Sep
7
There is something I have been very hesitant to write about, but it has affected me so deeply it feels increasingly dishonest not to. And that is, as our actual United States president calls it, because we live in a timeline that is both deeply dark and troubling and also impossibly stupid, THE FAT SHOT.
So here we go into the topic of GLP-1s and body image and weight loss, and if that is not your jam, I get it. For a while there I was really trying to avoid all of the endless writeups on these drugs and it felt impossible. I don’t have any kind of Hot Take to share, I am just going to talk about my own experience in general terms.
I will say that as soon as I started hearing about these meds I knew it was only a matter of time and availability and cost until I would give them a go. I’ve only spent my entire adult LIFE in a state of mild to complete obsession with my weight and how much I’m eating. And I am hardly a hesitant person when it comes to, let’s just say medications. Other folks might wisely consider things like side effects and long term repercussions, I myself do not treat my body like a temple unless we are talking about the gluttonous rat Templeton in Charlotte’s Web.
Earlier this year I had read about someone’s experience with compound GLP-1s, which are the custom-mixed, non-FDA-approved alternatives to brand-name drugs like Ozempic and Zepbound. That was enough to spark my interest and I ended up acquiring a semaglutide prescription through a telehealth service (Hers, for the record). It was an easy if expensive process and there is some medical overview in the sense that you get a chat message from a doctor now and then, but largely you’re on your own with everything.
‘Non-FDA approved’ is a term that no longer holds much sway for me (you mean the same FDA run by Trump Jr’s hunting buddy with no medical or scientific credentials?) but of course it’s a lot more sketchy to order drugs off the internet rather than getting them prescribed from your own doctor.
It’s also not easy to dose these compound meds. They don’t come with injector pens or any kind of mechanism that makes that part a no-brainer. You get little vials of liquid medication that has to live in the fridge, and a pack of syringes and rubbing alcohol pads. For each dose, you have to draw the correct amount out of the vial into the syringe — weirdly difficult! — then flick the needle like you’ve seen in the movies to get the air bubble to float to the top, then inject your own self.
I was given a dosing schedule that starts you very low and gradually increases the amount, which I followed. It’s been a while but I would say I noticed an effect right away, a mild sort of nausea that reminded me a bit of early morning sickness. As time went on and my doses increased, I got to a point of familiarity with it: the strongest effects would be happening on maybe the third day after the shot, then waning back down until my next dose.
I did not have extreme side effects. The worst I have ever felt has been some nausea/food aversion and fatigue, nothing major. My dosing has remained pretty low, it seems like I respond to it really well and can get by with smaller amounts.
The big thing you hear about with these drugs is not having ‘food noise’, which I didn’t really understand until I experienced it. I would say it is like having food become … food. As opposed to a drug.
Food isn’t a DRUG lol, O RLY then why have I used it like a drug for as long as I can remember? Food can be euphoric, food can be comforting, food can numb and distract, food is the one addiction you can’t find the relief of abstinence from. I have struggled with food for so long and really dug myself into a bad habit during COVID of evening dissociation with food and TV. I remember the feeling of just giving myself permission, night after night, to have whatever the hell I wanted because god dammit everything was so fucked, and I have not been able to shake the chase of that full-body whew of permission + overconsumption.
Plus, menopause. Metabolic changes, body fat redistribution, pounds clinging stubbornly. I wasn’t problematically overweight but I was at a higher weight than I’d been since pregnancy and the scale kept inching upwards.
Once the meds reached a certain point, I’d say my relationship with food completely changed. I can still enjoy and appreciate food, to be clear. I was worried about that part, like yes I would love for food to not rule my life but I also don’t want to lose its appeal, right? Things taste good, things look good. But nothing is overwhelming in the way that it was. I can eat a thing and just … stop?!? I eat smaller portions overall, but the real switch is in the night eating.
OH, THE NIGHT EATING. Workin’ on my night cheese ♬ Oh my god the calorie intake that would happen after, say, 7 PM. The mornings I would wake up just steeped in regret from all the binge snacking. Well, I just plain don’t do that any more. I don’t want it and I don’t miss it. All I can say is food does not get me high any more.
I’ve lost about 30 pounds from my very highest to my lowest weight. I bounce around a little and I’m still tinkering with the dose to find a sweet spot where I have good appetite but no bingeing. I worry about muscle loss and getting enough protein, ugh the protein. I dislike the syringes and vials and am in the process of switching to the Wegovy pen (this was not available to me when I first started back in March). I just got my bloodwork done last week and everything looks fine. I don’t need to lose any more weight but I would like to take these meds forever if I can.
It’s been pretty life changing. I feel a LOT more confident about my body, which is vain but there it is, and that’s made a huge difference in how I feel on a daily basis. I also feel untethered from decades of cycling through various unhealthy relationships with food. Restricting, bingeing, endless scrutinizing and criticisms. I just … eat food now. For fuel and pleasure but never for intoxication or numbness.
I realize I’m not the target market for these medications. There are folks who need it more than me who can’t get it yet because of cost and that sucks. I hope it continues to become more available to those who want it. I hope we as a society can figure out how to view GLP-1s as an option and not something that should be praised or demonized. I wish we weren’t seeing such a backslide into extreme thinness happening hand in skeletal hand with the increasing availability of the meds.
I don’t want to promote using compound meds — I know there have been issues, I know there is risk. It was something I was willing to contend with, and I was willing to pay the high cost of an out of pocket prescription. It’s not for everyone, but it worked very well with me and it’s a big factor in my overall state of being these days. I feel generally positive and hugely relaxed about my weight and my eating, and I am not sure I’ve felt that way since I was a child.
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I haven’t been happy with my weight since 2009. I would be able to lose weight by buckling down and avoiding the occasional beer. But once I turned 64 I gained 10 pounds in about 6 months. I think oldness finally set in. Nothing would make the weight drop. I started Zepbound mainly due to my GERD exacerbation. I don’t plan on staying on it after losing about 25-30 pounds. I am glad it is able to help everyone’s food noise, something I don’t have
Thanks for sharing your experience and I’m glad it has worked out for you. I’ve not been brave enough yet! Also thanks for the great snacks recommendations over the years…. I’m looking at you TJ’S mochi rice crunchy thingamajigs😋
Hard agree on all of it. I did have weight to lose and nothing was ever sustainable without making me even more trapped within disorder eating. Now I just…eat. And it’s amazing. I’ve lost 100lbs and all my numbers are back to healthy. I have maybe 50-60 more I could lose but I’d also be happy to stay where I am as long as my health markers stay the same. Definitely will not be stopping the med even if my insurance stops paying.
You put into words exactly how I feel about it. The food noise is gone (and it was the absolute worst), and the body image worries are all but gone. I do have some saggy bits but I don’t notice them as much now that it’s not tank top season. Thank you for sharing your story—it was so encouraging for me and mimics my own experience so much!
I think there will be a time in the future when nearly everyone will be on a GLP1. Thanks for sharing your experience.
I so wish this was my experience. I’ve struggled for years and what I’ve hated most of all was that no doctor has ever once looked at my list of diets and food journals – they just believe that because my blood work is normal, I must not be eating ‘right’ or exercising ‘enough’. I had such high hopes for GPL-1s given stories like these. But my side effects were horrific once past the lowest dose. The lowest dose did help with food noise but I had no weight change in 3+ months (combined with a GERD diet and calorie deficit) so titrated up and then couldn’t stop throwing up, constant diarrhea, and the sulfur burps. Shudder. I couldn’t work or leave the house for the first 3 days of every week. With its wide ranging success for so many, I was devastated not to be among them. Maybe someday they’ll work out solutions to the worst side effects?
I’m so happy for you. I’ve had a somewhat similar experience starting metformin, losing about 15 pounds (working on 20). I’ve been able to somewhat undo a really messed up relationship with food. It’s so *freeing*. Congrats!
Yep, to all of the above. I take a tiny dose every other week, have minimal side effects, and have lost the 20-pounds I gained during COVID/the onset of Peri, then full menopause. I look great, feel great, and am in the best shape of my life. I think they should just put the stuff in our water supply. Just kidding, of course. My husband tried it and thought he was going to die. He said he’d rather be fat. It clearly isn’t for everyone; I’m just happy it’s available to me.
I was doing great on HRT but then had to go off due to estrogen positive breast cancer. It took about a year to wean completely from HRT, and despite being stricter with diet and exercise than ever before in my life, I steadily gained to my highest non-pregnant weight (and near highest pregnant weight with one of my kids!) Started microdosing compounded tirz about six weeks ago and have stopped the weight gain, lost a couple of pounds, and have dropped inches of inflammation. I don’t really have “food noise” as much as a constant body-hatred noise and while this hasn’t cured it, it has definitely helped me not despair at the loss of control over my body. Now I can eat healthy and exercise and not wonder why the eff the jeans I bought three months ago are now much too small.
I can so relate to this – though I definitely have compulsive food noise, the constant body-hatred noise resonates deeply. Thanks for sharing and best to you!!
I was on the Ozempic shot for a very short while, and I found it helped curb my appetite with little side effects. But then to due to insurance shenanigans, I had to switch to compounded GLP-1, and that did not go so well. Lots of nausea and started having disabling stomach cramps the day of the shot, each week- on the lowest dose! I was terrified of getting a paralyzed stomach, so I quit it altogether. Hopefully I can get back on the brand name shot (or pill) at some point. I’m glad it’s been working for you, with tolerable side effects.
Glad you found something that works well for you! Same boat with weight struggles. I’d love for weight and health to be totally unlinked. Then I might be able to fully get on the Fat Phobia is Bullshit Train and just embrace weight gain. But my cholesterol and blood sugar spiking tell me I need to care. I lost 25 lbs,
bloodwork numbers improved, and I also feel much happier about my appearance (that I care so much about looking thinner is still bullshit. I’ve been brainwashed by the patriarchy
, apparently).
Ooh, exciting! I’m so glad to hear that your experience has been a positive one! My husband is an internist and cautious fad-follower so he hopped on the grey market semaglutide train a few years ago. After he didn’t die after a few months, I tried it too. It was fantastic – loss of food noise (so much more brain space!) and a slow steady weight loss of about 15 lbs. I went from squeezing into my size M clothes to wearing them comfortably. No more night binges and I stopped feeling guilty about snacks.
Honestly I’d stay on the stuff only for the reduction in preoccupation with food and weight. Husband decided he didn’t like the side effects of the semaglutide (after a couple of years) so decided to try tirzepeptide (sp). I was like hey, why not? So far I’ve had a bit less constipation, less nausea, and similar positive effects.
What I’m REALLY watching for is a reduction in migraines. They stayed the same on semaglutide but…(knock on wood) I’m doing a bit better after 2 weeks on a therapeutic 5 mg dose of the tirz. I am so, so very hopeful that this stuff helps make a dent in them. Iirc you also deal with this bullshit so maybe the GLP1s have lessened yours a bit if they’re still awful? (or maybe the divorce helped with that – I suspect that I would be pretty much cured if I followed through – body keeps the score and all that).
What a relief that must be – freedom from constant food noise and muffin tops and post-snack guilt. It has helped so, so many people. I’m beyond happy for people who feel better than ever thanks to a GLP-1. I too am a little sad when someone sails right past the “healthy and confident” zone and slides into a skeletal wasteland. That worries me. And every time I see an ad that says “Look and feel great without exercising ever!” I want to throw up a little. Aging well is so reliant on retaining bone and muscle strength and a healthy weight shouldn’t be advertised as a gym alternative, but here we are. So many mixed feelings.
OH, THE NIGHT EATING. Workin’ on my night cheese ♬ Oh my god the calorie intake that would happen after, say, 7 PM.
Girl you just made me laugh (and also cry just a bit in recognition).
I’m still on the fence due to some chronic issues but I feel like it’s just a matter of time.
I was totally embarrassed to share with my bestie and others that I was trying a compound GLP1 also, but after thinking about my weight, trying to lose weight, stressing about my weight, feeling like shit, and snacking like it was my job (hello after lunch binge and after dinner cereal), I thought “If everyone is doing it, why not me?”. I am so thankful I tried it… and I’m only 4 weeks into microdoseing, but it’s already helping quiet my cravings. I only want to lose 15-ish lbs, so the microdose is a good place to start. Thank you very much for this post because it opened the door for me to tell my bestie and not be ashamed. Though I’m still a little sheepish (I KNOW! Only 15 lbs must sound vain as HELL) I just want to recognize myself in the mirror again post-menopause belly bulge. Best to you!!