Giant Semaglutide Thread (and other GLP-1 / GIP agonists)

[Doodle]

Wanted to create a thread where everyone can post their experiences with different sourced Semaglutide.

Who are you using?
Pharma vs non?
Dosage?
How long have you been taking it?
What are your thoughts?
Have you lost weight?
Side effects?
Oral vs injection?
Tests?

 

[ExogenousDan]

I See acid reflux or GERD is a common side effect of all these drugs. I have had reflux issues before starting and or what ever reason, semaglutide actually helps my GERD. Tirzepatide made it worse.

I actually get less side effects on semaglutide right now than I did on tirzepatide.

Would always recommend to try both.

Agreed. 0 heartburn or indigestion on tirz & sema but I put this down to dialling in my diet and cutting out heavily processed foods

 

[AlexDavis43]

Agreed. 0 heartburn or indigestion on tirz & sema but I put this down to dialling in my diet and cutting out heavily processed foods

It's a shame that drug-induced side effects are what it takes for some to dial in their diet & lifestyle but at least they get there.

 

[ExogenousDan]

It's a shame that drug-induced side effects are what it takes for some to dial in their diet & lifestyle but at least they get there.

I was neglecting my health eating anything/everything last year, and justified it because I work on site so thought I couldn’t find the time to meal prep. I took tirzepatide because I was genuinely overweight, and my side effects prior to tirzepatide were due to bad diet not drug induced. Nothing gives me heartburn now apart from cake doused in cream or oral cycles.

 

[Luke391]

I think I will soon have to resort to bleding my food. The tirz is hitting. Since monday I've been forcing down barely 2000cals and 120protein.
Can you guys recommend me a good quality isolate/hydrolized protein brand? that isn't full of shit fillers and chemicals.

 

[AlexDavis43]

I think I will soon have to resort to bleding my food. The tirz is hitting. Since monday I've been forcing down barely 2000cals and 120protein.
Can you guys recommend me a good quality isolate/hydrolized protein brand? that isn't full of shit fillers and chemicals.

Not hard to find whey protein sources with only a few ingredients. This isn't a danger zone. If unsure, Labdoor has options.

 

[Luke391]

Do you guys think half doses are ok?
I'm probably jumping the gun too fast but I'm having a lot of ups and downs.
last week on 2.5mg tirz felt nothing, this week (sunday) did 5mg and from monday to wednesday I felt great, but today I have been having random jolts of stomach pain and had to rush to the bathroom out of nowhere a few times (also I've been in a steep deficit since monday cause of the tirz, energy-wise I feel normal tho)
I'll stay on 5mg for another week at least but if I find it to be too much could I do like 4mg to see if that works better?

 

[Ghoul]

Do you guys think half doses are ok?
I'm probably jumping the gun too fast but I'm having a lot of ups and downs.
last week on 2.5mg tirz felt nothing, this week (sunday) did 5mg and from monday to wednesday I felt great, but today I have been having random jolts of stomach pain and had to rush to the bathroom out of nowhere a few times (also I've been in a steep deficit since monday cause of the tirz, energy-wise I feel normal tho)
I'll stay on 5mg for another week at least but if I find it to be too much could I do like 4mg to see if that works better?

You mean not using the same dose increments as pharma? Yes, that's ok, those doses have a basis in why they were selected, but the only reason there aren't others is because of the practicalities of fixed dose pens.

Keep in mind it takes 4 weekly doses for a stable level to be reached in your system,

 

[chmuse]

Do you guys think half doses are ok?
I'm probably jumping the gun too fast but I'm having a lot of ups and downs.
last week on 2.5mg tirz felt nothing, this week (sunday) did 5mg and from monday to wednesday I felt great, but today I have been having random jolts of stomach pain and had to rush to the bathroom out of nowhere a few times (also I've been in a steep deficit since monday cause of the tirz, energy-wise I feel normal tho)
I'll stay on 5mg for another week at least but if I find it to be too much could I do like 4mg to see if that works better?

I started at .25 sema and moved up slower to avoid side effects, saggy skin, and muscle loss. I'm down 32lbs in four months and at .375 every five days. That's four months in and at about the equivalent of .5/week (the typical second month dose) without those two days a week being hungry and almost no side effects at all. Rushing isn't worth it, you're increasing your risk of gallstones, pancreatitis, etc. and you won't even end up looking as good in the end.

 

[Ghoul]

I started at .25 sema and moved up slower to avoid side effects, saggy skin, and muscle loss. I'm down 32lbs in four months and at .375 every five days. That's four months in and at about the equivalent of .5/week (the typical second month dose) without those two days a week being hungry and almost no side effects at all. Rushing isn't worth it, you're increasing your risk of gallstones, pancreatitis, etc. and you won't even end up looking as good in the end.

Saggy skin as a result of weight loss is not prevented by losing weight more slowly. You either have sufficient elasticity or not. Rapid weight loss only makes the appearance of sagging more dramatic because of its sudden appearance.

Still, it's better to lose more gradually for a number of other reason. Retaining muscle for instance.

 

[chmuse]

Saggy skin as a result of weight loss is not prevented by losing weight more slowly. You either have sufficient elasticity or not. Rapid weight loss only makes the appearance of sagging more dramatic because of its sudden appearance.

Still, it's better to lose more gradually for a number of other reason. Retaining muscle for instance.

I don't want to argue with you, because in my short time here I've seen you clearly Know Your Shit, and far be it for me to spread misinformation. My phrasing was poor and not elaborated on enough which can perpetuate misunderstanding on the mechanisms; the amount of healing your skin can do is finite. Past a certain point, you WILL inevitably have loose skin, and the amount of shrinkage that can occur depends on a variety of factors- the amount of damage done, your natural healing abilities, your age, your nutrition as you lose weight, your skincare routines. By loosing weight more slowly, the appearance is minimized because it gives your skin more time to heal as you approach your goal weight, due to that natural elasticity, rather than it happening after you've already lost the weight, and by minimizing the nutritional deficiencies that can happen with more rapid losses. It's also something that is hard to quantify, because it's difficult to have a control group in something influenced by so many factors.

Study on damage that occurs to skin due to obesity

There is a point in which it is damaged too far for it to retain that natural elasticity. For me, personally, I am losing an amount of weight where my skin has suffered less damage. I'm also relatively young. So by intentionally losing weight more slowly (and 32 lbs in 4 months is still on the higher side, but is considered to be in a 'healthy' range) I am decreasing how much of that unhealed skin I have to see all at once when I eventually reach my goal weight. Choosing to eat enough calories and nutritionally dense foods should theoretically make a difference.

I could very well be wrong, I'm not trying to sound like an expert. I did not mean to imply losing weight more rapidly would increase how much loose skin you have, in the end. The end result will likely be very close to the same, but for that short period between reaching your goal and your skin eventually healing as much as it is able, you see less of it. Doctor Google agrees with me, but I'm hesitant to link to something like WebMD.

Regardless, it is simply one of the benefits I'm hoping to gain by not maximizing weight loss following the same schedule NN did in their clinical trials and taking a more conservative approach. If that OP is titrating too quickly they're going to experience more of those negative consequences.

 

[nullandvoid]

I think I will soon have to resort to bleding my food. The tirz is hitting. Since monday I've been forcing down barely 2000cals and 120protein.
Can you guys recommend me a good quality isolate/hydrolized protein brand? that isn't full of shit fillers and chemicals.

I use Ascent. It's pretty clean.

Chocolate Protein Powder

Our Chocolate Whey Protein Powder is the least processed whey protein available. No artificial flavors, sweeteners, gluten free, & Informed Sport Certified

www.ascentprotein.com

It doesn't taste like a dessert like others, but it mixes well and is very drinkable.

You can also get the 4-pound bags of it at Costco for a pretty good markdown.

 

[Ghoul]

I don't want to argue with you, because in my short time here I've seen you clearly Know Your Shit, and far be it for me to spread misinformation. My phrasing was poor and not elaborated on enough which can perpetuate misunderstanding on the mechanisms; the amount of healing your skin can do is finite. Past a certain point, you WILL inevitably have loose skin, and the amount of shrinkage that can occur depends on a variety of factors- the amount of damage done, your natural healing abilities, your age, your nutrition as you lose weight, your skincare routines. By loosing weight more slowly, the appearance is minimized because it gives your skin more time to heal as you approach your goal weight, due to that natural elasticity, rather than it happening after you've already lost the weight, and by minimizing the nutritional deficiencies that can happen with more rapid losses. It's also something that is hard to quantify, because it's difficult to have a control group in something influenced by so many factors.

Study on damage that occurs to skin due to obesity

There is a point in which it is damaged too far for it to retain that natural elasticity. For me, personally, I am losing an amount of weight where my skin has suffered less damage. I'm also relatively young. So by intentionally losing weight more slowly (and 32 lbs in 4 months is still on the higher side, but is considered to be in a 'healthy' range) I am decreasing how much of that unhealed skin I have to see all at once when I eventually reach my goal weight. Choosing to eat enough calories and nutritionally dense foods should theoretically make a difference.

I could very well be wrong, I'm not trying to sound like an expert. I did not mean to imply losing weight more rapidly would increase how much loose skin you have, in the end. The end result will likely be very close to the same, but for that short period between reaching your goal and your skin eventually healing as much as it is able, you see less of it. Doctor Google agrees with me, but I'm hesitant to link to something like WebMD.

Regardless, it is simply one of the benefits I'm hoping to gain by not maximizing weight loss following the same schedule NN did in their clinical trials and taking a more conservative approach. If that OP is titrating too quickly they're going to experience more of those negative consequences.

It's an interesting study, very small (30 patients), and they acknowledge many uncertainties. The only thing they were confident about was the fatter you get, the more damaged your skin became, and less likely to retract.

They also noted retraction continues for about a year after weight loss stabilizes.

Nutrition is a factor, which, like preventing muscle loss plays a role in skin quality (but again, it's the degree of overweightness that's the biggest factor).

Without digging up to research on this, I'll point out one of the well established major factors negatively impacting the ability for skin to retract (besides keeping it from stretching too far to begin with), is repeatedly cycling of weight. It's like you get limited stretch/retract cycles out of collagen before it's done, so keeping as stable a weight as you can for life is one of the most important steps you can take.

I'll bet the worst "Ozempic skin" cases are people who've repeatedly lost and regained weight (like most dieters) over the years.

 

[chmuse]

It's an interesting study, very small (30 patients), and they acknowledge many uncertainties. The only thing they were confident about was the fatter you get, the more damaged your skin became, and less likely to retract.

They also noted retraction continues for about a year after weight loss stabilizes.

Nutrition is a factor, which, like preventing muscle loss plays a role in skin quality (but again, it's the degree of overweightness that's the biggest factor).

Without digging up to research on this, I'll point out one of the well established major factors negatively impacting the ability for skin to retract (besides keeping it from stretching too far to begin with), is repeatedly cycling of weight. It's like you get limited stretch/retract cycles out of collagen before it's done, so keeping as stable a weight as you can for life is one of the most important steps you can take.

I'll bet the worst "Ozempic skin" cases are people who've repeatedly lost and regained weight (like most dieters) over the years.

That's pretty much my understanding as well. I've only gained, lost, and gained once, so I think I'll probably be very lucky in that regard- only time will tell. I don't want to be staring at loose skin for a year, so giving myself time to heal as I go is important to me.

 

[Ghoul]

That's pretty much my understanding as well. I've only gained, lost, and gained once, so I think I'll probably be very lucky in that regard- only time will tell. I don't want to be staring at loose skin for a year, so giving myself time to heal as I go is important to me.

I think you're young enough, and conscious enough, about nutrition, and the pace of weight loss that allows you to maintain that, along with getting the "miracle" GLP tools (and knowledge) you need to prevent what's happened to us older guys you won't have a problem.

Oh, and sunscreen.

 

[AlexDavis43]

I use Ascent. It's pretty clean.

Chocolate Protein Powder

Our Chocolate Whey Protein Powder is the least processed whey protein available. No artificial flavors, sweeteners, gluten free, & Informed Sport Certified

www.ascentprotein.com

It doesn't taste like a dessert like others, but it mixes well and is very drinkable.

You can also get the 4-pound bags of it at Costco for a pretty good markdown.

Good price per gram of protein.

Doesn't look like they've done any testing like with LabDoor, but no red flags.

 

[yelloeyes]

Do you guys think half doses are ok?
I'm probably jumping the gun too fast but I'm having a lot of ups and downs.
last week on 2.5mg tirz felt nothing, this week (sunday) did 5mg and from monday to wednesday I felt great, but today I have been having random jolts of stomach pain and had to rush to the bathroom out of nowhere a few times (also I've been in a steep deficit since monday cause of the tirz, energy-wise I feel normal tho)
I'll stay on 5mg for another week at least but if I find it to be too much could I do like 4mg to see if that works better?

Late to the party here... what did you decide to do? Did you drop back down to 4mg or fight through it?

 

[Luke391]

Late to the party here... what did you decide to do? Did you drop back down to 4mg or fight through it?

since this week all sice effects of 5mg are gone and still good appetite suppression and no cravings so I'll just keep at 5mg

 

[gpack]

I've had a few of the ladies in my life have asked me about getting on GLP-1s recently. Would you recommend new users give sema a whirl first or just immediately go for tirz? I know they both work but just wondering if tirz being more gentle in terms of side effects is worth the difference in cost from the get go. @Ghoul My bad if you don't like being tagged

 

[Ghoul]

I've had a few of the ladies in my life have asked me about getting on GLP-1s recently. Would you recommend new users give sema a whirl first or just immediately go for tirz? I know they both work but just wondering if tirz being more gentle in terms of side effects is worth the difference in cost from the get go. @Ghoul My bad if you don't like being tagged

Both are effective. Sema is by far the cheapest ofc. Besides cost, which you should point out is a long term commitment, so do the math at highest dose for each, it comes down to

Sema: Faster with harsher sides or

Tirz: Somewhat slower with significantly gentler sides.

You should point out that once they reach goal weight and a maintenance dose, there won't be side effects for either, so this is just about the "loss phase".

 

[Luke391]

Both are effective. Sema is by far the cheapest ofc. Besides cost, which you should point out is a long term commitment, so do the math at highest dose for each, it comes down to

Sema: Faster with harsher sides or

Tirz: Somewhat slower with significantly gentler sides.

You should point out that once they reach goal weight and a maintenance dose, there won't be side effects for either, so this is just about the "loss phase".

I don't want to speak absolutes but in my opinion tirz is worth the extra cost.
Tirz is only gonna cost you 2-3$ xmg from a chinese supplier or bulk peptide vendor, that is gonna be 45$ a week at max dose, in many cases you'll be saving those 45$ a week on food thanks to the glp. (I'm speding 15€ a week for 5mg tirz a saving like 30-40$ a week on food).
Also tons of anechdotal stories of people getting horrible side effects from sema, myself inclided. 0.25mg had me bedridden with nausea and diarreha for 2 days. Tirz, so far so good.

AGAIN, JUST MY EXPERIENCE, EVERYONE'S EXPERIENCE WILL BE DIFFERENT, TAKE IT WITH A GRAIN OF SALT.