My Ozempic Journey

The first few months on Ozempic was a complete shit-show.

So, how did I get here?

Almost 2 years ago, I was diagnosed with type-2 diatebes. If you knew me at the time, this would not come as a surprise. Despite a few attempts over the years, my weight has mostly been high all my life, cresting at an estimated 390 pounds at the time of the diagnosis in January of 2022.

My first reaction? After a bit of confusion, I focused on changing my eating. I had heard if I became a vegan, I could reverse my numbers. I tried and was moderately successful for a few months, after which I couldn’t deal with the eating (and the need for constant cooking, it seemed).

Back to the doctor, the recommendation came back to try Ozempic. I was a little nervous, as I had never injected myself with anything before. No matter, my insurance wouldn’t pay for it either, so the doctor put me on MetFormin. After a few weeks on MetFormin, I started to hyperventilate, probably the result of some lactic acidosis, so I stopped and this time the insurance agreed to pay for the Ozempic.

Let me be completely honest. The first few months on Ozempic was a complete shit-show. Ozempic essentially slows your digestion, leaving undigested food in the stomach longer. If you don’t limit your portions, the food stays in your stomach and bad things happen. And of course, when you start on Ozempic, you really have no idea what will happen. Your doctor prescribes it and you walk home with your new injectable pen. But have you been counseled on what to do? On what can happen? No. So back to my original point, Ozempic is a shit-show and I will spare you the intenstinal details.

But does it work? For me, like a bat out of hell. In October of 2022, my A1C was 7.0. 3 months later it was 6.3 and has now been at 5.7 for a while. I am down at least 80 pounds in the last year, from approximately 390 (when you weight that much, who weighs themselves?) to almost breaking the 300 barrier.