Wife is due in June and is already complaining about the weight-gain. As a ‘push present’, she’s requesting Ozempic. (I find dietary and exercise discipline cheaper, but each to their own.)
I know Ozempic is in short supply in Australia. Does anybody here have experience getting it supplied? Are there any reliable overseas providers?
Being fat also has side effects, such as death
I dont think that side effect is exclusive to overweight people….
@SBOB: I didn't say it was, I said being fat increases it.
By your logic everyone should smoke two packs a day because you can still get lung cancer without it
I didn't say it was, I said being fat increases it.
Well, you didn't, hence the off handed joke comment.
Being overweight has side effects such as a reduced lifespan would be more like what you meant.
It's hard to just not eat. I know because I've successfully lost weight doing it. It's possible but it's damn hard.
People with busy lives and kids and stuff just can't always afford to be hungry 24/7
Unless you're diabetic it'll cost you around $300-400.
Please don't do this. It's hard enough for people who actually need it, to get it.
I have a friend who gets the ozempic from china for about $150 a month but has to reconstitute it(its so dodgy) but its much cheaper.
No idea if its even ozempic, it could just be corn starch for all i know.
Rat poison with a bit of sugar flavoring more like it.
That's literally how much it cost to get a legitimate prescription from a bricks and mortar pharmacy over here. He's saving nothing and putting who knows what inside him.
What a moron, you can get Mounjaro from a pharmacy for $230/month
Mounjaro is $389.99 for a month - https://www.chemistwarehouse.com.au/buy/146374/mounjaro-kwik…
Wegovy is $249.99 for a month for up to 1MG dose, which covers most people - https://www.chemistwarehouse.com.au/buy/143699/wegovy-1-0mg-…
Minus ~$75/month if you have Extras health coverage with many health funds for weight management.
Mounjaro 5mg (maintenance dose) is $230/month if you buy the 15mg pen ($690) and use 1/3 of it each month (20 clicks = 5mg), doctor said it's fine as long as it's kept refrigerated and you use alcohol wipes on the barrier pad afterwards.
The maintenance dose for Wegovy is 1.7mg, you're only meant to use 1mg as a stepping-stone, so really it's $370/month.
@Jolakot: I'm on Wegovy, started on 0.25mg as did my better half, now on 0.50mg and definitely don't need a higher dosage, been on it for over 6 months, eating 1 meal a day and not hungry at other times.
My doc has advised he rarely prescribes more than the 1mg dose long-term and I'm on half of that (lost 18KG in the first 3 months).
Will probably move to 1.0mg as it'll last me 2 months, in other words, $250 for 2 months minus $75 back from the health fund. Effectively $175 for 2 months is incredible value IMO.
Great idea re the 15mg pen.
@SimAus007: Interesting, I was on Wegovy initially (started on 0.25, then 0.5, then 1, then 1.7), the schedule my doctor had me on put 1.7mg as the 'proper' dose, with every dose under it as a loading dose.
I moved to Mounjaro to save money as the $370/month was a bit much, works better for me too, less nausea and reflux.
Some doctors are still writing Ozempic scripts for weight loss despite what they've been told. 1mg Ozempic shouldn't cost more than $150/month.
its literally just adding bacteriostatic water using a peptide calculator for dosing. It's a LOT less scary than it seems
Reconstituting it isn't the dodgy part. That's quite normal and that's sometimes how it comes as official prescription in America.
I don't know how the top reply isn't,
YOUR WIFE IS F*(!%Tg PREGNENT, weight gain is normal, weight loss is normal postpartum with breastfeeding, she shouldn't be in a calorie deficit until she stops breastfeeding. Also wake up! Despite what social media tells her, and you, her body is unlikely to ever go back to what it was. Welcome to parenthood.
Honestly why did I have to get to page 3 to see this comment…
I belive the phrase below explains her mindset:
As a ‘push present’, she’s requesting Ozempic.
Semaglutide lowers one's weight only as long as it is taken for a lasting period. That means at least 400 bucks/month (4800/year) until your wife decides to do something else. The request for semaglutide suggests that she does not want to do anything else (i.e. mentally or physically hard). On the other hand, maybe losing weight will make the hard stuff easier, such that she can transition after a few months. The injection does nothing to fitness and gives none of the non-fitness benefits that come from exercise.
However, it sounds like there are more important underlying issues around:
a. your wife taking medical advice from TikTok.
b. you going along with it despite common sense.
c. unaddressed underlying issues that led to a. and then b.
d. your wife taking other life altering advice from TikTok.
If your wife doesn't lose weight, she might look at the child and think "you made me fat".
Perhaps it's also time to consider if a vasectomy is a better option, seeing that the arrival of a child is less a gift than semaglutide.
Just as an FYI, these are relevant snippets from the product information on Ozempice (via eMIMS):
In lactating rats, semaglutide was excreted in milk. A risk to a breast-fed child cannot be excluded. Semaglutide should not be used during breast-feeding.
Nausea occurred in 17.0% and 19.9% patients when treated with Ozempic 0.5 mg and 1 mg respectively, diarrhoea in 12.2% and 13.3% and vomiting in 6.4% and 8.4%.
Most events were mild to moderate in severity and of short duration. The events led to treatment discontinuation in 3.9% and 5.9% of subjects. The events were most frequently reported during the first months on treatment. Patients with low body weight may experience more gastrointestinal side effects when treated with semaglutide.And
EDIT
And this is what the Australian Medical Handbook says about GLP-1 analogues and weight loss:
Weight loss is associated with all GLP‑1 analogues; in clinical trials, overweight or obese patients had modest weight loss (mean of 2–5 kg over about 30 weeks). Post hoc analyses of the open-label studies suggest weight loss may be slightly greater with semaglutide (at its highest dose) than other GLP‑1 analogues, but more data are needed. Long-term effect on weight is unknown.
4800/year for 2-5kg doesn't seem like good value for money in the OZbargain spirit.
Also Ozempic (Semaglutide) and it's associated side-effects are for the up to 1mg dosage given to diabetics.
Wegovy (Semaglutide) that is prescribed for weight loss has a maintenance dosage of 2.4mg, and with it higher chance / severity of side-effects.
https://www.wegovy.com/taking-wegovy/dosing-schedule.html
https://www.chemistwarehouse.com.au/buy/143701/wegovy-2-4mg-…
You need to look for Wegovy, the non-diabetic version. It is the exact same thing, produce for weight loss/hormone issues. They are stopping the supply of Ozemptic to non-diabetic persons.
Yes I do know of a reliable overseas provider. I don't know if I'm allowed to post the link here tho? Will I get banned if I say the name of the website?
Why would you risk a dodgy product when it's easy to get here from a pharmacy? I can understand saving a buck but geez
Alot of people aren't fat enough to get a prescription, but are still fat.
How does that work when it needs to remain refrigerated for efficacy?
I've only used the pills of semaglutide myself but they work without being refrigerated. However also officially the injectable semaglutide is supposed to be used within 56 days if left unrefrigerated, and it takes about half that time to receive, it so I imagine it would retain effectiveness (but I'm not a doctor and this is not medical advice).
If you're diabetic I definitely wouldn't (profanity) with stuff off the internet, but since I'm just trying to lose weight it doesn't really matter if it loses some effectiveness, I'll just be slightly more hungry.
Only good for 56 days if kept below 30 degrees. Temperatures when being shipped from overseas are likely to exceed that if coming here in an Australian summer, even if kept in an Esky with an ice pack.
@Blargman2001: It's not gonna suddenly deteriorate to nothing all at once because it got to 30.01 degrees. That's not how it works.
The official guidance has a massive safety margin built in and is aimed at diabetics who need very precise quantities for medical safety.
It generally still works if unrefrigerated for some time:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Ozempic/comments/115w6ac/what_is_th…
@MrMcHairyHead: The 30 degrees isn't just about stability, there is also bacterial growth issues for these things. If I shipped you some cooked chicken that spent 10 days unrefrigerated in the mail, you wouldn't eat it. Yet some people would happily inject a drug that they know hasn't been stored properly. The 56 day guideline is also for the official Novo product which is made under sterile conditions. The AliExpress version may not be, so the starting amount of bacteria in the product is already significantly higher than the official one. I'm not saying you're going to die straight away but there are risk.
@Blargman2001: thats why it comes in a lypholized powder puck in a sterile vial you add bacteriostatic water too, once reconstituted it needs to be in the fridge, before that you its fine
Oh well (profanity) it, it's a website called DashPCT
You ordered the 5mg Semaglutide vial by Deus, is that correct?
Yep that's right. Up until now I've been using the 14mg Semaglutide pills which work great.
I will be trying it from the 5mg vial this weekend.
@MrMcHairyHead: The issue with the pills is you need them daily, right? Which doesn't make it that much cheaper?
Even if she experienced weight loss on it, she'd have to keep on taking it to keep the weight off. Does she really want to inject herself for the rest of her life? Just breastfeed for as long as possible. I hadn't been as skinny in years after months of feeding bubs. Generating milk is quite taxing.
Ehh not necessarily. Pregnancy is a specific situation that changes how your body works and your hunger levels and commonly makes people put on weight. When she's not pregnant it'll be easier to maintain a lower weight, but it might be tough to lose it.
It's not just pregnancy either. I'm using appetite suppressants to lose weight more easily, but I mainly put it on from drinking beer, which I've quit entirely. So that whole source of calories is just gone.
Have you ever breastfed someone before?
I'm pretty sure it's common for people to put on weight during pregnancy and keep it on…
I just learned that Ozempic works by triggering a process similar to ketosis.
So technically, a free Ozempic would be a strict keto diet for 3-4 weeks.
Except with these new compounds, you get the effect pretty much right after you inject yourself, no self-discipline required.
Sure, but paying for something that can be got for free isn't very ozbargin-y now is it 😂
Actually, most people I know who are taking Wegovy are saving what it costs per month in food alone, in addition to much-needed weight loss. I'd call that a win-win.
They are just eating healthy amounts of food now.
There are potential mental health side effects to the use of ozempic and basically all dieting drugs (probably inevitable given the body's reactions to losing the fat stores it thinks it needs to live). Given the risks of post-partum depression this seems to be the worst time outside of actively being preggers to start taking new drugs. I know 3 people on ozempic (2 for beetus, 1 for thinness), and while they're doing ok, just the loss of enjoyment from eating food has literally taken some of the light out of their eyes, even ignoring any direct mental health effects of the drug.
It's basically a temporary gastric band, I don't think anyone has lost weight and not been miserable the entire time, we didn't survive famines and ice-ages by discarding fat-stores
"just the loss of enjoyment from eating food has literally taken some of the light out of their eyes"
But you get that on any diet. It's not as if there are other ways to lose weight.
You get release valves on most diets for the times you're feeling particularly shit. Cheat days, things that are surprisingly low calorie so you eat until you're actually full, small portions of things you really love. The people I know on Ozempic have literally lost the drive to eat and the enjoyment of eating.
Losing the drive to eat is the point. That's why people use it.
@MrMcHairyHead: No, losing the drive to eat is a means to an end. It's hard to keep taking a drug that leaves you miserable with little to no psychological release valves. People on normal diets are able to give themselves a day off without many problems, as I just said. You can't just take a day off Ozempic. And all the weight loss in the world isn't going to help you if you end up with full-blown depression out of it.
@Parentheses: That's such an insane take. You're not going to get full blown depression from not being hungry a few days. Toughen up. Find something else you enjoy. People live with full on disabilities, you'll live thru a few months of low appetite.
If your one and only "psychological release valve" is food then no wonder you're fat.
@MrMcHairyHead: Lol. There's a lot of hate you're spewing here, and far too little ability to read. I am not on Ozempic, nor am I dieting. I do have eyes, however, and the ability to empathise with others. You would know this if you could be bothered or capable to read the rest of the thread you're replying to. 2 of the people I know who are taking it aren't even taking it for weight loss, you judgemental ass.
It's not about having only one psychological release valve. It's about having the ability to stop doing a psychologically stressful thing. Like how it is perfectly reasonable to go to work for a day, but if you go to work every single day you will end up with mental health problems. It is perfectly reasonable to not enjoy your food for a while, but if you never enjoy food again (especially in a world where we tie almost every social activity to some level of eating and drinking), that's going to have an impact on your mental health. Ozempic is not a temporary fix, the people who are on it are generally going to be stuck on it for life.
Which is not a guaranteed end of the world, no, but in the context of someone who has just given birth and at risk of post-partum depression, is probably not a fantastic choice.
Seriously though, I feel bad for the people with weight issues in your life. Learn how to be a better person, you look like a real prick right now.
Ozempic is only available for diabetes in Australia. It is on the PBS.
Wegovy (The same stuff) is available in Australia for weight management. Typically though you need a BMI over 30 and/or another disease. It is not on the PBS.
She's gaining weight because the baby is developing inside of her. Her weight will naturally go down once the baby and placenta are out. Additional weight may be gained in breast tissue for breast-feeding. Honestly, it just sounds like she has some body-image issues. Worry about returning to a healthy weight and getting in-shape after the birth. Don't get hung up on it now, and don't necessarily expect to return to post-pregnancy weight. It is what it is. She doesn't need weight-loss drugs
good luck mate, since you're on your 3rd I'm sure know the difficulties.
There isn't enough data to safely say that Ozempic wouldn't pose any risk to your breastfed child, considering that there has been detectable amounts passed through the breastmilk of animals in studies conducted, and that it has a long half-life. You would have to imagine that would also adversely affect breastmilk supply/quality due to lack of adequate nutrition from not eating enough. There is being lazy and then there's potentially putting your child at risk due to laziness.
They don't want evidence, data or anything other else, than the validation and source of their shortcut.The amount of ppl taking this shit for weight loss has become and epidemic.Another social media driven pile on. It's laughable that midst a cost of living crisis some people can afford to overeat, and then take expensive drugs to deal with it.
None of these (Ozempic, Wegovy, Monjaro, etc.) compounds she be used if the user is breast feeding, as they pass through breast milk to the infant…
Ozempic is reserved for those with diabetes, whilst Wegovy (same Semaglutide compound but higher dosage) is availble for use in weight-loss for individuals with BMI above a certain score..
Some things to consider OP:
It doesn't work unless you change your lifestyle anyway.
The rebound weight gain on it is enormous if you don't change your lifestyle. You will regain much more than you lost.
Some people, and may be more than some, may need to stay on it forever because of said rebound. That's pretty expensive.
Some people can't tolerate it at all due to nausea and their loss of relationship with food.
That said having been pregnantI totally get where she's at, unlike many of the commenters here. What our bodies go through to bring life into this world is nothing that can really be described. Getting to bring home the baby is wonderful, but it comes at a high cost for the woman so I absolutely get it.
May I suggest that if you do that, suggesting getting her a personal trainer and a meal delivery service (you'll thank me for that later) as a push present (for the love of god discuss it with her first), and then Ozempic? The PT is not for weight loss, it's for muscle and bone strength, it's for sleep deprivation management, and it's for lifestyle change. Once that's up and running then fine, go for the Ozempic if she still wants to.
I believe Lizzo is a good alternative
This is what's wrong with today's society!
Wife is due in June
Not safe in pregnancy. Category D "Drugs which have caused, are suspected to have caused or may be expected to cause, an increased incidence of human fetal malformations or irreversible damage"
OP says she's aiming for size 6 via Ozempic.It's the reward required,apparently.
Make of that what you will about the over all attitude, given they both clearly know about what you just wrote because they are actively seeking a cheap supply line.Which of course means they did the due diligence.
So if someone wants to lose weight and walks in to a GP, is it expected that at least for the next 12 months the GP will not prescribe any form of Ozempic/Wegovy?
Wegovy, Yes (providing you meet guidelines), Ozempic, No, unless you have diabetes that can't be treated by other means.
It's a diabetic drug. No doctor will prescribe it unless they have T2 diabetics. People like you are why I find it hard to get.
Have you managed to convince your wife not to get it yet?
There's a "shortage" of Ozempic, also known under its active ingredient name semaglutide . So they have said that Ozempic is only available to those diagnosed with diabetes. But instead they offer Wegovy, which is the exact same drug, for a cost of around $100 more. Make no mistake, it is all about big pharma making money.
The shortage is nothing more than a phama scam..
Wegovy ends up costing far more at the maintainence dose of 2.4mg, v.s. Ozempic.
https://www.chemistwarehouse.com.au/buy/143701/wegovy-2-4mg-…
https://www.chemistwarehouse.com.au/buy/113907/ozempic-1-34m…
I can understand your wife's request, but you'd be doing her a favour by getting her a gym membership and access to a dietician so that the results can be longterm.
From what I understand, Ozempic will shed the weight but, if you don't make the lifestyle changes, you will put on more weight when you stop using it.
So many very judgmental comments and not very helpful.
I am on Wegovy from a doctor prescription. It is not cheap as some other commenters mentioned. Not had any issues with getting the script filled so far (for the first four dose levels). And no major side effects for me.
I understand why OP's wife want to try it, as a guy with two young kids and struggled with weight all over my life (the kids can make it hard to find time to exercise and I don't make the best decision on food all the time).
But make sure your wife gets proper medical advice and get it from real pharmacy (Chemist Warehouse is slightly cheaper). Don't trust the online service especially the dodgy compounded version of the drug.
Few vendors with stock.
"Push Present"
Peak ozbargain.
never thought i would heard something like that on here
This says they have too much mounjaro now?
https://youtu.be/_Jtsdhh3z-s?si=3RYt-5V2H_aAV_9w&t=268
I am still unclear as to the likelihood of success of someone getting possession of these products by walking in to a GP and saying they want it for weight management.
Going to say complicated to obtain, given my diabetic friend regularly has to go through half a dozen pharmacies in the cbd to find it, and they won't reserve stock for you to pick up no matter your situation.
does medicare cover this? asking for a slob cousin who doesn't wana go gym or train
Medicare does not cover it, If your cousin is diagnosed with diabetes he or she will be able to access Ozimpic under $40 dollars if not the doctors will prescribe Weagovy which will cost over $200
Making it simple:
Read that scientific results show an average of 10% weight loss with these drugs.
From experience, after three months I lost 10% with just eating sensibly.
Do what you want with this information.
eating sensibly and taking these tablets.
So less effective than something like Nicotine then, and probably more dangerous.
This isn’t “information” it’s just noise.
You haven’t compared two different approaches. Ozempic and “eating sensibly” are the same thing. Ozempic makes the patient eat sensibly.
They’re not losing weight from the magic power of drugs. They’re losing weight because it stops them eating.
Of course, self-motivation is a lovely idea. But obese people typically can’t do that. (Hint: it’s why they’re obese.)
Jane eats 10 donuts a day without Ozempic, and weighs 150kg. On Ozempic, Jane eats 5 donuts. That isn't sensible eating, just less bad.
Jim eats 10 oranges a day without Ozempic, and weighs 100kg. On Ozempic, Jim eats 5 oranges. That is much better than eating donuts. Same effect different outcome.
Ozempic doesn't make one eat sensibly. It merely makes on eat less of anything.
Semantic nonsense. Whether you call it "less bad" or "sensible" or whatever: they lose the weight. The ultimate goal is to get the obese patient to eat less and thereby lose weight. Whether they switch donuts to oranges… meh: as long as the needle moves.
@haemolysis: Purple is not the same as red, nor it is the same as violet, nor it is the same as indigo. Semantics matter. But hey, you do you.
Being fat also has side effects, such as death