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!!

My doctor recommended staying on a maintenance dose of semaglutide for life. My insurance requires me to try and lose the weight first, but then allows it for long-term use. I lost 30 pounds over about a year and a half, and am now at a 1 mg weekly injection (which is the maximum my doctor has prescribed for me) for maintenance.

My doctor told me that, in her opinion, stopping GLP-1s suddenly could cause a rebound effect and weight gain based on her experience with patients. I’m so thankful she suggested staying on it long term, but I also understand how insurance companies don’t want to cover something for life if they can avoid it.

Edit: I should add that my doctor said that, in my case, when you increase the dose, the body may build a tolerance and you could plateau. She advised that I may need to increase the dose as needed until I reach my maximum prescribed dose, at which point she would keep me there for life.

I've been on Saxenda for about three years. Started out at the higher dose and then was lowered to 0.6 mg a year ago and just stayed there. In my case, staying on a lower dose has worked well long-term, but I’d recommend checking with your doctor about what’s right for you.

I’ve been on Zepbound (tirzepatide) for about two years now and had a similar experience with my doctor. I was told that I’d be weaned off the medication once I reached a certain goal weight, but I also wasn’t given any guidance or resources on how to maintain the weight loss after stopping the meds.

However, after some research, I came across a paper discussing long-term GLP-1 treatment for chronic conditions like diabetes. Although it doesn’t specifically address weight management, the authors suggest that ongoing treatment could help sustain benefits. I found that point interesting, though I know treatment decisions should always be made with a doctor. The paper also mentioned the possibility of using different GLP-1 medications, which was relevant for me since I’m already on tirzepatide.

I reached out to my doctor again to talk about these findings, and she was receptive to discussing them further. She wasn’t familiar with that specific study but was open to considering its points. We’re now looking at how this might fit into my long-term maintenance plan.

While my experience hasn’t been entirely straightforward, I’ve found promising avenues for maintaining results through open communication and research. I found it helpful to share studies with my doctor to get her perspective.

I’ve been focusing on long-term weight management without medication, but I’m curious about others’ experiences with GLP-1 treatments like Saxenda or Wegovy. Has anyone found effective, safe ways to keep costs manageable through insurance, pharmacy programs, or discounts?

Is Saxenda still available? It was my stepping stone to Wegovy and honestly I liked it much much than Wegovy. I thought it worked better for me and I preferred the pen and the daily injection over the wegovy pen and doing it once a week. I was only able to get my hands on one box and it was impossible to get. It got to the point where it could have went generic but I don’t think anyone decided to run with that.

Longterm maintenance using weight loss meds can utilize a number of strategies. Tirzepatide (generic name for Zepbound and Mounjaro) is far more effective than semaglutide (generic name for Wegovy and Ozembic)...they all have the GLP-1 agonist but tirzepatide works on the GIP receptors too. BTW, if you can't afford to stay on the med, check on the Eli Lilly discount card or through Lilly Direct. There are also many legit compounding pharmacies that sell it cheaper.

You can do microdosing where you use just a very little amount of the med, such as 1.25mg of tirzepitide a week. This only works if you have a multi-dose pen or are drawing it up from a vial.

You can stretch out the frequency of administration from the usual every 7 days to every 10-14 days or more.

If you don't want to continue to lose weight but will stay on the med, you can increase your calories a little...just enough to not gain or lose.

Hope that might give you some ideas to discuss with your doctor.