ZepBound: 2-Month Update

I've just taken my tenth shot! I'm still on the 2.5mg dosage and have lost 18.5 pounds. I'm more than 15% of the way to my target loss of 120 pounds.

Some weeks it's seemed very slow, like I do all this work - weighing, measuring, exercise-ish - and the scale "only" moves by a pound. But then I look at the cumulative effects and am starting to see results. The middle number on my scale has finally moved! I am now in the 230s instead of the high 250s!

However...I have 6 more shots left at 2.5mg before I chat with the telehealth NP again, and am thinking at that point, I *might* want to bump up to 5mg. I'm doing okay-ish, but yesterday, the day before my shot, the food noise was LOUD. I gave in and ate two small bags of chips (320 calories total), but was able to cap it at that. And even with the chips, I was still under my TDEE for the day.  So I was pretty proud of myself! But ngl, the way the noise returned was frightening. Some days I wonder how much of my journey is the shot and how much is willpower, and well, I think yesterday answered that question! Scary.

Here's a secret: My prescribed dosage is 2.5mg, which equates to 50ml drawn from a vial. However, the vials hold more than that, so for the past 2 shots, I've drawn 65ml (30% more), which equates to 3.25mg. I've done this for a couple of reasons. First was that I noticed 2 weeks ago that I was feeling hungrier more often, which I assume was because my body was getting used to the medication so my digestion had sped back up. I don't know if this is actually true as I am an engineer, not a medical professional, but it seems to make sense. The other reason was that if I do go up to 5mg, it would make the transition less abrupt so side effects at the higher dosage would hopefully be more controllable.

I would really prefer to stay with the lower dosage, as the cost at 5mg goes up quite a bit - $450 for 4 vials instead of $300. I can afford it, but I'd rather not if I don't have to.

One thing that I find a struggle with is the waiting. Part of me feels like I'm just killing time until the weight comes off. Silly, I know, but it's hard to shake the feeling that my life is on hold. 

Another struggle has been the feeling of flatness. There's a name for it - anhedonia - which is basically emotional blunting, or a dulled response to things that were previously enjoyable. I notice this the most with my music - I have struggled to play anything for the past month! I tell myself that I'm just taking some time off, but really, it's the flatness. I will dig into this on the next post.




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pre-Zep: Senior Zep

Greetings, fellow old-ish people of size.  This week, I decided to give GLP meds a go.  I'm 61, female, 5'4", and as of this morning, 256.3 pounds. While I never thought of myself as super skinny, I weighed around 140 pounds a decade ago and wore size 6/8. Over time, this extra weight has affected my health. I tire easily, my blood pressure is high (I take Losartan), and I have frequent bouts of sciatica, carpal tunnel, and plantar fasciitis. In the intervening years, I've tried Weight Watchers and Noom, calorie counting, macro counting, low carb, plant-based. With each method, I lost a bit of weight, but old habits crept in after a few months. It's the food noise that seems to make everything fall apart. I can do great all day, then come eveningtime, food chatter gets the better of me. I am hoping GLP-1 will quiet this.   I'm waiting for the meds to arrive. Since my insurance doesn't cover this, I went through Walgreens. It was very straight forward. Mak...
Read more

ZepBound Week 1: Twelve Hour Mark

It's been twelve hours since the first injection. I've hit my protein and fiber goals, and am nearly at my water target.  So far I don't notice any changes to my appetite, although I'm only the lowest dose (2.5mg) and prepped the kitchen with plenty of options. I'm focusing on mainly whole foods, but did supplement with a protein shake and a protein bar for extra fiber.  I napped earlier, although I don't know if I was tired from the Zep or just tired from not sleeping soundly. I am hoping that as the weight drops off, my sleeping gets better. One side effect that's taken me completely by surprise though: the cold ! I'm in a 71 degree house, wearing multiple layers, and still shivering. It's like the chills that accompany a fever , but without the fever. I did some googling, and this seems to fairly common. It also seems to wear off, so hopefully I won't need to spend the summer bundled up.  The NP instructed me to get an A1c blood test before...
Read more

Zepbound Week 1: Twenty-four hours in

The chills finally subsided around 2:00 AM. I woke up way overheated from my 2 layers of clothes and 2 blankets.  It's about 9:30AM now and I'm feeling pretty good. Had my coffee (black), and feeling a very slight hunger pain . Not an intense, gotta-eat-everything pain; more of a "oh-I-should-eat-something" pain. I'm planning an egg sandwich using Dave's whole grain thin bread (the absolutely tastiest healthy bread out there!) with a few mushrooms on the side: 19.6g protein, 6.5g fiber.  I seem to be avoiding the issue of exercise , so I need to work that out.  Post-breakfast update: While I didn't have to force myself to eat, I definitely found myself eating more slowly. I wasn't ravenously shoving food into my mouth, but instead, taking small, thoughtful bites. This wasn't intentional, so I think it must be the Zep kicking in! Fingers crossed. 
Read more