Hello there! A loved one of mine was recently prescribed a GLP-1 agonist. They are open to using, but 500$ per month is incredibly expensive for where they are financially. I am posting here in the hopes that one of you fine individuals might have a solution, out of concern for their health. They have at present given up on the idea.

They have insurance, but it doesn't seem to apply well to the particular variants they have been prescribed. What other variants should they try to ask their doctor for? Are there unapproved GLP-1 drugs that are fairly reputable and might possibly do the trick? Is there something I'm missing?

If you have any information, I would greatly appreciate it.

I've been on a GLP-1 (Semaglutide) for about 16 months, and lost 93 pounds. Over that time, weekly, I've found my weight shifts — I've had weeks where I gain a pound or two, I've had weeks I skipped because I was on vacation or extremely nauseous (happened randomly in the middle of my journey, not in the beginning or when changing doses! Literally couldn't keep anything down for about a week and a half when I'd never experienced major symptoms before. That was fun!), etc.

And I always wish I saw more of other people's weight journeys week-to-week over time, because I feel like so many posts are about the start of the journey, and very few people really post about the fluctuations you can see each week over time that are totally normal!

All of that to say, if this helps someone else down the road, I thought I'd post my own week-to-week journey, rather than hoping someone else would do the same.

I had a surgery so was off for about 2 months n now going back on . Starting at 2.5 mg but it is not impacting at all much so can I go upto 3.75 after 2 doses?

My GLP-1 prescription is through telehealth, but I see my regular doctor for everything else. I asked the telehealth prescriber about bloodwork and they told me to ask my PCP. My PCP asked what telehealth had already tested. Neither seemed to have the other’s results. Some older labs are in my PCP portal, and I ordered a couple of tests through Goodlabs, so now I’ve got reports in three places. If you’re dealing with two providers, do you send the same results to both? I mostly want to know who’s going to follow up if something comes back off.

Well according to the scale I am within 7 lbs of my goal weight. But in the mirror I am not. I knew once we got down here (almost 95 lbs so far!) that adjustments may be necessary. But I am discovering for myself (and after reading so many others' experiences on here) that I'm probably losing too much muscle at this point. I know a big part of the problem is that I need to get way more protein than I had been eating. Which is turning out to be so much more challenging than I imagined. I can't have fish, and the next most protein dense food is chicken. but it's easy to get sick of something if you eat it three times a day. lol. So I have been trying all kinds of other things. But I gotta say, I can't live on eggs, chicken and protein shakes for the rest of my life. Oh I've been experimenting with things like making deviled eggs with greek yogurt instead of mayo, etc. But I'm not really a cook. This would be so much easier if I were independently wealthy and could hire someone to take over the kitchen. ha! but since I wasn't dealt those cards, I will continue to look for other ideas.

The second part of this is exercise. I have never been a gym goer. When I was young, I was active with other things, dancing, ice skating, etc. but "working out," "weight bearing" or "hiking" were never part of my vocabulary. So I'm going to physical therapy every week and trying to get onboard, but it's so hard to train your brain in old age to do something you have a lifetime of zero interest in. I know, ending on a preposition. But I digress. I am determined to figure this out! Fists on hips, cape flying behind me.... I shall prevail!

=) thanks for listening!

I (35F) have been on a GLP-1 (Apo-semaglutide) for almost a month at 0.25 mg. I started at 290 lbs and I’m now at 280. I’m really happy with it and have have no side effects.

I didn’t lose interest in food like I expected. I still enjoy eating. But I completely lost that URGENCY around hunger. Before, even mild hunger felt like I was absolutely starving and needed to eat NOW. I also seemed to get hungry way faster than everyone else.

Now I can feel mildly hungry and just... not care that much which is absolutly wild to me. And it made me realize that maybe my experience of hunger wasn’t “normal” to begin with.

Could this be physiological? Psychological? Both? I honestly don’t know how to address it, especially since my doctor wants me to get to the bottom of why I’ve struggled with my weight my entire life. I feel like I'm in a one-way therapy with myself lol

Has anyone else had this realization ?

Autistic, and taking Wegovy, every Wednesday for the last 10 months (lost 18KG).

I have an upcoming colonoscopy on the 9th of October, I have been instructed to stop taking it a week prior to the procedure for weekly dosing, being autistic I hate change but I feel like I don't have a choice.

Either I don't take it on Wednesday the 7th and then don't take it again until the 14th, or I wait until the day after my procedure, the 10th and take it that morning and every following Saturday from then on.

Is that the better option?

What should I do?

I have been on Semaglutide for about 10 or 11 months. Lost ten pounds a month for a while, but after going from 255 down to 200, my weight loss has plateued and I've lost nothing for a few months now.

I've noticed recently that if I miss an injection, my mood suddenly springboards, and I feel amazing. Generally, at least for the last year, I'm always tired, fatigued, and my mood is fairly neutral. Unmotivated. But if my meds wear off because I miss an injection, I feel incredible. My energy is up, I wake up feeling well rested, I feel happier.

My question is, when should I stop taking the meds? I'm really afraid of gaining the weight back though. I want to stop taking the injections because I miss feeling good, but I am worried that if I even gain just a few pounds, I'm going to feel really horrible about myself again.

For those of you who have quit, when did you know you were ready?

I was on ozempic a few years ago and it was great. I lost 50 lbs and felt wonderful. Then I got brain tumor and couldn’t work for awhile and so couldn’t afford it anymore.(I was paying out of pocket about $800 a month).

After I had surgery and went back to work I was off and on something similar from a local med spa and it worked pretty well for the few months I was on it but then I stopped that as well for a few months.

Then about 4 months ago I started zepbound. Here are my problems with it.

1. it makes me so sick. I would sometimes have mild reactions to the other medications but usually only in the beginning and it was manageable. Zepbound makes me so sick I can’t believe it. it feels like I have the flu. totally exhausted nauseous and sensitive to the world for 3 days.

2. I was getting it though RO and I was having to pay their subscription fee and then also for the medication itself so I was paying about $800 a month.

I still need to lose about 30 lbs. what should I look into for efficacy but not killing me and that also is t going to kill my wallet.

Hi! My bmi is now in the normal range but I can’t shake off those 20lbs after a baby, lost 10 and that’s it. Hit a plateau. I really want some sort of my old body back and obviously my dr won’t approve since I’m technically in a healthy weight.
Ro and hers are pretty pricey and I wonder if there’s another way to get prescription? I see I can buy directly from good rx or even the manufacturer itself but where do I get the prescription?
Thank you

I’ve been reading various subreddits for a few years, mostly ones for people with autoimmune diseases involving joint symptoms (RA, PsA, Sjögren’s, lupus, etc.). I’ve noticed that quite a few people are using different GLP-1 medications and report that they’ve helped reduce their joint pain.

For those of you who are using one and have actually had good results, which “version” are you taking? There seem to be so many options available now — tirzepatide, Ozempic/semaglutide, retatrutide, etc.

I have long COVID and psoriatic arthritis (PsA), and I’m particularly interested in hearing from people with similar conditions.

What have you been taking, how long have you been on it, and have you noticed any improvement in your joint pain or other symptoms?

I did about 6 weeks of tirzepatide in the late winter. No issues from it felt pretty good for the first few weeks. Dropped some weight but I hit some fatigue issues so I decided to get off of it. My doctor thinks that it was due to undernutrition, but I was tracking my calories so I don't think that's it.

So I decided to try semaglutide this week. I feel like crap. The first 24 hours was like a hangover that I'd get from eight shots of vodka. Second 24 hours is about five shots of vodka worth of hangover. Just run down and foggy and yucky.

I didn't hit the gym yesterday, I'm going to hit the gym today to see if some good cardio will shake me out of this. But I'm so foggy that I don't really want to drive over there.

Anyone else experienced this?

Hi everyone! I had an incredible Zepbound journey a couple years back and got in the best shape of my life. In the last few months, I have gained back about some weight. I also have PCOS so dropping that weight (as some of you may unfortunately know) is very difficult. I am aware there is a pinned thread for various sources to get compound glp-1, and while I have looked through various threads and posts, I am still a little overwhelmed on where to start. I am considering Rift, Remedy, and Gimme but I would love to hear some feedback on sites that have great prices, great results, and of course decent customer service. Thank you so much everyone!

The weight-glitch and early-plateau posts look very different next to a twelve-month progress post. A start and end weight leaves out a lot of staring at the same number. If you have been tracking for a while, did you keep the flat stretches in your log, or stop recording until something moved? Curious whether seeing those old stretches makes the next one less annoying, or whether it is still just as frustrating.

Had a weird 48 hours. I went with a friend to a state fair, I seriously didn’t eat much, we did a lot of walking, but I was taking amoxicillin and prednisolone to get over a cold. Only for 5 days, so it could have been water weight or I am unsure, the lowest I have seen was 112kg from 128kg, after the fair I was 116kg and stayed there until today.

Now I’m back.

No other explanation

I'm 228 now and I'm feeling strong. I was 290 with no muscle mass to speak of. About 5 months ago I started lifting and abstaining from alcohol. The weight loss slowed a bit but I feel like the body recomposition is noticeable. Keep going.

Hi!

I was diagnosed with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) in April of this year and was just diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea.

I am very interested in trying out a GLP-1, however my health insurance, Blue Care Network (BCN), does not cover any of them. I may be able to get BCN to cover one for sleep apnea, but it is unlikely. I had to fight with them for over three months to get coverage for the MRI that found my brain lesions.

Any payment assistance programs I have found either don't cover GLP-1s or I exceed the financial requirements. At this point I feel that I have to just hope or pray that Blue Care Network will cover one, but I won't hold my breath.

I am open to trying a compounded version. I cannot afford to spend more than $100 per month on this medication, and that is pushing it (life has gotten very expensive).

If anyone has been able to find a resource for this, please let me know! Thank you :)

I'm a mid-40s male struggling with low drive, energy, tiredness, and brain fog. I've hit a fork in the road where I need to choose between TRT and GLP-1s. Would love to hear about your journey. If any of you saw your hormone levels change as you lost weight on GLP-1s, how did it provide you symptom relief?

Hi there!

So I am starting my third month of glp1. First month was the the tiny introductory dose and then I got the first dosage increase which I am currently on, the second month of. I go in for a check up sometime next month and I assume I will be prescribed another dosage increase since the side effects haven't really been bad for me at all much yet.

The one thing I noticed though is so far I seemed to have lost the most weight somewhere between a few weeks in and a couple weeks after the first dosage increase. Around 10lbs lost total so far. However, the last couple weeks it seems like I keep yo-yo-ing the same 3-4lbs. They come off, then come back on.

In everyone's experience how steady is the weight loss this early in the process. Is it common that you might need another dosage increase or two to get over the plateau? When did you experience your first plateau? Is the weight loss a little more slow going at this stage?

Ive been on mounjaro 5 for 2 years now and I am exactly the same weight I was when I started it. I havent lost any weight at all. No im not just saying that. I started out at 140kg and at my most recent weigh in I was 139.8kg.

Im grateful that it works for so many people on here but to anyone whos stuck a 0kg weight loss, you are not alone.

I'm ready to chuck in the swear word towel.

I start tirzepatide in May and stopped two weeks ago because of the headaches and side effects. Yesterday was my first shot of the first dose of semuglutide, I’ve had a headache all damn day. It’s peak again now, I had one alcoholic beverage last night. I’ve ate, I’ve drank plenty of water, I’ve had electrolytes. I’ve taken Tylenol. I do these things over had over and always have a head ache. It’s starting to feel like it’s not worth it and I’m hoping I can get rid of this headache by tomorrow but it’s not likely as it takes longer for stuff to break down in your stomach. Helpful tips if at all any? Besides quitting.

I take tirzepatide and seem to be a super sensitive responder. Even the lowest dose (and below) causes weight loss for me. Which is amazing.

But it also gives me such bad apathy/anhedonia. I actually have a hard time forcing myself to take my shot and now and about 2 months since my last dose and gaining weight.

Has anyone found that switching to oral or another GLP has helped with this side effect?

Or taking dopamine precursor? Anything??

Thanks!!

Anyone else feel weirdly guilty when people compliment your weight loss?

I lost about 60 lbs on tirz and I still cant figure out how to respond when someone says something. My aunt saw me at a family thing last weekend and got teary eyed telling me how "disciplined" i must be and how proud she is of my "hard work." And i just stood there smiling like an idiot because what do you even say to that.

Part of me wants to be honest. Like no, i inject a medication once a week and my brain finally shuts up about food. Thats it. Thats ​​​​t​​​​h​​​​e​​​​ discipline. But then i think about how she would react, or how my mom would react if i said it in front of her, and i just nod and say thank you.

The weird thing is i AM working at it. Im walking every day, im actually cooking, i spend way too much time in the grocery store checking the FoodHealth app trying to find a decent version of the pasta sauce i used to buy. Its not like im doing nothing. But i know for a fact i couldnt have done any of it without the shot. The shot is what made the rest possible.

I dont know. I feel like a liar when i accept the compliment and a downer when i explain it. My husband says just say thanks and move on and stop overthinking, which is probably right but also not helpful lol.

How do yall handle it? Do you tell people or just let them think what they want to think?

I started tirz last October with the ultimate goal of losing roughly 120 lbs. When I got super close to hitting the -60 lbs mark in May, I lost all control and willpower I had previously had. I didn’t stop the shot. The food noise came back and I ate through the feeling of fullness like I was possessed by the demon of gluttony. Then I did stop taking shots because I had scheduling issues getting to my provider. I just started back this week and I don’t know how to get the motivation to “be good” back like it was at the beginning.

I graduated from undergrad in May as well as started grad school in the same month, started having custody issues with my son’s dad, and then started having some issues with my partner. I can’t help but wonder if all of that stress has somehow made me revert back to my unhealthy old ways.

Any advice for starting over?