3 ms·
I'm 58, have type II diabetes, and BMI over 30, which is the criterion for NHS Scotland to offer semaglutide (currently in the formulation Rybelsus, which is a
by cstross 4y ago
I'm 58, have type II diabetes, and BMI over 30, which is the criterion for NHS Scotland to offer semaglutide (currently in the formulation Rybelsus, which is a once-a-day tablet rather than an injection).
I've been on Semaglutide for 6 months now. Weight is down from 97kg to 83kg, blood HbA1C is down into pre-diabetes levels. (Also, my knees don't hurt!)
The down side of semaglutide:
1. Continuous low-grade nausea, as in, "am I going to throw up?" levels of stomach upset. Feeling nauseous for six months is No Fun Whatsoever.
2. Appetite suppression: it's like a chemical gastric band. My stomach capacity is way down. It makes family meal planning pretty much impossible: it makes the rare celebratory restaurant meal difficult (I'm limited to either two starter-sized portions or a main portion, and expect to leave some on the plate or feel bloated for 12-18 hours afterwards).
3. Muscle loss, not just fat loss. There's a pandemic surge and the health service here is in crisis so I'm not going to the swimming pool (my main form of exercise -- low joint impact). Consequently I'm not getting enough exercise. I have noticed that on semaglutide you lose weight from all tissues -- not just white adipose, so I'm losing muscle density as well. (New Year's Resolution: once the current COVID peak passes, go back to the pool during off-peak hours.)
Upshot: I'm going to persist for a while longer then when the weight loss slows off I'll talk to my GP about a medication review and maybe reducing the dosage to a maintenance level (in hope of keeping the benefits and reducing the side-effects). I would not recommend this medication to someone who is only a bit overweight -- it's a first-generation GLP-1 agonist, and like H2 antagonists in the 1970s and 1980s there will be a deluge of me-too drugs over the next few years that are cheaper/better/have fewer side-effects. If you can wait, wait.