# Ozempic



## Spoon (Jul 16, 2022)

Hello everyone. I’m searching for some good news stories about Ozempic as I’ve been put on it by the consultant. Also I thought the initial dose was 0.25 and I’ve been sent 0.5 so have queried it with my GP. I am really not keen on starting it, mostly due to side effects, when I am already a victim to my stomach and bowels. I tried Lyxumia in 2020 which started me off with pancreatitis and I couldn’t eat anything but plain biscuits I felt so terrible. It deteriorated into feeling sick and dizzy all morning then diarrhoea all afternoon … could really use some good news stories! Also anyone else start off at a 0.5 dose?


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## Lucyr (Jul 17, 2022)

If you’ve been told to start on 0.25 then I’d check the prescription said 0.25 and that the pharmacist prescribed the right pen. If they did intend to prescribe the 0.5 pen then you can just dial half as far for a 0.25 dose, that’s what I did when going back down doses


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## Spoon (Jul 17, 2022)

Thanks - it’s quite hard to calculate half a dose on the pen as it only has 0.5 on the dial. Will see if I can work it, but not going to start until this heatwave is over. How did you find it?


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## Lucyr (Jul 17, 2022)

To find half a dose I just used the lines on the dial of the pen. Coloured in the one that pointed to 0 with a permanent marker, and counted how many rotations it was to the marked dose. Then twisted  half as many times for the half dose.


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## Spoon (Jul 17, 2022)

Thank you


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## Spottylegs (Jul 21, 2022)

I started on 0.25 I now am up to 1.0 13 weeks lost about 15lbs but my diabetes is Under control


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## Leadinglights (Jul 21, 2022)

Spottylegs said:


> I started on 0.25 I now am up to 1.0 13 weeks lost about 15lbs but my diabetes is Under control


Fantastic all round. Well done


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## Spottylegs (Jul 21, 2022)

And the only issues I’ve had is eggy burps and bad wind nothing else


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## Eddy Edson (Jul 21, 2022)

Spottylegs said:


> I started on 0.25 I now am up to 1.0 13 weeks lost about 15lbs but my diabetes is Under control


Excellent!


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## Amigo (Jul 21, 2022)

Apparently there’s a severe shortage of 0.25 (according to my surgery pharmacist). I wonder if this has been part of the problem. There’s some excellent instruction videos on YouTube about using the Ozempic pen from very credible sources. Hope this helps but obviously be guided primarily by your medical team. Good luck!


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## grovesy (Jul 22, 2022)

I wonder whether this is because they seem to be prescribing it more.


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## Spoon (Jul 22, 2022)

Amigo said:


> Apparently there’s a severe shortage of 0.25 (according to my surgery pharmacist). I wonder if this has been part of the problem. There’s some excellent instruction videos on YouTube about using the Ozempic pen from very credible sources. Hope this helps but obviously be guided primarily by your medical team. Good luck!


I am in the middle of experiencing this shortage - my pharmacy can't get 0.25mg pens anywhere. Just been told by my GP to ring around pharmacies to see if they have any in stock. As I don't really want to start taking anyway (my experiment with Lyxumia did not go well)  my first inclination is to not bother...


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## Spoon (Jul 25, 2022)

Well, I spent all weekend phoning my local pharmacies and there is not a 0.25mg ozempic pen to be found anywhere! All the suppliers say out of stock. So guess I won’t be taking the devil’s juice after all


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## Spoon (Jul 25, 2022)

Just FYI spoke to Ozempic supplier- apparently only turning the dial half way makes no difference- pen will dispense a full dose. So can’t do that. According to them there has been a worldwide shortage but should be at their suppliers from tomorrow …


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## Lucyr (Jul 25, 2022)

Spoon said:


> Just FYI spoke to Ozempic supplier- apparently only turning the dial half way makes no difference- pen will dispense a full dose. So can’t do that. According to them there has been a worldwide shortage but should be at their suppliers from tomorrow …


Turning it halfway does dispense a half dose, if it didn’t then after a month my pen would have been empty not half full. Or turning it to the priming line would give a full dose which it doesn’t, just gives a small amount to prime it with.


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## Spoon (Jul 25, 2022)

My pen does not have a priming line? To be honest I don’t understand why there needs to be different pens for each dose. The dial on mine says 0.5mg and nothing else so going to wait until the 0.25mg pen is available


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## Lucyr (Jul 25, 2022)

Spoon said:


> My pen does not have a priming line? To be honest I don’t understand why there needs to be different pens for each dose. The dial on mine says 0.5mg and nothing else so going to wait until the 0.25mg pen is available


There should be a small line just after the 0 which is used to prime for the first injection only, then no other markings until 0.5mg


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## Spoon (Jul 25, 2022)

No that isn’t what my pen dial
Looks like maybe they have changed the packaging, hence the out of stock situation.


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## Spoon (Jul 25, 2022)

Lucyr said:


> There should be a small line just after the 0 which is used to prime for the first injection only, then no other markings until 0.5mg


How have you been finding it? I feel
Sick and have diarrhoea all the time anyway (IBS) so not looking forward to that getting worse when I eventually give it a go!


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## Lucyr (Jul 25, 2022)

Spoon said:


> No that isn’t what my pen dial
> Looks like maybe they have changed the packaging, hence the out of stock situation.


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## Lucyr (Jul 25, 2022)

Spoon said:


> How have you been finding it? I feel
> Sick and have diarrhoea all the time anyway (IBS) so not looking forward to that getting worse when I eventually give it a go!


If you already feel sick a lot then it might not work for you, the effect of making you feel sick is part of how it works to make you eat less, so that you then lose weight and improve blood sugars. I took 1.0 and didn’t find any effect from it, didn’t feel sick or full at all, so stopped taking it as it was a waste of money. Some do find it easier to eat less whilst taking it though, they key thing is to reduce your food intake considerably when taking it.


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## Spoon (Jul 25, 2022)

Lucyr said:


> If you already feel sick a lot then it might not work for you, the effect of making you feel sick is part of how it works to make you eat less, so that you then lose weight and improve blood sugars. I took 1.0 and didn’t find any effect from it, didn’t feel sick or full at all, so stopped taking it as it was a waste of money. Some do find it easier to eat less whilst taking it though, they key thing is to reduce your food intake considerably when taking it.


Yeah I tried Lyxumia a while back and that made my blood sugar shoot up and made me so ill I couldn’t get out of bed
Apart from to the toilet. Also gained weight as the indigestion was so rampant I could only face rich tea biscuits  then I was ravenous but any time I ate anything I had a BG of 24 … so don’t really want to take this one but I’m literally at the end of the road as the insulin also isn’t working 100%


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## Lucyr (Jul 25, 2022)

Spoon said:


> Yeah I tried Lyxumia a while back and that made my blood sugar shoot up and made me so ill I couldn’t get out of bed
> Apart from to the toilet. Also gained weight as the indigestion was so rampant I could only face rich tea biscuits  then I was ravenous but any time I ate anything I had a BG of 24 … so don’t really want to take this one but I’m literally at the end of the road as the insulin also isn’t working 100%


Oh, my IBS type diarrhoea symptoms improved on ozempic! Forgot about that, it slows your digestion so it really helped with that!


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## Spoon (Jul 28, 2022)

Lucyr said:


> Oh, my IBS type diarrhoea symptoms improved on ozempic! Forgot about that, it slows your digestion so it really helped with that!


That is good news. Just got off the phone to my diabetes nurse who has moved me
over to Trulicity because the 0.25 Ozempic pen is still unavailable. Do you have any experience with that at all? Thanks.


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## Lucyr (Jul 28, 2022)

I’ve never tried that no


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## Spoon (Jul 30, 2022)

Ok - so I got the Trulicity but it was a 1.5mg pen, when the starter dose is 0.75 mg I believe. Only one pen as it’s been sent to tide me over until the Ozempic pen is back in stock. I followed your post @Lucyr and did a half-ish dose of the 0.5 mg Ozempic, it appears to have worked (does your pen whir as it injects? Rather odd!) though no way of really knowing until the side effects kick in


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## Lucyr (Jul 30, 2022)

Spoon said:


> Ok - so I got the Trulicity but it was a 1.5mg pen, when the starter dose is 0.75 mg I believe. Only one pen as it’s been sent to tide me over until the Ozempic pen is back in stock. I followed your post @Lucyr and did a half-ish dose of the 0.5 mg Ozempic, it appears to have worked (does your pen whir as it injects? Rather odd!) though no way of really knowing until the side effects kick in


you're not having much luck with pen availability are you! Yeah heard a noise as it went in its the noise of the bits inside moving down to inject the medication


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## Spoon (Aug 10, 2022)

On week 2 of Ozempic - only thing to report is a bit of indigestion (nothing new) and a headache which I contribute to my bg being in range. I’ve changed from being in range 50% of the time to 80% of the time in just 2 weeks - I can’t quite believe it! Not reduced my Humulin M3 yet but when I go up to 0.5mg I think I shall need to as I’ve seen a few 4’s. Not lost any weight and still have a healthy appetite, though have gone off certain things - mainly eggs. This may intensify when I increase the dose! The day after the injection I feel a bit hung-over but nothing I can’t cope with.


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## Spoon (Aug 27, 2022)

An update now I am going into week 5. For 4 days after the injection I have eggy burps and diarrhoea. I haven’t had a proper meal in 2 weeks as anything will make me feel unwell and result in a night in the bathroom. My diet has noticeably deteriorated as I can’t stomach any eggs, meat, fruit or veg and only really can face bread, cheese and rich tea biscuits. Despite this, I went up to being in range for 80% of the time and even hit the 90s which was brilliant (I have a Libre). I’m not sure if this is the ozempic or because I am not eating as much. However, I am now in the week before my period, which is when my insulin resistance  ramps up. This week has been a lot worse, i am in range 11% of the time  and have been living off no added sugar vimto ice lollies I feel so bloated. I take 120 units of humulin m3 a day. I should really take more insulin but my weight is now quite shocking (BMI 46) so I won’t. Despite all the  trots and the not eating, I have not lost any weight. Ozempic is definitely curtailing my normal activities at the moment and am starting to wonder if it’s worth it. What’s the point in living a few years longer if it’s spent feeling terrible and on the toilet all the time? Anyway, waiting to see how this week pans out. Dreading going up to the 0.5 mg dose!


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## Leadinglights (Aug 27, 2022)

Spoon said:


> An update now I am going into week 5. For 4 days after the injection I have eggy burps and diarrhoea. I haven’t had a proper meal in 2 weeks as anything will make me feel unwell and result in a night in the bathroom. My diet has noticeably deteriorated as I can’t stomach any eggs, meat, fruit or veg and only really can face bread, cheese and rich tea biscuits. Despite this, I went up to being in range for 80% of the time and even hit the 90s which was brilliant (I have a Libre). I’m not sure if this is the ozempic or because I am not eating as much. However, I am now in the week before my period, which is when my insulin resistance  ramps up. This week has been a lot worse, i am in range 11% of the time  and have been living off no added sugar vimto ice lollies I feel so bloated. I take 120 units of humulin m3 a day. I should really take more insulin but my weight is now quite shocking (BMI 46) so I won’t. Despite all the  trots and the not eating, I have not lost any weight. Ozempic is definitely curtailing my normal activities at the moment and am starting to wonder if it’s worth it. What’s the point in living a few years longer if it’s spent feeling terrible and on the toilet all the time? Anyway, waiting to see how this week pans out. Dreading going up to the 0.5 mg dose!


Is this really the right medication for you as it is clearly making you feel so unwell and disruptive to your life. Would not a different insulin regime be better.


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## Spoon (Aug 28, 2022)

Leadinglights said:


> Is this really the right medication for you as it is clearly making you feel so unwell and disruptive to your life. Would not a different insulin regime be better.


I know what you’re saying - this is pretty much the last resort and I really want it to work -  all T2 meds have given me awful side effects and it’s incredibly frustrating


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## Sarahp (Aug 29, 2022)

Spoon said:


> Hello everyone. I’m searching for some good news stories about Ozempic as I’ve been put on it by the consultant. Also I thought the initial dose was 0.25 and I’ve been sent 0.5 so have queried it with my GP. I am really not keen on starting it, mostly due to side effects, when I am already a victim to my stomach and bowels. I tried Lyxumia in 2020 which started me off with pancreatitis and I couldn’t eat anything but plain biscuits I felt so terrible. It deteriorated into feeling sick and dizzy all morning then diarrhoea all afternoon … could really use some good news stories! Also anyone else start off at a 0.5 dose?


I did.5 dose and lost a lot but had to come of it as I get pancreatitis, check your leaflet for more info especially if your still at risk of pancreatic issues.


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## rding72 (Sep 7, 2022)

I have been prescribed this drug and so far have completed 4 doses of the .25 and two doses of the .5  straight away i started with the nausea but three weeks into it I started withe the eggy burps and now also comedy flatulance. I thought i had an in clinic appointment with my diabetic nurse this morning for a review on how its going before upping the dose and i was hoping to get weighed with some good news for my suffering but it turns out it was a telephone appointment. We have decided that I will finish the last two .5 injections and then go in for a review. Im not sure if i want to continue unless the side effects lesson as its affecting my sleep. i only have to turn over in the night and it sets me off burping and farting has anyone found a way to combat this side effect. I did ask the nurse this morning and her advice was go ask a pharmacy which I will do later today. im still taking 80 mg of Glicazide and 2000 mg of metformin.


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## Nige13 (Sep 7, 2022)

Spoon said:


> Hello everyone. I’m searching for some good news stories about Ozempic as I’ve been put on it by the consultant. Also I thought the initial dose was 0.25 and I’ve been sent 0.5 so have queried it with my GP. I am really not keen on starting it, mostly due to side effects, when I am already a victim to my stomach and bowels. I tried Lyxumia in 2020 which started me off with pancreatitis and I couldn’t eat anything but plain biscuits I felt so terrible. It deteriorated into feeling sick and dizzy all morning then diarrhoea all afternoon … could really use some good news stories! Also anyone else start off at a 0.5 dose?


I've tried it twice and come off it twice  I lost weight when I didnt need to , lost my apeitite and felt ill all the time - so never again for me - I guess it's like lots of other medications and doesnt fit with everyone  Good luck on it though and hope it helps


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## Spoon (Sep 7, 2022)

rding72 said:


> I have been prescribed this drug and so far have completed 4 doses of the .25 and two doses of the .5  straight away i started with the nausea but three weeks into it I started withe the eggy burps and now also comedy flatulance. I thought i had an in clinic appointment with my diabetic nurse this morning for a review on how its going before upping the dose and i was hoping to get weighed with some good news for my suffering but it turns out it was a telephone appointment. We have decided that I will finish the last two .5 injections and then go in for a review. Im not sure if i want to continue unless the side effects lesson as its affecting my sleep. i only have to turn over in the night and it sets me off burping and farting has anyone found a way to combat this side effect. I did ask the nurse this morning and her advice was go ask a pharmacy which I will do later today. im still taking 80 mg of Glicazide and 2000 mg of metformin.


I'm sorry you feel like this you have my symapthy. Mine start in vengeance at night - I lost a whole week's sleep due to terrible stomach pains, nausea and the trots, even dreaming that I'm throwing up! I wake my husnad with the wind, burps smelling worse than the other end (and that's saying something!) I take the jab Friday night and they start to wear off by thursday but honestly, I'm sick of being on the toilet!! Didn't take it this week as I was going on holiday and it would ruin it. I still have nausea and diarrhea but its more manageable. Don't think I'm going to resume it. Using indigestion tablets etc made the eggy burps worse, so I'm afraid I'm no help. I have IBS anyway; there are mint oil capsules 'Colpermin' that might help with the farts, but as Ozempic slows everything down, it also may be that you have them sitting in your stomach for ages ... ask a pharmacist.
Also, I haven't lost any weight. So what's the point?  Also the thought of taking this with metformin as well !!!! I'd explode in a cloud of methane


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## Spottylegs (Oct 4, 2022)

Had a massive gain of weight on Ozempic so not sure if it’s stopped working or it’s something else


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## Spoon (Oct 4, 2022)

Spottylegs said:


> Had a massive gain of weight on Ozempic so not sure if it’s stopped working or it’s something else


Interesting. I thought it was just me! What happened? I gained a pound a week on ozempic, I only took it for 5 weeks but I certainly didn’t get any of the weightloss it gets touted for! It did do wonders for my blood glucose but I couldn’t leave the house or have any life outside of the bathroom, so no thanks.


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## Spoon (Jan 4, 2023)

Just an update on this from me. I stopped taking the Ozempic after 6 weeks as I felt so terrible. As you can see from my posts it did bring my BG down quite efficiently. However my latest eye test has come back with maculopathy (a risk/side effect of this medication, which did make my sight blurry when I took it). I have never had this problem before, so its possible that Ozempic is the culprit.


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## Spottylegs (Jan 5, 2023)

How’s everyone still on Ozempic getting on ?


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