Weight loss drug thread for usage advice (not debating)

I take Zepbound, which I think is the same base as Mounjaro, and I’ve been a day or two late several times. Once I went 11 days because of travel and it was fine. Basically you might start feeling the cravings more, but for just one day that might not even happen.

1 Like

Thanks! I want to start it tonight to try to stay as close to schedule as possible so now need quick answers! lol This doctor offered this to me several years ago, before hardly anyone had heard of GLP-1s. I said no at the time and lost the weight I wanted to through exercise and IF, but in the past 18 months, since my mom’s death, nothing is working anymore to take off the weight I gained in the year before her death. This is more of a curiosity for me as I’m intrigued by the idea of being rid of food noise. That sounds like heaven. But I want to do it correctly if I only have a month’s shot at it! Maybe I should go back and read this entire thread now that it applies to me.

I would not check it in your packed luggage. Pack it in your carry on. There is no problem getting past TSA. I’m not sure about Mounjara, but Wegovy can be unrefrigerated for 28 days as long as it is kept between 46-86 degrees.

I’m fascinated that it should be kept in the fridge but can be unrefrigerated for weeks. I take another injectable that has to stay refrigerated.

It will only last 28 days unrefrigerated, but I guess can last much longer under refrigeration. It is recommended that you keep it refrigerated, but everything also says, no problem to keep unrefrigerated when traveling.

1 Like

OK, thanks.

I don’t know if it was necessary, but I purchased an insulated travel case (meant for diabetic medication) for my Wegovy:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BVHGTWX8?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_1&th=1

1 Like

Popping in to say after 3 full weeks in (4th shot tomorrow), I think my favorite effect so far is how little I want to drink alcohol. I wasn’t expecting to lose interest there, considering my considerable “interest” in the past. That noise seems to have died down just like the food noise. I can almost hear my liver doing little jumps of joy.

3 Likes

Good luck! I’m still thrilled that my food cravings have diminished so greatly on phentermine. I persuaded my sister to try it - she was always the “skinny” one but she’s gained a good bit of weight recently.

I had thought it might be a nice side effect for me, but no. Hasn’t had any effect. My sweet tooth on the other has totally disappeared.

My sweet tooth is weird. Like I’ll still crave chocolate, then partway through I can’t finish it because it’s too sweet. Same thing with other stuff that has never, ever been “too sweet” for me.

I have been addicted to chocolate my whole life and have now been on a glp 1 med for 3 years. I do a maintenance dose once per month. I continue to eat chocolate every day but now I’m satisfied with 1 or 2 squares and never eat a whole bar. I find it very liberating that I can eat anything I want I just don’t eat much of it.

4 Likes

I’ve had the same side effect with alcohol. I’m not a big drinker anyway but used to have one or two low carb beers/week and would definitely kick things up while on vacation but on a recent girls’ trip I found that I could not finish even one drink. I never had cravings for alcohol but now I can’t even bring myself to drink it.

I have a family member who is on a glp-1 specifically to address the alcohol issues.

2 Likes

OK, day five and a couple of questions …

  1. Does anyone track their calories? I’m curious how low people are going? I work out every day, either heavy lifting at home or walk/run intervals. I am concerned about going too low.

When talking to the doctor, he is very much a calories in, calories out kind of guy. I kind of reject that thinking as not all calories are created equal, but he said that if I am not getting the results I want, increasing output or decreasing input are my two options. That is true, I suppose. Even before starting this sample, I had started more closely monitoring the calorie input, like every bite.

  1. Do you think I could be feeling affects after only five days? I definitely don’t feel like I NEED to eat as much. And the weirdest thing if that I don’t want to finish my Diet Coke with dinner. I mean, I do, but I used to slam that thing because it was so cold and delicious.

I don’t track calories, but I am clearly eating much less and yes, I do think you could be feeling effects quickly - some people are very sensitive.

For me, it’s more important to track my protein intake. My appetite is way down, and I’m not eating as much, but need to make sure I’m getting protein. And drinking enough water.

Since it’s new, it might make sense to track it all for now, so you can have definitive data when you check in with your doctor.

You could definitely be feeling it after only five days. I’ve had to go off the injections a couple of times (didn’t anticipate the insurance company taking 6 weeks to re-authorize when the calendar year changed) and I also experienced my appetite increasing/eating more/gaining weight. Even when taking the medication regularly I am hungriest at the end of the week when I’m due for a new injection the next day.

Sigh. Just found out that my insurance plan won’t be covering my meds for next year. I’ll be going from $100 month ($250 under insurance with a $150 “discount card” from the Zepbound people), to potentially $550 per month. (The discount card expires at the end of the calendar year, and I don’t know if it will be back. If it is then maybe it will “only” be $400/month).

That’s if I stick with the Zepbound, which has been working. If I switch to liraglutide its $10/month. (Liraglutide is the official name for Saxenda.)

But liraglutide is different. First, it only acts on one receptor, whereas the tirzepatide in Zepbound acts on two, and second, it’s a DAILY injection, not weekly. I don’t want daily injections and I don’t want a different chemical makeup when I’ve got something that’s working.

So now I’m researching the other health insurance plans offered during open season. It looks like there’s one where Zepbound is still covered and it would actually be less per month for insurance coverage, but I have no idea if all our doctors would be covered or if it would cover my kids in different states (it’s a less well known insurance carrier and may not have as broad a reach).

What a PITA.

5 Likes

Ugh, I’m so sorry. My insurance has been covering, but I’m close to maintenance level now and I am not sure they’ll issue my next Prior Authorization (I only get four months at a time with them). Some people where my H works have been denied.

Plus, he’s probably retiring in June, and then I have to figure out Medicare, which won’t cover it.

My plan then is probably self-pay through Lilly Direct, and spacing out shots since I’ll be on maintenance by then. And crossing fingers that prices come down.

1 Like

My insurance is stopping coverage in January. I think I could get vials direct from Eli Lilly for $350/month but that’s too much. I’m looking into other options.

My insurance has never covered it, so I get the vials directly from Eli Lilly – but the $350 is for the 2.5 starter dose. I’ve been on that dose since July and have lost 25 pounds, but now I’ve hit a plateau and am hungry again and can tell that I need to move up to 5.

The cost for that dose, unfortunately, is $500 a month.

I was posting about this on the health insurance thread, but we’re up a creek because we buy health insurance through the ACA, and our particular insurance is going away. To pick a new one is triple the cost, plus our doctors won’t be in network. And pretty sure nothing through the ACA covers GLP-1 meds for weight loss.

I am actually trying to enroll in my local community college so I can purchase student health insurance. It will mean I have to take six credits a semester, which will cost about $1,000 per semester – still coming out way ahead. The classes can be online, and I’ll still qualify to purchase the insurance. If this works, the premiums are expensive, but it’s still HALF the cost of premiums for any policy through the ACA.

I applied as a post-baccalaureate student, which means I’m not degree-seeking, I just want to take classes. And I spent the last few days ordering my transcript – which, I didn’t have an account at the college where I got my degree because that was not a thing 30 years ago, lol, so first I had to tackle that. And then I had to send in a marriage certificate and what not so they could verify my name change.

Fingers crossed it all goes through in time before open enrollment closes.

No idea if the student health insurance will cover Zepbound, but one hurdle at a time!

4 Likes