Ozempic Update: How to Manage My Appetite or Lack of It

I've been using Ozempic since June 2025, so coming up to the one-year mark. I've lost all the weight I re-gained, and am now back to the full minus-50 I achieved after the gastric sleeve surgery. It's clear that I could lose more weight. But strangely, I don't want to.

Can't stop, won't stop

I tried stopping Ozempic, hoping that the tiny stomach would kick in, and the "cannot eat one more bite" feeling of satiety would return. It did not. A few days after stopping, my full appetite kicked in, and I started to re-gain weight. I'm not willing to go there. I re-started the Ozempic.

But there are two major issues.

• One is cost. Insurance in Canada will cover Ozempic or Wegovy for diabetes, but not for weight loss. Generic versions are coming, supposedly this year, but no one knows when, or what the price difference will be. Paying for it out of pocket is a stretch. I'm fortunate that we can do it, but I'd rather not!


• My other issue is a complete loss of appetite. The thing that I was afraid of from bariatric surgery, which didn't happen -- no longer enjoying food -- is happening now from Ozempic. I eat three bites and simply cannot stand the thought of eating more. I'm not full. It's not the physical discomfort of eating too much after gastric sleeve. It's a mental or psychological state. Food has no appeal. 

A dose that is not supposed to be a dose

I've been using 0.5 milligram, half the typical dose. I cannot imagine using a full milligram! On the half-milligram, I barely eat anything. There's also an unpleasant side effect: constipation. That can be tough to manage, especially since I don't feel like eating. More salad? More prunes? I can't even. I was very clear that I am not increasing the dosage.

So I cut back to 0.25. This would make the drug more affordable, and I was hoping it would be enough to maintain my current weight. But it wasn't. As soon as I halved the dose, I began to re-gain weight.

This is a real dilemma. 

Not wanting to lose more weight is deeply weird

Strangely, I don't want to lose more weight! I don't want to lose the enjoyment of food. I don't want to buy new clothes. This is so weird! I spent most of my life struggling to lose weight -- for a long time, obsessively so. 

During my years of eating-disordered mindset, Ozempic would have been a miracle. But now I just want to maintain where I am.

It's not like I'm thin. I have a chunky body, which is very typical -- or at least not at all unusual -- in women my age (mid-60s). But all my indicators are good. I take medication for high cholesterol and blood pressure, but I've had that all my life, regardless of weight, diet, or exercise. I have no great incentive to push it any further.

What I want: to continue using Ozempic in a way that is affordable and doesn't completely kill my appetite. My current plan is to alternate weeks of 0.25 and 0.5. No doctor would prescribe this dosage, I'm trying it on my own. I'll let you know how it goes.