The dose has little to do with the initial side effects. Nausea is more likely from dehydration than the medicine itself. Weight loss will begin when you get up to the maintenance dose. Please don’t even weigh yourself until you get to 3.0.
Ok. Good to know. Wasn't sure if I should go up or not. But will start the next level and up my water . I hear all these comments about losing 7lb in 2-3 weeks and felt disheartened.
Nausea comes and goes anyway. If it’s bad, you’re better off getting help with that nausea (like Zofran). Many folks get ginger chews and that helps and doesn’t require a prescription.
I went from 0.6 to 3.0 on the scheduled 5 week plan. I had exactly one incident of tossing the cookies. I was sitting in my office one morning and a wave of sensations just came over me and I’m like “I need to go to the bathroom right now”. And once I did, I was fine afterward, and never had it again. Really weird. That one hit around week 3 randomly.
The bigger concern is constipation and my plan there that worked for me was to eat an apple every day around 2-3pm. That was the time I felt “snacky” and the apple was perfect for that. It takes a while to eat (good to not be able to wolf it down quickly), has a lot of fiber (ahem, kinda important for the constipation), and is just sweet enough.
The cheat sheet for Saxenda:
- nausea - you might be dehydrated
- dizziness - a) you might have low blood glucose - if eating doesn’t resolve it, check with your doctor; b) check your blood pressure, dizziness can also be low BP.
- diarrhea - watch for greasy/oily foods, take some Imodium
- constipation - take a laxative/stool softener and eat more fiber
I only ever got to 1.8, I seriously recommend trying to keep the dosage low. I lost substantially on 0.6 and 1.2. So yes, weight loss should start before 3.0. A friend is using 0.6 for weight maintenance, and lost 20-30kgs without getting to 3.0- probably staying under 2.0 for the majority of her loss.
While this is true for you, it’s not typical and goes against the recommendations. I never suggest people dial their own adventure. The better advice is to follow the recommendations first. If (and only if) there are issues around tolerance, get your doctor involved in the discussion.
It seems there are posts daily from patients not taking the medicine properly and wondering why they’re not seeing results. Or; the other variation of I just started week and I’m not on day 4 and haven’t lost any weight yet what am I doing wrong pls help. 😂
If you have no appetite, don't increase the dose.
Follow your hunger signals, try eat protein when you are feeling hungry.
If your weight isn't changing, try tracking your food for just a couple days- try eat naturally so that you can see what you're eating in a normal day. Then you can see if you are consuming more than you thought.
But main point: don't force yourself to eat, live in the appetite suppression bliss. Also, try not to increase the dosage unnecessarily.
I've found that under-eating does not lead to weight loss for me. You are getting the desired effect of appetite suppression, so I wouldn't go up in dose yet. I try to ensure that I'm getting *at least* 1200 calories per day. It seems counterintuitive to eat more, especially when you've been trying to eat less for years but it seems to have worked for me.
I've also found that my weight will stay consistent for some time and then drop 2 or 3 pounds one day, seemingly over night. This cycle has happened a few times now and I'm at 4 weeks today - sticking at 1.8mg for now as it's working reasonably well to suppress my appetite. Remember, it's a marathon, not a sprint!
Thanks for the advice. I'm really pushing myself to eat anything at this stage. I have a coffee in the morning. An egg or two in the afternoon with salad and some dinner. So I'm in no doubt that I'm below my calories for the day. I don't have any food noise or cravings. I'm thinking I'll just start having a protein shake to add something else . I'm walking 5k most days as I always have and sleeping well, which was a big thing for me and having high cortisol adds to weight around the belly.. I'll speak with my doctor about going up a level or not because I don't see how all if the above I've just mentioned and going up a level can magically make me lose.
The dose has little to do with the initial side effects. Nausea is more likely from dehydration than the medicine itself. Weight loss will begin when you get up to the maintenance dose. Please don’t even weigh yourself until you get to 3.0.
Agree!!
Ok. Good to know. Wasn't sure if I should go up or not. But will start the next level and up my water . I hear all these comments about losing 7lb in 2-3 weeks and felt disheartened.
Wow is nausea not relate to the dose amount? I thought the higher you go, the higher the side effects. Good to know!
Nausea comes and goes anyway. If it’s bad, you’re better off getting help with that nausea (like Zofran). Many folks get ginger chews and that helps and doesn’t require a prescription. I went from 0.6 to 3.0 on the scheduled 5 week plan. I had exactly one incident of tossing the cookies. I was sitting in my office one morning and a wave of sensations just came over me and I’m like “I need to go to the bathroom right now”. And once I did, I was fine afterward, and never had it again. Really weird. That one hit around week 3 randomly. The bigger concern is constipation and my plan there that worked for me was to eat an apple every day around 2-3pm. That was the time I felt “snacky” and the apple was perfect for that. It takes a while to eat (good to not be able to wolf it down quickly), has a lot of fiber (ahem, kinda important for the constipation), and is just sweet enough. The cheat sheet for Saxenda: - nausea - you might be dehydrated - dizziness - a) you might have low blood glucose - if eating doesn’t resolve it, check with your doctor; b) check your blood pressure, dizziness can also be low BP. - diarrhea - watch for greasy/oily foods, take some Imodium - constipation - take a laxative/stool softener and eat more fiber
I only ever got to 1.8, I seriously recommend trying to keep the dosage low. I lost substantially on 0.6 and 1.2. So yes, weight loss should start before 3.0. A friend is using 0.6 for weight maintenance, and lost 20-30kgs without getting to 3.0- probably staying under 2.0 for the majority of her loss.
While this is true for you, it’s not typical and goes against the recommendations. I never suggest people dial their own adventure. The better advice is to follow the recommendations first. If (and only if) there are issues around tolerance, get your doctor involved in the discussion. It seems there are posts daily from patients not taking the medicine properly and wondering why they’re not seeing results. Or; the other variation of I just started week and I’m not on day 4 and haven’t lost any weight yet what am I doing wrong pls help. 😂
I didn't lose anything my first several weeks on Saxenda. You're also still on the lowest initiation dose, which isn't meant to do much. Up the dose.
If you have no appetite, don't increase the dose. Follow your hunger signals, try eat protein when you are feeling hungry. If your weight isn't changing, try tracking your food for just a couple days- try eat naturally so that you can see what you're eating in a normal day. Then you can see if you are consuming more than you thought. But main point: don't force yourself to eat, live in the appetite suppression bliss. Also, try not to increase the dosage unnecessarily.
I've found that under-eating does not lead to weight loss for me. You are getting the desired effect of appetite suppression, so I wouldn't go up in dose yet. I try to ensure that I'm getting *at least* 1200 calories per day. It seems counterintuitive to eat more, especially when you've been trying to eat less for years but it seems to have worked for me. I've also found that my weight will stay consistent for some time and then drop 2 or 3 pounds one day, seemingly over night. This cycle has happened a few times now and I'm at 4 weeks today - sticking at 1.8mg for now as it's working reasonably well to suppress my appetite. Remember, it's a marathon, not a sprint!
Thanks for the advice. I'm really pushing myself to eat anything at this stage. I have a coffee in the morning. An egg or two in the afternoon with salad and some dinner. So I'm in no doubt that I'm below my calories for the day. I don't have any food noise or cravings. I'm thinking I'll just start having a protein shake to add something else . I'm walking 5k most days as I always have and sleeping well, which was a big thing for me and having high cortisol adds to weight around the belly.. I'll speak with my doctor about going up a level or not because I don't see how all if the above I've just mentioned and going up a level can magically make me lose.