My forever journey to being healthy
Forever Journey to Being Healthy
** Disclaimer ** I am NOT a doctor. I can not advise you on what to do. I can not suggest what is best for your body. Please talk to your doctor; every body is different; everybody has different needs. Every body will react differently to medicine and health changes. What I’m writing about here is for me only. You need to find out what works best for you.
** Disclaimer ** If you have an eating disorder, please do not read this blog post. I don’t want anyone to get triggers from my personal blog sharing.
This blog post is my personal journey and not meant as medical advise. If you try this and it works, great, but I was and am under medical care throughout the process. I’m posting this, because so many people have sent me texts, messages and asked me in person what I have done to lose weight. This is my journey and it’s on-going, like for a hopefully long life :)
This blog post is long and in the beginning, I’m going to address things that people told me and my opinion. Again, I’m NOT a doctor. Do your own research. The best advise I can give to you is don’t give up, research and find what works for you.
My doctor wanted to put me on diabetic medicine and Metformin was one option. Dr. Brown said I was pre-diabetic. My A1C number was 6.9.... only .10 away from being diabetic. (That’s what my doctor said, but in doing some research, anything over 6.5 is diabetic according to other studies.) Something had to be done. Along with this, my cholesterol levels were high and my blood pressure was still high, even with taking two blood pressure medicines per day. (As well as having hypothyroidism.) I wasn’t in a good situation and the “writing was on the wall.” Either I had to accept my declining health or make some decisions. After having three surgeries from complications with breast cancer and still dealing with blisters and no answers, this was my wake-up call. My body was struggling to recover from cancer and all these blood results were down right scary. Ring. Ring. Ring.
Since I was not liking the idea of explosive diarrhea from Metformin (I know about this because my husband was on it for a long time.) The doctor said there was an option of shots. I wasn’t keen on this either, but he said I qualified with me having co-morbidity. He sent in the prescription for Ozempic. Ozempic was denied by the insurance company, because .10 is still .10 away from being labeled a diabetic. Insurance would not cover the medicine to help me with my A1C levels. Again, my doctor said Metformin was the other option. Again, I declined.
Where I work, coworkers talked about those shots. One was receiving it via insurance and another was going to a weight loss clinic, because she wasn’t approved by insurance either. After listening to their stories, seeing their progress, considering the options and trying to lose weight on my own after a few months went by (I was making salads for lunch at work and still not improving my sugar levels and not losing weight, feeling frustrated and like a failure.), I decided to go to the weight loss clinic for the Semaglutide shots.
I’m not going to lie, that first week on the shot was the worst. I threw up the first night of the shot. The day following, I felt so full that I didn’t want to eat anything at all and I still felt nauseated. My two coworkers were a huge support. They told me I had to eat, had to find things that worked with me. They told me that I could do this. Their encouragement was a big part in my success. They gave me suggestions and I took them up on it. I ate small meals. I took the anti-nausea medicine. I drank cold water.
The changes in my body are NOT only because of the medicine, but it was inspired by the medicine...... I figured if I was going to take shots to get my A1C in line, then I was going to go healthy all the way. I was going to use this to motivate me! I stopped eating chocolate that same week. I stopped drinking diet sodas that same week. I stopped eating at fast foods and cut back on fried foods.
Another reason for being miserable the first week or two was that I was tired. Was it because of the decrease of calories? When I say that I had no energy, I mean exhaustion tired. It could be because of the Sema, or the lack of caffeine from chocolate and diet Coke. And oh my gosh, the headaches, it was migraine level pain. I was having caffeine and sugar withdrawals and my body was fighting it. The first two weeks felt like they lasted forever. I do know that if I wasn’t on the shots, I would not have made these changes. The shots helped with the hungry feeling and gave inspiration to make healthy changes.
I told my mom, “If this medicine was a pill that had to be taken daily and it made me feel that sick, I would have quit taking it after the first day. But I didn’t have a choice. It was a shot and it was already in my body. I had to find a way to work with it.” I didn’t think I would take the shot again. By the end of the week, my body was adjusting and yes, I braved the doctor’s office and took the second shot. I had also lost 8 pounds the first week. That type of weight loss, by the way, was never to be seen again and I will say - that’s a GOOD thing.
My weight gain didn’t happen in a week and it wasn’t going to come off in a week. I have heard negative stories of “When you get off the shots, you gain it all back.” I take blood pressure medicine and will for the rest of my life and I figure the same will be the case for the shots. The shots aren’t being taken for weight loss, but for A1C, cholesterol and increased blood pressure. I don’t want this to be a yo-yo diet where “when you stop the diet, you gain it all back and more” - Sema is NO different if you are using it for that reason only.
I also heard negative crap like, “You’re going to lose weight and then need surgery to get rid of the wrinkles! You’re hands are going to get smaller too!” As for the wrinkles, I’m 54 years old and if I lose weight no matter by what method and I get wrinkles, so be it. As for the hands and feet getting smaller from using the shots. Well, and so? I sure hoped so! These are childish things media focuses on - meaningless tripe versus the benefits of being healthy.
Oh and before anyone jumps on the band wagon of “You’re taking medicine away from diabetic! Shame guilt trip” - Back off - because that’s what I’m taking it for and Yes, I was concerned about the medicine not being available for my A1C. However, I’ve also read that it’s not the medicine, but rather the needles that are the issues - specifically the self administered needles that are in high demand. I’m not using that - I’m going to a clinic and the nurse uses a regular needle. And, there are different chemical compositions of this medicine that are available.
There was also hype in the media about the medicine being banned. Do some research - there are many different “brands” or chemical compositions of these shots - some are banned, go to a reputable place for your medicines, please! I questioned the clinic where I was, I brought in the articles I read.
I didn’t share about my decision with many people in the beginning (just my parents, my husband and the two coworkers), because of the media vitriol. If I can loose weight and resolve high A1C/diabetes and cholesterol and possibly lower my blood pressure, yes, I’m willing to try it. Big Pharma doesn’t need to make big money from big problems that are long lasting. My husband said, “Aleta, the weight loss clinic is ‘raping you’ with the cost of the shots!” - such a nasty thing to say, but it’s one of his favorite quotes when it comes to any type of insurance.
But let’s consider that issue of the weight loss clinic shots versus becoming a member of the poly pharmacy - the potential of taking 5 pills for cholesterol, diabetes, blood pressure, thyroid. First - the insurance company didn’t want to pay for the shots that I needed. Second - Taking that many medicines/pills that they DID want me to use would costs more money. Third - Taking that many pills can lead to other health concerns (liver and kidney) and Lastly- the pills are ONLY treating the symptoms and not the root cause, which was the weight problem. Those problems would be treated but still lead to hospital emergencies. And even with me taking 2 pills for blood pressure, mine was still dangerously high! It’s like fixing the plugs in the tire that had holes but not picking up the nails on the driveway. Sure, it might fix it for a time, but it’s not taking care of an issue.
If Sema can take care of A1C AND in the process, I can lose weight (thereby being healthier in other ways), be motivated to eat healthy and exercise, well, the shots might cost more now but the hospital bills for emergencies due to health conditions would be far worse for me later if I didn’t get my A1C and weight under control. (FYI, in case you’re wondering, the first shot is .25mg and cost $25.00 a week. The second level is .50 and cost $50 a week. The next level is .75 and costs $70.00 and it goes up to 2.10mg. The shots don’t go higher than 2.10mg.) Please keep in mind, the doctor at the clinic advised me to stay on the LOWER doses for as long as I could. He was NOT pushing the higher dosages.
Going back to the first week... it’s a monster, for some it’s okay, but I learned a little more about what the medicine does. I always thought the reason I felt so horrible the first couple of weeks was because my body had to adjust to the medicine. Then I read that Sema helps to improve gut health. In the study, the people who needed Sema, those with pre-diabetes (like me) and obese (like me) most likely had deficiencies of GLP-1 receptors and metabolic derangement, which makes the gut unhealthy. Sema restores gut health. One role the GLP-1 does is to “prompt the body to produce more insulin, which reduces blood glucose.” It also reduces appetite and slows down the emptying of the stomach. This is not new medicine. It’s been used by diabetics for a long time.
Back to the gut health, if an obese person has toxins held in the fat, then when you take the medicine and it starts to heal the gut and you start to lose weight... toxins are released from the fat, it’s going to make you feel like you have the flu. That’s kind of like what happened to me the first two weeks. I don’t know if I’m explaining it correctly, so forgive me for my non-clinical explanation or if I’m explaining it incorrectly. I just know that I started feeling a LOT better. I thought it was just that my body had adjusted to the medicine, but it could be that my body was releasing the toxins, my gut was healing and my body was feeling stronger. (Please do your own research!) Oh and I’m also taking probiotic gummies for gut health too, just recently started that.
Now I did do something apparently that was different from other clients at the clinic, but no different than what my doctor told me to do. “Stay on each level for as long as you can. It’s healthier for your body to go slow.” I took his words to heart. I was on the initial dose of .25 for 2 months. The RN told me, “Wow! That’s great! Most people increase their dose after 2 weeks.” But again, this was not a fast gain and it wasn’t going to be a fast loss either. I want this long term. I don’t want to yo-yo. I figure I’ll be on this for the long hall if it keeps my A1C levels in check.
I’m really grateful that I go to the weight loss clinic. The nurse gives me the shot and I weigh in every week. It keeps me accountable, without being in a group of people like some weight groups. It’s a one person meeting and I can bring up issues or questions that I specifically have about my body. Such as the time where I was craving carbs. The nurse said, “Carbs are not your enemy. You need them for energy. Eat them in the morning and lunch time. You don’t need energy with your supper, so have a light meal then.”
The RN was also incredibly supportive and kept me motivated. She cheered me on and offered solutions such as a piece of toast with breakfast to help if I had any upset stomach when I did increase the dosage. She offered recommendations to change things with my diet to make sure I was getting the right amount of vitamins from my food intake and eating three meals with snacks. I was not given a calorie diet to follow. I was not given a meal plan to follow. I was not told to stop eating candy and Diet Coke. I was not told to start exercising. I told the nurse what changes I was making and she offered ideas on how to improve on those changes. The nurse was a great source of encouragement and support, just like my family and coworkers.
Being able to see the nurse each week was like having an emotional support, medical nurse and therapist all wrapped in one. Having the support at work and at home created an environment of success, when it could have been miserable. (So take that, insurance company! You didn’t stop me after all and in fact, lead me on a path to better support and better results!)
After I lost 20 pounds, not many people noticed the weight loss. My clothes were bigger on me, but it still was not a “woah, look at you moment.” The weight loss was not fast. It was not drastic. I was lucky if I lost 1 pound a week. Most of the time it was only a half a pound a week and sometimes I just stayed even. Again, my coworkers, and family were my cheerleaders, reminding me that everything counts and those half pounds add up in the long run.
After I lost 20 pounds, I felt like I could exercise again. It sounds weird, but I needed the first 20 pounds off for me to feel like my body could actually handle movement. I definitely credit the shots for the first 20 pound loss, but I wanted to continue and I knew that exercising would help. The weight clinic I was going to had a small gym and I joined it. I like using the treadmill and eventually started on two of the weight machines as well.
When I started the treadmill it was only 5 minutes a day, then I bumped it to 10 minutes. Currently I’m doing 30 minutes on the weekends and during the week days I use exercise videos at home. I found online recorded exercise classes geared towards low impact, easy to do, meant for people in their 50’s exercises and had a variety of classes (some 10 minute routines, which I do when I first wake up, some are 30 minutes, which I do in the evening).
I’m also using a tracker to help me keep my steps in mind. One of my friends motivated me to use a tracker and I love it. We text about how many steps we have and when our schedules allow it, we go mall walking to help with our steps. We also discuss healthy options and how to not become obsessed with health but to be mindful in a healthy way. I want to be a good role model for my son and I want to be healthy to be around for him and, one day, his children. Gregory has a tracker too and he loves to show off how many steps he gets in the day!
When I lost a total of 30 pounds, Maddie, my RN, said, “I’m so proud of you! You are doing this the right way. I get so many patients who want to lose weight fast. They increase the dosage and increase it again and tell me they aren’t losing enough weight fast enough and want to increase it more. They max out on the shots and then don’t know why it didn’t work for them. The weight won’t come off that way. People need to learn how to make healthy habits and you are doing that!”
If you want to lose weight fast and not put in the work, this medicine is NOT for you. It’s not a fat burning miracle shot. It doesn’t make the fat disappear. It WILL help your A1C, which is what I needed. But if you don’t work for the weight loss, you’re not going to get it. A friend of mine has been on the shots for over a year and hasn’t lost any weight, but his A1C readings are great. Again, not a miracle weight drug. What it DOES do is help to take the edge off the feeling of hunger. If you stay on each level for a while though, like I’m doing then you won’t get that “full feeling.” That tapers off until you increase the dose.
My thought was, “I want to know that I can make the right decisions when I’m hungry.” Yes, I do eventually increase the dosage, but it’s a slow process. (I’ve been on .75 from August through December.) The shots take that edge off of “Grab whatever is in front of you and eat it NOW because your starving” kind of hunger. The shots give you a chance to think about the choices you make.
Do I eat perfect? Oh heck no. I live in Louisiana! Too much good food and so much unhealthy food too. So yes, I enjoy the fried shrimp poboy and spaghetti, but either I work out more, get more steps in or cut back on other days to offset the splurges. I can cut down on the calories, eat smaller portions, go for more healthy sides and not beat myself up for still enjoying food.
Stress eating and holidays are a real struggle. I’m human and I have many bad habits to break with the weight and food issues. However, I’m working on this. Being able to make the changes and lose weight at the same time is motivation to keep trying, to pick myself up rather than beat myself up if I slip from a splurge.
Oh and there’s a lot of talk about losing muscle mass. No matter HOW you lose weight if you’re on a diet, you lose muscle mass. After doing research, I believe it’s important to change the structure of your body - not just to be a smaller person with the same proportion of fat to muscle but to get more muscles by using weights. I don’t use weights every day, more like twice a week and my goal is to increase it to 3 times a week.
When I first started the shots in April, I read that most people lose 20 pounds. Back then, I thought, “I need to lose more than 20 pounds, but if that’s all I can do then, okay, but I have goals. I’m setting my first goal at 40 pounds. And I have a second goal too.” But being completely transparent, I didn’t have much hope in the beginning. I said prayers, still do, asking God to help me treat this vessel that He has given me the best that I can....
I reached my first goal - lost 40 pounds in November! It took me April to November - very slow progress, a lot of patience and a blessing of support! Maddie gave me a high five when we looked at the scale and she got teary-eyed for being so happy for me.
I could be happy with the 40 pounds. I feel better than I have in years and coming from breast cancer, that’s saying a lot. I want to be active, do things, enjoy life. I feel like I’m back in the land of the living and for the past gosh... don’t know how long... but I was coasting along.. so unhappy with my health, feeling like a failure and unable to fix it. Now I just want to get up and move - I’m happy!
I still have my second goal, 25 more pounds that I want to lose. In November I told myself if I could maintain through the holidays the 40 I lost, that would be an accomplishment. Because there are days of Thanksgiving meals, chocolate covered treats, hot coco, cookies, fudge and more. I wasn’t going to disregard my health, but I knew the holidays would be pushing the limits. To date - I have now lost a total of 45 pounds. 20 more to my ultimate goal, that’s what I need to finally lose in order for my BMI to read in the “healthy” zone.” My goal weight is 125. I’m figuring it will be 7-8 months to get there. It’s a balance of losing weight, eating healthy and trying to add muscle.
My body is healthier, my mood is happier. It’s been a slow process with low weight loss each week, but I feel just so gosh darn happy. One of my coworkers that has to pay for her shots said, “Yes, it costs us money and yes, I’ll be on it for the rest of my life, but it’s worth every damn penny! I said it before and I’ll say it again, it’s been life changing!” I’m so glad that I didn’t allow the insurance company’s decision to not assist in lowering my A1C to derail me from taking the shots. Yes, it has been life changing!
I have kept an eye on my blood pressure and it’s been lower than it has since I was 35 years old! In fact, it got so low that I cut one of my blood pressure pills in half (with nurse approval). I will probably be on blood pressure medicine for the rest of my life, as it runs in the family, but if I can decrease the medicine AND it actually is LOWER, then I’m happy!
My blood work came back today and the results are in - I’m no longer prediabetic!! My A1C went from 6.9 to 5.2! Wow! And my cholesterol is no longer high from 221 to 191 and triglycerides went from 161 to 104. The only thing high was potassium but one of my blood pressure meds has potassium in it, because that was low last year. I’m thrilled with the numbers and actually look forward to the doctor appointment on Friday to discuss the blood work!
Also, I don’t know if it’s the medicine or because of weight loss, but I also read some studies that Sema helps with inflammation. Remember the blisters on my right breast, which I’ve had to deal with for YEARS now? I’m so hesitant to say this, I don’t want to piss off Karma or fates or whatever you want to call it... but Dr. Rose (4th doctor I had to see regarding the blisters) tried different medicines to help the blisters heal and stop topical infections and she said, “I really think this could be inflammation as your body is trying to heal from the trauma. It might have been a reaction to the Covid shot in the beginning, but now it’s something different. Inflammation can happen as your body is healing.” This was prior to me being on the shots and now.... *whispers* The blisters haven’t come back. If Sema can keep the inflammation down and the blisters away and those stop me from having ANOTHER breast surgery from complications of healing - Thank you, Sema! Do I know for certain that Sema did this? No, but I DO know that the blisters aren’t coming back at this same time. And what the doctor said makes a lot of sense.
Having a support group during this journey has been so important. Celebrating the small steps and making the small changes is important. I feel like my body is saying, “Thank you!” I never thought I’d get to where I am now. I still have weight to lose, but I just never... really didn’t think I could lose 45 pounds.... Yes, worth every single penny to feel this much healthier!
And in case you are wondering - hey, what happens now that your numbers are in line and after you get to the goal weight? I go on maintenance. My end goal is to keep my A1C low, stay in a healthy BMI weight and get back down to .25 on Sema. I figure $25.00 a week for the shot on maintenance is cheaper than a fast food meal these days!
My husband bought me two picture frames that upload pictures. In the past I hated pictures of myself. I would hide behind people and plants when in pictures. I didn’t know if I wanted to see those pictures on the frame and realized, “That was me. I went to the Grand Canyon, New York, Hawaii, Alaska etc.” I look at those pictures as a reminder that I still enjoyed life, no matter my size. Now I’m going to continue to enjoy life, but healthier!
Oh and by the way, my husband is on the shots now too for his A1C. He has lost weight as well. His doctor was mine - suggested the same shots to Greg as he did to me and said he will be curious as to my husband’s results, because Greg had a gastric bypass a number of years ago. He did lose a lot of weight from it and he did bring his A1C level down, but it still is in the diabetic range. Greg’s medicine is through the insurance company.
When my brother saw me recently and saw the weight loss, he told me, “I feel like I have my sister back again.” I feel like the younger me too. This is my forever journey to being healthy. It’s not a quick, cheap fix, but it’s well worth it! I know the shots help with the A1C and the feeling of hunger. I know it takes work (eating healthy and exercise - no new news there) to get the weight results. And, the shots, for me, are Worth. Every. Single. Penny.
Pictures prior to the shots. The height of my weight was 190.
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