268.9
Wow, time flies when life happens, it something like that.
Anyway, I'm coming back to this blog after stuff years to address something I talked about years ago: weight loss.
As you can see if you refer back to previous posts, you can see that I've gained about 50 lbs over the past six years. There are many reasons for this, one of the most significant being perimenopause.
But I'm trying to take action to improve my health and well-being, and I want to use this blog to document my efforts.
Last night, I took my first shot of a compounded semaglutide. I'm starting at .25 ml for each of the first four weeks and then increasing the dosage.
I took this expensive step (my insurance, sadly, will not cover this) because I'm at a loss (haha) at to how to lose weight. My metabolism has slowed to a crawl (although my desire to eat has not), and I'm so terribly tired and achy that I have zero motivation to work out.
What sealed the deal was something that happened in my vacation. We were in Seattle and had gone to Pike Place Market. My teenage sons led us down towards the water to a pier where we took pictures and played large-scale chess. When we climbed back up the many, many stairs, I struggled mightily. I had to pause every five or six stairs to take a break. I was sweaty, miserable, and completely exhausted by the time we got up the stairs, up the hill, and back to the parked car. When we got to our next sightseeing location--a car collection--I opted to stay behind and sit out the tour. The realization that I couldn't keep up with my family was sobering and saddening.
I have several friends taking various weight loss medications. A coworker had looked at some of the non-insurance options, so I had a little research going in. I looked at a few possibilities and found that many of them included subscriptions to apps or programs that doubled the cost. I settled on TrimRx because it didn't include the extra cost of the program, just the medication itself.
I received my first shipment, containing the dosages for weeks 1-4, 5-8, and 9-12. It also contained syringes and prep pads since these aren't preloaded doses.
I had to look up instructions on their website for how to prepare and administer each dose. It's a little daunting to do it on my own with little guidance, so I'm hoping I did it right. It was also a little tricky because all the printing, numbers, and lines on the bottle and syringe are tiny and my near vision is not what it once was.
I decided to do my weekly dose on Friday evenings. My thinking was that if I had some kind of adverse reaction the first time, my husband would be here (he leaves this Sunday for a week out of town for work), and also if I suffered some side effects from the medication like nausea, I would have an immediate nighttime of sleep and a whole weekend before I had to interact with people.
I think I administered my shot correctly, but it was difficult to see past my boobs. I should probably have done it in the bathroom where I could see in a mirror rather than in my kitchen, but the kitchen has counter space and is closer to the fridge that I'm keeping the medication in.
The only initial reaction I noticed was a mild stinging sensation around the injection site a few minutes after the shot, lasting about ten minutes. According to what I've read, that's likely because the medication is cold.
So, it's been more than twelve hours now since my shot. I haven't really noticed anything yet. So far I've had my morning cup of coffee, a bowl of fruit and yogurt, and a few slices of cheese. We'll see what the rest of the day brings.
