New Weight Loss Drug SAXENDA

Joe Sixpack on 11/02/2018 - 08:56
Last edited 17/02/2018 - 08:08

I'm taking the new weight loss drug Saxenda. Already down 7kg after 1.5 months. Is anyone else taking it, and what are your experiences?

Note: this is a focused thread about Saxenda, not about:

How you think Saxenda is a scam
How you lost weight using a low carb diet
How you think this is a MLM effort
What you feel about obesity and dieting generally.

Thanks!

Edit: please note, I am not affiliated with any drug or drug company and I do not receive payment for discussing my weight or Saxenda (I wish I did!)

Health & Beauty

Comments

        • syousef on 17/02/2018 - 07:52

          @Praeto:

          What? I am not spruiking this drug. I am pointing out that hatred and blame of the overweight and obese, simplified in the minds of many as problems caused by glutony and greed, is not helpful. Changing lifestyle requires incredible effort. Nor is resisting hunger in the long term a task most can get on top of if it is extreme. Nor does every body process food in the same way.

          Did you read elsewhere on this thread where I pointed out that the tradeoff for side effects with this drug is a bad one?

          You might want to actually read your opponent's point of view before agreeing to disagree!

        • Praeto on 17/02/2018 - 10:43
          +2

          @syousef:

          You have 42 comments in this one thread alone.. I'm glad one of them is critical of the drug I guess? That's progress of a kind!

          Being overweight is caused by consuming more food than you need to. What ever reasons you may have for your food intake, or your lack of exercise.. there's not really any arguing with that. Eating that food is a choice.

          Your suggestion that "most people" can't maintain a healthy weight is undermined by the fact that obesity is a modern problem, which didn't affect most of our ancestors who did not have such sedentary lifestyles or abundance of processed foods. There are also plenty of countries around the world where healthier non-processed foods are a larger part of a normal diet, and they see far lower rates of obesity. It also completely ignores the fact that 40% of our population maintains a healthy weight.. those people aren't just genetically predisposed to being healthy, they're actively making choices every day that keeps them on that path.

          I once weighed 165kg. The reason for my weight gain was simple enough.. I have a job that keeps me sitting in front of a computer all day, and I ate too much. I ate when I was bored, happy, depressed.. I just ate, and I didn't maintain the active lifestyle I'd had all through high school. The turning point for me was when I started using MyFitnessPal to start tracking what I was eating, and realised just how bad things had become. Now I make choices every day to be better. Every day is a struggle. It's incredibly difficult to stop eating when I hit 1600 calories. There was a time when I could eat two entire pizzas for a single meal, so I understand having an insatiable appetite.. It's incredibly difficult to walk / jog 12km every day for two and a half years. It's incredibly difficult to pick up an apple instead of a handful of cashews. But they're all just choices, and you do yourself a disservice by believing that making those choices is beyond you. You also do yourself a disservice by pretending that the rest of the world doesn't have to make those same choices.

        • syousef on 17/02/2018 - 15:18
          -1

          @Praeto:

          What happens when you continually breed dogs with a trait? Why do you think people are different. Obese people are more likely to survive not only to breed but to support their offspring for longer thanks to modern medicine. That is just one thing that can change between generations. Also starvation is unpleasant and will be avoided if food is abundant.

          The world is not constrained by your lack of understanding and failure of imagination.

        • Praeto on 17/02/2018 - 15:44
          -1

          @syousef:

          People really will believe anything that means they don't have to take responsibility for their own actions. Jesus christ.

          I'm out, I hope you live long enough to find your magic pill.

        • syousef on 17/02/2018 - 18:00

          @Praeto:

          I have already stated that I don't think this "magic pill" is the answer. You don't seem capable of understanding my argument. Your straw man is really irritating.

          One day there may well be medication that addresses the underlying hunger and metabolism issues but this isn't it. But our medical scientists have to actually explore the real issues. There was a time when the clinically proven medicines we commonly use were considered magic too.

          Again, I'll use the example of alcohol. I never developed a taste for it, and in fact I hate the taste. As a result there is no possibility that I'm going to become an alcoholic. That has NOTHING WHATSOEVER TO DO WITH MY WILL POWER OR PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY.

          You aren't morally superior to the obese and you're not thin because you've taken personal responsibility. This is the misconception that has bred hatred of the obese.

          I'm so sick and tired of providing actual references only to be told that I'm wrong by people who never bother to look at them.

        • FW190 on 18/02/2018 - 16:35
          -1

          @syousef:

          Obese people are more likely to survive not only to breed but to support their offspring for longer thanks to modern medicine.

          obese people are more likely to breed aka getting laid? as a guy who used to be obese but now just under "overweight" I would beg to differ, although it does not seem to stop the "plus size" ladies………

        • syousef on 18/02/2018 - 19:13
          -2

          @FW190:

          I have been fat since getting my tonsils out at age 3 and I have 2 kids. Barny's been in the news for his escapades and he isn't a thin man. It isn't an insurmountable obstacle.

          That wasn't my point though so go read what I actually wrote. Hint: Survival for longer and supporting their offspring.

          I am so sick and tired of stupid straw men.

        • FW190 on 18/02/2018 - 20:15

          @syousef:

          maybe you and Barnaby can give me some pointers………… :(

        • [Deactivated] on 19/02/2018 - 10:02

          @syousef: You need to relax and accept that some things you cannot change, so why expend all that effort trying to.
          I recommend meditation.

        • syousef on 19/02/2018 - 10:43

          @4sure:

          Yeah. Would be nice if people engaging in a discussion provided something to support that position, or took the time to read the proof I supplied though. Also nice if people actually bothered to read the actual position being stated. Otherwise we're just arguing based on flawed human intuition and arguments that were never put forward. Clearly I'm asking way too much on this message board.

        • syousef on 19/02/2018 - 11:26

          @FW190:

          Ok you aren't likely to have been serious but here's my advice:

          1. Don't waste time on a girl that doesn't show any interest in you in the first place. If she's not attracted, move on. And don't waste any time being nasty to her over it either. You risk lots and look bad perusing her or making her feel bad and gain absolutely nothing. That time could be spent finding someone else to befriend or pursue romantically.

          2. Some people will try to set you up with someone else that's overweight because you have that in common and "can't expect the other person to be thin". I find that is complete baloney. I've met overweight people who wouldn't date other overweight people. Your weight doesn't immediately dictate your attitude or attraction to an overweight partner. And in all seriousness if you have the same medical issues as your partner it increases the risk to children if you have them. (Goes for many medical issues, not just weight).

          3. Barny would disagree but be a decent human being and treat your intended partner with respect instead of just trying to get one over on them. Sure you can be a "player" but then you'll only attract other players or waste opportunities with decent people on your games.

          With Barny, I think it's sheer arrogance and the promise of cash and influence. I don't play that way. I don't cheat on my wife and I don't have any intention to "trade in for a newer model". I reckon he'll end up paying for it in lots of ways. And it's nasty.

        • [Deactivated] on 19/02/2018 - 14:19

          have been fat since getting my tonsils out at age 3

    • Joe Sixpack on 16/02/2018 - 12:06
      -1

      I addressed these side effects further up the thread.

      I've been taking it 9 weeks and I feel great.

      • samfisher5986 on 16/02/2018 - 12:30
        +4

        Everyone feels great, until they don't.

        • Joe Sixpack on 16/02/2018 - 15:44

          That's pretty profound. Almost as good as the Mike Tyson saying: "Everybody's got a plan, until dey git hit in de mouf"

          I was feeling pretty bad at 105kg, feeling much better now. I'll update this thread if anything bad happens to me ;¬)

  • Shiny Mew on 17/02/2018 - 08:55

    Is there a drug that does the opposite by helping perennially underweight people to gain weight? Even with smoothies, I find it very difficult to eat over my recommended 2500 calories per day and have high cholesterol thanks largely to genetics.

    • haboutnnah on 17/02/2018 - 14:26
      -1

      try some nuts and adding oil to your food, and drinking more juice/smoothie over water (they both have water in them)

      • [Deactivated] on 19/02/2018 - 09:56

        Did you not read the bit about high cholesterol?

        • haboutnnah on 19/02/2018 - 16:37

          "Reducing the amount of unhealthy fats you consume is vital to lowering your high cholesterol"

        • [Deactivated] on 20/02/2018 - 10:28

          @tf2manu994: so why did you suggest that he adds more oil?

        • haboutnnah on 20/02/2018 - 18:42

          @4sure: >unhealthy fats

    • [Deactivated] on 19/02/2018 - 10:00
      +1

      Try Sustagen (Hospital Formula) or Fortisip.
      They are both supplements that give you a dose of balanced nutrients in a high-calorie form.
      High intensity training will help to reduce your cholesterol, but obtain medical advice first.

  • PotPlant on 18/02/2018 - 00:46

    I am a person who struggles with keeping off weight, but have been successful through a hard regime of cycling and eating better.
    As my mum used to say however, no obese person (sadly) ever came out of a concentration camp overweight. Ive always remembered this.

  • resubaehtgnolhcs on 18/02/2018 - 02:36

    @Joe Sixpack, I get the sense that all your arguments may be an attempt to justify the $400 per month it costs to take these injections, granted you are seeing some results! By the way, did you know that Saxenda started its life as a drug for type 2 diabetes, the weight loss was a (positive) side effect of the drug.

    • Joe Sixpack on 18/02/2018 - 08:59

      Yes, Sexanda started as Victoza for diabetes, and it's been around about 8-10 years already in the Victoza form.

      I'm not spending $400/month. I am only on syringe 3 (out of of 5 syringes in my first box). I'm using much less than the recommended dose, and using it every 2 days instead of every day. It still works!

  • Joe Sixpack on 23/02/2018 - 21:59

    Still losing steadily. Appetite very muted.

    • resubaehtgnolhcs on 27/02/2018 - 00:56

      It's great that you're getting results - you could be an 'early responder' to Saxenda - 'early responders' were defined in the Saxenda clinical trials as people who lost 5% or more of their body weight in the first 12 weeks of (maintenance) usage.

      As Saxenda works on satiety, what happens when you reach your goal weight and stop taking the medication? Is the expectation that your eating habits would have changed over the course of your treatment? This isn't clear in the clinical trials for Saxenda.

      The longest clinical trial for weight management with Saxenda is 56 weeks, where they saw a 6% decrease in mean body weight change at week 56 for patients on Saxenda (as part of a calorie deficit diet and exercise) - 50.7% of patients in the study achieved the goal of losing 5% of their body weight.

      • Joe Sixpack on 28/02/2018 - 08:11

        I've already lost close to 10% of my original bodyweight. I'm aiming for 20-30%.

        When I get to goal weight, I'm going onto a maintenance diet, where I still count calories but allow myself about 2200/day.

        • resubaehtgnolhcs on 28/02/2018 - 20:11

          I wish you all the best and keep us updated!

  • ethanscott on 24/04/2018 - 00:35
    +1

    I mean other than the fact that I occasionally get a weird kind of Migraine.
    I have noticed that every time I do face a side effect, it is mainly a headache on the left side of my head.
    I'm not sure if this means anything but I thought I could just share it here if it can help anyone in the future.
    Other than that I have reduced 8 kilos after 2 months on Saxenda. Which is great news for me!

    • [Deactivated] on 24/04/2018 - 11:19

      That's fantastic news. Hopefully your migraine is not one of those rare brain tumour side-effects.

      • Joe Sixpack on 24/04/2018 - 16:30

        I have headache too. It's no biggy. It gets better with time

    • Joe Sixpack on 24/04/2018 - 16:28

      Other than that I have reduced 8 kilos after 2 months on Saxenda. Which is great news for me!

      That's great, ethanscott! I'm down 13kg now and cruising lower. I am only using 1.2mg/day to take the edge of my appetite, and eating 1500-1650 calories per day

      I weigh everything on a postal scale and use a calculator to work out the calories. I have a list of foods and their calories per gram, for instance:

      FOOD ……. CALORIES/GRAM

      Asparagus …….. 0.2
      Avocado (flesh only) 2
      Bacon 2
      Banana (flesh only) 0.9
      Banana bread 3.1
      Beans Dry 3.4
      Beans garbanzo 0.84
      Beans kidney 0.8
      Beans pinto 0.85
      Beans refried 0.94
      Beans small white 1.4
      Beans sprouts Mung 0.3
      Biltong beef 2.5
      Brazil Nut 6.6
      Bread 2.34
      Butter 7.2

      You just take the grams you are eating and multiply by the cal/g figure. Easy!

  • Joe Sixpack on 26/06/2018 - 14:08
    +1

    Update from me, the orginal thread poster. The drug Saxenda no longer has the same effect on me, so I have to report that for both me and a close relative, who also took Saxenda, the effectiveness does wear off. The body gets used to it and it does not suppress hunger as well after a few months. My weight went from 104kg to 89kg, and now I've been stuck there for a couple of months. I did notice that if you take a break from Saxenda for a week or two, it kinda starts working again, so there's that. It's also good at helping you to maintain weight even after it stops helping you lose weight.

    So I am very, very grateful to Saxenda for getting me this far, but maybe it's time to try another drug, like Duromine (phentermine, and amphetamine-related drug). I'll be getting some in Spring when the warmer weather returns (I find dieting easy in warm weather, not so in cold weather). I already have a script. I'll take it for a couple of months only, no longer, and hopefully get down to the 70s. 75 is my ideal weight.

    Meanwhile, I'm eating 2000 cals a day, which keeps my weight stable.

    Good luck fellow dieters!

    • BarginHunter on 10/10/2018 - 14:33

      Did you try increasing the dosage of Saxenda?

  • Joe Sixpack on 04/10/2018 - 08:12

    Another update: I moved on to the drug DUROMINE and lost another 4kg, now 85kg. Unfortunately, I had to stop taking the Duromine because I had a dizzy spell and suspected that the drug was affecting my heart.

    • syousef on 04/10/2018 - 12:30
      -2

      If you keep taking different drugs for weight loss you are bound to do permanent damage to one or more of your vital organs. Heart, kidneys, liver etc. If it were as easy as going on a merry-go-round of different drugs no one with money would choose to be overweight. It's your body. Be careful you don't do more harm than good.

    • knk on 11/10/2018 - 11:00
      -2

      Just learn to diet jesus christ.

      • syousef on 12/10/2018 - 15:05
        -1

        90%-95% of diets fail. It doesn't freaking work. If you just keep yelling at overweight people, it won't get any better.

        • knk on 12/10/2018 - 17:27
          -1

          If you eat less calories you lose weight. It's science.

          Fad diets sure, are generally ineffective I'll agree.

          I'll keep yelling all I want until people realise the key to losing weight is putting down the fork.

          • syousef on 12/10/2018 - 17:42
            -1

            @knk: Oh brother, here we go again. It isn't just "fad diets".

            The human body is not a closed system. The second law of thermodynamics isn't enough. Science takes into account that :
            1. The human body doesn't use the energy into the food at 100% efficiency and that it's possible for 2 people to eat the same amount of food and do the same amount of exercise and one to gain weight but not the other.
            2. People experience hunger differently. It's a very strong motivator. Will power isn't enough.
            3. Not everyone that is overweight is sufficiently healthy to do effective regular exercise.

            Want some science?

            BBC documentary Why are thin people not fat?
            https://vimeo.com/188835636
            https://player.vimeo.com/video/188837113

            And if you want it from a doctor who's had his own medical struggle (and now regrets the lack of compassion he had shown earlier obese patients).
            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3oI104STzs

            How about a psychologist?
            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jn0Ygp7pMbA

            Or a geneticist? (Royal Institute Lecture)
            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOJYTMe_bp4

            95% of diets fail within 5 years. It is not acceptable to simply state that 19 in 20 people are broken by choice.
            https://danceswithfat.wordpress.com/2011/06/28/do-95-of-diet…

            Plenty of articles linking genetics to obesity
            http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2013/07/obesity-gene-linked-h…

            Recent news about isolating genes that make Labradors food obsessed.
            http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-05-04/faulty-gene-may-explai…

            Incredibly slim odds of an obese person actually losing the weight and keeping it off.
            https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/07/150716180913.h…

            Reducing Calorie Intake May Not Help You Lose Body Weight
            https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5639963/

            Are you interested in science or just interested in putting people down? It doesn't matter how much you yell - your yelling won't fix the problem. If your way worked there would be fewer fat people all the time as it has become increasingly politically correct to put them down.

            I have a lot more I can share, but this goes predictably on this miserable board where popularity wins over truth and bullying abounds. I will post the links. There will be a bunch of people who will dismiss it without actually refuting any of the evidence (most won't even look at the links), and what I put up will be down-voted into oblivion. People have time for moon hoaxes, anti-vax nonsense, climate change denial and flat earth nonsense, but present actually science and it's all too hard.

            But one last one for now…

            The biggest killer of 15-44 year olds of both genders is not obesity. It is suicide. Making people who can't help their obesity feel worthless is not going to improve their health.
            http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected]/mf/3303.0

            • knk on 14/10/2018 - 20:15
              -1

              @syousef: sounds like you're in denial

              • syousef on 14/10/2018 - 20:54
                -1

                @knk: Won't look at any evidence, imagines he is going to single handedly yell at fat people until they lose weight, but I'm the one in denial? Yeah right mate.

  • Jesstified on 14/10/2018 - 01:18

    Long shot I know but I am trying to help a friend. I'm not interested in anyone's judgements or opinions - you don't know her or me so save it. How can you find a gp who prescribes this? She has seen a few doctors, even with a referral from a nutrtionalist and the answer is generally they do not prescribe that but they can offer duromine and or lap band survey as options (probably more $$$ in kickbacks I spose).
    She meets all the indicators that it would be safe and effective for her, but cannot find a gp willing to prescribe or even take her enquiry seriously. If anyone has reccomendations for Melbourne gp's I'd be very grateful

    • Joe Sixpack on 25/11/2018 - 13:20

      That's a ridiculous question because any GP will prescribe it if your BMI is over 30. Just ask for it.

  • Joe Sixpack on 25/11/2018 - 13:23
    +1

    UPDATE: Started Saxenda again and found that the tolerance to the drug has gone away to an extent. Taking 1.2mg/day and starting to lose again, now 84kg (my lowest weight since 1997, so exciting!)

    • auna on 25/11/2018 - 15:04

      I’m jealous! I’ve lost 86kg but still a whiles away till your weight!

      My BMI is still 30.3 so I would still apparently qualify 😂

      • Joe Sixpack on 25/11/2018 - 15:15

        Yes, you qualify, now all you need is about $350-400 to buy a course of it.

    • Joe Sixpack on 13/12/2018 - 10:53
      Oh oh!
      After initially thinking that I had reversed my tolerance to Saxenda by staying off it for a few months, I find that it has little to no affect on my appetite after using it a short while.
      So the tolerance comes back very quickly the second time around.
      So once you develop a tolerance, the drug is a waste of time and money.
      • syousef on 13/12/2018 - 11:01

        That's not good news but could be worse. I've had relatives do permanent harm to liver and kidney function trying various things.

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