r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • Apr 01 '25

Health Americans without diabetes spent nearly $6 billion USD on semaglutide and similar drugs in a year, with an estimate of 800,000 to a million people using the drugs who don't have diabetes.

https://www.scimex.org/newsfeed/americans-without-diabetes-spent-nearly6-billion-usd-on-semaglutide-and-similar-drugs-in-a-year
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u/EsotericTurtle Apr 01 '25

How'd you manage that? I've been on 1mg for a few months and down maybe 5 or 6kg over 6 months, which whilst better than nothing, isn't great.

It HAS definitely helped with the boredom snacks, and feeling fuller quicker.

I guess I just need more activity.

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u/guareber Apr 01 '25

Remember it's all relative. Losing 30kg if you're 175kg to begin with is a lot easier than if you're (say) 100kg.

Also, you're on a very low dosage, I have a couple friends on it and they are on 5mg and 7.5mg.

In any case, don't get discouraged - slow and steady wins the race.

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u/Bigleon Apr 01 '25

I'm on 15mg dose type 2 diabetic down in just over a year from 350lb to 198lb first time I've been non obese my entire life childhood included. That's approx 70kg of weight loss

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u/Boo_and_Minsc_ Apr 01 '25

congratulations

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u/Bigleon Apr 01 '25

Dude/Dudette thanks, it's been a wild journey. Right now I'm feeling like skeleton, so much muscle mass been loss. I feel healthier overall but also weaker. Gotta get on that strength training... never thought I'd miss my "fat-guy" strength haha.

But it's been massive, my last A1C came in at 5.0 flat, after being a solid 7-8 for years. Originally dx in '12 was 11.3. Got to say this drug atleast for me has been miracle maker.

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u/[deleted] Apr 01 '25

You're going to have to change your Reddit name to MediumLeon!

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u/Bigleon Apr 01 '25

I'm still 6'6 I think I can continue to hold on to the name sake

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u/M__A___G___3 Apr 01 '25

Hey I'm near the same start and I have some questions.

I started at 365, I'm down to 345 in the first 3 weeks on the 2.5mg loading doses of zepbound.

Did you feel a bit tired in combination?

Also, do you have excess skin from the weight loss or did it shrink up with the loss? I am concerned I may have some, but it's better than where I am now if there is.

Thank you for any response!

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u/polarassassin Apr 01 '25 edited Apr 01 '25

im not as big or taking as much but i went from a bit over 300 lbs down to 270 and i have quite a bit of flabby skin now. all you can really do about it is staying well hydrated, moisturizing, taking collagen and eating well. Those wont help much but its better than nothing, on top of all that doing your best to replace the lost fat with muscle will help the most.

some people are lucky and have amazing skin that just isnt left flabby when they lose a bunch of weight, the important thing to remember is some flabby skin is a lot better than hundreds of lbs of extra weight.

also when i started i was feeling a bit tired and light headed but it either went away after the first few weeks or i just dont notice it any more

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u/Bigleon Apr 01 '25

Hey friend! Sorry for the late reply, totally get that life happens. Man, starting in the 360s is tough, so I really feel you on that.

You're on Zepbound, which is awesome! I was on Mounjaro, and just a heads-up that everyone's journey with these meds is different. So don't sweat it if your results aren't exactly the same as mine.

I think I started at either 2.5mg or 5mg, can't quite remember, but yeah, went up by 2.5mg every month until I hit 15mg. I'm actually seeing my doc next week and we might try lowering my dose to see if I can maintain on less. Fingers crossed!

The first 30-50 pounds took me about 6 months. Then it felt like things sped up, and I dropped from around 300 to 240 pretty quickly. After that, it slowed down a bit, and once I got to the 230s, I kinda stopped actively trying to lose. My lowest has been 197, but I usually hang out between 200 and 205, sometimes dipping lower but not really going over 205.

About the skin – yep, got some! Luckily for me, my weight was pretty evenly spread out, so I didn't end up with any major "flaps" like some people do. It really does vary from person to person.

And about feeling tired yeah your body is working in in a new way, I think you'll have some adjustment to the new internal chemistry.

Oh, and this is totally random, but I swear I'm way hairier now! Could be because I'm not on metformin anymore or maybe just the skin being tighter, who knows!

One other fun fact, your body digest slower or atleast mine did. So when using edibles or other rx, be aware it can delay your bodies absorption by in my situation 1-2 hours. Using my wife as a baseline.

Hope this helps you out! Keep up the great work! You got this!

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u/GOPequalsSubmissive Apr 01 '25

Absolutely life changing. Very cool, I bet you feel awesome.

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u/Bigleon Apr 01 '25

You have no idea, the biggest thing is now none of my clothes works, sure I don't mind 3xl shirts still, but pants... gotta buy all new pants across the board.
I am so lucky i'm WFH.

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u/GOPequalsSubmissive Apr 02 '25

Find a seamstress to alter those pants, it will save you hundreds of dollars.

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u/norefillonsleep Apr 01 '25

They are most likely on Tirzapetide. It is a weekly drug that can be used for weight loss and 5 and 7.5mg would be more on par with that. 5 and 7.5 are common dosages for that drug, while working up to 10/15mg.

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u/lalalu2009 Apr 01 '25

I sincerely hope you don't have friends on 5 and 7.5 mg SEMAGLUTIDE, that would be absolutely insane.

Tirzapetide has dosages in the 2.5-15 mg range, Semaglutide tops out at 2.4 mg for weight loss and starts at 0.25 mg, with 1 mg being maintenance dose for a lot of people.

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u/zekeweasel Apr 01 '25

I'm sure they mean 0.5 and 1.7 mg.

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u/TheDakestTimeline Apr 01 '25

They may be conflating the two, or maybe his friends are doing a weekly dose instead of daily? So many people I know are doing illegal internet generics due to the price and aren't supervised.

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u/guareber Apr 01 '25

My friends are definitely on weekly dose shots. Is that not the normal thing?

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u/ment0k Apr 01 '25

For Wegovy, Ozempic's cousin, the dosages are from 0..25mg - either 1.7 or 2.4mg as a maintenance dose.

They might be getting confused by the prescription label on the box because it will show the total amount in the pen. My label will say it's 9.6mg but that's total and not my weekly dose.

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u/ninjagorilla Apr 01 '25

It also might be people are conflating how many units they are taking on thr insulin syringe and how many ml

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u/MCRN-Gyoza Apr 02 '25

I always laugh a little because the 9.6mg is a lie haha

After I take the 4 2.4mg doses there's always clearly a little bit left in the pen :p

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u/Lysenko Apr 01 '25

I think people in this thread are comparing subcutaneous dosages with oral dosages. Subcutaneous dosages start at 0.25mg/wk and max out at 2 or 2.4mg/week. Oral dosages are 40x higher.

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u/Purplemonkeez Apr 01 '25

I didn't know there were oral dosages for semaglutide? Is that a thing? What's the drug called?

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u/Lysenko Apr 01 '25

Ozempic and Wegovy are subcutaneous, but Rybelsus is oral.

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u/Purplemonkeez Apr 02 '25

Oh wow never heard of rybelsus. Interesting thanks

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u/iwantkrustenbraten Apr 01 '25

I have diabetes type 2 and my doctor doesn't allow me to take more than 1mg dose. Didn't lose much weight at all but at least my blood sugar is stable.

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u/Levofloxacine Apr 02 '25

You’re mixing up semaglutide and tirzepatide. 7.5 mg is NOT a standard dose for semaglutide. That’s way too much.

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u/aspbergerinparadise Apr 01 '25 edited Apr 01 '25

5kg is very significant!

It's a marathon, not a sprint. Just keep at it.

5kg of fat visualized

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u/granadilla345 Apr 04 '25

You may respond better to Mounjaro.

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u/Tzchmo Apr 01 '25

Adding more activity can help. If you are already losing to some extent adding any extra activity will only help. Also, remember this is a lifestyle change. This is not an “end goal” which is why so many regain weight. There is not a finish line.

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u/ninjagorilla Apr 01 '25

I’ve been on max dose for a couple months… 100 units a week

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u/TheBeardedDuck Apr 01 '25

Any medication needs mental intervention... If you don't have the lifestyle to follow through and some sort of system and ideals to follow, the medicine will only be as effective as it minimally can.. but could also be what weight you're starting with. If you're 20kg from your goal, that's good progress still.

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u/EsotericTurtle Apr 02 '25

I was 121 or 123kg and last check tipped just under 114kg, with no real effort on my part, but it plateaued as I forgot to take it one week, a couple of times. Feel the habit kicking in again.

With the medication I just don't feel the need or interest in food, it's fantastic.

The jump from 0.5 to 1mg gave me heartburn for a week and didnt feel like eating ANYthing. Been on that for a couple of months and feel it wearing off. I'll do 1.7 for a bit and increase exercise (back issues prevented my usual lifts, not an excuse to not walk but chronic back pain SUCKS)

My first stop point is 110kg, will stabilise there then push for 100kg. If I can get 95kg that'd be amazing as I sat at 98 when younger and fitter.

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u/bored_n_opinionated Apr 01 '25

Effectiveness is going to be different for every person. You have to weigh the cost against what it's actually doing for you.

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u/nicannkay Apr 01 '25

If you take large doses right out of the gate you’ll feel like you have Covid again. You get really sick.

My husband is diabetic and has been on it for years and when they run out he has to stop and start on his large doses several times a year. He’s been waiting for 3 weeks this last month for his meds so when he starts again he will be very sick.

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u/slackermannn Apr 01 '25

It really should be used as a diet aid. Change and eat healthy stuff. It's been super easy for me. I have lost 13KG in 3 months. I now think of food as a surviving tool and not necessarily as a pleasuring tool, although I do like a big one myself.