To anyone who might find this useful, I wanted to share my weight loss experience with Saxenda (drug you subcutaneously administer, daily). First comment - look at the FDA data for how people respond on average. But for those of you that want some first hand, anecdotal information (the least trustworthy for a scientist, but also sometimes the kind of information you don't find in an FDA report) here was my experience. (For background, the first 5 weeks on Saxenda, you increase the dosage from 0.6 mg to 1.2, mg, 1.8, , 2.4, 3.0 mg over 5 weeks so your body gets used to it.)
Day 0: Male, 42 yrs old, weight 223 lbs, height 5' 11.5 inches. BMI =30.5 (obese). Only health problem diagnosed was moderate sleep apnea.
Day 1 through 7 - 0.6 mg shots, daily.
This first week on the medication (taken at night before bed), I did not feel hungry, but my stomach felt empty. Like there was a void in my stomach. I could clearly recognize I was not eating as much, and my stomach was empty, but I was not hungry. On the third day, I said screw it, even though I am not hungry I will eat my favorite chinese food for lunch. That night, at 3 am, I woke up in horrendous pain, as I could feel the chinese food course through my bowels over 30 minutes, and finally be eliminated. My doctor had warned me "Listen to your body, don't eat fatty foods, eat high fiber foods, vegetables, and only eat when you are hungry." So I did listen to my body the rest of the first week. I was repulsed by the idea of fatty foods, and avoided them. (From watching a youtube video, it appears many people stop increasing the dose due to this type of experience.)
Day 7 through 14 - 1.2 mg shots, daily
By day 7 I was down to 218 lbs. This second week my appetite declined further on the higher dose. I listened to my body which wanted to avoid fatty foods, had no more bouts of middle-of-the-night bowel aches. Two side effects were, due to my reduced eating, I noticed my energy levels dropping a lot in the afternoons (probably sugar levels? but no actual test done) . So I actually started eating candy every other day in the afternoon. Secondly, I was not getting a good night sleep - tossing and turning in the middle of the night, but not fully waking up. I also noticed I was (for the first time) forgetting whether I ate lunch, and not being hungry from missing it. I will say that the "empty stomach, void feeling" from the first week was still there, just to a lesser degree.
Day 14 through 21- 1.8 mg shots, daily.
By day 14 I was down to 215. This third week, of the increased dosage, changed everything for two reasons. First, the higher does completely removed the "empty stomach, not hungry" feeling. Now, from Day 14 onwards, I was just not hungry. There was no signal from my stomach telling my brain it was empty. Additionally, for some reason, I didn't have the drops in energy in the afternoons. I was feeling good this week. The second reason was I realized that perhaps taking the shot in the morning, upon waking up, would be better than at night right before bed. It turned out this was huge. I'm a light sleeper, and Saxsenda, even without fatty foods, occasionally had my intestines doing extra contractions. They were not painful, they were just there, and my body registered them when I was sleeping - leading to listless sleep. During the day it was barely noticeable (I could distract myself with work). But at night, asleep, it would make my sleep agitated. Taking it in the morning meant I got a great night sleep, and lost weight. Specifically, I have observed that 4 hours after the shot, my intestines start doing a non-painful "dance".
Day 21 through 28- 2.4 mg shots, daily.
By day 21, I was down to 212. At this point, I was getting great sleep, feeling good, eating less, and listening to my body to avoid fatty foods. Additionally, I had more energy during the day. I strongly suspect my sleep apnea decreased (although not tested with any phone apps, etc!). Sleep apnea is strongly correlated with weight. And I seemed to make a transition - I was no longer tossing and turning - I would wake up in the same position I fell asleep in 7 hours earlier - and I had more energy. So overall was feeling good.
Day 28 to 35 - 3.0 mg shots, daily.
By Day 28, I was down to 210. No change in feeling from the previous 2 weeks. Got random complements from 5 different people - coworkers and family - that I was looking good. And got a girls phone number after meeting her on an airplane. (And no, that never happened before.)
One thing I will say that I noticed (which is an anecdote, and should be taken with a huge grain of salt) is that I think some spider veins on my cheek and nose became more prominent after being on Saxenda. Have no idea if this was caused by the medication. But again, this is an anecdotal report.
In summary, I have had a good experience with Saxenda. If you look at the FDA data, the median patient loses about 9% of body weight in the long run. So I might be just over halfway to the weight loss I can expect (median target = 202 lbs). Hope this helps anyone considering this weight loss drug. I know I would have found it useful.
Additional comments:
- Administering the drug was not painful, and left no marks on me.
- My insurance covers the cost for obese people (BMI > 30) or overweight people (BMI > 25) who have at least one weight comorbidity (such as sleep apnea).
- Once you start, you do not need to keep the drug refrigerated. So you can carry it around with you or when traveling.
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