alt Hacker NewsI'd think it more likely that it'll be one of the next generation drugs, but I do agree with the premise that it will be really common.
A few weeks ago I started a low dose of tirzepatide (aka Mounjaro, aka Zepbound) and the side effects are interesting.
The biggest negative, which just takes adjustment, is drastically lower stomach capacity. Used to be that two eggs and two pieces of toast was breakfast. Now I better skip at least one of those pieces of toast or I'm going to feel overfull and might get reflux as punishment.
But there are some unexpected positives.
Obviously I am eating less. I have to log food not to keep it in check, but to make sure I'm eating enough and with the right nutrients. There's another possible negative here -- you get a lot of hydration from food, so if you start eating less you should carefully monitor your fluid intake to allow for that.
But I'm also more focused. Not nearly as distracted. I'm getting a lot of things done which I used to just procrastinate on until years had passed in some cases. Man, the garage is going to be clean and superbly organized in a few weeks.
And my emotions are quieter. Not just the food noise, that was expected, but I feel more relaxed. That's not what I expected, and I'm pleasantly surprised.
As an aside, what makes this all really noticeable is that it's a once-a-week injection, and the peaks and valleys are very obvious. Saturday is injection day, but Sunday is where it really becomes quite noticeable that I took it. Monday-Wednesday is cruising altitude and the effects are good but not over the top. Thursday I can feel it tapering, and today ... well, I'm looking forward to tomorrow's injection. I might switch to a twice-a-week split dose at some point to ease the peaks and valleys.
Edit: Before someone asks, yes I have considered there may be long term effects. This is a risk, which I've decided I'm okay with at my age. Nobody gets to live forever anyway, and I was going to end up in an early grave via another route if I didn't do this. "Just eat less and exercise more" is trite. If it were that easy, we'd all be in fantastic shape.
I do hope to taper off at some point if I can figure out an alternate strategy for staying lighter. Though I'll miss some of the positive side-effects.
Replies
> Saturday is injection day, but Sunday is where it really becomes quite noticeable that I took it. Monday-Wednesday is cruising altitude and the effects are good but not over the top. Thursday I can feel it tapering, and today ... well, I'm looking forward to tomorrow's injection. I might switch to a twice-a-week split dose at some point to ease the peaks and valleys.
Perhaps coincidentally, this is similar to my experience with week long fasts: After 48 hours I feel like a precision missile cruising towards my target until about 5-6 days later.
But I will use a suitable GLP-1 based drug, because, man, fasting feels unbearably brutal for me after 6 days: profuse sweat, increased heart rate, brief but intense panic attacks, an insane level of sad (but not depressed) introspection, a hairpin trigger temper. I become a ridiculous mess. There's got to be a better way!
Thanks for sharing your experience and insight!
>I might switch to a twice-a-week split dose at some point to ease the peaks and valleys.
If you're willing to shoot up more often it moderates the effects better.
These are the same effects I got from doing OMAD and going gluten free. If I fuck up and eat processed food, the "food brain" comes back, and I start chasing dopamine like a fiend.
I'm a fan of these tools helping people get this insight, because otherwise people just accept that cloud as their normal.
> The biggest negative, which just takes adjustment, is drastically lower stomach capacity. Used to be that two eggs and two pieces of toast was breakfast. Now I better skip at least one of those pieces of toast or I'm going to feel overfull and might get reflux as punishment.
If you want to be successful long term in your weight loss, especially after stopping the drug, you should really invest in changing your mindset.
This is a massive positive, not at all a negative.
You got fat because you ate too much. If you don't understand what are normal portions now, you'll go back to your starting weight as soon as the drug isn't having effects anymore.
This is a lifestyle change that you MUST embrace to be successful long term.
Glad you're having a good time, but the broad ranging psychological effects are concerning.
> Man, the garage is going to be clean and superbly organized in a few weeks.'
Manic behaviors also associated with older, popular diet drugs like meth.
It would be interesting to compare the anxiolytic effects of the drug versus the cancer anxiety caused by being on the drug.
The cancer anxiety could be reduced by frequent testing. e.g., having a thyroid ultrasound every 6 months, or a yearly abdominal MRI, just to make sure cancer is not brewing.
> "Just eat less and exercise more" is trite. If it were that easy, we'd all be in fantastic shape.
Studies show it just doesn't work.
There was a massive (18,000,000 people) cohort analysis published in 2023 that showed the likelihood of someone losing 5% of their body weight in any given year was 1 in 11 and the likelihood of going from severely obese to normal weight is 1 in 1667.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10407685/
[edit] not to mention for those 1 in 11, the average weight regain over 5 years is 80%.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S000291652...