GLP-1 Medications

Did you ask your own GP first? I am curious why RO.

Yes my PCP and I had this conversation back in September. I asked Ro because it would’ve been cheaper than going through my insurance. $45 for the first month, then $145 per month after.

In fact, my PCP checked and my previous insurance would not even cover it, so I would’ve had to pay out of pocket. I just got insurance through my employer at the beginning of December, so I haven’t checked with them yet. All i know is that it’s really frustrating; my body will not do what Im trying to make it do and I get chastised for it, and yet people in the medical field shoot me down when I try to do something that I haven’t tried before and that might actually help.

I entrusted my health care to medical professionals for 50 years. I don't do that anymore. I'm not recommending you follow my example, however.....When I left care of my cardiology departmet (because they wanted to double my statin dose after I had reached my LDL goals and they failed to notice I had lost 38 lbs), My discharge papers said I was obese. Obesity and heart disease are a recipe for GLP-1 weight loss. My PCP didn't think I needed it. I'm fairly athletic for a 70 year old mildly obese man with heart disease. Statins provide an absolute reduction of cardio events of 1%. GLP-1s are said to provide 20% protection. I could use that. I became aware of a compounding pharmacy where you could obtain a GLP-1 sans PCP. They had me select my age from a column that only went to 65 years old. I'm 70. So I lied and said I was 60. I got the drugs. If I continue to increase the dosage, they are going to want blood work and verification of my age. I'm happy at .5ml if they are. If not, cheaper options are in the pipeline.

Because of the guidelines in this forum, I won’t say what my weight is. I will say, however, that based on my metrics, I am most definitely a candidate for glp-1 medications— in fact, they projected that on one, I would lose roughly 40 lbs. within the next few months. That’s huge for me (pun fully intended).

At this point, I’m sick of dealing with doctors. The only thing that concerns me about compounded medications is that they are not subject to the same parameters and regulations as non-compounded meds.

I wasnt able to get prescribed for weight loss even tho my bmi was morbidly obese, but my insurance did approve me for diabetes. The medication is not as strong and i dont lise as much or as fast, but i have gotten down to "just" obese, no longer morbidly. My dr told me i can expect to lose another 30 lbs, which would take me to overweight.

I hope your new insurance will cover something.

I burned 150 calories on the treadmill and another 100 on the stationary bike. I also did some leg exercises and some chin ups. If I do this everyday and otherwise balance my diet, I should lose a minimum of 4 lbs per month
just from the increase in exercise. I have lost 11 lbs having been on semaglutide .25ml for 6 weeks. I'm in it for the long haul. Also, options for weight loss drugs are in the pipeline. Pills will soon be available and costs are coming down.
Insurers may begin to provide more coverage. Who knows?

Yes, I am aware of all that. I also exercise and watch what I eat. But I am sick of waiting.

Do you have diagnosed medical issues? I have a history of an ED but my health issues outweigh it so I got prescribed them. But if you have heart issues or diabetes of something that is dangerous then you should be able to get it.

After a lot of thought and deliberation, I have decided that it's probably for the best that I am not on a GLP-1. I have prediabetes, but the more I read about GLP-1's, the less inclined I am to take them. For one thing, we're still learning about all the risks and tradeoffs involved in taking a GLP-1 medication, and some of the ones we've already learned about can be pretty debilitating, like gastrointestinal issues and gallbladder stones. For another, as I said, I only have prediabetes, which is not as severe as others like yourself who have more serious health issues; I don't want to be one of the many people diminishing the supply of a med that others may genuinely need. Finally, I don't want to be on this medication for the rest of my life, and the more we research these drugs, the more evident it becomes that when people stop taking GLP-1's, they experience rebound weight gain. This is not me shaming anyone on a GLP-1 if they honestly need it -- if you have serious health issues related to obesity and you've been prescribed it, then I wish you the best with it. This is just me stating my personal stance based entirely on my personal situation.

I was going to get an GLP-1 but my head just refused. In the end I know of a couple of friends that had terrible side effects. And they had no warning. Just one day their intestines were paralyzed. I am trying to lose weight on my own- again. It is tough. I also have a prescription for Phentermine. I use that sparingly.

My goal is just to learn how to eat again. I fear 25+ years of working has ruined my ability to eat normally. I have to learn to eat less food every day and not binge. .

So I just don't know about this GLP1 thing. I have been on it now for 9 weeks.

- I have not lost a ton of weight. 14 lbs total. And I have been stuck for at least a week. IMHO the 14 lbs could easily be regained if I stop now because I am sure it is just water / weight of food weight.
- I don't know if I am having a constipation problem. I usually go every single day. But this week I didn't go two days in a row. So I spent my Saturday and Sunday shoving down Mirilax. But it really didn't do much. When it normally does. I did go and it wasn't very hard at all. Now I am thinking I just don't have a lot of stool because of 8 weeks of eating little food. How do I figure out if I have a problem or not? I feel so completely unprepared.
- One reason I want to lose weight is to make it easier to go to work. But just like the last time I lost weight... it did nothing. This week was a stressful and bad week at work and I needed an entire day on Saturday just to deal with the aches and pains from 4 days of work. It was one of the complicating factors in thinking I was constipated... it was hard to get water and get fiber and thus I thought I got constipated. Also I had to run to work and didn't have time to sit around and play with my body's desire to go when it wanted to go.

I haven't gone up on my dose and everyone tells me to but I just don't see how that is going to help. I am not hungry and eating low calories.

I am tried and wired and the constant "worry" about every symptom is exhausting me. I just feel like maybe it is time for a break if for nothing else to see if I can continue to diet without it. I have a very sneaking suspicion that once I am on a diet... it is easier to say on the diet.

Yeah i dont really like my poop on the glp1. Its like Shredded Poop. I have started recording my poops on my stupid calendar Prior to glp1, i had attained poop nirvana, after struggling with constipation for over 50 years. As you say, often work timing related. The worst was pms constipation, as i really was not good at tracking. I was just thrown about like i was in a tornado, physically and emotionally. My mother totally ignored my periods, i dont know if that's usual. I think i missed one day of my senior year of high school because of cramps.

Well I don't think I have constipation because I went totally normally today. I guess my issue is just every single day on this medication it feels like I could be in the midst of an emergency.

I thought I was going to lose some weight today because I got on the scale last night and it was lower than usual.. but no.. didn't lose anything.

My shortest interval of weigh ins was my last one, which was three weeks, and was affirmative of my medication. I mean, even with a panniculectomy or liposuction or whatever, you have to wait until the body systems RESOLVE. Your not the Hoover Dam! Maybe frequent weigh ins are appropriate for those in clinics - for various psychological and physical reasons? - but i dont think it translates past watsername Jenny Craig diet plan. Are you trying to judge using a faulty measurment device? And i dont mean your scale isnt working! If the proper measurement is scale PLUS time, you cant just willy-nilly eliminate time from the equation. Thats unprofessional!

I have been stuck for about 3 weeks now. Today I tested to see if I could "binge" and I sure could. Over did it on ice cream.

I don't know... I am paying $300 dollars per month, risking damage to my body and I am not doing any better than I would be doing if I was not taking this drug.

What tends to happen is that when I first start any diet I am excellent for the first 12 or so weeks. Then I start feeling super cravings and become tired of eating the same foods. At the same time my weight starts getting stuck and my motivation starts taking a hit.

I had hoped that the drug would take some of that pressure off but I truly don't feel like it does much... if anything. I am feeling sick of eating the same foods. I am feeling cravings. It could very well be my motivation that has been working this long. I think I am going to take a break and see what happens. I have three more doses in the fridge. If it turns out I need this medication I will just try again.

So I am back to the other side. I did lose 1/2 a lb (weird how cheating can sometimes get things going again) and I have a friend who talked me down a little.

She did point out that one of my greatest failings diet wise is not sticking with it. Usually it is because I am too hungry but now I am too concerned about my health.

So she talked me into staying on and increasing the dose and seeing what happens. The only tricky part is that I will be increasing the dose one week before I go on vacation. Hopefully it won't be bad.