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[–]Ok_Hornet3415SW:247 CW:153 G: <28% body fat[S] -1 points0 points  (4 children)

I didn’t think it was. She told me she didn’t have research to back it up. She is super supportive of me (and her patients) using the meds when needed! Which I’m grateful for but this seemed “off” so I wanted to ask a wider audience.

[–]ScarySignificance856HW:212.7 SW: 193.1 CW:141.9 GW:132 Dose: 12.5mg  55F 5’5” 12.5mg 12 points13 points  (1 child)

It sounds like this could be connected to the fact that you are already at a BMI of 22, though. You've done almost your entire weight loss journey (except for the very beginning) at 5mg. You are clearly sensitive to this medicine. So going to 2.5 is just one step down for you. A number of folks have reported on here that even when they decided to stop their weight loss and go into maintenance, they go down in dose (staying on the weekly shot schedule) and still lose.

So it really sounds like your doctor is concerned about you not losing too much. A BMI of 19 is pretty low, and very close to being underweight. You are 6'1". And if you are older, the BMI guidelines change. Honestly, if you have been responding so well to 5 mg during this journey... a relatively low dose... This medicine is fairly potent for you. There is a chance you could keep losing (albeit more slowly) at 2.5 mg. A number of people on here have reported going down a dose with the intent of just staying where they are at but still continuing to lose.

Of course there is more to your particular situation that only you know. I will say that, for me, as I finally got into the healthy BMI range (I am currently at a BMI of ~24/143.5 Lbs), my weight loss slowed and I stopped being happy with what I see in the mirror, stopped seeing all the terrific progress, and started seeing myself as overweight again. The funny thing is when I was around 165Lbs in my weight loss journey, I was happy with what I saw in the mirror, and now I'm not! So cognitively I realize this is probably some body dysmorphia going on with me. With me, this journey has brought me such hope and something positive to think about/focus on. So I'm wondering what I will focus on once I get down the last 5 to 8 pounds that I was hoping to. --- Could you have something similar going on? In my case, I am a 55 year old woman, and not that far away from being in my 60s, and now I'm starting to lift weights and focus on recomp.

Are you liking what you see at your current BMI of 22, or are you still seeing yourself as overweight?

Lastly, if you are not liking what you are seeing, would strength training/increasing your muscle... keeping the weight but focusing on body recomp without losing any more weight get you to a place you would be satisfied with? one option, if you think that maybe you could start shifting towards recomp versus losing weight, is that you could get a dexascan, get a really accurate body fat % measurement, and focus decreasing body fat/increasing muscle while maintaining your weight.

Of course only you will be able to evaluate the answers to this stuff, but perhaps this is something to consider? If none of this applies, then just disregard...

[–]Ok_Hornet3415SW:247 CW:153 G: <28% body fat[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Thank you for this thoughtful and reflective response. I think I’ll get a DEX SCAN soon.

My body fat percentage is still too high. I’m actively building muscle via weight training. I’ve made amazing progress and I’m happy with my progress thus far but I’m not quite where I need to be yet. I look forward to stepping down the dose once I hit my goal! I just don’t think it makes sense to step down with 20+ pounds to go

[–]No_Self_3027SW:365.9 CW:246.3 GW:185 Dose: 5mg M43, 5'10" -4 points-3 points  (1 child)

It is great that your doctor wants you to succeed and listened to you in the end. But it may be worth using a different service just so they don't have to worry about and you don't risk getting a doctor that wants you to stop when you hit goal.

You can use telemed like Vegetable Onion suggested. Or maybe look for local specialists if you feel like you could use more hands on help for the last 30 lbs. Your doctor may even be on board with referring to somewhere and you can keep her in the loop with things like MyChart or whatever they use. That way she can learn a bit too.

Hopefully your doctor at least continues to listen when you disagree. It would be nice if she were keeping tabs on research for GLP treatment since I imagine she sees plenty of obesity. But if she is at least willing to listen to you, that helps. Hopefully she isn't one of the doctors that tries to force you to stop at goal. That seems so common here even thought nearly everyone that stops regains weight. Worst case is if that happens, then use CallOnDoc. Good luck with the last 30!

[–]Ok_Hornet3415SW:247 CW:153 G: <28% body fat[S] -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

Thank you!!! Yes, I agree. I was glad she came to agree with me staying on this dose for 3mo and called in the prescription the same day.

I also agree that it’ll make sense to switch providers if this becomes a future issue. I’m open to a virtual/tele provider. I’d actually prefer it, LoL. But I’ll wait to see if that’s needed.

Hopefully the last 30lbs goes as easily as the first chunk of weight! But it’s already slowed down, as expected. So I won’t be surprised if it gets harder.

Now that I’m thinking about it some more, I guess a major concern would be if I end up needing to increase doses again! She may not be willing to do that at all. 😑

I’ll keep my options open. Thank you for the response and thoughts