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How about asking if your daughter is willing to talk about her weight loss?

(signed) sisoon, member in poor standing of 'Adults with Intrusive Moms'

[This message edited by SI Staff at 6:25 PM, Monday, October 21st]

How about asking if your daughter is willing to talk about her weight loss?

That's a great way to introduce the topic... take her lead! Thanks for the suggestion.

I often err on the side of not asking nosy questions, which leads me to sometimes not asking enough.

For the people taking these meds, do you feel exhausted?

My husband is on about week 7-8 and he feels absolutely drained. He also fights nausea and heartburn.

Have you found anything to help the side effects?

His a1c is borderline high and he needs to lose about 45 pounds. He lost about 15-20 so far.

The gi side effects are ex0ected part of how the drug works is slowing digestion and stomach emptying so you feel.fuller lo get. However this also leads to nasty burbs as the food starts breaking down more than normal I'm the stomach.
If he isn't eating enough he is going to feel tired too. This is not a magic bullet by any means and if he isn't getting enough protein he's not only going g9ing to feel tired but will have the other things that happen from low protein intake from weak brittle nails, hair falling out, and muscle mass loss.
An adult male.shpuld.be getting at minimum 100 grams of protein daily. If he isn't eating it then he needs to get it in protein shakes.

Thank you. I will pass this along. He definitely needs to eat more protein.

Is it possible that your H is eating too much? I typically only experience heartburn when I've overeaten, especially right before bed. We have to learn to pay attention to why and when we choose to eat. We're accustomed to cues like "dinnertime", or eating to be social, or habits - like dessert after dinner, but if we're not hungry and we eat anyway, we'll be miserable. I joke all the time that I'm cramping my H's style because he'll want to go out for dinner and I'm not hungry.

The nausea can crop up at the weirdest times, though. A couple of weeks ago, I laughed really hard and almost threw up. It was like I had activated my stomach muscles. I started salivating profusely like you do before you barf, but was able to breathe through it and keep from vomiting.

I second the suggestion for protein drinks. There are lots of funs ways to jazz them up, too, like iced coffee or making pudding with them.

He is generally not overeating but yes, if he does he gets nauseous. He doesn't eat dessert or snack food and has cut his portions back. He handles the nausea better than I would.

He is mostly bothered by the extreme fatigue. It eases up after the first four days of taking the medicine.

What happens when people go off the medicine and get their appetite back? It's pretty easy for him to control his portions because he is not hungry or nauseous.

The statistics show overwhelmingly that people regain the weight when they stop taking GLP-1 medications. (That's often used as a criticism of the drug, but my thyroid medication only works as long as I'm taking it, too.) Food noise and excessive hunger are suppressed by Ozempic and return when it's discontinued. It appears that most people lack the stamina to ignore those symptoms on a lifelong basis.

My 2 biggest concerns is loss of lean muscle math that happens especially if protein intake is inadequate. Plus cannot treat it like magic. It's a tool so you absolutely have change habits with eating and exercise.
The second concern that we just don't know enough about is the increase risks of cancers that is just blown over by the medical industry. Fearful of what's going to happen in 10-15 years.

I went into this knowing that I'd likely need to stay on the GLP-1 long term in order to maintain a lower body weight. For me, it's worth it. I've been so focused on my weight for my whole adult life, always between 15-45 pounds over my ideal weight and always feeling shitty about it. I'll put up with the side effects - and the cost - to NOT have to think about food 24/7 and to feel better in my skin.

Also, there seems to be a cardiovascular benefit not only from losing weight, but from the drug itself. True, we don't yet know the long-term effects, but GLP-1s have been around for almost ten years and, so far, there are no warnings on the label about them being carcinogenic. It'll be interesting to see what comes next in the treatment of obesity.

so far, there are no warnings on the label about them being carcinogenic

There is a warning for thyroid cancer, but it appears to be rare.

My gastroenterologist said that as GLP-1 drugs become widespread, they're seeing more instances of severe gastroparesis. That makes sense; slow digestion is one of the ways that the drugs increase satiety. If your body reacts too well and stops digesting food altogether, then you have a big problem on your hands. Most of the time, it seems, patients get off the drug and the issue resolves. A smaller subset reports that the symptoms don't go away, and severe permanent gastroparesis is no joke.

That being said, as we all know from the terrifying disclaimers in pharmaceutical commercials, there's almost always a risk of rare and serious consequences for any drug. You're putting something in your body to alter how it functions because the way it's malfunctioning has a higher chance of harming you than the drug does. That's why it seems dumb to me to take a newer drug to lose five pounds but very sensible to try it for chronic obesity.

There is a warning for thyroid cancer, but it appears to be rare.

You're right! My bad.

"would also recommend a food tracking app, and put EVERYTHING you put in your body in it. Everything you eat and drink."

This has been so eye opening for me.