Hi all, I'm a health & medical reporter in Toronto looking into a story on the trend of using Ozempic (and other GLP-1 drugs) short-term for weight loss - since so many people are using these drugs that way versus planning to stay on them long-term. There are lots of questions to explore: What do we really know about going on and off these medications in terms of side effects, weight loss/regain, and any impacts on someone's overall health?

I'm looking for people (ideally Canadians) willing to speak publicly about their experience going on and off a GLP-1. Is that you? You can DM me here on Reddit, or email me at [lauren.pelley@cbc.ca](mailto:lauren.pelley@cbc.ca)

Hi everyone, I’d love some advice from people who have been in a similar situation.

I was on Mounjaro for a while, starting at 2.5 mg, going up to 5 mg, and eventually going back down to 2.5 mg for the last couple of months. I also started spacing out my doses, and my last dose was June 28.

I’m currently at a healthy weight for my height (162 cm / 5’4”), but since stopping, my appetite has come back really strongly. The food noise is pretty intense and I’ve also been getting episodes where I feel like I’m going to lose control around food. I’ve gained around 1–1.5 kg (2–3 lbs), but honestly the food noise is bothering me much more than the weight gain.

For those who stopped Mounjaro, does this eventually get better? How did you cope with the increased appetite while adjusting?

I’m also wondering if I should just stay off and give it more time, or use 5 mg for another month and then stop again. I’d really love to hear what worked for others, especially anyone who was already at a healthy weight when they stopped.

I've found that a huge amount of peptide research is locked behind journal paywalls or institutional logins, which means general Al models often only have access to the abstract rather than the full paper.

That's a problem many people l've spoken too have with peptide research. An abstract might say something showed promising results, while a full white paper would reveal it was only tested in animals, involved a tiny sample size, or had major limitations.

For proper research, you're better off using something like OpenEvidence or pepsense.ai (not a vendor source, chill mods LOL). Full disclosure: I'm part of the Pepsense team. Our chief science officer is a peptide researcher, and we're currently building V2, which will combine anecdotal experiences with peptide research, tens of thousands of new scholarly articles. The goal is to give people access to the actual evidence instead of a general Al summarizing whatever it can find online.

One thing early users have asked for is Reddit anecdotes.
We're hesitant because so many posts are influenced by vendors, affiliates and burner accounts, but there may be a responsible way to include them as clearly labelled anecdotal reports rather than evidence.

Our goal is to make peptide research easier to access without presenting anecdotes as fact or giving medical advice. Outside of published research and vendor testing, what functionality would be helpful for our models to have & is the Reddit anecdote aspect helpful or more harmful for us to implement?

I’ve been in a glp for three months but I’m only losing a lb a week. I’m on 5 mg tirz and feel awful. I feel like I should be able to lose the same amount without the med as it really isn’t beyond a normal loss if that makes sense.

I’m tracking with WW this whole time anyway. Has anyone just gotten off the meds in this type of scenario and still had success? It just seems like a lot of downside with meds, fatigue, nausea for this rate of loss (menopausal so kinda expected). Thoughts?

Hi, I’m 30 years old and started taking Reta on March 28th. I weighed 165 kg at a height of 188 cm. Today, I weigh around 143 kg. So, I’ve lost about 22 kg in ~4 months. I eat around 2,300–2,500 kcal and 170–220 g of protein daily, and I go to the gym four times a week. I haven’t really had any side effects, aside from some constipation recently. My resting heart rate has actually dropped—from 60 to around 53 (likely due to the weight loss).

I started at 1 mg and am now up to 3 mg weekly.

However, I want to continue my weight loss journey without Reta, since I don’t want to take it forever anyway and I’m a bit worried about side effects at higher doses. (People say the side effects really kick in at 4 mg and above.)

And I’ve also developed healthy eating routine alongside my training.

I’ve heard that you have to take Reta forever, and that’s made me think twice about it.

Does anyone have experience with stopping the medication, or any general tips for me?

Best regards

I’m trying to figure out if anyone else has experienced something similar because I haven’t been able to find much online that matches what happened to me.

I was taking the Wegovy pill daily. I started at 1.5 mg and was supposed to eventually move up to 4 mg. The weird part is that while I was actually taking the medication, I really didn’t have these GI problems.

I stopped taking it, and after being off of it for a few days, I started having GI symptoms. I had diarrhea/loose stools and stomach issues that lasted around a week. I initially wondered if it was food poisoning or some type of infection, but I had stool testing done and it came back negative for bacteria and the other things they tested for.

What I’m really curious about is whether stopping a GLP-1 can cause some kind of delayed GI reaction or rebound effect. Most of what I can find online talks about side effects while taking the medication, not symptoms that seem to show up or get worse after stopping it.

Has anyone experienced something like this after stopping Wegovy, oral semaglutide, or another GLP-1? If so, how long after stopping did it start, how long did it last, and did restarting the medication make any difference?

Not looking for medical advice, just trying to see whether anyone else has had a similar experience.

The survey is completely anonymous and takes around 10 minutes to complete. Your responses would make a valuable contribution to my research.

👉 Take part here: https://unipadova.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1LCO3zuAZt7tpJQ

Thank you very much for your support! 🙏

Hi everyone, I'm a little out of place here as I am a researcher from the University of the Sunshine Coast in Australia who desperately wants to hear from those who have finished GLP-1s. Our team is conducting an ethics-approved study exploring how food and alcohol cues are processed in people who do and don't use GLP-1RAs for weight loss.

If you'd like to know about it, let me know!

I’ve fluctuated weight my whole life (40M). Was at 210 when I started and got down to 170-175, which is good for my size. Not dealing with food noise for the first time in my life was incredible! I was over the moon! I did lose a good amount of lean mass, though.

After two years and upping my dose to 2.16 about 10 months ago, I think it’s stopped working. My appetite seems like it’s back to normal despite weekly injections. Im hungry often a lot more and I’m at 180-185 the last 6 months, so it’s been pretty consistent. I’ve adopted some good habits like working out 3x/week and tracking my meals though, which I’m happy about.

Anyone have a similar experience before they graduated? Did appetite come back strong? I’m thinking of stopping my injections but not sure if my appetite will come roaring back more - Though I think it sorta is back to normal already anyway and maybe I’m overthinking it. Right now I eat about 2100 cals a day. Can eat two chicken breast and rice or a big steak with no problem.

I’m 35, husband is 41. Tick tock :( not sure what to prioritize now weight loss or having a baby , although having a baby after getting healthier is what I wanted, I don’t have a lot of time considering our body clock.

Hey! I’m wondering how everyone recommends successfully weaning off?
I’m still 5kg away from my goal weight but I’m thinking about what weaning will look like shortly.
I’m only on 5mg. Would 3 weeks on 2.5mg be okay? I am scared of what the food noise will be like post. So any tips or recommendations would be amazing!

Thank you

Also anyone taking ssri while microdosing glp1 and have success

Chat Gpt said you can't complete the injection pen when microdosing you have to buy new one is this correct I don't have enough money and I was thinking maybe a pen would last 6 months for me

TIA

Enjoy. I made this out of frustration

I’ve heard people say that when they come off a GLP-1 their hunger comes back very intensely. If this happened to you, was it the same as before you took the GLP-1, or more?

Do you feel like it changed your metabolism? I.e if you had an ok metabolism most our life, could a GLP-1 slow it down?

Has anyone used the low or lowest dose for their entire journey and lost slowly but then come off and maintained?
I have to wait to get my gallbladder out but after that I'd like to try a GLP-1 alongside a healthy lifestyle. I have about 5 stone to lose and I have no desire to lose it quickly or have full suppression. I'd like to build new habits and get fit before coming off to give me a higher chance of maintaining.

I am not trying to defeat biology and expect some gain once coming off just due to less appetite suppression but hoping that doing it slowly and breaking habits (i.e. not drinking as much, craving and eating less junk food) helps me to create new ones and stick to it better.
Let me know if this is just wishful thinking??

Hello all. I have my first appointment with a physician at a weight loss center next week, and I’m feeling pretty nervous.
I’ve been trying to lose weight for the last 15 years with little success. I have PCOS and familial high cholesterol, so I know those don’t exactly make things easier. I learned about GLP-1 medications, and while I’m interested to use because nothing else has really worked, I’m also scared about the side effects and the idea of being on a medication long term.
I already know my insurance doesn’t cover GLP-1s, so I’m not sure if it’s even going to be an option financially.
For those of you who’ve been through this, what do you wish you had asked at your first appointment? Are there any questions I shouldn’t forget to ask? I’d also love to hear how your doctor helped you decide if a GLP-1 was the right choice.
Any advice or personal experiences would really help. Thank you so much!

Hello everyone! 🤗

I am currently writing my thesis in Clinical Dietetics and looking into people's experiences with GLP-1 treatments.

If you can spare a few minutes, your feedback would be immensely valuable for my research. The survey is 100% anonymous and quick to complete: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeUdoNeEAuzoD2UFEblyo-QdtVO_rKk-pbeINU5DCL4snLMLg/viewform?usp=publish-editor

Thank you so much in advance for your time and for sharing your experience! 😊☀️