danielrivera

Hey! I was wondering if anyone has experience with staying on a low dose of liraglutide (Saxenda) for the past several years? I've been on it since December 2020 after having to stop GLP-1s in 2019 because my insurance wouldn't cover them at that time, which created a significant financial burden for continued treatment. I'm currently taking 1.2 mg daily—this is within the typical dose range for weight management with Saxenda—but I started at 0.6 mg and gradually increased to this level. Over the course of my treatment, I have lost about 20 lbs. I am wondering what my options are for long-term maintenance, as I don't want to experience the mental and physical challenges I faced when stopping the medication previously. When I asked my doctor about staying on Saxenda long-term, she suggested I should be able to maintain my weight without medication, but didn’t provide specific strategies, which leaves me uncertain about how best to sustain my weight loss. I have read that Wegovy (semaglutide), another GLP-1 receptor agonist approved by the FDA for chronic weight management, might be an alternative if I decide to switch or for long-term use. However, I understand that insurance coverage for these medications varies and may change, but I haven’t seen confirmed details about coverage policies for Saxenda or Wegovy in 2024. Has anyone discussed long-term maintenance with their healthcare providers? What strategies or resources have helped you? Any personal experiences, tips, or advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!!

Hi Leigha, I know it's been a while but how did the surgery go? are you still experiencing incontinence?

I’ve had similar issues on occasion, but not as frequent as you describe. It usually happens if I eat something very high calorie or high fat such as a heavy cream sauce, fried food, ice cream with lots of whipped cream, etc. For me it’s also related to the quantity eaten, so if I’m having pasta (my favorite food) I’ll have a smaller portion and still enjoy it without the negative consequences. I think it’s just a matter of getting used to the way our bodies work after RNY, and maybe not eating certain foods in such large quantities anymore. We all know that after RNY we don’t need to eat as much, so if you’re already accustomed to small portions but still experience this on occasion, I wonder what food it is that’s causing the problem? Personally, I enjoy most everything with the exception of heavy fried foods and sugary junk food such as candy bars. But when I do indulge in a chocolate bar every once in awhile (not often), I usually have stomach issues afterwards. So my thought is that you might want to back off on certain higher calorie/fat/sugar foods for awhile, or at least eat smaller portions of them and see if it makes a difference. If not, then maybe your body just needs more time to adjust to the changes in eating habits required after RNY.

My sister had a lot of success with WW (before it was Weight Watchers) when she wanted to lose some extra pounds after her first child. Her second pregnancy and having twins caused her to put on much more weight than her first, and she just didn't have the same "pre-baby body" back like she wanted (she still looked great) . She joined WW and ended up losing 40 pounds in about six months! That was over a decade ago. Since then, she tried other diets, but none were as effective or sustainable for her.

Thank you for this! You're making me think of looking into it again, especially since I've been struggling again. Thank you for sharing your journey with us! I'm curious - what is Omeprazole? It's something that has been on my mind as well, but I don't know much about it. Is it a prescription?