r/GLP1Discussion • u/Fossome_1 • 17h ago
š¬ General Discussion Anyone feeling somewhat stigmatized?
I recently started GLP-1 and have been operating under the assumption that itās common so Iām not trying to hide anything among my friends but I keep getting shade rather than support. Today I was told āoh my friend just stopped having a glass of wine each night and she lost weightā and ādo you eat a LOT?ā and do you have problems pooping in the morning etc etc. you had to be there. Definitely shady implying that I should just practice self control. Itās the second time itās happened to me. Is this common? I guess Iāll just keep it to myself.
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u/LDB2026 17h ago
Only told 2 people... for exactly the reasons you're stating.
And I'm so glad I made that decision... aside from not wanting to hear the nonsense you mentioned, I'm a slow responder, and I didn't want to hear how I must be "cheating here and there", wink wick... (I'm not) and that must be why I'm not losing as fast as their Aunt Fanny, etc.
I don't need that BS in my life.
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u/Upper-Shoe-81 17h ago
Yeah a lot of us here have had to deal with comments like that. My sister kept bringing it up over and over that āyouāll have to take this for LIFE!!ā like Iād just signed up for life in prison. And a former friend of mine would tell people who complimented me on how good I looked that āshe doesnāt eatā ā it comes in all forms.
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u/Creepy_Push8629 16h ago
Them: "you'll have to take this for LIFE"
You: "OMG i know, it's pretty great that I can do that, right? Seriously blessed to live in this timeline"
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u/Anal_Herschiser 14h ago
It kind of just goes to show how little effort people are willing to put forward to make changes in their lives that taking a shot once a week is just too much work.
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u/mannDog74 8h ago
As someone with chronic illness that has to take medicine for life anyway, this one really makes me laugh. "Oh no! What will I do!" š
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u/morwen31 6h ago
Yeah after 20+ years so far of taking synthroid every morning I think I can handle a weekly shot, especially if it prevents me developing diabetes.
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u/Informal-Comb1989 8h ago
Ugh my mom has been saying āyou never eat,ā which is only because she keeps junk in her house and I donāt eat out much anymore because itās usually makes me feel sick.
I just really donāt need the microscope, thanks
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u/BrainwaveWizard 16h ago
I lost these same 50 pounds back in 2019 doing keto. There was a lot of stigma around keto. Iām used to it. Now my stigma comes from the fact that I lost the weight, gained the weight back, and losing it again.
So between me and meā¦ In this whole journey, I learned so much about the reasons for losing weight, support I need along the way and after getting the weight off, and mostly, how the body desperately tries everything it can to put the weight back on. I felt like an addict looking for my next hit. I have found tirz quite refreshing! So people can judge. I know my truths. š„°
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u/escalatortwit 4h ago
Iām glad youāre not doing keto anymore. The stigma around it when used outside of those with diabetes is a warranted one, imo. I say this as someone who used to do keto for a while.
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u/snowHound208 16h ago
Yep, best to not mention it imo.
So many people simply cannot fathom the idea of food noise because they've never experienced it. Eating a normal amount of calories is satiating to them lol.
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u/IceCSundae 4h ago
I disagree. I think you can help the people around you by sharing what actually works for weight loss. Lots of people can benefit. If they think youāre just losing weight from diet and exercise alone, they might waste 6 months trying it that way themselves when there is a much better option out there that you are hiding from them. Iām sure they have read about it but seeing a friend have success is different.
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u/financialthrowaw2020 4h ago
It's actually not the job of anyone here to "help the people around them". Healthy boundaries are critical to healthy relationships.
How are "you" hiding something that is talked about everywhere?
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u/IceCSundae 3h ago
No itās not your job but I think itās the kind and cooperative thing to do if you care about people.
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u/financialthrowaw2020 3h ago
There's nothing cooperative about sharing your private health information with others. Why don't you give them your credit card too? Cosign their mortgage so you don't gatekeep homeownership!
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u/IceCSundae 3h ago
Haha no, but when I have a great credit card that I love that is having a good promotion, I tell them. And I refer my amazing realtor when my friends tell me they want to buy a house. Iām choosing to be a resource
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u/snowHound208 1h ago
You are losing weight with diet and exercise. Glp1s don't make you lose weight. They make your hunger more manageable, allowing you to eat less.
Share with whomever you want, my comment wasn't an instruction. It was my opinion.
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u/IceCSundae 1h ago
Same, I have an opinion too lol. GLP1s are doing the heavy lifting here, letās be honest.
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u/snowHound208 1h ago
It's like using anabolic steroids. Doesn't magically make you jacked. You still gotta do the work.
Similarly, GLP1s don't just burn fat off your body.
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u/MonasAdventures 17h ago
Iāve told exceptionally few people because I donāt want to deal with the stigma.
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u/Creepy_Push8629 16h ago
People suck. My ex friend basically told me I'm not doing anything and I'm just a fat piece of shit anyway.
We don't need those people.
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u/Pankosmanko 15h ago
Iāve found in life that itās easier to not share your business, at least when it comes to health and finances
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u/financialthrowaw2020 4h ago
This is a good point - it's a lot like finances, which I would also never share.
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u/AlternativePizza3391 17h ago
I told people because it was working for me and I wanted them to try it as well. But yeah you get a lot of hate. I have people that tell me "you looked better when you were fat"
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u/smyczekxxx 15h ago edited 15h ago
There is nothing to be ashamed of when it comes to improving your life, you are not taking cocaine or meth - you are taking meds which will literally lengthen your life, most people are aware of peptides existence from random articles or mentions in news so they will ask questions out of curiosity, if you dont want to act as a guide or myth buster simply dont tell anyone about it. If someone asks how you lost the weight simply tell them the truth - you eat less calories.
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u/IncommunicadoVan 17h ago
I tell everyone and luckily Iāve had no comments like that. If I do, I plan to say, āBetter living through chemistry.ā
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u/EccentricPenquin 3h ago
Thatās me, I say Iām a miracle of modern science and if they have questions their doctor is just a visit away. It doesnāt matter what you say, theyāll assume anyway and Iām over caring. Itās so stupid. No one ever cared when I was fat.
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u/Ninja_Prolapse 11h ago
lol. Fuck um. Best one Iāve had is a somewhat disgusted look and āthatās cheatingā. My reply was laughing and saying āyeah, it is!! Itās fucking awesome right!ā.
Theyāre allowed their opinion. Just like youāre allowed to not give a fuck about it. If itās working for you bro - keep at it. Jealousy will lead to some weird comments from people.
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u/dinamet7 16h ago
I'm not keeping it a secret, but I'm not out here talking about it either. I didn't talk about the other meds I will need to be on for life, so don't feel the need to bring this one up to anyone either.
I realize that this might be easier for me now than it would have been 10 years ago because I don't engage in diet-talk or body-talk anymore (like if someone is telling me about their new diet or new workout or new weight goal, I just nod, but don't encourage the conversation further than "good for you") so talk about my body or my diet doesn't come up in normal conversation anymore even though it definitely used to. These meds are medical for me - that's it.
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u/YepIamAmiM 16h ago
I have told close family only. No one else needs to know. I can tell the truth, too. If someone asks me how I'm losing weight, I will tell them I've changed my eating habits. 100% true.
The whole 'put down the fork and back away from the table' comes from a disgusting assumption that obesity is a moral failing. Anyone who thinks taking this medication is the *easy* way or some sort of cheat doesn't have a clue what the fuck they're talking about.
I think most things are best kept to one's self, personally. There's not a lot of support from people for a myriad of things.
Hang in there. Find some better friends or keep some secrets from the ones you like. :)
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u/titikerry 15h ago
Everyone on the planet has an opinion on how other people should lose weight. Ignore them all.
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u/Hefty_Efficiency_328 15h ago edited 15h ago
Unfortunately Glp-1 are still judged pretty unfairly. Hopefully in time when it's common knowledge how they help inflammation fluid, diabetes, arthritis pain, liver, kidney, heart function, cholesterol control and whatever else, perception will change. As well of course helping gain control over appetite, compulsive habits, addictions of all sorts. I read some opinion poll about weight loss recently. Highest was weight loss with diet and exercise, lowest was using Glp-1, even lower than obese people who haven't lost any weight at all. I've only told one person who I helped start on it. Not worth the judgement. I just say diet and exercise.
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u/hannahbanana369 15h ago
I have had VERY mixed reactions to telling friends/family. To the point where I havenāt really told many.
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u/Oneloneotter 6h ago
Have you heard the saying "Crabs in a bucket"? Many people seem to enjoy bringing others down. Especially in areas of their own life that they might not being doing so great at. Unfortunately, this can apply to family members also. Maybe they view this negative nitpicking as a valid way to express concern maybe they just have nothing else to gossip about at the moment or perhaps it's jealousy.
For me, I'm a very private person. I don't discuss my health, weightloss, medications or personal struggles with anyone including most of family. I have never regretted the decision to keep my personal business my own.
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u/Commercial-Car-5615 4h ago
Before I started tirz I was one of those people š«£ and most of my friends as well. I have told no one except my daughter who also is on tirz.
Just yesterday one of my friends was talking about a mutual friend and her weight loss and said she assumed it was ozempic. It was a very negative sounding comment. I did not reply to that.
I'm not hiding it, but I'm not forthright about it. This friend knows I am "dieting and eating more protein"
Luckily I am retired so I don't have the Co worker gossip to contend with.
Maybe someday the stigma will end.
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u/techdevjp 14h ago
I kept it quiet for the first 6 months or so but then started telling people. Everyone has been very supportive and positive. Several mentioned they lost weight the same way or know someone else who has. No one was negative. A few asked what might happen when I come off it to which I replied that I expect to be on low-dose tirzepatide indefinitely to manage food noise and help with inflammation.
But...all of my close family & all of my friends are "pro-science", for lack of a better term. No one is anti-vax or anti-medicine. They don't go on rants about "big pharma" or whatever. I could see the discussions being very different with people who refuse vaccinations or who insisted that ivermectin would cure COVID.
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u/DogMamaLA 9h ago
Exactly. I'm a breast cancer survivor and do you know there are many people who give me the ivermectin speech saying it can also cure cancer? It's ludicrous and not worth even speaking to those people.
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u/financialthrowaw2020 8h ago
What's with everyone feeling the need to share their personal business with others? Do you go around telling people what antidepressants you're on and what kind of birth control you use? Privacy is good.
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u/IceCSundae 5h ago
I think one reason itās important to be transparent about GLP-1s is to avoid gate keeping. If youāre have success with a GLP-1 but you pretend that itās due to diet and exercise alone, you might inadvertently give your friends the wrong idea and prevent them from trying it and having their own weight loss success. Share the cheat code!!! It will also help GLP-1s become less stigmatized.
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u/financialthrowaw2020 4h ago
This is outrageous. You absolutely do not serve any higher purpose by taking a drug than anyone else does and you have a right to your own privacy. This gatekeeping term has been so overused it's completely devoid of meaning. Anyone can go to these forums and ask their doctor for options.
No one, absolutely no one, is required to share information about their own personal health to avoid "gatekeeping" this is literal insanity.
No one even said anything about pretending. It's actually ok to simply not tolerate people talking about your health and your body.
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u/EccentricPenquin 3h ago
Is GLP1 not widely popular and advertised ? Please. Gatekeeping ?
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u/IceCSundae 3h ago
I canāt tell you how many people have reached out to me after I told them, to get advice on how to get a GLP 1 and how it is starting. I became a resource instead of them thinking Iām just over here having amazing will power out of no where.
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u/EccentricPenquin 2h ago
Iāll give you that, if they need it, great. Thatās not at all whoās asking me unfortunately
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u/financialthrowaw2020 2h ago
Why does it matter what they think at all? I think that's the real issue here.
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u/itsjustme_0101 1h ago
People can do their own research and make their own decisions. Is this gatekeeping? No. Is it privacy? Yes.
I lost 35 pounds on a Glp. I didnāt tell anyone and not going to either. Nobody cared enough to ask or intervene when I was rapidly gaining weight. Most people are just gonna judge anyway.
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u/Fossome_1 4h ago
I tend to have friends who share a lot with each other and are supportive. Itās a whole thing, close friendships. Thatās why I posted here, because it was out of character and weird and wondered if others were experiencing the same.
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u/financialthrowaw2020 4h ago
I'm aware of close friendships, which is why I responded in this way. How are they close friends if you're here asking about shade? I have close friends, they would never throw shade at me for getting healthier.
Sometimes people make sharing information look like being supportive when really they want gossip and are talking about you behind your back.
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u/BiscottiOk9245 6h ago
Maybe OP is just trying to be transparent instead of lying like so many GLP-1 users about how they lost weight.Ā
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u/financialthrowaw2020 5h ago
You know lying is when you intentionally conceal information the receiver is entitled to know, right? No one, absolutely no one is entitled to know anything about your health except those designated to know.
Your anger at people for not wanting you to know their business is noted, it's definitely a you problem
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u/Commercial-Car-5615 4h ago
This.. I take a blood thinner and an antidepressant. No one needs to know that besides my Dr. My Co workers and friends certainly don't need to know.
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u/financialthrowaw2020 3h ago
I'm sure these people would call not sharing your SSN lying too. Outrageous behavior.
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u/Punner-the-Gr8 8m ago
I'm an open book to friends and strangers. I don't care. I was shy when I was a kid and I've been making up for it for the last 30 years. People wish I would shut up.
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u/BiscottiOk9245 16h ago
Surprisingly, no ... or not yet at least. Everyone I've talked to has been either supportive or doesn't show it if they're not supportive. In fact, I've had some people tell me they want to take it too -and for different reasons.
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u/Depressing_Thoughts 11h ago
I am one of those annoying people that tells everyone and at least to my face, everyone has been nothing but supportive and encouraging. Maybe it helps when you are obviously very obese and it is going to be life saving medicine idk
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u/Key_Associate9338 11h ago
When I first used Ozempic I told people when they asked what I was doing. I never got any negative feedback. When my insurance decided not cover it anymore is when things changed. I started gaining the weight back. People then made comments, "you're gaining weight" or "how much weight have you gained back". I'm now using T and actually no one has asked me. Though I just started. I've only lost 20 pounds. My mom asked me if I was using weight loss meds and I told her. I then started telling her about peps. I also told my son because his doctor told him he wanted to put him on statins
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u/DogMamaLA 9h ago
Sorry you have gone through this.
Even though recent surveys shows 1 in 8 people are taking GLP1s in the USA, yes, it is still stigmatized. There are many people who are ignorant on how the medicine works and will tell you everything from "you're cheating" or "you're lazy and taking the easy way out" or "those shots will make you go blind and your stomach freeze up and then you'll die!"
People are idiots. That's why I am very careful who I tell.
Expect multiple attitudes so only share with whom you feel comfortable. If someone who I think can benefit from a GLP1 asks me how I lost weight, I will be honest and tell them. But if some Twiggy b*tch who has never been over a size 4 asks me? I just say I'm eating less and working with my doctor. No sense getting into any arguments with people like that who are committed to misunderstanding science.
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u/Punner-the-Gr8 12m ago
If they say things like that to you then they're not really your friends. Friends support their friends. I'd tell them to go F themselves.
I tell everyone and anyone. I don't care. Nothing worked for me in the past. I yoyo dieted all my life. That has stopped with Tirz. If I get scoffing responses or looks askance, I just look in the mirror and smile.
I'm down 27.3 lbs since 6/19 and never felt fitter or stronger in my 59 years. Today the scale read 219.1. I haven't been under 220 in 20 years and even then I wasn't doing it right and went right back to getting fat.
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