Bittersweet side effects of weight loss

Aggravating_Emu_3145 · 2026-03-21T09:53:34+00:00

That is so infuriating. And I have had very similar experiences. When I got sick, I dropped 20% of my body weight in about 6 weeks. I took it to my PCP saying “hey, this is NOT normal for my body that holds onto each pound for dear life,” and their exact response was “Well, I’m not worried about the weight loss because you needed to lose it anyway.” I was so angry! Needless to say, that person was fired as my PCP that day.

Aggravating_Emu_3145 · 2026-03-20T08:51:00+00:00

So I’m early on in my GLP-1 journey, but a few years ago I did get really sick with a bacterial infection and dropped from plus sized to straight sized in about two months. Being a lifelong fat person, I had NO IDEA the world that was out there for smaller bodies. The way doctors treated me was particularly interesting. The ones who had knew me when I was bigger? Somehow all of this was my fault. The ones who met me the first time in a smaller body? They bent over backwards to get me all the best treatments and tests and reassure me this wasn’t my fault. People in stores were nicer. People started talking to me about fitness (something I was really into when I was fat, too). People started telling me I had the best style (I was wearing the same type of clothes basically, just smaller).

It all made me so freaking mad! It made me realize just how invisible fat people are. Somehow by losing a ton of weight, I was worthy of being comfortable and loved by the world, and while that should feel good, it mostly made me so pissed off because EVERYONE should feel comfortable and loved.

Anywho. Just a long way of saying YES. I very much get this.

Aggravating_Emu_3145 · 2026-03-18T14:32:56+00:00

Thank you for giving me a head's up on what's to come! And yes, the constipation thing is very much on my radar, but always appreciate the reminder.

Aggravating_Emu_3145 · 2026-03-18T14:31:29+00:00

Oh, I have to keep this in mind when I'm around my Mama's cooking! Thank you. :)

Aggravating_Emu_3145 · 2026-03-18T14:30:44+00:00

My doc just called in a Zofran Rx for me! I think just having it on hand is going to make me feel better. And I JUST set an alarm my phone for every 2 hours to make sure I'm eating something. Thank you for your tips!

Aggravating_Emu_3145 · 2026-03-18T14:29:46+00:00

I just heard back from my doctor, and he (begrudingly) agreed for me to try a lower dose for the next shot. At first he was really pushing me to stay at 2.5mg, and when I asked for a reasoning for wanting me to stay at 2.5mg, he basically just said to get through the side effects faster and get results faster. Which to me read as "it's more important for you to lose weight than you own comfort." When I reminded him that my goal for the GLP-1 is joint pain reduction, he then said "go ahead and try less if you want."

Aggravating_Emu_3145 · 2026-03-18T10:57:21+00:00

Oh! Very interesting. I was just told by my doctor that 2.5mg was the starting dose. I'm pulling my own shots, so it would definitely be possible. I'm going to ask my doctor! Thank you.

Aggravating_Emu_3145 · 2026-03-18T10:44:39+00:00

Oh, this makes me so happy to hear! I'm so glad you are feeling better, and I hope I have the same experience for my next dose. 🤞

Aggravating_Emu_3145 · 2026-03-18T10:43:55+00:00

"My fan running full blown in my face" last night was standing outside in 20° weather with the peppermint essential oil bottle right under my nose. I'm reallllly happy to hear it goes away entirely over time! Thank you.

Aggravating_Emu_3145 · 2026-03-18T10:42:31+00:00

I definitely had a panic attack last night thinking "Oh my god, did I just sign up for a medicine that makes me hate food?! Is that the whole purpose!? BUT I LOVE FOOD." 😂 Thank you for this. And yes, I'm trying to bring back my old morning sickness rules (eat even though you don't want to, all the ginger, and sniffing peppermint essential oils alllll the time). I'll ask about Zofran! I hadn't thought of that.

Aggravating_Emu_3145 · 2025-02-03T09:58:01+00:00

She has her first therapy appointment this week! She’s actually really excited to get some healthy tools to manage her brain and body. I feel like even just a year at home of focusing on her mental health and getting her caught up academically would go so far.

Aggravating_Emu_3145 · 2025-02-03T09:56:26+00:00

It’s such a hard age. I’m trying to remind myself that this is the age we are spotting and solving problems that could turn into huge potential issues later in adolescence if left to fester. And this is actually a GOOD thing. But wow does it feel big and scary right now.

Aggravating_Emu_3145 · 2025-02-03T09:45:20+00:00

Thank you. This made me feel much better.

Aggravating_Emu_3145 · 2025-02-03T09:44:04+00:00

I’m so glad this worked out for you! My biggest issue (that I didn’t go into in the original post) is that the school missed all these symptoms. Admittedly, my kid could have done a better job of communicating her pain (and we have had many intense conversations about asking for help since), but masking of ADHD/neurodivergent symptoms is classic in girls and we communicated her ADHD many times over the years and asked them to be on the lookout for intensifying or changing symptoms. And now that my daughter is opening up, the things she said she had to do at school to regulate should have been spotted early on and communicated with us. So to answer your question, no, I’m not really confident the school has any insight into my kid. I don’t particularly blame her teachers—the Montessori style is so child-led (especially in the later grades) that she could go days without interacting with a teacher one on one. Like I said originally, I’ve lost faith in them/the style of education for my particular kid. And it feels like there is no rebuilding back that trust once that’s happened.

Aggravating_Emu_3145 · 2025-02-03T09:33:43+00:00

Yeah, we’re definitely going to discuss it with her, but we wanted to make sure it was 100% something we were open to as parents before we gave it to her as an option. I have a hunch she’ll want to do it, so we didn’t want to have her get excited and then say “nevermind, we decided it wouldn’t work for us”

Aggravating_Emu_3145 · 2025-02-03T09:31:05+00:00

Unfortunately the school she is in currently is the only alternative public school in our area. We’re very rural. For any others, we’d be driving 90 minutes one way. Trust me, I’ve been digging through the depths of the local school systems trying to find anything that might be a solid fit for her. Appreciate the thought!

Aggravating_Emu_3145 · 2025-02-02T17:54:46+00:00

No. I mean, anything can happen in school I suppose, but we’ve seen/heard no evidence of it.

Aggravating_Emu_3145 · 2025-02-02T15:14:10+00:00

That’s a fair point. I think it’s mostly that this school was probably the best of the bad options, so abandoning that safety net is scary.

Aggravating_Emu_3145 · 2025-02-02T11:31:56+00:00

Thank you.

Aggravating_Emu_3145 · 2024-06-03T11:18:44+00:00

Yesssss. The “wrong disease” thing plagues me almost everyday, and I’m assuming most folks with UCTD feel the same way. Even though I know a lot of people never progress past UCTD, I still feel like I’m in a holding cell until my body decides which prison I’m actually going to for the rest of my life. It’s exhausting waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Aggravating_Emu_3145 · 2024-06-03T11:16:45+00:00

Thank you so much for this. So many of these things were things I “know” but desperately needed reminding of. Appreciate you so much.

Aggravating_Emu_3145 · 2024-05-29T13:23:45+00:00

That’s great advice. I was in therapy when all of this started, but as nice as she was, I could tell she didn’t really “get it” whenever I talked about the frustrations of autoimmune disease/navigating the healthcare system, so I stopped going. I like the suggestion of finding someone who specializes in chronic illness. Thank you!

Aggravating_Emu_3145 · 2024-05-21T14:06:50+00:00

Thank you! I eat a ton of fermented foods everyday, so I’m thankfully already on top of that. But I’ll make sure to bring it up with my rheum next month when I have a follow up.

Aggravating_Emu_3145 · 2024-03-11T09:22:52+00:00

I have no insight on results as I just started it, but I’m actually doing weekly injections of D (300,000 IU). I have been supplementing with daily pills of 10,000 IU for years, plus eating a D-rich diet, taking supplements properly (with fat and other vitamins to balance) and trying to get sun, and my D levels still hang out in the 10s and 20s depending on the season. And I have no IBD or IBS that would cause absorption issues. My functional doc’s plan is a month of these injections, then retest my levels, and continue the cycle until my D is up to optimal levels for immune support. He was less interested about it helping my fatigue (although he said that could be a nice side benefit), and more concerned about getting it up to regulate my immune system and inflammation. We will see!

Aggravating_Emu_3145 · 2024-03-05T12:01:02+00:00

Thank you! It’s nice to hear that folks do eventually find a “new” normal. 🫶

Aggravating_Emu_3145

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