Leaving Oz, With Hope

I have been reluctant to write the last article in my Ozempic series but since a few readers have taken the time to write and ask about it, I guess the time has come. To recap, the first article, posted in February, recounted my decision to try semaglutide, my quest for a provider, and my first weeks on it. In the second article, posted in April, I declared victory. At my lightest, I weighed 125, which was 17 pounds less than I started. 

I stayed on the drug for a total of seven months, with a top dose of 20 units/week. After I finished my second bottle, having spent a total of $750, I decided to stop taking it. From April to August, I bounced around within three pounds of my low weight. I had seemingly developed a tolerance by then. I still occasionally experienced what I think of as the Ozempic effect — when you prepare or order a plate of food, then look at it and realize you can barely put a bite in your mouth — but mostly I just ate the way I normally do, though a little less. I’ve never really liked sweets (my sainted mother effectively brainwashed me in this area), and usually make what they call “good choices” about food. 

My downfall as far as calories are concerned is alcohol. If you recall, in the first article, on Day Seven, I wrote that I had lost my ability to down a bottle of wine in an evening, and felt like one or two small glasses was plenty. Hard liquor didn’t appeal. Unfortunately, that wore off a long time ago, and cheap Chardonnay, gin and juice, and the occasional margarita have been on the menu. Sometimes, this gives me the munchies, and I’ll snack on pistachio nuts or pretzels or nachos, generally avoiding binge-adjacent quantities.

The last few weeks on the drug, I tried a higher dose, 20 units, to see if I could get it to work again. It really didn’t. At the higher dose, I was exhausted all the time, which was the one side effect I often experienced, and I was still hovering around the same weight. I wasn’t eager to go to an even higher dose or spend any more money.

Yet I worried about going off, wondering if I’d quickly gain back the whole sack of potatoes. Since it’s only been three weeks, it’s still possible. Most mornings, I still weigh about 128, but I did spy 130 at some unlucky point. Being on Ozempic, you get spoiled by not having to really try at all and the challenge when you’re off it is to remember how to exercise self-control. For a hot minute, I thought I might go back to food logging with an app (I’ve used MyNetDiary on and off) but I got fed up with it quickly. I’m still doing hot yoga and yoga sculpt several times a week, reliably the most senior of the citizens in the CorePower classes I go to at the Rotunda. Surrounded by lithe youngsters in leggings, sweat pouring off me in rivers, I think, good for you, Marion. At least you’re here. 

I do feel semaglutide is pretty magical. I lost weight almost effortlessly and had no terrible side effects. I don’t know why anyone with weight issues wouldn’t try it, if they could afford it. I’m cautiously hopeful that I’ll be able to keep off the majority of the unwanted pounds. If my set point — the weight your body wants to be at — did decrease by 10%, as Dr. Varano suggested it might, I should be okay. 

I checked in with several of the friends who jumped on my bandwagon, and here are a few updates. 

Friend One hit his goal in about six months, having lost 32 pounds, and is finishing up what may be his last bottle. It’s been pretty easy to maintain the loss as he titrates off the drug, he told me in a text. “I’m sliding out at 10 units per week (but sometimes I cheat and do 12.)  Appetite’s not back to eating everything under the sun like before but I am a bit hungrier. Having to be a bit more aware of how much I eat since the appetite door is no longer getting slammed in the face like when I was doing 30 plus units. I’m actually thinking about getting a new vial but more than likely won’t.”

Friend Two, who you may recall was warned she might have a hard time losing the weight because her fat is visceral rather than subcutaneous, actually did have a slow start and a lot of side effects, including serious fatigue and stomachaches. But at this point, she has lost 20 pounds in six months, and is determined to lose another 10 or 15. She is doing 40 units a week, in two 20-unit shots, which is a pretty high dose. She already looks great, is getting double takes from neighbors, who inevitably ask, “what did you do to your hair?” She does not reveal her secret, fearing the pushback one typically gets from the many people who oppose weight loss drugs, either on moral or medical grounds. This can be tiresome. She is wondering/worrying if she will have to stay on it forever, but for now is just soldiering on.

Friends Three and Four got on semaglutides a little later than those two, and they are using Henry Meds online rather than our guy in DC. Friend Three, who does plan to stay on the drug “forever,” reports by text: “My experience with generic semaglutide has been positive.  I’ve lost 30 pounds so far and probably will lose about 5 more before I plateau.  My only side-effect has been mild nausea the morning after I take the shot and I have learned to take an anti-nausea pill the night before to deal with it.  The drug hasn’t really changed anything about which particular foods I enjoy, I just want less.  This is ideal.  It seems to me that the $300/month I spend on the drug is roughly offset by decreased grocery, restaurant and bar bills.  Even Steven.” 

Friend Four, his wife, is three months in and has lost 10 pounds but feels she is on a steady downward trajectory.  She thinks that the drug might be making her a bit more tired in the afternoons.

And there you have it. I do love the idea of the 300 dollars per month being offset by reduced expenses on face-stuffing. And that guy is a scientist, so he’s probably right. Perhaps if I start puffing up, I’ll pony up.