Oh My, Ozempic
I was prescribed three medicines when my diagnosis came in: Metformin, Lipitor, and Ozempic. I filled and started the Metformin and Lipitor immediately. But my wife asked me if I knew about Ozempic. I told her “No”, I mean I didn’t know anything about Metformin either, I knew a little bit about Lipitor.
But the laundry list of side effects for Ozempic had me scared. I really don’t like puking. And yakking is one of the most notorious and prevelent side effects that folks report. I forget the exact statistic, but something like 20% of people taking Ozempic reporting puking as a side effect.
I haven’t yakked in what feels like a decade and I’d like to keep that going, so I didn’t fill that script.
Four Weeks Later
After roughly four weeks of diet and exercise, I was beginning to feel better. I had stabalized at like 28 units of insulin and was losing some weight. But one thing that was gnawing at me, I had read some more about Ozempic. And the benefits that it has in regards to stimulating insulin production, that particular benefit will lead to me not needing additional insulin.
So I filled the prescription. And after a road trip downstate to help my Grandma move back to Michigan, I started the medication. I didn’t want to start the meds and well, have adverse reactions while doing heavy lifting and such.
So far, so good
I have now had my four 0.25mg introductory doses and well, no adverse reactions. I am not someone that gets really nauseaus, so I am not 100% certain I know what that really feels like. But I can definitely say that the Ozempic makes you not hungry.
I have found that for the most part I can eat fruits and vegetables and it doesn’t trigger a full feeling very fast. But if I eat something with a high fat content, it makes me feel full, very fast.
In the before times, I would finish a meal, that was vegetable heavy and feel like I was still hungry, so I would finish up with some mixed nuts or a spoonful of peanut butter. Well now, 1/2 cup of dry peanuts and I won’t be hungry for hours. I haven’t experimented specifically with peanut butter, but I have had some since starting the Ozempic, and it’s similar reaction. But the 1/2 cup of dry peanuts, I’ve done it twice with the same ’not hungry’ for hours result.
No Thanks, I’m Good
Since my diagnosis, I am finding that folks offer me food to eat, and I will politely inform them “No thanks, I’m good.” Only to have them try to offer me something else. Often, it will be accompanied with a “Oh, can you not eat that?”
Technically speaking, I can eat anything, within moderation. To which, since starting the Ozempic, I have to eventually tell them “I am just not hungry.” I am generally hungry for breakfast, but given that it comes after roughly 35-40 minutes of exercise, that is expected, also being the first meal of the day.
In the before times, I wouldn’t be hungry until 2-3pm and that still very much holds true since starting the Ozempic, but sometimes Lunch will be a very light meal, small salad, or a little bit of yogurt, or a little bit fruit. When that is the case, I will have a decent sized dinner.
Today though, I was quite hungry at Lunnch (it was about 2:30pm), and I had a hankering for Steak and Eggs. I pan fried a leftover steak, made myself a cheese omelette. It was delicious.
I have to eat before taking my Metfomin, so at 8:30pm, I made myself eat some yogurt and Kashi. I was a little hungry, but it was more of a conscious effort to eat something so I could take my meds. Also, if I don’t eat a decent dinner, my blood sugar will drop too low while I sleep, and then my sensor makes my phone wake me up.
I have described the Ozempic as a “chemical gastric-bypass”, my pharmacist agreed with my assessment. The drug makes the body feel more full than you are, it makes you digest slower, which limits the blood sugar spike from eating.
I have a theory that the folks that experience the yakking, are not keeping this in mind. That they are eating foods that expand in the stomach and or are already relatively full and eating more food and quite possibly combining it with a carbonated beverage. All of those things together can create an exit event for one’s stomach.
I have been avoiding carbonated beverages after I eat.
Goes down, before going up
After two weeks on the Ozempic, I noticed something interesting. I measure my blood sugar just before I eat, log the carbs, then eat the food. Then I measure my blood sugar again after about 30 minutes. Most of the time when I eat now, my blood sugar goes down 10-20 points. After an hour or so, it goes up.
I mentioned the blood sugar going down bit during one of my follow-up consultations and no one had a good theory as to what is happening. I however think that between the changes in diet, excercise, and medication, my body is releasing insulin when I eat food now, likely more than it was. And this is what shows during that first 30 minutes or so.
Before the Ozempic, it seemed to just go up in that 30 minutes after eating. I will continue to monitor my blood sugar after I eat to see if this continues, and increases after I go to the 0.5mg dose.
I am going to finish the pen, which is two more doses. Whether or not I continue on it will be a factor of how I react on that 0.5mg dose.
For the love of food
It has gotten a little better the last week and a half, but overall my love of food has diminished considerably. Because, I am just not hungry. My caloric in take is staying somewhere in the 1200-1400 calorie range. A few times I was only able to consume like 800 calories.
The not being hungry all the time, it is a little depressing. Which is why I am trying to make whenever I do eat, I am trying to make it worth it.