Instagram AmazingRibs Facebook AmazingRibs X - Meathead Pinterest AmazingRibs Youtube AmazingRibs

Welcome!


This is a membership forum. Guests can view 5 pages for free. To participate, please join.

[ Pitmaster Club Information | Join Now | 30 Day Trial | Login | Contact Us ]

Only 4 free page views remaining.

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Ozempic.

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    Ozempic.

    So. I’ve been taking this since July.

    It really upends your life, I gotta say. I can’t say “good” or “bad”; it just is.

    First, I’m on Medicare. This stuff is EXPENSIVE. It’s only about $65/mo at first, but I’ll hit the donut hole sometime in March and then it’s $950/mo. So I get it from Canada, but then insurance doesn’t pay it and it’s still almost $300/mo. We can talk about why that is, but it doesn’t matter. There isn’t any room in the budget now for Wagyu, though.

    I started taking it because I’m T2 diabetic, since 2005, and my A1C was up over 9. Now it’s under 7 and falling. I take other stuff along with O, combined it’s working. As far as watching what I eat, I don’t eat hard sweets (cake, candy, etc), and I eat less white food (potatoes, rice).

    Hungry? No. I’m just not hungry most of the time. I used to make 5oz or 6oz burgers, now I make 3oz and can barely finish one if it is cheese/l/t/o/p. The chili we just made? I’m used to two ladles full being a serving. But one ladle was more than enough. I haven’t had a steak in a month; I can’t remember the last time I cooked one at home. If I eat like I used to, a meal feels like Thanksgiving dinner.

    Ozempic is semaglutide. It is also sold as Wegovy, as a weight loss drug. And yeah, definitely. I peaked out a while back at close to 320, but for most of the last few years it’s been around 290, and since I retired a year ago, 280ish. Yesterday morning I was at 242. No, I’m not exercising. I putter around the house, I keep the kitchen clean, I try to stay moving, but I don’t go for a walk or anything stupid like that. Semaglutide works by slowing down your digestion. That’s why you feel full so fast. That’s why if you eat too much, too late, you get acid reflux. That’s why you don’t idly think about snacking.

    For reference, the last time I weighed 242 was back in the mid ‘90s. After I had a heart attack in ‘92, I got down to 225. That 242 was passed a year or two later on my way back up.

    The downside, so far: Stomach cramps. They come and go, they were worse at the beginning. Nausea. Same thing, I get a wave a couple times a week, then it goes away. Orthostatic hypotension. When I stand up, I see stars. My GP changed one of my blood pressure meds, and we’ll see about that one. Last BP was 105/60. He was happy, I thought that was low myself. (His answer? “Anything lower is better, as long as it isn’t zero.” What a wit.)

    Thanks for listening (reading). I have never cared about my weight, and by extension, my health. I’ve just done whatever I wanted to, and taken the pills to counteract that. I still don’t, actually. I wouldn’t weigh myself at all, but Mrs Mosca makes me check every now and then. But I do have to say that it’s nice to have let go of that 50lb backpack. But I really wish I wanted a steak. But I don’t.

    #2
    Thanks for sharing.

    Comment


      #3
      Ozempic is pretty good stuff - been hearing about supply chain issues and people not being able to GET it.


      Mounjaro has definitely put a dent in their sales, if you think Ozempic curbs your appetite, Mounjaro is orders of magnitude better for most folks - IF you can get it paid for. They have a savings card for commercially-insured folks, but not for Medicare.


      There was a deal cut, somewhere back around the ACA, that made for some real incentives for pharmaceutical companies to cut a break to commercial patients - anyone with a .gov-sponsored insurance got screwed on that deal.


      And people with no insurance got screwed the worst - that deal, whatever it was, led directly to absolutely skyrocketing costs for patients who use a health savings account or pay cash for their own care. It's ridiculous, but funny that profits keep going up and up and up and up. So someone is winning.... almost as if...

      ...as if... the plan were to make costs so out of control that responsible people who pay their own way as they go were going to be... well... almost forced into paying for an insurance plan they didn't want. I mean, I know nothing like that would ever happen, I'm just saying it almost seems like you couldn't have designed it any better if you wanted more insurance industry and more big government.


      But hey, that's just conspiracy talk, right there.

      Comment


      • Bogy
        Bogy commented
        Editing a comment
        I have some comments about how the ACA came to be, and it involves one of my senators, but that's as political as I'm going to get.

      #4
      now i've got that stupid commercial stuck in my head....

      Comment


      • Attjack
        Attjack commented
        Editing a comment
        O O O

      • Murdy
        Murdy commented
        Editing a comment
        Play the actual song on YouTube--it's incrementally better, though I wouldn't necessarily chose to have it stuck in my head either.

      • Sid P
        Sid P commented
        Editing a comment
        That commercial is THE WORST. I’ve always hated that song, and now they play the commercial a lot. Grrrr…

      #5
      Happy to hear about your accomplishments! Sorry to hear about the crazy high price though, wow.

      Comment


        #6
        It's always pissed me off that drug companies rip us off but other countries get the same drug for much cheaper. I'm not talking about the healthcare system, but the fact that (in this case) it's 1/3 of the price in Canada as it is here. We should get tougher with the pharmas and insist that prices here be no higher than the average price in the EU Plus Canada/Australia/NZ.

        We won't, but we should...

        Comment


          #7
          I take a butt-load of drugs, been dreading what it's going to cost me when I hit medicare in a few years. Just added Farxiga and I suspect that isn't cheap. Are there any reasonable alternatives to Ozempic available?

          DUMB IDEA: If drug costs were sufficiently high, would it be possible to get a super-cheap commercial policy that pays for almost nothing in addition to medicare to establish eligibility for some of those discount plans?
          Last edited by Murdy; November 17, 2022, 02:37 PM.

          Comment


          • Bogy
            Bogy commented
            Editing a comment
            When you go on Medicare you are going to want to be very careful about what Plan D drug plan you choose. Farxiga 10mg has a full cost of just over $7500. Not every plan covers it, but there are some that do. For me, I could get a plan that would only have a monthly premium of $4.70, and the Farxiga would cost you about $1200 for the year, or about $100 per month. Not cheap, but a lot better than $625 per month.
            Last edited by Bogy; November 17, 2022, 04:41 PM.

          • DogFaced PonySoldier
            DogFaced PonySoldier commented
            Editing a comment
            There's no such thing as a cheap policy anymore.

          • Bogy
            Bogy commented
            Editing a comment
            DogFaced PonySoldier I don't know, cheapest plan I've seen this year is $4.70, and if it covers what you take, that may be your only charge. Sounds pretty cheap to me. YMMV

          #8
          Mosca I don't know the dosage or frequency you are taking the Ozempic, or what prescription part D plan you are on, but I think you should be able to find a better plan. You started taking this in July, so if you looked last year during open enrollment this medication would not have been taken into account. Have you checked on Medicare.gov to see if there is a better plan for you including this medication? I added it in a 4mg dose, and in the best plan for me I would meet my $505 deductible in January, enter the coverage gap in April, and get out in October. I would pay $2,087 for the year, which would AVERAGE $173 per month, just for that medication. Obviously, in January when you pay the deductible would be way higher, and the donut hole would be higher, but that would be the average for the year. If you haven't, either check medicare.gov yourself, or contact SHIP https://www.shiphelp.org/about-medic...n/pennsylvania before Dec. 7, when the open enrollment period ends.

          Comment


          • Bogy
            Bogy commented
            Editing a comment
            Medicare.gov gives options of 2mg/1.5ml, 4mg/3ml or 8mg/3ml.

          • Mosca
            Mosca commented
            Editing a comment
            That’s the pen size. Four .5 doses, four 1.0, four 2.0.

          • Bogy
            Bogy commented
            Editing a comment
            Mosca, glad to hear that you are checking. As I said, it's something that not every plan covers, so it's important to find one that does. I had two people so far this year who had plans that covered medications that were covered, but they are dropping those medications from their formulary next year. Changed them both to new plans, and they will actually be paying less than this year.

          #9
          If your a veteran you can get from the VA for free or at the most an eight dollar copay for no service connected drugs

          Comment


          • DogFaced PonySoldier
            DogFaced PonySoldier commented
            Editing a comment
            My experience with the drugs covered by the V.A. is... not good.

          #10
          There is a non-medicine approach. Take a look at the carnivore diet, rather interesting & it’s food not medicine. Just sayin.
          PS. Food is cheaper by the way.

          Comment


            #11
            Another thought - talk to your doc and ask if there's an older drug that will work for you. Some people need whatever the new fancy drug is. But some people do not and doctors tend to be ill-informed about the costs when using various policies, etc.

            Obviously there's also the 'lose weight, dammit' approach which will help too. I need to do that, as well.

            Comment


            • Mosca
              Mosca commented
              Editing a comment
              Bogy I take Metformin and Jardiance along with the Ozempic. My hope is to eventually go off of the meds, but that probably won’t happen. Diabetes and heart disease run in the family, going back at least to my grandparents, and I have a sister who is type 1.

              My goal was to get the A1C under 7, and it’s 6.7 as of about 2 weeks ago. I’d like to get it under 6 by my next appointments with my cardiologist and endocrinologist, in January. (And if that comes with some weight loss, I won’t be unhappy

            • rickgregory
              rickgregory commented
              Editing a comment
              Mosca - my point is that losing weight will likely help things (not losing weight because of a drug, but because of lifestyle changes). But I'm not your doc and it sounds like you've explored alternatives.

            • Mosca
              Mosca commented
              Editing a comment
              rickgregory Thanks. It’s really hard to describe liking it and not liking it at the same time. I mean, it feels really good to almost bounce up stairs; I’m used to carrying 50 more lbs. But dammit, I LIKE food. And eating food. And I want to at least miss it!

              As it is, I’ll settle for making stuff and eating half of it, I guess.

            #12
            BTW, most of my weight loss came through focusing on eating meat, and limiting the amount of bread and fruit I ate. That, and I started eating breakfast, with some good protein, and stopped skipping lunch. It was a really tough diet to follow.

            Comment


            • Bogy
              Bogy commented
              Editing a comment
              Forgot to mention about the fruit. We generally think fruit is good, and it is, in moderation. It may be "good" sugar, but it's still sugar. I was limited to 6 grapes a day.

            • DogFaced PonySoldier
              DogFaced PonySoldier commented
              Editing a comment
              Sugar is sugar, potatoes are potatoes and bread is bread. I know a lot people think they can eat all the fruit they want, eat sweet potatoes over white potatoes, and whole grain bread over white bread, and it's going to make a significant difference. It's not. You're talking miniscule difference in how it affects you.

            • FireMan
              FireMan commented
              Editing a comment
              Yup, what youneat is critical, & meat is OK! Lowered my A1c to 5.1. Kicked metformam & insulin, refused
              To go on the drug de jour that was boo coo bucks. When the doc saw my results, not a peep.

            #13
            I am very fortunate to be involved in a study at my cardiologist office using Ozempic. Their interest is in people who are NOT diabetic, but have had cardiovascular problems. I have lost 20 pounds without doing anything special. Like Mosca says, I eat a lot less than I used to. My A1C went from 6.4 to 5.6. Cholesterol is down over 100 points! HDL is way up. I had the cramps at first, but don’t experience any issues anymore. Right now I get the drug for free because of the study. I dread seeing how much it will cost when the study is over. I only use it once per week though.

            Comment


            • Bogy
              Bogy commented
              Editing a comment
              Thunder77 I don't want to make assumptions on your age, but assuming you are at least as old as me and qualify for Medicare, see my post above. Depending on how long the trial lasts, and when you are going to have to start buying the drug yourself, you may want to make sure your plan D for next year includes the medication.

            • Thunder77
              Thunder77 commented
              Editing a comment
              I have a few years to go until Medicaid. 😎 But I am definitely keeping that in mind!

            • FireMan
              FireMan commented
              Editing a comment
              Thunder, not be picky, but Medicare. Medicaid is if yer broke.

          Announcement

          Collapse
          No announcement yet.
          Working...
          X
          false
          0
          Guest
          Guest
          500
          ["membership","help","nojs","maintenance","shop","reset-password","authaau-alpha","ebooklogin-start","alpha","start"]
          false
          false
          Yes
          ["\/forum\/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads","\/forum\/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads\/1157845-paid-members-download-your-6-deep-dive-guide-ebooks-for-free-here","\/forum\/the-pitcast","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2019-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2020-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2021-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2022-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/current-2023-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/current-2024-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/current-2025-issues","\/forum\/bbq-stars","\/forum\/bbq-stars\/tuffy-stone","\/forum\/bbq-stars\/meathead","\/forum\/bbq-stars\/harry-soo","\/forum\/bbq-stars\/matt-pittman","\/forum\/bbq-stars\/kent-rollins","\/forum\/bbq-stars\/dean-fearing","\/forum\/bbq-stars\/tim-grandinetti","\/forum\/bbq-stars\/kent-phillips-brett-gallaway","\/forum\/bbq-stars\/david-bouska","\/forum\/bbq-stars\/ariane-daguin","\/forum\/bbq-stars\/jack-arnold","\/forum\/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads"]
          /forum/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads