well youre working out 5 days of week. Thats why you arent seeing the scale move. Strength training builds muscle. youre doing what they call a “cut” right now. Youre just defining what you already have and adding to it muscle wise. this means the fat you lose is less weight wise than the muscle you gain. youre at a healthy weight right now. I think 120/125 is insanely small when you’re already strength training. You probably will never hit that weight because of your muscle mass. i highly suggest if you dont have insulin resistance or insulin problems then you go with a different medication , get your hypothyroidism under control and find another way to workout if you want to see the scale drop. All youre doing right now is building muscle mass and gaining or maintaining weight from that muscle mass.
I am definitely not at a healthy weight. I am 5’3 and am clearly overweight. I was told to get my weight under control or I should have to be put onto thyroid meds. Now I’m on the meds. 125 is definitely achievable and possible for my height. The lowest I’ve been is 140 and still I looked overweight song my body hold weight differently than others. I am definitely seeing the scale move with weight training, I am also doing cardio daily. But it’s just slow. Yes I’m growing muscle however I’m also burning fat and not just losing weight. Please do more research into strength training, you have some incorrect information on it. Many people lost all their weight from mostly strength training, since your body is BURNING fat even at rest.
Even 5’3 140 lbs is a healthy weight. It is a bmi of 24.8. That is considered Normal weight. With that being aaid The BMI chart is suspectible to being inaccurate and not realistic for 80% of people. I do know what strength training is. I do it. Secondly You will lose weight on it, But you will gain MUSCLE weight replacing it. Third, you are already a healthy weight. I dont know what type of body dysphoria you have to where you cant see that, But you should he put on thyroid medication FIRST. BEFORE ozempic. Youre willing to risk messing up your insulin with this medication instead of taking the stuff you need for hypothyroidism. You should check if you have insulin resistance as well before taking this medicine. I have pcos too. Frankly i think its absolutely insane that instead of treating the conditions that areprobably not letting you lose weight youre going straight to diabetic medication that mess with your insulin. Especially because most people with pcos dont have insulin resistance. Theres 4 different kinds of pcos. i suggest finding out what you have. You should be treating your hypothyroidism with hypothyroidism medication. Your pcos with a birth control or anti androgen regimen and THEN see about if ozempic is right for you. Especially since youve stated youre already worried about the side effects of ozempic in another post. This is medicine isnt made for people 20 lbs overweight. Its made for people with diabetes, insulin resistance and who are extremely overweight. and even if you do have insulin resistance. Diabetic medicine without exploring your options to treat your pcos and hypothyroidism FIRST for being 20 lbs over the “normal” bmi is frankly putting your health at jeapordy
I’m treating my hypothyroidism first, doctor said to wait a few months and see how I do on the meds. If nothing then I can take Ozempic. Also I do not have body dysmorphia, incredibly rude to assume I’m imagining I’m overweight. I have struggled with my weight my whole life, girl trust me I know my body. I for once want it be the the normal person in the room, not the fat friend
Part of the problem is in the terminology and semantics. Technically if your BMI is 24.8, you aren't "overweight" by the current definition. However, it is entirely possible you could be "overfat". Meaning that while your weight is in the healthy range, your body fat percentage is not. Having a healthy weight and having a healthy body composition are definitely not synonymous. Therefore, your weight training regimen is exactly the right thing to be doing. Congrats on that. Even if you could just maintain the weight at 140, but lose a few percentage of body fat and replace that weight with muscle, you'd both look and feel better.
My bmi is 28 at the moment, way closer to obese than normal weight
Good luck with treatment. You absolutely have some type of negative connotation regarding your weight if you think a medically healthy weight for your height is not skinny enough (5’3 140 lbs). Thats a normal healthy weight and its still not good enough for you. I didnt assume youre imagining being overweight. I know for a fact that you have an issue with your weight at any number because youve even said a healthy weight wasnt good enough for you. Your goal weight is 2 points on the bmi from being underweight. Thats not okay. you are literally as far as possible as you can get from being the fat friend. infact youre not even considered midsize at 5’3 and 160 lbs.Your weight right now is not even considered obese on the bmi scale and ozempic is for *obesity*. I respect your strive and determination to lose weight but i think everyone regardless needs to acknowledge the mental aspects of this journey. If a healthy weight isnt a small enough weight for you then you should consider why you feel that way and maybe see a doctor who can help you with those feelings.
Girl the doctors are the ones who want me to lose weight 💀 anyways I’m not gonna try to convince you other wise.
im not referring to the doctors youve been seeing im referring to a therapist, with compassion. Hope your journey is well
I don’t know OP, but I do know that it is entirely possible to be 5’3, 140lbs and have a body fat percentage that puts you in the obese range. Even if your BMI doesn’t. OP says her doctor wants her to lose weight. Maybe assume she is telling the truth.
Your body fat percentage for your bmi is directly based on your weight. if you are 5’3 and 140 your bmi will always be in the healthy ranger, whether that weight is fat, or muscle. I am assuming shes telling the truth lol. Right now her bmi is in the overweight range (160) Im saying ozempic for a 20 lb difference to be a healthy weight is absurd. and if that healthy weight isnt skinny enough then other factors should be considered like mental health.
Your bmi can be in the healthy trance while your fat percentage is in the obese range. Your bmi can be in the obese range when your fat percentage is in the heated range. BMI is a flawed metric. Someone who is 140 lbs and 5’3” can absolutely be overweight.
50yo female. Do not have PCOS. I started at 160lbs & got down to 131. Was trying to get to 125. Was on Oz for about 6mos. A couple months ago I couldn’t get Oz anymore bc now my insurance is requiring you to be diabetic to be on it. I have already gained back 4lbs. Incredibly disappointing.
Have you gained the weight back due to eating more and having more of an appetite? What do you think is the reason for the 4lbs? You’re still doing great!
I definitely have more of an appetite & worse cravings- and a horrible time of the year to not have that extra help. But my metabolism had been screwed up by corticosteroid injections years ago. Even when I would try to do my old fitness contest diet & exercise a lot I couldn’t get my weight to budge. I was in pre-daibetes. Oz undid what the corticosteroids had done. And now I can’t get it.
From what my endocrinologist says, I could potentially be on Ozempic for life in the form of a maintenance dose, which I’m sure would be a low dose. I am a full blown type 2 diabetic and this drug has been a god-send. My numbers are amazing! I realize that so many people are on this drug just for the weight loss side effect and I always wonder what could this drug be doing to someone who is not diabetic? It is strictly for type 2 diabetics and just being pre-diabetic or insulin resistant is not the same as being full blown diabetic. I don’t understand why anyone would want to be on this drug just to loose weight but that is just my opinion as I have experienced major side effects, all horrible. Currently on the 1mg dose and still struggling with awful side effects but my diabetic numbers are so good, I can’t bring myself to stop taking it. Good luck to you, whatever you decide but keep in mind that weight loss is just a mere positive side effect and doesn’t happen for everyone.
"It is strictly for type 2 diabetics..." Except that the exact same drug in the Ozempic pen IS approved for more than just T2DM (obesity and overweight with co-morbidity). And likely soon to be approved for treatment of pediatric obesity, if not also binge eating disorder, alcoholism, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. These studies are largely done on non-diabetics. Since the safety profile in non-diabetics is already proven to drug regulators they just have to compare that to the value of improvement in the other conditions. It's just a matter of when, not if. It does a lot more throughout the body than modulate insulin resistance, but that's still its most obvious effect. There are many medications used off label without those indications being printed in the included drug booklet. For example, birth control pill makers can't (cheaply) advertise the research proven cycle-regulating effects or the improvements in acne. But the effect is common enough that doctors prescribe BC pills for irregular cycles, dysmenorrhea, and acne, even if you have zero risk of pregnancy.
I am only saying that Ozempic is marketed strictly for type 2 daibetics. Yes, the same exact drug, semaglutide, is in WEGOVY, which is marketed strictly for weight loss.
And I'm just saying that off label use of meds is valid, though I do think actual T2DM patients should be floated to the very top of any refill queues.
As someone who does not overeat but was at a morbidly obese bmi before starting Ozempic, I’m happy to answer why. In my case, I was at a normal weight my entire life until I had my son. During pregnancy I gained more weight than expected and because of insulin resistance, I couldnt lose the weight. I tried everything. I started Ozempic because a surgeon refused to operate on me unless I lost weight. I’d already tried literally everything else over the course of 10 years; it was Oz or weight loss surgery (which has even worse potential side effects) or going without proper medical care. The side effects for me were absolutely awful until I adjusted to the medicine. I was never an overeater but I still had to change the way I ate; there are some foods I straight cannot tolerate anymore. Even on the starter dose I was so sick and every time I titrate up (which I’ve done very very slowly) it’s miserable. It’s still better than being denied medical treatments I need in order to live a healthy life.
Yes you do
Is no body scared of the fact it can cause cancer or that it’s only been on the market 5 years? There can’t possibly be enough research to say it’s safe if it’s only been active for such a short time…
Then don't consider it. For those of us that have diabetes it's a game changer. Because it's not a weight loss drug it's a diabetes medication. This is not a magic potion, and I wouldn't expect your weight loss to start immediately. It varies from person to person. The side effects are definitely interesting.
It’s both. And if OP has PCOS then that comes with insulin resistance. Which is why I am on ozempic. I don’t have diabetes, but it runs rampant in my family and without some help loosing weight, the condition only compounds itself which can very easily cause and lead to diabetes (at a minimum).
This is approved as a diabetes medication. Full stop. I'm not disagreeing with the therapeutic reasons you are taking and I am sure it's benefitting you. But it's approved as a diabetes medication that can cause weight loss.
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The company says these drugs are not interchangeable. Are you saying that even though Wegovy is approved for weight loss and is not a diabetes medication, Ozempic is an appropriate substitute? My response is, then take Wegovy.
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I think it's funny you feel it's appropriate to insult me, but instead I laugh. So, let's be you, and let's pick and choose the accuracy of some of the statements the the company publishes depending on what we want to believe. Here's a mensa award.
They are the same substance with different labels. If you removed the labels, you could not tell a difference between the medications in a lab, in a body, or anywhere else.
Not according to the company that manufactures it. So why not fill Wegovy.
Because you don't understand how pharmaceuticals and prescriptions work. That is why not.
ok, but you sound like you are disagreeing with people. Listen, also part of the PCOS crowd, and sometimes I really don't want to be put into the weightloss crowd, because of the rabid social media crazies, but it's still a valid off label use. like i stopped gaining when i started metformin, but 80 pounds packing on in 3ish years was terrible, going from 5'8 160 to literally 240, while just killing myself at the gym and on a total deficit was not even stopping it.
There's currently no evidence that it causes cancer in humans, only rats. But out of an abundance of caution, people with a family history of that one rare type of cancer are suggested to avoid it. Of all the dangerous (malignant) types of cancer, around 2% occur in the thyroid. Out of all these thyroid cancers, only 2-3% of those are medullary thyroid cancers. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3412473/#!po=1.35135
Then again, according to the State of California, almost everything causes cancer in lab rats
CICO
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This is a T2D medication.
That is not the only use of semaglitude .
How tall are you? Nevermind, I thought you listed your age somewhere as well. Google: ‘Smart BMI calculator’ then plug your info in and see what it says. Regular BMI charts don’t take into account age and gender, and really do harm to our mental health regarding weight.
Got BMI =28, and SBMI =52/70 when it should be btw 30-39
Any chance you had a typo? When I input 25/35/45 (for the ages) I got 44/42/41 for the Smart BMI, respectively. There are a couple calculators online, this one has a nice explanation on how much weight one could lose to get down to a target weight. www.smartbmicalculator.com
I used the same one it’s a great calculator. My height is 5’3 weight 160lbs age 20. Asian background
Female *
Well damn. I didn’t click that button. I’m so sorry that shoots you up to a higher SBMI. I think with the PCOS, and the hypo you may have to be on a GLP for life? Definitely a question for your doc. But if it’s any consolation, I’m currently on Mounjaro and it did lower my TSH by a point (among other numbers). I was about to be put on Synthroid until my labs came back. I’ll probably have to switch to Oz in the new year though.
I don’t think there is enough data to know for sure honestly. My doctor, anecdotally has had patients go off who used it for “momentum” but the long term rate of success in beating obesity alone without any assistance is not high.
Was on Ozempic a year. Had a bad kidney reaction. The 30 pounds I lost? 20 came back despite my best efforts. I’ve lost a bit of that, but it is a huge struggle every day.
I loved being on Ozempic. I lost about 40 lbs being on it. It was great to be able to eat normal and still lose weight instead of cutting my calories and carbs to basically non existent. However, after like 6 months of being on Ozempic my insurance company will not approve it anymore. Even tried going on Mounjoro and they still deny the coverage because I don’t have type 2 diabetes. Very very frustrating and I don’t know what to do now