A user of Wegovy, a weight-loss drug, was astonished by an unexpected side effect that changed their eating habits.
Injectable medications designed to aid in weight loss have gained significant popularity, with an estimated 16 million adults in the US having tried them.
While Ozempic is commonly prescribed for diabetes management, it has also been used for weight loss. Newer medications, like Wegovy, have been specifically approved to assist individuals in managing their weight.
Wegovy received FDA approval in 2021 and contains the active ingredient semaglutide, which is also found in Ozempic. This ingredient helps individuals regulate their appetite and can reduce the risk of weight-related health issues.
According to Diabetes UK, Wegovy mimics the action of the gut hormone GLP-1, released after eating, which slows the digestion process.
This mechanism helps users feel full for a longer period, potentially leading to weight loss. Users typically start with the lowest dose, gradually increasing it every four weeks to minimize side effects.
The dosing schedule generally begins with 0.25 mg, then 0.5 mg, 1 mg, 1.7 mg, and finally reaching the long-term maintenance dose of 2.4 mg.
Recently, a Wegovy user who had been on the medication for only a week shared an unexpected side effect, which they found more pleasing than the weight loss itself.
Posting in the r/Wegovy community on Reddit, they expressed interest in knowing if others experienced the same realization.
“I used to eat and eat until it made me nauseous,” they shared. “I still had an appetite, but I would stop because I couldn’t keep any more down. Weight loss advice always said ‘stop eating when you feel full,’ but I honestly could never understand what that was supposed to feel like.”
They explained that since starting Wegovy, they’ve been able to eat and feel satisfied and full without overeating to the point of nausea.
“Maybe it sounds dumb, but I’ve genuinely never felt this before,” they confessed. “I can’t believe this is how normal people live.”
Describing a personal experience, they recounted how they baked a chocolate cake two days prior, and typically, they would have finished the entire cake.
“But I’ve only had one slice, and I honestly feel satisfied,” they shared. “I’m just so happy I can finally have a normal relationship with food. I’m even happier about this than the weight loss itself.”
While individual experiences vary, some people have found the medication to be transformative.
Others on social media related to this experience, with one commenter saying, “I am in the exact same boat. I had the same epiphany, and it blows my mind.”
“For years I thought ‘full’ meant that gross, overly stuffed feeling after I’d eaten way past comfort,” another person noted. “It was the only cue I knew. Once I started paying attention to my satiety cues, it felt like learning a new language.”
A third person mentioned, “I am five days in and I am now able to leave stuff on my plate because I simply am satisfied and don’t feel the need to eat anymore. Before I would clear my plate past the point of feeling full because I couldn’t stop.”
However, some users reported that the sensation of ‘fullness’ only became noticeable on higher doses. Meanwhile, others mentioned that while the constant thoughts about food, known as ‘food noise,’ don’t entirely disappear on Wegovy, they become significantly quieter.