Ever since my father died of weight loss-related complications, I've allowed myself to be a guinea pig for nearly every "solution" to the obesity challenges. I was on Phen-fen before it was taken off the market, I was on Belviq before it was taken off the market, and I recently completed an experiment with Saxenda over the course of three months (and I suspect it won't be taken off the market.)
I am well aware that this sub is for "...healthy and sustainable methods of weight loss..." but I also know that it's important to peek over to the "dark side" every so often to see why healthier weight loss is better.
Ok, with that out of the way, let's get started.
If you're not familiar with Saxenda, you can read more about it here by the name: Liraglutide. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liraglutide
The short version is that it's a mediocre diabetes drug that found a second commercial life as a weight loss daily injection. Given my proclivity to experiment, I grabbed a bunch of sharps and dove in.
The way Saxenda works is that a "pen" allows you to start off with a low dose and ratchet up the amount over time until you're getting the full dosage. This ability to "titrate up" apparently serves more to test the response system of the patient than to smooth out side effects, based on the claims my doctor made.
The result on weight loss is supposed to be somewhere between 5-10% of total weight, again according to my doctor. However, she quickly followed up by telling me "This is a helping drug. It is not a life choice." So, score one for healthy approaches to weight loss.
I began turning myself into a daily pin cushion which wasn't that terrible given the very tiny, almost acupuncture-type, sharps. The only thing I had to remember was to inject on the right side on one day and alternate to the left side the next day. I did get some bruising in the area where I gave myself the injection but it was one out of every 5 or 6 injections and, given that I was injecting near my belt line, it wasn't noticeable to anyone.
One strange effect it had on me after a few days in was that I actually had more of a craving for healthy foods - which is weird because I almost never crave healthy foods. I was dipping celery sticks in techina and such for a snack and I noticed my appetite was decreasing.
The biggest impact started after about the first week. I felt full. It was a sensation that I thought I had lost long ago and one of the things that I dread when I'm not on an unhealthy weight loss regimen. But there it was and I recognized it immediately. I would eat something and I would get a feeling of satiety. After a few more days, if I even attempted to eat beyond that point of being full, I would begin to feel pain (mild discomfort really, with a possibility of true pain if I kept going.)
Nice! I like feeling full. I like calling out "Half, please!" to whomever is serving whatever is being eaten or served. It was like an experience I remembered from my youth although I don't really ever remember requesting half servings in my life.
The weight started to drop. I went from 215Kilos to 199 kilos in a fairly short amount of time. I started to get a bit cocky and, based on some Saxenda YouTube testimonials, I started skipping every other day to see if it would still work - and it did.
But all good things must come to an end and one of those "skipped days" turned into a "skipped week" and, being the guinea pig that I am, I decided to play it out and see what would happen.
It didn't take long (maybe four days?) for me to lose that wonderful feeling of being full. I ate an entire container of Ben & Jerry's one night. I couldn't stop eating some gross chocolate almond thing that I wouldn't have looked at twice while I was on Saxenda. And the realization hit me that I'm back to where I was before I got on this ride.
My total weight loss was somewhere in the 5-10% range, as indicated and I loved the feeling of eating less and eating healthier and I know I did my body some good over the two months I was on the injections. But now I'm back where I was and eating without feeling full reminds me why I love playing with the unhealthy solutions so much.
I don't really have much more to add except to say that this was an expensive experiment. I miss the ease of weight loss from Phen-fen. I miss the nearly perfect happy serotonin balance that came with Belviq. And now I miss the feeling of being full that Saxenda gave me.
I'm either back to a diet or I'll wait for the next drug to come along and keep the laboratory going.
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