Good morning,

I'm new to the forum and so far have just read the messages, rather than jump in and post. I started my journey for surgery on 12/26/19 through the local Veteran's Affairs clinic. My primary care provider had experience by prescribing Saxenda to patients and I was quickly approved for it. Today was day 3 of the prescription and I am still at the smallest dose of .6 mg on my way in 4 weeks to the full 3 mg dose. In the VA, you have to be in the move program for at least 3 months and then the primary care team (along with the nutritionists) present your case to the bariatric surgery team. I am scheduled to have my case presented on April 3rd and hoping for surgery in the next 30 days following. In the interim, I am on Saxenda (injection med) to help facilitate the weight loss process as they have stated many times that the more weight you lsoe pre-surgery, the better chances for success. I started the process (I am 6 feet tall) at 351 lbs and weigh in daily through my VA assigned scale. Today I am at 337 lbs, which means -14 lbs since 12/26. Ultimately, the process is working and I am excited to get through 2020 with a successful surgery and lifestyle change!

New Jason in 2020 & 2021!!!

Welcome and good luck on your weight loss journey.

I used Saxenda during my 6 month insurance approval process. I absolutely loved it! I was able to lose about 20 lbs within 4 months. Good luck with everything!

Good luck! I have been on saxenda for 14 months and the firs maybe five months it really worked and then it just stopped being effective and I only lost now fifty pounds in a little over a year. But I guess it’s still in the right direction. I am still in the stage of trying to get all my testes done. Hope it works better for you!

Great to hear that you all had moderate to mild success. I wanted to love it, unfortunately it made me very sick and I had to discontinue using it.

I increased my Saxenda injection to the 1.2 mg for week 2 yesterday. For anyone starting Saxenda, I recommend starting it on a Saturday or Sunday as the increase can give you a worn down feeling as your body adjusts to the increase. The only side effect so far has been a feeling of a sour stomach and loss of appetite (that one's good). I weighed in this morning at 325.5 lbs, so nearly -16 lbs in 1 week of Saxenda and 3-1/2 weeks of intermittent fasting, portion control and carb reduction (just trying to avoid major carb intake). I feel good, but haven't noticed any weight loss in the mirror....yet. Thanks for the positive vibes and comments, I'm trying!

I did intermittent fasting and calorie tracking on my fitness pal, shooting for at or under 2000 calories per day. I also started exercising 4 to 5 days a week. I think working out really helped with my recovery from surgery.

Your surgery date says 1/16/2020, yet you said exercise has helped post surgery. from 6 days ago????

I started the whole process of getting approved in July 2019. My BMI at that time was 64 and even my insurance didn't require any weight loss during the 90 day PCP visits, my surgeon wanted me to get down to a BMI of 50. I started tracking calories and exercising to do that. I was planning on having surgery in December 2019, but my insurance wouldn't cover the original surgeon I chose so i had to switch. Luckily my new surgeon was able to use all my previous work and tests to get me approved. From July 2019 to Jan 16 I lost about 90 lbs. That and being in better shape from exercising is what has helped me recover so quickly in my opinion. My advice is to do whatever you can now exercise wise because it will help you later after surgery.

oh, ok...I get it and will keep that in mind as I am about 4 months from surgery.

I am almost 3 weeks into Saxenda and Sunday I will go from 1.8 to 2.4 mg dose, so one more week until the full 3.0 dosage. I have had zero side effects from the medicine and want to just ramp up to 3.0 but I assume there is a reason to keep the dose on the ramp up, rather than the full. I'm -20 lbs in the first month and I couldn't be any happier!

-20 in 2020!!

I am now 10 days into the full 3mg dose. The side effects, if any, have been minimal for me. I have had some general sour stomach, other than that, not much negative from it. My appetite has decreased substantially, but my late night cravings for a sweet snack have not left completely. With the medicine, I've also started the intermittent fasting, not eating anything until 10AM. Once I eat my lunch, I am ready to eat dinner at 6PM and typically the late night cookie or jello cup goes down. Overall I feel good having dropped 26 lbs in 6 weeks, but most of the loss came in the first 4 weeks with the new medicine and reduction in alcohol. I'm still having a glass of wine or two, but not the daily 2-4 drinks prior to the new year. Overall, I like the appetite suppressant....yet it's the lifestyle change that has me wanting more.