I gave up on Ozempic.
After nearly three months of stomach pain, gas that had me burping and farting like a frat boy (without the toxic masculinity), and a feeling of dread whenever mealtimes loomed, I couldn’t take it anymore. I know I was lucky—I didn’t vomit or have diarrhea—but I already have pain on a daily basis, and as I’ve said, I’m a wimp about stomach pain. I listened to a podcast that was discussing the anti-gluten movement (a bandwagon I never thought I’d jump on, but after my blood tests showed sensitivity to it I stopped eating gluten and immediately had less gastrointestinal pain) and apparently scientists found some volunteers willing to have inflatable balloon-like things inserted into their intestines. The scientists inflated them to different levels and asked for reports on how much “discomfort” the volunteers felt. The big takeaway was that—surprise!—different people have very different sensitivities to that kind of pain. While one person said, “Yeah, it’s not comfortable, but I’m ok” another would be gritting their teeth and reporting “serious pain.” So when I say I’m a wimp, I think it’s actually true. I just feel stomach pain pretty intensely.
Which meant that, when added to my constant fatigue from ME/CFS, the stomach pain from Ozempic really affected my ability to do everyday tasks. I waited to do laundry or load the dishwasher until I had a momentary surcease from the pain, and if it came back while the task was in progress, I had to sit down again. Worse than that, pain makes it difficult for me to think, which meant not only was I not writing, but I was often not even reading. There aren’t many tv shows I watch without my husband, and even when I find something I like (Abbott Elementary, Wednesday, Sweet Tooth), I don’t usually enjoy watching for hours. So there were times over the past three months when I just sat dumbly on the couch, waiting for bedtime.
Finally I wrote to my doctor about my decision—I’m lucky that my doctor’s office has a messaging system for non-urgent topics—and she responded that Mounjaro is supposed to have less frequent/severe side effects, so did I want to try that? I said ok, and she sent in the prescription. Now it seems to be in health insurance limbo, with the drugstore helpfully showing that, without insurance, the price would be $1220. If my insurance decides to cover it, there is a coupon, so I’d likely end up paying $25/month.
Meanwhile, since I didn’t take Ozempic last Wednesday night, I’m five days off and already I can tell I’m going to put the weight back on. It’s not that I ever really felt like Ozempic was curbing my cravings, but I did lose nearly 15 pounds because my stomach hurt too much to eat. It’s already hurting less, with some painful interludes, so I’m eating more normally. And yes, the sweets call me all the time. I keep telling myself to get it together, to avoid dessert on weekdays and only indulge on the weekends, but that old pleasure-seeking impulse is strong. Maybe I need to try hypnosis?
So now I’m in waiting mode, and undecided even if my insurance does cover Mounjaro. I still have the same reasons for taking it: one medication instead of separate ones to deal with blood sugar, cholesterol, and blood pressure; and potentially more energy since I won’t be carrying as much weight when I move my body around (walking the dogs, going to the grocery store, cleaning, etc.). But I’m no masochist, and the thought of stomach pain side effects feels like a tightening scarf, squeezing my neck.
I’m leaving to visit family on Thursday, and I have the feeling my insurance company won’t do anything before then, so I have some time before I have to decide. And hey, maybe they won’t cover it, and I won’t have to make the decision at all. Meanwhile all my summer shirts are a little big, but I don’t want to buy anything that won’t fit me in another couple of months.
p.s. Happy 4th of July to those of you who care about that holiday! Personally I’m not a fan, mostly because I’ve come to detest fireworks. The silent fireworks that some places have switched to are MUCH better, but even they disrupt wildlife, especially birds. However, no one asked me (least of all my neighbors, scaring my dog until well past my bedtime the last few nights), so please enjoy yourself if you like it, and show your national pride in the best American can be: embrace difference and support those with less power (including nature) as best you can with both your behavior and your vote.
Sorry Ozempic didn't work out, but I'm glad you're already beginning to feel better! Don't know if it's of interest to you, but I'm doing the Zoe program where you wear a blood glucose monitor for two weeks to see how what you eat impacts your blood sugar. It's been really illuminating!