I wonder if any of you take semagalutide and what your protocol for that is.
It definitely sounds very useful for diabetes and weight-loss. And, I definitely need to work more on reaching my fasting glucose and weight goals.
However, I wonder how otherwise healthy folks may want to use semaglutide? Can people use it on an ad-hoc basis, for example when they are feeling an inordinate amount of hunger, or feel like bingeing? Could it be useful to kick-start or sustain a fast? Does it make any difference if one is on a keto diet or not?
Right now, since it us a relatively new class of drug and still expensive i suspect most people who use it really need to lose weight, but i have seen people in the longevity space interested in it.
Yep, one reason I inquire about intermittent use is the cost
Individual pills taken as and when needed would be much more affordable than continuous regimens, or injections. But I have no idea if there are any issues with this (for e.g. due to drastic short-term changes in glp1 levels)
The half-life seems to be as long as a week, so I think there may be room for custom regimens rather than daily dosing, unless it somehow loses effectiveness over time.
I’ve been taking Ozempic for about 3 months, and it’s pretty amazing. I was more curious than anything, as my body fat was probably only a little high. I got a 4mg pen from CanShipMeds for $300. You just need a paper script.
I’ve been using 0.25mg per week, so one pen lasts for 4 months. At this dose, you get strong appetite suppression. I lost my “last 10 pounds” in 2 months. There’s nothing like it in my experience. If you are even slightly overweight, I highly recommend.
Side effects: if you overeat, you will be nauseous. If you really overeat and drink beer, you might vommit. My resting HR is about 8 bpm higher.
My dose seems to fade by the 5th day, so my new protocol is 0.2mg every 5 days.
I highly recommend, as it will change your relationship to food in a big way.
I don’t think it has any longevity effect, but it sure is nice to have a six pack for the first time in 20 years.
Have you also tried the tablets? I find it amazing that even just 0.25 mg per week has given you such good results for 4 months. I know that generally folks ramp up the dose to up to 2.5 mg per week
Assume you haven’t noticed any interactions with rapamycin? Curious what dose/schedule of rapa you’re taking. Seen any meaningful change in blood labs since starting semaglutide?
How does the pen work? It’s one pen injector, but you can use it multiple times and vary the dose? Are you able to just stick a new clean needle on each time?
The pen is cool. It has a visible reservoir of the med. At the bottom is a dial you turn to prime a spring. The number of clicks of the dial corresponds to dose. 75 clicks for 1 mg, so I do 15 clicks for 0.2mg. Once you plunge it into your subcutaneous fat (belly or butt) you press the button and you hear the spring clicking off the dose. The needle is replaced each time. They are available on Amazon. You need to keep the pen refrigerated. I bought a micro travel fridge I keep in my man cave to keep the kids from seeing it in the main fridge.
At less then $100/mo it’s the best weight loss you’ll find.
My thinking is GLP1As are only taken for a few months. Likely the benefits of weight lose for those months is higher than the rapamycin benefit, If you’re concerned. GLP1a basically causes super physiological levels of glucagon. It’s like walking around with your brain and intestines thinking you’re absolutely stuffed all the time. You’ll still get hungry, but a few bites in, everything will scream that you’ve had enough.
At these low doses I see no affect on glucose response. Just appetite.
Just tried getting a script from a teledoc. No luck. They wanted a BMI of +30 or a chronic medical condition. Any magical incantation you used to get yours?
I like your suggested protocol of using it for a few months and then getting off it till it’s needed OR after some wash out period (given the half life of 1 week)
Do you believe that continuing on it for too long can lead to some sort of a GLP1 resistance, or a semaglutide tolerance? I’d imagine something like that is a plausible risk.
My amateur opinion is that extra Glucagon doesn’t really affect much long term. However, it has such powerful appetite modification, that not being on the drug during vacations would be nice.
Caveat: if you need to take it for the incretin modifications that are the main therapeutic benefit for T2D, probably best to stay on it.
