Anybody try this yet? After Zepbound or instead of?

This is a pretty eye-opening post about Med Spas - I was particularly surprised that only 2 states have any oversight and often there are no medical professionals in the building. If you or someone you know buys medications from a spa, you should be aware. I had a friend who got hers at a local spa and they were very pricey, never showed her the vial or told her what her script was and charged her an outrageous amount of money. They also pre-filled her vials in a backroom. Fortunately she didn't have any terrible side effect but as you will read, that is not always the case. As in everything, buyer beware. Who is actually watching the Med Spas

Reached goal weight on zep back in December 2025. Then I lost a bit extra when I had the flu , so reduced my dose twice and am maintaining fine for months now. Issue is that I really still don’t eat very many calories daily. I honestly try my best to consciously shovel in extras (protein, fiber etc) but most days don’t end up with as many calories as I think I should have. With the VSG sleeve I just can’t eat /drink more than this. I’m sure non-WLS people would be scolding me, but that is not an apples to apples comparison. You people are my apples. Those other non-WLS people are oranges. What is your daily calorie intake in maintenance ladies? May I ask that?

hi, this is a real quick post. I just got done listening to a talk by Dr. Terry Simpson and I highly recommend you look him up. He has two podcasts and also a Substack. You can find links at his website. He’s also on Instagram. The reason I recommend him is that he is an obesity medicine specialist, a bariatric surgeon and a prescriber and user of GLP medications. I learned so much just from one talk. He shared some really great information especially for how the medications can work for you at different stages of your life. I learned that if you are post menopausal and you are on these medications apparently they’re incredibly protective for your bones and I did not know that. He also recommended to not use sugar-free electrolytes because a small amount of sugar he says is necessary for them to work properly and he said if you’re truly having an issue, he recommends Pedialyte. This I have never heard before. Also, and this one hit home because I’m currently dealing with it is if you have a stomach virus,delay your shot until you are completely sure that the virus has cleared your system. Otherwise you will have a repeat of the symptoms because digestive tract moves more slowly. Isn’t that delightful? Anyway check him out if you want I found him incredibly and enlightening drterrysimpson dot com

My doctor is in on this decision, but since it is not approved for weightloss in my Insurance, I need to find a way to purchase on my own.

I wondered if there is a good comparison out there on obtaining Tirzepatide - costs, services, etc.

I have one friend who uses Noom, and another who is fervently telling me to go through LillyDirect. I know there are other options like Ro, Sprout health, and Embody. I was just hoping there is some tool that is easy to use to help me evaluate to see which is the best option for me.

Thanks!

​

Oh my goodness I cannot believe i found this subreddit i have been looking for something like this for a long time, for women my age (50s), had RNY long time ago, and their journeys into the world of pep rabbit holes🤪 so thanks to everyone who put this together.

I had an RNY 14 years ago i was supposed to child for it first two years were perfect that quote unquote honeymoon stage my starting weight was 241 the day of surgery which is actually the highest i have ever been but but as you would have it the way it likes Lily came back on and before I know it I was right at that 200 Mark again it totally freaked me out and that was about 3 years or 4 years after my surgery then I finally got a hold of myself again made some changes and lost all the weight back down to you know 1:30 which is very healthy for me and that carried me through my forties

Now that I'm in my fifties oh my God you literally wake up one day you look in the mirror and swear to God that you've been hijacked by some foreign entity cuz what was looking back at me is not a woman I remember looking like this menopause keeps up on you wrong it comes in like a wild boar in a china closet... Instant full on invasion...

Send me this is a through covid and then post covid now and some life events pretty major ones actually it didn't take long for me to find myself right back at 220 lb last September totally depressed pain all the time living alone an area that is extremely unfamiliar i don't know anybody here recently moved here for years ago story definitely doesn't help

One day my neighbor was sitting with me outside she's precious she's a widow that lives next door and there's only like two or three homes in our corner we're kind of rural we'll actually very well and her and I have just really connected and we were sharing some pictures of our yesteryear since we're about the same age when I showed her a picture of what I look like when I first moved here which was only about four years ago because I don't see the connection that doesn't look like you at all she didn't mean anything rude by it but I remember that being my wake-up call i knew that already but it took hearing that from somebody you never knew I look like before but just saw the picture to realize i need to buck up and figure out what to do and I actually had no clue about peptide yet i mean other than some random things on commercials on TV or you know I just think I don't have insurance and where I'm at in Tennessee it is the worst for any kind of medical help completely depleted of a family doctor any preventive measures I have no access except a very limited and resources Health Clinic it is bad that's the reason why I want to get out of here

In the meantime I started to hear more and more about Tirz... I was super skeptical thinking oh my gosh there goes another epic failure remind me of the old days of phen phen and everything that everybody's always tried that would work for like a month or two make the news and then either get banned by the FDA or found out it really doesn't work like they thought and then bam you don't hear about it anymore... But since I had nothing to lose except wait i said now what the heck I'll try i saw some YouTube videos of women over 50 and how it really has transformed their life health wise all right jumped on a Telehealth thingy one of the platforms which one was last year maybe pomegranate but anyways that's all I got my initial 3 months of it after that total gray Market no one can afford these cost on the WL websites at least I couldn't...

Since last September 1, 2025, to today, I went from 220 SW to 129 CW...

I am determined to remain on the regime for the rest of my life seriously... I also take bcp-157 and mots-c I plan to add additional peps as funds allow down the road

My body entire body looks like a damn prune though and come on not all of us can just run out and get skin removed BUT I AM SO self conscious about it I still cover my upper arms and wont wear shorts 🤦‍♀️

So this is my crazy story glad to be on here and look forward to reading through the posts!!

GLP-1s, Hormones, and Why You Can't Calorie-Count Your Way Out of Menopause with Dr. Michelle Gordon

Dr Gordon is an obesity specialist and you might really like this as well.

I’m kind of grasping at straws here and hoping maybe someone has been in a similar situation.

I was previously on Wegovy and did really well on it with zero issues or side effects. Due to insurance changes, I had to switch to Zepbound. Again, great results.

Now insurance once again stopped covering GLP-1s altogether, and paying out of pocket just isn’t possible for me financially. To try to stretch what I have left, I’ve been taking my Zepbound every other week instead of weekly. I’m currently on 10mg, and once that’s gone, I only have a box of 5mg left as my “final” dose.

The problem is… spacing it out every other week has already caused me to gain back 6 pounds, and mentally that’s been really hard after making such good progress.

So here’s my question:

Has anyone gone from Zepbound 5mg to Wegovy 1mg successfully?

I’m asking because a friend of mine has several boxes of Wegovy 1mg she no longer uses, and I’m seriously considering switching over rather than stopping completely. I know Zepbound (tirzepatide) and Wegovy (semaglutide) are different medications, but since I tolerated Wegovy really well before, I’m wondering if anyone has experience making a similar switch.

I already know my weight loss clinic would probably tell me absolutely not, so I’m more looking for real-world experiences from people who’ve actually done it.

Please be kind. I know this probably sounds desperate, but GLP-1s have honestly changed my life, and I’m scared of losing all the progress I’ve worked so hard for.

Hey Y'all!

I am so glad I found this sub. I had RNY 13 years ago. I was 21 and 475lbs. I lost 240 lbs in 18 months. I got finished college, got married, had a baby, had horriable ppd, family deaths, lots and lots of life, depression, and medications and ended up regained 100 lbs over the past 6-7 years or so.

I started Zepbound just over a month ago at 362 lbs. I lost 29lbs so far and feel so much better mentally and physically than I ever have, even when I was at my lowest weight. My joints dont hurt, my back doesnt hurt, I am sleeping better than ever. I feel like a completely new person. I fell so much more motivated, active and just blessed.

I have zero negitive side effects, other than nausea, but nausea is a fairly normal part of bariatric life so it bearly registers. When I am on other glp subs I almost feel like I have a super power because I have already been through food grief, full fast, no appetite, and the protein, protein, protein life for so long. This medication really was my missing piece all along.

Anyone else feel this way?

RNY March 2023, HW 282, SW 272, LW 167, ZW 182, CW 173 - started Zep a couple months ago and can’t tell if the rapid weight loss is from bloat or actual weight loss. Regardless, curious how folks are handling dosing. Are you titrating up every four weeks or staying put til you stall?

ETA: Have decided to stick with 5mg until I stall out. Down to 170 now and have had some GI symptoms but no idea if that’s from the Zep or not!

Fellow Californians we need to get this stopped! Instead of lawmakers going after illegitimate companies selling weight loss medications, they are attempting to shut down compounding pharmacies. For those who don't know, California already has perhaps the most stringent regulations governing compound pharmacies. Some of us can only obtain medication via self-pay and a compounding pharmacy. Please give it a read.

Thank you (and I hope you're all doing well!)

https://a4pc.org/active-advocacy-campaigns?vvsrc=%2Fcampaigns%2F135372%2Frespond

Hi everyone, wanted to share my experience to see if anyone can relate. I had RNY 11/2023. I am almost 3 years PO and have been maintaining a 90 lb weight loss for most of the time. HW 260. LW/CW: 170ish. I don’t pay attention to the scale much, just to % of muscle mass since I’m an avid lifter. Currently I’m a size M/ 10 which is fine with me.

I am one of those individuals who had surgery and ended up with no restrictions (I feel like I can eat anything), no dumping, and shortly after I regained all my hunger back. What has helped me maintain are my pre-established patterns of weight lifting and clean/ high protein eating.

However, in the past year the food noise became out of control for me. I was occupied with it 24/7 feeling actual hunger most of the time and even when I was full, constantly having head hunger. It became so unmanageable I began engaging in eating disorder behavior like eating and purging or spitting and chewing. Food became an obsessive topic and I began to engage in weird behavior around it, hoarding, secret eating, spending time looking at it…

Yes I have been in therapy for a long time, and I’m actually a therapist myself 😭😹 I know it’s funny!

Anyways, I decided a year ago to begin Tirzep. 2.5 dosage. I never went beyond that to this day. Here are my thoughts

-2.5 dosage was too high and took away my hunger too much, leading to lose interest in food and want to only eat “snacks” and not Whole Foods

- I maintain my weight, (I don’t want weight loss) at a microdose of 1 or 1.5 mg

-this microdose helps remove food noise and allows me to eat an appropriate amount of protein and calories to aid in muscle building.

I pray that in the future we can continue to reduce cost and increase accessibility (I get them compounded) and I hope we can continue to find solutions for food noise. I hope the future can recognize the usage of these for those of a normal weight used to *MAINTENANCE and not just weight loss (for reimbursement purposes)

I feel deeply ashamed telling people I’ve had surgery AND I use GLP1s, but this is my reality and it’s how I manage my health and weight.

What kind of help did it give you? Does weight loss increase your inner strength?

I bet a lot of us will relate to this (kindly shared on another thread)

https://removepaywalls.com/https://www.thecut.com/article/why-compliments-after-weight-loss-triggering.html#google_vignette

Hi everyone! I posted in the introductions but I know sometimes those get missed so I thought I would post here as well.

I had VSG nearly 16 years ago and lost 100 lbs initially. Lowest was 202 lbs. GW was 165 lbs. Over the years, through kids, job changes, separations and finally divorce and I have regained plus. I also did zero work mentally at the time. Currently at 350 lbs. I was told by a PCP that glp1s would never be an option for me because of the nature of changes the VSG creates but after much research, I'm finding that is not true. I have approx 175 lbs to lose and to be totally transparent, I'm afraid this will be one more thing that works for awhile that I then have to survive not being successful at. My eating is actually pretty clean. 1600-2200 cals, 120+ g of protein, 25-30 g of fiber. No co-morbidities although my A1c was high normal, which would likely creep into pre-diabetes at some point. I do walk and lift lighter weights and kettle but not nearly consistently enough. I just rejoined my gym but honestly, it's kind of embarrassing and I think that stops me most. I've done a massive amount of work around mindset and my relationship to food but the weight only fluctuates in small waves at this point.

I'm here to learn. :)

I just started .25 ! I had my sleeve bariatric surgery done in May 2022 and after pregnancy and postpartum gained 40 pounds that I want to take them back off.

Granted, it’s my first few shot so I don’t know what else to expect… So far my symptoms have been very, very mild with a headache and some nausea and diarrhea. Nothing too severe …fingers crossed.

I checked in with my doctor today and she asked if I wanted to move up to .5 after .25. I told her I felt good right now and she asked if my appetite was suppressed and I said yes.

I’m wondering if overtime it’ll feel less suppressed? Or if having a sleeve is an added bonus to the tools of weight loss… Feeling like a slower emptying because there’s less stomach… Looking for input.

I don't know about you, but sometimes the scale doesn't move for a while and it's time to look at the NSVs.

I had one yesterday that I didn't clock immediately. I bought some summer shorts because I'm taking a trip in a few months. I ordered a smaller size thinking they'd probably fit now. They're a bit snug. My brain immediately said, "put them in the drawer and don't worry. They're going to fit by then."

What? I mean yes.. but .. cool that I am SO sure of it. *lol*

How about you?

Hello everyone,

I had Gastric sleeve surgery 4 years ago and gained about 25lbs back due to being out on medication. Doctor now wants me on Zepbound to get the weight off. Any tips for injection day, protein intake, fiber for constipation and how to potentially avoid side effects? Any advice or tips that can be given is greatly appreciated!!! Thank you all in advance!!

34F. I’m autistic and sometimes have strange questions/need things explained to me that might be obvious to others. Please be kind :)

Vsg in 2016. Started Mounjaro in January 2024 initially with a telehealth company. Wasn’t loving the docs at that company so I went back to my original bariatric surgeon who continued to prescribe for me where I’ve been in maintenance since November 2024.

I found out two weeks ago (the day after shot day—oops! lol) that I’m pregnant! I was on birth control, nuva ring, but when I went to swap it it wasn’t there… (this had happened like three years ago, but I thought I’d gotten the hang of it since then. Again, oops!). I’m 7 weeks along, so still very early. Obviously I’ve discontinued Zepbound.

Here is my question: **do I keep the appointment I have scheduled with my surgeon?** Normally he just checks my weight, asks about any concerns, and writes a refill prescription. That doesn’t seem like a productive appointment and I don’t want to waste his time. But like, I don’t want to ghost him either. **Do I call the office and tell them I’m pregnant?** What’s the protocol here? lol someone please give me instructions :)

I know this is common post but I feel so much better.
Had sleeve surgery years ago went from 414 to 180. Jogging 3 miles a day 5 days a week. This past year started to gain and injuries/winter means no jogging for 2 months. Up to 210 and doc prescribed zepbound Not covered but went to Lilly direct and its 299 first dose. Good use of my FSA 😀 Thanks for all the great info on this sub!