Rhonda Bracey: At Random

I’m overweight, ‘morbidly obese’ in medical terms. I’ve been overweight (in my head) since I was a teenager, but on the scales probably in the past 30 years. I see photos of me when I was 17 and at 27 and marvel that I EVER thought I was fat at that time. But, like many women, I did. My battle with my weight has been constant in my teen and adult life. I go up, I go down a bit, then up a bit more. Like many, I’ve tried almost everything to keep my weight under control—starved myself of certain foods/drinks or types of food, counted calories, spent oodles on weight loss programs (I’m looking at you, Jenny Craig, and the thousands I spent on your crappy meals, only to be told eventually that they couldn’t do anything more for me after I’d plateaued for 6 months—I’m sure I was messing up your figures and you wanted me off your books!), joined gyms and went up to 5 times a week for months and even years on end, followed the Scarsdale, cabbage, keto and other diets religiously, tried various protein shakes, walked, walked and walked some more… you get the picture. I might lose a few kilos (always less than 10, except once when I lost 23 kg) then back they’d come again in a few months or so, and this time they’d bring all their friends.

Some friends of mine have had gastric banding done, and although all have lost weight, some have put it back on because they’ve substituted food with the empty calories of alcohol—it’s much easier to drink a liquid than to eat food with gastric banding. Gastric surgery was never going to be for me.

I’ve never been comfortable being overweight, and it’s got worse the older I’ve got and the more portly I’ve become. Bending down to put on socks, tie up shoes, clean between my toes in the shower, pick up the newspaper from the driveway etc. has become hard. Balancing is harder. And I have sleep apnoea. In the past couple of years, my liver function tests haven’t been good and I was diagnosed with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease a few years ago, and also with pre-diabetes (I’m out of that range now). The stress on my internal organs just to keep my body going can’t be good, and I’m at an age where heart issues will become more likely.

So I read with interest the ‘miracle’ cure of the semaglutides (Ozempic, Wegovy and others). Then I waited a year or two for the hoopla to die down and the celebrities to use up all the supplies before broaching the issue with my doctor. She said I was a good candidate medically because reducing my weight will reduce the likelihood of heart, lung issues, likely ‘cure’ my sleep apnoea, and keep me out of diabetic range. She prescribed Wegovy for me. Because I’m NOT diabetic, I couldn’t get it as a PBS medicine so paid the full price for the first pack of 4 injections of 0.25 mg each—some AU$270. After a month, she’ll reassess and decide if I need to go to the next dosage level (0.5 mg), then after another month, whether to continue increasing the dosage over the next few months (it goes up to 2.4 mg). Update: The price for 0.25, 0.5 and 1.0 was around AU$270, but jumped to $360 for the 1.7 dose and to $460 for the 2.4 dose.

The nurse at the medical practice gave me my first injection on 23 December 2024, and she showed me what to do so I could do it myself for future injections (yeah, right!) (BTW, the printed instructions inside the package are EXCELLENT and in plain language and large font). Some of you might be wondering why start so close to Christmas—well, as it happened, we weren’t going anywhere for Christmas or having any big meals as my DH had had urgent and unexpected surgery only a few days before and was recuperating.

Week 1: 23 to 29 December 2024

Before going to the medical centre, I weighed myself and took all my measurements (bust, waist, hips, neck, right arm, right thigh) and noted them down in an Excel spreadsheet.

The injection was absolutely painless! The needle tip is only a few millimetres long and is VERY fine. The nurse injected it into my gut fat. Because it was painless, I figured I should be able to do this myself, provided I can get over the psychological barrier of deliberately poking something sharp into my skin. However, she said they’d do it if I couldn’t.

I’d read dire stories about bad reactions (Dr Google is NOT your friend!), but experienced absolutely none of them during the first week—no nausea, no constipation, no diarrhoea, no headaches (except a small headache on Day 1 and likely because I didn’t have my daily Diet Coke that morning, thus it was a slight weaning off the only caffeine I have in a day).

I felt no different, except I had NO desire to snack while prepping meals, or at any other time. I continued to eat healthily for all my meals, and enjoyed what I ate, but I wasn’t hungry in between times, and not even really hungry at meal times. I stopped drinking alcohol and Diet Coke as they can bring on bad reactions as well as hinder any progress.

Throughout the week, breakfast was mainly a small serving of fruit-free toasted muesli with Greek-style yoghurt, a splash of light milk, and some fruit (blueberries, nectarines, bananas). Lunch was a salad (any combination of avocado, cherry tomatoes, a quarter of an apple, some raspberries, a small slice of cheese, lettuce, celery, cucumber, raw cauliflower, a few cashews, and balsamic vinegar for taste, plus a small piece of fruit). If I had some leftover steak or bacon etc. I’d add that too, and this coming week I’ll hunt out some smoked salmon I have in the freezer. Dinner was what we would normally eat, but a slightly smaller serving (I already have a small serving). We never have dessert, so that wasn’t an issue. But we often have a snack mid-evening while watching TV—I had NO desire for such a snack. I only drank water.

My sleep was as normal, but my normal incidental activity was down because it was Christmas week (no work) and I was trying to help my DH with his pain management and sit with him during the times he could sit in the recliner and watch TV.

Week 2: 30 December 2024 to 5 January 2025

Before girding myself to give myself the injection, I did all my measurements. My weight after the first week was down 1.8 kg and my overall measurements of all the different parts of my body (see above) were down by a total of 6 cm. That’s a pleasing result for me. I’m not feeling any different in my clothes, but based on previous times when I’ve lost weight, that could be some weeks away yet. But the figures don’t lie, so yes, there was a loss.

After a bit of faffing about (technical term), I was able to inject myself successfully. The faffing about wasn’t the actual injection, which was surprisingly quick and easy and painless (as I expected), but trying to get the dosage thingy on the pen to work. Because I’d seen a drop of fluid at the needle tip, I assumed it would just turn, but no, you have to actually follow the steps EXACTLY and press the dose button to get some out before the dosage wheel turns and you can inject the correct dose. Once I’d figured that out, it was easy peasy! I don’t know what I was worried about.

31 December: What I have noticed is that my desire for food and the ‘food noise’ in my head has abated—a lot. Far more than this time last week, I think. I still enjoy what I eat, but I don’t have any desire to eat any more. This is A Good Thing(TM).

3 January 2025: Another thing I’ve noticed the past couple of evenings is a desire to go to the toilet, but it’s only wind.

6 January 2025: A further thing I’ve noticed is a slight desire to eat more and/or snack as my week comes to an end. Perhaps this is a result of the efficacy of the drug wearing off over time? I take it on a Monday, and by the weekend, I have this slight desire. I haven’t given in to it, as yet, and hope not to.

Week 3: 6 to 12 January 2025

Before giving myself the weekly injection (much easier and quicker this time), I took all my measurements—I’d lost another  1.1 kg and 7 cm total off all the places I was measuring. That’s a total of  2.9 kg and 13 cm in 2 weeks.

Week 4: 13 to 19 January 2025

Before giving myself the weekly injection (I’m getting the hang of this!), I took all my measurements—I’d lost another 0.8 kg and 9 cm total off all the places I was measuring. That’s a total of  3.7 kg and 22 cm in 3 weeks. This week I see the doctor for a new script for the next month’s supply, this time the 0.5 dose.

My loss hasn’t been as quick as some, but I’m OK with that. Small and steady is fine by me. What I have noticed, however, is that some foods (notably the Chinese food from the restaurant we go to each week) have upset my gut a little—nothing drastic, just made it very burbly. I suspect those who have a really bad gut reaction to the drug are possibly eating or drinking some things that they should be avoiding.

16 January 2025: The doctor is pleased with my progress and has given me scripts for the 0.5 and 1.0 doses (plus the 0.25). I’m to start the 0.5 on Monday, but if it makes me feel sick for more than a day, she suggested going back to the 0.25 (which is why she gave me another script for that). If the 0.5 is fine, then I’ll stay on that for 4 weeks, before filling the script for the 1.0. She wants to see me again in mid-March, just after I’ve had my blood test for cholesterol, fatty liver, and diabetes markers, and if all goes well, she’ll up the dose to the next level (1.7, and then later 2.4, which is the maximum dose).

Week 5: 20 to 26 January 2025

My loss last week wasn’t quite as good as previous weeks as I spent 2 days in the city with my sister and didn’t hold back on what I ate. However, no snacks at all. In week 4, I lost 0.6 kg and 2cm, for a total of 4.3 kg and 24 cm.

Monday was the day for the higher dose injection—0.5. No side effects throughout the week so it looks like I’ll be on that dose for the next 3 weeks. However, I did have a touch of diarrhoea one day toward the end of the week, but as this was 4 to 5 days after the injection I consider that’s it was likely unrelated to the drug.

Week 6: 27 January to 2 February 2025

As per my Monday routine, I took my measurements after my morning shower and before giving myself the next injection. My loss in week 5 was 1 kg and 3 cm, for a total of 5.3 kg and 27 cm in 5 weeks.

I’ve started to notice a tiny change in how my clothes fit, but it’s minor at this point. No-one, including my sister last weekend (who hadn’t seen me since early December), has made any comment like ‘Have you lost weight?’ or similar. But that’s not really surprising—back in the early 2000s before menopause and when I weighed about 10+ kg less than my starting point this time, I lost 17 kg before anyone started to notice. With luck the fat is coming off all the places it shouldn’t be, like around my vital organs and my belly.

Summary