The first time I heard about Ozempic was from Real Housewives star, Kyle Richards, who had talked openly about being on the controversial weight loss drug earlier last year.
Not long after, I noticed my girlfriends had started either started taking the drug themselves or were talking about taking it.
It was only after one of my friends who has polycystic ovary syndrome, like me, was prescribed the medication that I thought perhaps I should considered going down that route.
When you have PCOS it means you have an insulin issue, so it can be hard to lose weight.
In the past I’ve tried everything from a nutritionist and personal trainer (which I still have) to Pilates and intermittent fasting. None of which worked. Fed up with a lack of results, I went to my doctor, who said I’d make a good candidate and I decided it was worth a shot.
Admittedly, after I first got my prescription I was terrified. The Ozempic box sat in my house for over a month. I was plagued with worry over how my body would react, because I’ve heard the drug either agrees with you or in extreme cases you can end up in hospital from vomiting and nausea.
Eventually, I bit the bullet. Starting out on a really low dose, I began administering the injection diligently one a week.
For the first few days, I’ll admit, I felt slightly nauseous, but those symptoms slowly subsided and I started seeing results.
After taking the acclaimed ‘wonder weight loss drug’ for over four months now, here are my thoughts:
The Side Effects
Once the initial nausea subsided, I definitely started noticing my energy level have dropped significantly from what they used to be, which is just something that I’ve now just learnt to live with.
As I started my Ozempic journey on the cusp of the silly season, I also noticed that my alcohol tolerance had changed. I was advised by my doctor that I shouldn’t be drinking a lot of alcohol while taking Ozempic, but regardless I found that alcohol made me feel sick and that I could only manage three glasses of wine before I started to feel sideways.
The biggest benefit has been my suppressed appetite. I’ll usually have a light breakfast, a salad for lunch and sometimes for dinner I could just eat carrots and be fine, without any additional cravings.
The one thing no one warns you about is that straight after the injection my stomach bloats and I look like I’m pregnant, but fortunately that usually goes away after a few hours.
Does It Work?
Since starting my Ozempic journey last September, I’ve lost a total of five kilos. While most people generally loose a lot more weight than I did, I do believe that I wouldn’t have lost those five kilos on my own.
Unfortunately, now I’m at the point where within the last month I haven’t lost any more weight.
Would You Recommend it?
I’ve definitely received judgement and concern for being on the weight loss drug. Everyone has very strong opinions and I definitely regret telling as many of my friends that I did.
If I say I’m not feeling well or I have a headache from being tired their first response is that it’s the drug.
For people considering taking Ozempic I would say that if you’ve tried everything, then go for it. But you shouldn’t just be relying on Ozempica alone to loose weight, it has to be a lifestyle shift.
You can’t just sit around and inject yourself, eat cheeseburgers and expect to lose weight and have it all.
Is Ozempic A Lifetime Commitment?
Now that my weight has plateaued, my doctor has advised me of another brand that’s coming out called ‘ Mounjaro,’ which is said to be better than Ozempic. I don’t have any plans to come off of Ozempic or Mounjaro anytime soon. You can stay on Ozempic for as long as you want.
None of my friends have really come off the drug yet, but I’m not too worried.
I’ve seen people that have come off of it and they’ve maintained it. I think if you’re someone that’s gone on Ozempic and it hasn’t worked for you or you’ve drastically lost it but you’re not maintaining a healthy lifestyle of keeping the weight that you’ve lost off then you’re probably going to put it all back on again.
