I took my first weekly injection on July 6th. During that entire first month I used the titration dose of 0.25 mg. That initial time was to ensure my body could get used to the medicine. There were most likely no therapeutic effects at the low dosage. I did not experience the gastric problems that many patients have when starting Ozempic. By the third day, I did notice the drug's effect on my appetite. I no longer needed to have so much on my plate.
During the following six weeks, I moved to the low maintenance dose of 0.5 mg. This was when I started noticing changes in my weight and appearance.
Subsequently, rather than moving up to the standard dose of 1 mg, I decided on trying just 0.65 mg per shot. That was the pen I used before today and it lasted for six injections.
So last week, I took my sixteenth shot making that a four-month point. Because Ozempic is taken weekly, I waited until today to add some of my statistics here. I'm not in a rush to lose weight. It took a long time to put on and it's better if it takes a while to come off. Old skin isn't as elastic as when someone's young. Nature will give me sags and wrinkles without helping it out by rapid weight loss.
The most important reason for going on Ozempic was to lower my A1c results. In the spring I tested at a 6.2. I wanted to lower that. Although still high, this week's test showed a 6.0. At least it's moving in the right direction.
On July 27th, at the end of the titration dose regimen, I weighed 102.10 kg. This morning I clocked in on the same scales at 92.3 kg. So I'm pretty satisfied with the loss of 9.8 kg or about 21 lbs. in three months. I set myself a somewhat daunting challenge with target-body weight goal of 75 kg. That works out to be about 17.3 kg (or 38 lbs.) more.
Importantly, my BMI, as calculated by my bathroom scales, dropped from 34.1 at its highest to today's 30.8. In the next couple of weeks I can leave the category of obese and simply become overweight. I'm going to keep at watching what I eat and continue moving about a lot.
That is practically guaranteed as we head away for the winter in a couple of weeks. I bought a special medical thermos to transport three Ozempic pens in my carry-on. The stuff is usually kept in the refrigerator until opened. The gel pack will keep it cool for up to 36 hours, they say. I can pop the meds in the fridge when were arrive at our destinations. While away, just to make it easy, I'm carrying enough to take 0.58 mg a week.
My doctor and I will decide the course of action when I return to British Columbia in mid-March.