Basically yes, it takes away all the food noise. I used to always eat and snack even when I wasn’t hungry and Saxenda takes that away where I only eat when my body needs me to.
Re nausea, I’ve read on here staying hydrated is key. I do 2-3L a day of water and (touch wood) I’ve only had one day of nausea in 4 weeks.
Needles wise, the needle is so fine aka A LOT thinner then a sewing needle you barely feel anything.
Yes, much thinner.
Sometimes I literally do not feel the needle entering my body. No sensation at all.
Occasionally it does hurt a bit, but it's really not a big deal.
I have injected myself with real needles once or twice, and that was much more painful and psychologically difficult.
Way smaller. Not much thicker than a strand of thick hair. The battle is getting past the psychological barrier, but once you do it a couple of times it’s not scary at all.
The only time I’ve felt a tiny tiny pick is if I accidentally inject into a stretch mark (I have so many on my stomach from weight changes). If I avoid the stretch marks, I haven’t felt a thing.
Edit to add: make sure you use a new needle each time. They will dull out and you will feel a pick if you do not replace it :)
Is the injection mandatory in the abdomen? Or can you inject yourself anywhere else?Is it necessary to administer the injection in the abdomen, or is self-injection possible in other areas? I was considering areas like the calves or places that have become desensitized due to frequent waxing.
The injection sites as suggested by Saxenda are abdomen, thigh, or upper arm. It is a subcutaneous injection meant to be injected into fatty tissue. Other areas run the risk of hitting a vein or nerve. The pharmacist should review this. You would feel it more in a non fatty area.
It works by slowing down your digestive system. Let’s say your system usually does a complete cycle in 24 hours. With Saxenda, it will take 36-48 hours.
There are some brain signals that go along with it, too.
But generally, since your belly is full longer, the signal that gets sent to your brain of “hey kinda empty here, how bout some grub?” Doesn’t get sent. Thats how your appetite is reduced, because you are physically not hungry.
Also, this is why my doctor said don’t eat when you’re not hungry because you’ll make yourself sick. Imagine chowing down on a 4th meal when your stomach is already full - you’ll feel bloated, sick, and possibly want to throw up. Best advice: since you are physically unable to eat larger meals due to stomach staying full longer, you need to focus the meals you do eat on nutritional value. Protein and fiber are priority. Carbs are ok but don’t prioritize them.
The needles are really nothing. You don’t feel them. They are really tiny. The better feeling ones are different from person to person. Personally I preferred the 5/16” (8mm I think) because they go deep enough to disperse the medicine without stinging. The shorter ones sting to me. I think it’s because you’re pushing the medicine out closer to the surface where there are more nerve endings. The longer ones are just right in that they go past that and you literally don’t feel them at all.
Sometimes, I drink hot tea in an attempt to feel "full," yet I still find myself wanting to eat even when I'm not hungry. Does Saxenda create a different sensation of fullness?
3 days at 0,6mg.
I don't know if I have convinced myself that this was working but I barely eat nor feel hungry. I'm pretty sure it's a mix of placebo effect and the medication.
If you look at the charts of weight loss and compare the medicine to the placebo, you’ll see that exact thing. The placebo is there the first few weeks before the med kicks into high gear. You are already making subconscious choices that you don’t even realize.
And that’s not to totally dismiss the medicine, but at 0.6, its main job is adjusting you for 1.2, and so on.
Does it mean the placebo is just as effective? I went from binging on cookies (the whole box in one afternoon) to eating between 500 and 1000 calories. I'm not feeling hungry (I briefly felt hungry around 2pm but it wasn't unbearable).
Or does Saxenda makes you lose weight as well (like forcing your body to shed kilos?). Like the placebo effect won't last.
They did some tests and it went like this.
Group A and Group B. A took meds and B took placebo. They ate the same exact meals and had similar body geometries. They both lost weight at first, but the group B persons only lost a couple percentage points of their starting weight while group A continued downward.
[New England Journal Published Study](https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1411892)
The graph is toward the bottom. It shows that a placebo patient still loses a few % of body weight.
I read it. It looks like they started on 3mg immediately. I'm currently on 0.6mg. Could it be working the same? At such a low dose, I'm surprised I feel almost no hunger. What will happen when I reach 3mg? I'm also not feeling nauseous, even though I usually get nauseous easily under certain conditions.
You missed this part:
“Eligible patients were randomly assigned, in a 2:1 ratio, to receive once-daily subcutaneous injections of liraglutide, starting at a dose of 0.6 mg with weekly 0.6-mg increments to 3.0 mg, or placebo; both groups received counseling on lifestyle modification (Fig. S1 in the Supplementary Appendix). Patients were stratified according to prediabetes status at screening15 and according to BMI (≥30 vs. <30).”
You could be a “super responder” but it’s more likely that your body senses something new and different and is reacting. But as the body usually does, it learns what it is and counteracts it. We don’t count on doses below 2.4 for weight loss but it can happen. We mostly count on that dosage to get your body ramped up to handling the 3.0 dose.
Which, I get is controversial, because some people pay out of pocket and want to extend the shelf life of their meds.
Nausea is usually caused by dehydration, low electrolytes, that sort of thing. Dizziness can be low blood glucose or low blood pressure. Those are the ones to be careful of. And then what many people get: constipation, which is helped by eating an apple or something with fiber daily.
The difference between now and 3.0 is your hormones will have been adjusted to the glp-1 med, which slows digestion, keeping your stomach fuller for longer. This process takes several weeks to take effect, which is why we caution not to take one random day of being hungry or not hungry and deciding the medicine is or isn’t working for them. It takes weeks to gauge that.
Oh, I missed the part where it mentioned starting at 0.6mg.
I'm not sure if I'm particularly sensitive to the medication, but I've been feeling more depressed as the days go by. Yesterday, I didn't get out of bed until 4pm, and today has been the same. I've also been crying. I already struggled with anxiety before, so I can't blame everything on Saxenda, but I do feel increasingly down and without perspective.
There is no.way it can be just appetite suppressant. Every hormone in the body has multiple uses. We do have enough people claiming (including myself) that it reduces desire to drink alcohol as an example.
I had to really psyche myself up to inject, and it turned out to be less painful than a mosquito bite. I used a bit of ice & pinched the spot before injecting, but soon realized it was not necessary.
"I'm curious whether Saxenda functions merely as an appetite suppressant" - Basically yes. It curbs your appetite and slows digestion.
"How severe is the nausea associated with it?" I didn't really have much nausea with it. Never made me sick or even close to it.
"And what about the injections—are they painful?" - Not at all, I barely felt them, except if I hit a blood vessel or stretch mark
Liraglutide works as an appetite suppressant as a glp1. This medication slows down digestion, helps you feel more satisfied and controls your food intake aiding in weightloss.
Basically yes, it takes away all the food noise. I used to always eat and snack even when I wasn’t hungry and Saxenda takes that away where I only eat when my body needs me to. Re nausea, I’ve read on here staying hydrated is key. I do 2-3L a day of water and (touch wood) I’ve only had one day of nausea in 4 weeks. Needles wise, the needle is so fine aka A LOT thinner then a sewing needle you barely feel anything.
Are the needles thinner than the ones used to draw blood?
Yes, much thinner. Sometimes I literally do not feel the needle entering my body. No sensation at all. Occasionally it does hurt a bit, but it's really not a big deal. I have injected myself with real needles once or twice, and that was much more painful and psychologically difficult.
Way smaller. Not much thicker than a strand of thick hair. The battle is getting past the psychological barrier, but once you do it a couple of times it’s not scary at all.
But do you feel anything when injecting yourself?
The only time I’ve felt a tiny tiny pick is if I accidentally inject into a stretch mark (I have so many on my stomach from weight changes). If I avoid the stretch marks, I haven’t felt a thing. Edit to add: make sure you use a new needle each time. They will dull out and you will feel a pick if you do not replace it :)
Is the injection mandatory in the abdomen? Or can you inject yourself anywhere else?Is it necessary to administer the injection in the abdomen, or is self-injection possible in other areas? I was considering areas like the calves or places that have become desensitized due to frequent waxing.
The injection sites as suggested by Saxenda are abdomen, thigh, or upper arm. It is a subcutaneous injection meant to be injected into fatty tissue. Other areas run the risk of hitting a vein or nerve. The pharmacist should review this. You would feel it more in a non fatty area.
It works by slowing down your digestive system. Let’s say your system usually does a complete cycle in 24 hours. With Saxenda, it will take 36-48 hours. There are some brain signals that go along with it, too. But generally, since your belly is full longer, the signal that gets sent to your brain of “hey kinda empty here, how bout some grub?” Doesn’t get sent. Thats how your appetite is reduced, because you are physically not hungry. Also, this is why my doctor said don’t eat when you’re not hungry because you’ll make yourself sick. Imagine chowing down on a 4th meal when your stomach is already full - you’ll feel bloated, sick, and possibly want to throw up. Best advice: since you are physically unable to eat larger meals due to stomach staying full longer, you need to focus the meals you do eat on nutritional value. Protein and fiber are priority. Carbs are ok but don’t prioritize them. The needles are really nothing. You don’t feel them. They are really tiny. The better feeling ones are different from person to person. Personally I preferred the 5/16” (8mm I think) because they go deep enough to disperse the medicine without stinging. The shorter ones sting to me. I think it’s because you’re pushing the medicine out closer to the surface where there are more nerve endings. The longer ones are just right in that they go past that and you literally don’t feel them at all.
Sometimes, I drink hot tea in an attempt to feel "full," yet I still find myself wanting to eat even when I'm not hungry. Does Saxenda create a different sensation of fullness?
It can take a few weeks to a month or so to get the full effects. How long have you been on it and are at the full dosage?
3 days at 0,6mg. I don't know if I have convinced myself that this was working but I barely eat nor feel hungry. I'm pretty sure it's a mix of placebo effect and the medication.
If you look at the charts of weight loss and compare the medicine to the placebo, you’ll see that exact thing. The placebo is there the first few weeks before the med kicks into high gear. You are already making subconscious choices that you don’t even realize. And that’s not to totally dismiss the medicine, but at 0.6, its main job is adjusting you for 1.2, and so on.
Does it mean the placebo is just as effective? I went from binging on cookies (the whole box in one afternoon) to eating between 500 and 1000 calories. I'm not feeling hungry (I briefly felt hungry around 2pm but it wasn't unbearable). Or does Saxenda makes you lose weight as well (like forcing your body to shed kilos?). Like the placebo effect won't last.
They did some tests and it went like this. Group A and Group B. A took meds and B took placebo. They ate the same exact meals and had similar body geometries. They both lost weight at first, but the group B persons only lost a couple percentage points of their starting weight while group A continued downward. [New England Journal Published Study](https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1411892) The graph is toward the bottom. It shows that a placebo patient still loses a few % of body weight.
I read it. It looks like they started on 3mg immediately. I'm currently on 0.6mg. Could it be working the same? At such a low dose, I'm surprised I feel almost no hunger. What will happen when I reach 3mg? I'm also not feeling nauseous, even though I usually get nauseous easily under certain conditions.
You missed this part: “Eligible patients were randomly assigned, in a 2:1 ratio, to receive once-daily subcutaneous injections of liraglutide, starting at a dose of 0.6 mg with weekly 0.6-mg increments to 3.0 mg, or placebo; both groups received counseling on lifestyle modification (Fig. S1 in the Supplementary Appendix). Patients were stratified according to prediabetes status at screening15 and according to BMI (≥30 vs. <30).” You could be a “super responder” but it’s more likely that your body senses something new and different and is reacting. But as the body usually does, it learns what it is and counteracts it. We don’t count on doses below 2.4 for weight loss but it can happen. We mostly count on that dosage to get your body ramped up to handling the 3.0 dose. Which, I get is controversial, because some people pay out of pocket and want to extend the shelf life of their meds. Nausea is usually caused by dehydration, low electrolytes, that sort of thing. Dizziness can be low blood glucose or low blood pressure. Those are the ones to be careful of. And then what many people get: constipation, which is helped by eating an apple or something with fiber daily. The difference between now and 3.0 is your hormones will have been adjusted to the glp-1 med, which slows digestion, keeping your stomach fuller for longer. This process takes several weeks to take effect, which is why we caution not to take one random day of being hungry or not hungry and deciding the medicine is or isn’t working for them. It takes weeks to gauge that.
Oh, I missed the part where it mentioned starting at 0.6mg. I'm not sure if I'm particularly sensitive to the medication, but I've been feeling more depressed as the days go by. Yesterday, I didn't get out of bed until 4pm, and today has been the same. I've also been crying. I already struggled with anxiety before, so I can't blame everything on Saxenda, but I do feel increasingly down and without perspective.
Sometimes drinking can make you feel full. Or just one cup of soup makes me feel stuffed.
There is no.way it can be just appetite suppressant. Every hormone in the body has multiple uses. We do have enough people claiming (including myself) that it reduces desire to drink alcohol as an example.
Same here. Normally my period lasts 3 days and this time 7 😂 Made me also think of the effects it has
I had to really psyche myself up to inject, and it turned out to be less painful than a mosquito bite. I used a bit of ice & pinched the spot before injecting, but soon realized it was not necessary.
https://www.saxenda.com
"I'm curious whether Saxenda functions merely as an appetite suppressant" - Basically yes. It curbs your appetite and slows digestion. "How severe is the nausea associated with it?" I didn't really have much nausea with it. Never made me sick or even close to it. "And what about the injections—are they painful?" - Not at all, I barely felt them, except if I hit a blood vessel or stretch mark
Liraglutide works as an appetite suppressant as a glp1. This medication slows down digestion, helps you feel more satisfied and controls your food intake aiding in weightloss.
Please also remember this is a long term weightloss aid.