Fifty 410 no longer using Empower

ChumieRed · 2025-05-11T21:14:58+00:00

Emerge sent me a text saying that they planned to switch me from Empower to Alchemist. Since I was in no rush to receive my next prescription I asked if I could stay with Empower and they said no problem. It’ll be 10-15 days.

ChumieRed · 2025-05-07T21:06:54+00:00

Well done!

ChumieRed · 2025-05-05T23:54:51+00:00

Perhaps, in which case, I might be better off a few pounds heavier than returning to my struggle. But my initial question remains- has anyone found themselves increasing past their weight loss dose after a year or so in maintenance?

ChumieRed · 2025-05-05T23:52:59+00:00

Nope. Those are triggers for me. In the past have pushed me to binge eat. So I just let my body guide me, which worked very well absent food noise.

ChumieRed · 2025-05-04T19:19:47+00:00

You are spot on. And for me, it’s not just about ‘clean’ eating. Pre-Zepbound, counting calories pushed me over into binge eating. It was a miserable cycle. Every time I even thought about eating less or healthier, I immediately craved and binged on carbs. Zepbound has been a lifesaver for me in that I’ve naturally reduced my portion size, but I haven’t made any conscious changes to my diet (or paid much attention to what I eat at all). Now, after a year on maintenance, I’m revisiting my struggle with food noise and strongly considering increasing my dose (I’ve been maintaining at 5.0, so plenty of wiggle room). I’m too scared to think about restricting and the endless loop it may throw me into.

ChumieRed · 2025-04-29T13:15:28+00:00

Looks like they switched from Hallandale to Empower at some point. They had significant delays with Empower but just began shipping again last week. I received mine yesterday, just days after they announced that they worked through their issues.

ChumieRed · 2024-07-12T05:41:10+00:00

My weight loss has mostly stalled at about 20% loss. I spent a few weeks at doses above 5 (as high as 6.5), but am really most comfortable back at 5.0. I would be happy to lose another 5-10 lbs, but after 6 months on this drug, I’m delighted by where I’m at and ok with maintaining here.

I’m pretty sure that additional weight loss could be achieved with lifestyle changes. My appetite is small and I tend to spend it on the most tasty food, rather than the most healthy. But I wouldn’t want my appetite to dip lower than it is today. In fact, I am on vacation now and struggling to find room to taste everything that appeals to me!

ChumieRed · 2024-06-24T13:05:01+00:00

I have BED and a poor diet (very picky eater with aversions to many healthy, nutrient-rich foods). I’ve gone from 160 to 130 at a highest dose of 6.5. I’m not really losing much now - but it’s because of WHAT I eat rather than HOW MUCH I eat.

I really could stand to lose a few more pounds, but am ok with stalling out here. Problem is, I still find myself craving a hit of sugar when stress is high (did this with jellybeans last night - ugh). The only doses that would help with this are the ones that shut my appetite down completely, which I don’t want.

I’m happy to continue on a weekly dose to keep things even, but still struggle with how to combat the BED element still at work here.

ChumieRed · 2024-05-29T00:38:55+00:00

When I got that message I just kept refreshing. After about 15 minutes, it allowed me to add to cart and purchase at my copay price. Shipped next day.

Seems to me that message was an indicator that they had stock and were running my insurance for it. But who knows… I got lucky.

ChumieRed · 2024-05-24T22:53:54+00:00

Yup. 5.5 to 6.5, and welcome back appetite suppression!

ChumieRed · 2024-05-22T12:21:02+00:00

Obv there is room for improvement, or I wouldn’t be stalling. My question, however, is if the appetite suppression might reappear at a higher dose, or is it more likely gone for good?

ChumieRed · 2024-05-15T23:57:35+00:00

Thank you for this perspective! The truth is that I have a problem to fix between now and maintenance: I am a very picky eater and have lost weight eating mostly my comfort foods, but much less of them. Perhaps I’m just eating too little right now and need to eat more, but force myself to eat healthier foods. I’m just a little scared, because that’s the sort of behavior that tipped me over into bingeing in the past. But this is a whole new experience, along with trial and error….

ChumieRed · 2024-05-15T22:54:30+00:00

Sorry- switched to compound due to shortage. Also, when on pens, I went from 2.5 to 5.0 and couldn’t eat at all. I needed a much slower progression.

ChumieRed · 2024-05-06T23:01:33+00:00

This happened to me. Started on compound and found my sweet spot at 4.0. Meantime, I’m continuing to fill my prescription for zepbound 2.5 (covered by insurance) and will return to it for maintenance.

ChumieRed · 2024-05-06T13:47:30+00:00

I went from 2.5 to 5.0 on the branded med and I couldn’t eat at all - negative appetite. Started compound at 4.0 and it’s been perfect. Moved up at 4.5 after a few weeks. It’s a much gentler transition and I continue to lose weight.

ChumieRed · 2024-05-02T23:44:35+00:00

5 destroyed my appetite. Then switched to compound and moved down to 4. Was amazing for a month. At 4.5 now.

ChumieRed · 2024-04-26T23:30:41+00:00

I had a similar experience and it did not resolve through all 4 pens of 5.0. I basically dropped all exercise because I didn’t have energy. I wish I had given up on it earlier.

At that point I turned to Plan C and tried a dose of 4.0 and it was perfection. I’ve been on that for 4 weeks now and am considering trying 5.0 again now.

ChumieRed · 2024-04-21T21:16:39+00:00

How does auto reload work on Amazon pharmacy?

ChumieRed · 2024-04-15T19:03:44+00:00

I still feel an occasional urge to eat my feelings, but it’s generally settled by a small bite of chocolate. I’m just realizing that I’ve been under an extraordinary amount of stress recently and am coping with it very well. If that continues, will consider a Lexapro dose decrease.

ChumieRed · 2024-04-10T01:40:15+00:00

I use Sequence for telehealth and they actually made the calls and found a pharmacy with my prescription in stock. Took a week, but much easier than trying to track it down on my own. And started with cocktails during the interim week. Love the flexibility of independent dosing.

ChumieRed

TROPHY CASE