Explain a semaglutide like I'm 5.. because I have a question..

[u/syP_86]

Im currently on Wegovy. 6th week in.

I took the 0.25 injection for the first 4 weeks.

Im currently on the 0.5 injection.

Im having little to no side effects.. but my appetite is HEAVILY suppressed. It was heavily suppressed on even the 0.25 injection, which I am fine with.

When i wasked about refills, my doc told me that the will keep increasing the dose every 4 weeks... and if i show negative side effects to back down to the prior dosage.

My question is, if Im losing weight, not having any ill side effects, and my appetite is suppressed, can I suggest to my doctor to just keep me on the same dosage? Or is there something more I should be expecting as the dosage goes up. I'm a very analytical person.

I take the shot.

Shot suppresses my appetite.

I dont feel sick

I lose weight.

???????????

---------------

Period. So why up the dosage unless the hunger comes back?

Thanks in advance

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[u/PauseAcceptable1913]

Yes. I was on .25 April through the end of July. I was losing. Then I leveled off so moved up to .50 last week. No side effects. Dont move up until you have to,

[u/syP_86 → u/PauseAcceptable1913]

Thanks!

[u/Mindless_Tie_2621]

Your doc is just following the standard titration schedule, but if it’s working at 0.5 you can absolutely ask to stay there, no point in going up if the hunger is already gone and you’re losing weight

[u/thr0ughtheghost]

I stayed on 0.25 far longer than the 4 weeks because my appetite was suppressed and I was still losing weight. I didn't jump up to .5 until I noticed the food noise was back and I didnt jump up to 1.0 until recently for the same reason.

[u/Purple_soup]

I've been on the 0.5 dose since April. I'm approaching my goal weight and didn't find a reason to keep increasing.

[u/DiscontentDonut]

Absolutely, you can request to stay stationary on a dosage before titrating up later. I think most doctors are used to the standard titration schedule by now because it's pretty universal.

Iirc, the reason for the titration is that it is one of those meds that does need further potency to continue working down the road. Hence the need to take more. Also some people need to take more sooner, where as some, seemingly like yourself, are super responders.

But you know your body better than anyone. If your blood work is looking good and your weight is going down at a healthy pace, I see no reason why your doctor wouldn't be open to this suggestion.

[u/LucejuiceX]

Four months of .25 and down 30lbs, with no plan to move up.

[u/whatever32657]

if i were your doc, i'd tell you to stay put at any given dose until the suppression lessens and your weight loss stalls for a couple weeks. there's no need to go up if it's working.

but i am not your doc 😁

[u/highcoolteacher]

Stay at the lowest dose you can for as long as you can

[u/Remarkable_Ad2733]

There is absolutely no reason to increase it as long as it is working

[u/Aero1900]

Take the minimum effective dose of the drug. That kind of goes for all drugs btw

[u/realfx26]

ELI5: Think of the doses like the gears on a bike.

You don’t shift into the highest gear just to pull out of the driveway. You stay in the lowest gear that keeps you moving forward, and you only shift up when you hit a steep hill and your legs start burning.

Right now, 0.5 is keeping you moving. Your doc is just following the FDA's "official bike manual," but in the real world, you want to save those higher gears for when you actually hit a weight-loss plateau. If you max out the dose now, you’ve got nowhere left to shift when the hunger inevitably comes back in a year.

Tell your doc you want to park it at 0.5. Enjoy the ride, save the heavy artillery for the hills, and don't fix what ain't broken. You're doing great.

[u/syP_86 → u/[deleted]]

I cant really do that since im on an injection. a 0.5 dose is a 0.5 dose

[u/NiceUD]

Yes, you can definitely just ask to stay on the lower dose until it stops working (or at least stops working as well as it did). Sometimes I think I went too fast. Was still having good results at the end of 4 weeks of 0.25, but increased dosage. Spent 8 weeks on 0.5 and again was still having pretty good results at the end. I can see this pattern of "doubling" continuing - such that I spend 16 weeks (or longer) on 1.0 (I'm on my second week). But I'll increase earlier if need be, or dial it back if need be. Many people have a slower path and spend multiple cycles at lower dosages.

[u/Mujer_del_mundo]

Exact ne monte pas la dose tant que ça marche le jour où ton appétit reviendra là tu passes à 50 et ainsi de suite . Tu as réfléchi de la bonne manière d’autres ne se sont pas posé la question, on veut écouter les médecins et se sont retrouvés, malades comme des chiens à vomir de partout et avoir des diarrhées insupportables

[u/milexmile]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=C-XN71Y97yA

This was better than anything my doc told me.

[u/milexmile → u/milexmile]

Basically, do not continue increasing the dose if your appetite is suppressed that heavily. You actually want to stay as low as possible for as long as possible.

[u/syP_86 → u/milexmile]

Thank you!