I’m 2.5 weeks into using it (the semaglutide generic version of Ozempic) and I am down ~10 lbs. It has an amazing effect in causing you to simply not head for the refrigerator. You feel a sensation of being full, and not being hungry. I expect to drop about 30-35 lbs., and then go back to the gym and hit weights and the treadmill to burn off the rest. At 68 I am 50 lbs. heavier than I was at 38, when I was running 8.4 miles/day, 4 days a week. I do not expect to get down to that weight or return to anywhere near that distance. But I welcome the assistance in dropping weight as I ease back into exercise.
As my favorite Georgia Supreme Court opinion says “Those with the ability to read have the duty to read.” There are plenty of warnings with the prescription materials, and in order to be evaluated for being placed on the drug you had to go through screening, review of blood tests and a 30-minute counseling session via Zoom, all of which advised about potential problems of constipation and the need to sometimes utilize laxatives. The drug is achieving its effect in part by changing the motility of the contents of your digestive tract. The Post article provides a lot of shallow anecdotal information which is impossible to assemble into something meaningful.
I am optimistic about this drug after seeing the effects on people I know, including my wife, who was borderline diabetic. You need an actual diagnosis of diabetes for it to be prescribed for that purpose, and that application is covered by insurance. But the use my wife had was not covered, or my use, is not covered. The stuff is pricey - roughly $1500-2000 for 6 months’ worth of drug and injections supplies. From the way the distribution is set up and the demeanor of the staff (pure glee) I suspect they are making a cubic crapload of $$ in this phase of things. Once the overall benefits can be measured more accurately in the non- and near- diabetic populations, I suspect that there will be insurance coverage for it, because trimming back obesity must be a big winner for insurance companies. My wife has been on it for 3.5 months and her glucose readings have dropped into mid-high normal range (low 80’s) from a series of readings in the 120’s before she started.
Back when I was doing KETO and One Meal A Day, after a few days, I noticed I wasn’t hungry at all during the day, and had a lot of energy. I assume that’s because when you are in Ketosis, they body gets the energy it needs and suppresses the feelings of hunger.
I need to get back to doing it.