What’s one thing you wish you knew before starting a GLP-1?

I could have started it earlier....and my insurance covered it. The marketing and info I was fed made it seem like it was either celebs abusing it or ppl under super special circumstances who tried every med that didn't work.

My doc wrote that prior auth, got it approved same day, and started my first pin 24 hours of my doctor urging me that I qualified and it would drastically improve my life. And it was Tirz not sema lol. Shout out to my doctor they changed my mind, and educated me about glps which was a complete 180 from what I've read online/read on the news.
 
I was prepared to change my way of eating. I didn’t realize I would also have to change my way of drinking - as in hydration, not alcohol.

The delayed gastric emptying meant that I’m

drinking less as well. Hydration is importantly not just for health but warding off GI side effects.

Ergo, I had to find new habits for staying hydrated, sipping slowly, carrying a water bottle, working on flavored waters or diet sports drinks when I can’t handle my usual water or plain seltzer, etc.
 
I wish I had known how it would make me feel so "normal," like people who don't have metabolic issues must feel. My insurance doesn't cover it and my doctor always discouraged me from trying it, telling me the side effects were horrible and I'd have to be on it forever. He wouldn't even discuss it with me even though I had obesity so I no longer see him. I have almost no side effects and the ones I occasionally have are so minor that I'm barely bothered by them, and I'm happy to be taking it for the rest of my life because it's beyond worth it for the way it makes me feel even apart from the weight loss.
 
Angelique said:


He wouldn't even discuss it with me even though I had obesity so I no longer see him.

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A couple of years ago (pre-tirzepatide), one of the specialists that I see said something like, “You know, all your issues are this weight [and made a big hand swooping motion]”. I had been seeing him for years and it was the elephant in the room. I just looked at him and blurted out of nowhere, “Well, I’m thinking about one of those glp1 medications.”. His response, “YES, YES, YES. Just do it. Don’t think about it”. Two months later I was on tirzepatide.

Best thing to do for any doc that would discourage an obese person from trying these medications is to fire them and find a new doc. Glad you got rid of them!
 
Grogu said:


A couple of years ago (pre-tirzepatide), one of the specialists that I see said something like, “You know, all your issues are this weight [and made a big hand swooping motion]”. I had been seeing him for years and it was the elephant in the room. I just looked at him and blurted out of nowhere, “Well, I’m thinking about one of those glp1 medications.”. His response, “YES, YES, YES. Just do it. Don’t think about it”. Two months later I was on tirzepatide.

Best thing to do for any doc that would discourage an obese person from trying these medications is to fire them and find a new doc. Glad you got rid of them!

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I’ve posted it before with my doctor…I told her I wanted a script for Tirz, and she told me they sell compounded Tirz out of their office… 😳 …I walked out of the office with 4 prefilled syringes of Tirz…👍
 
Grogu said:


Best thing to do for any doc that would discourage an obese person from trying these medications is to fire them and find a new doc. Glad you got rid of them!

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Thank you! He was awful and since I got rid of him, everyone else I see is very supportive of me being on it. That's so great that your doc is so supportive too! I think in the past, they might have been more likely to avoid talking much about our weight because there wasn't really a reliable treatment for it. But there is now, and there's no excuse for them to be so ignorant about it!
 
Flash-BCR said:


I’ve posted it before with my doctor…I told her I wanted a script for Tirz, and she told me they sell compounded Tirz out of their office… 😳 …I walked out of the office with 4 prefilled syringes of Tirz…👍

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Now that’s service! Although not sure about prefiled syringes, that’s kind of dicey. Unless they were those fancy glass syringes from Medivant.

My pcp at the time I started works in a practice that doesn’t allow the doctors to prescribe compounded tirz or sema 🤷🏻‍♂️ 🙄. But he said he’d work with me if I decided to go the compounded route.
 
Chocoholic1234 said:


When I started I thought I would lose the weight and taper off. I had no idea the decrease in food noise would be so dramatic. I knew I had loads of food noise, but I think I just couldn’t imagine what it would be like. Also thought I wasn’t ready to give up some of my favorite foods, but on Reta, I don’t care about those foods! I don’t miss them. I started with a reseller to see if I even liked Reta. I had no idea I would go grey after 3 weeks.

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This morning I was in charge of donuts for book group. I didn't exactly dread going to pick them up, but I was curious -- would I buy a couple extra for my personal stash? Would I overeat? (Something I haven't done since last Fall.) They're such a binge-able food and this donut place is bomb. Welp, I bought a bunch, cut them up and arranged them real pretty on a platter. I set one aside for myself: lemon filled. Nothing else called to me.

After the meeting, I was semi-eager to eat my secret donut. Not voracious, but um, well, okay, let's see. I took a bite of dough and -- meh. Not very delicious. Dry. So next I went for a bit of lemon filling, picturing as I did so -- unbidden -- the industrial food sized can it came out of. Nothing about it was tasty or appetizing.

I threw it away.

The idea that a year ago I would have eaten a highly palatable food so slowly and with true curiosity was not on the radar. Today I didn't deprive myself; I tested whether I wanted to eat something. Adding that space for thinking about what I'm eating instead of wolfing it down based on, idk, memories of how I thought it would taste? This is the new and priceless thing about GLP1, for me.
 
Grogu said:


Now that’s service! Although not sure about prefiled syringes, that’s kind of dicey. Unless they were those fancy glass syringes from Medivant.

My pcp at the time I started works in a practice that doesn’t allow the doctors to prescribe compounded tirz or sema 🤷🏻‍♂️ 🙄. But he said he’d work with me if I decided to go the compounded route.

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I had no idea about how any of it worked…and when I needed to reup, I just sent a note on the patient portal and they said come over anytime for more $$$$… 👍
 
The significance of getting blood work tests and a dexa scan.

I haven't had blood work done in over a year, but jumped into gray GLPs on my own accord 3 months ago. Now I wish I had official baseline data to compare myself to quarterly. Also data to know what other peptides would legitimately be beneficial to research.
 
I wish I knew that there would come a time that I would open my fridge door and just stand there for a while without taking out anything to binge.

Bonus: Walk without crying from the pain.
 
Pepperfan90 said:


The significance of getting blood work tests and a dexa scan.

I haven't had blood work done in over a year, but jumped into gray GLPs on my own accord 3 months ago. Now I wish I had official baseline data to compare myself to quarterly. Also data to know what other peptides would legitimately be beneficial to research.

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Yeah, I had a dexa at 223 after losing 100+ lbs and wish I had done one at the start, but it's never too late...

I'm always having blood work done, so that I have since the beginning.
 
I feel the same way as many other people that have posted here. A few other random things that I wish I knew: the dumping of electrolytes definitely impacted me in ways I didn't expect. Between long travel days for work and maybe not eating or drinking enough because my body didn't have the usual triggers, it led to some crazy lightheaded spells. There was even a time where I was at the park with my kid, and I nearly blacked out because I hadn't consumed enough fluids. Just in general, when you lose the natural reminders for eating and drinking, it's important that you stay on top of it.
 
Anhedonia sucks.

Make sure to take daily suppliment because your teeth may suffer; due to nutrition.

Daily cardio is a must.

You will sleep; a lot.
 
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