u/Due-Quote-8052

I've just finished up my first week on the 4mg after doing a month on 1.5mg. I know side effects/experiences will change the longer you're on the pill and I'm hopeful this won't last for me, but I'm curious if anyone else is experiencing the same thing.

I'm on the pill off label to help me reduce alcohol cravings, not to lose weight. So I've had a couple of priorities:

1. reduce alcohol intake
2. eat enough calories to maintain my current weight
3. continue with my current exercise regimen

When I was on 1.5mg I experienced nothing - no reduced cravings, no side effects. It was somewhat expected since it was such a low dose. However, when I switched over to 4mg the experience is so dramatically different that I am wondering if I shouldn't just stop taking the drug entirely - its messing me up lol

For what it's worth I've tried a lot of other anti-drinking medications (Naltrexone, Topiramate, etc.) and I'm in behavioral therapy. None have been super successful at helping me cut back. I want to stop drinking and it's a battle I am consistently fighting. Regardless of this success or failure of Wegovy, I know this is a lifelong battle for me. I'm genuinely trying my best and just want to explore my options any anything that can help me make healthier choices for life.

The good news is that on 4mg my alcohol cravings have almost gone away entirely. It's crazy! I don't even think about drinking anymore - I can go the whole day without thinking about drinking that night. I know its early but it's truly feeling like a life-changing drug for me in that regard. It's awesome. I've had like... 3 total drinks since starting the 4mg and normally if I'm drinking that little it's a real battle to keep myself abstinent. So this is feeling really good and has honestly given me more hope for my future.

The bad news is... everything else. I don't have the traditional side effects (gastro stuff, nausea, etc.) but I am SO FULL all the time and it's making me feel sick. I generally eat pretty healthily too, so it's not that I'm eating a bunch of greasy or sweet things. I meal prepped chicken, veggie and rice bowls for dinner this week and I couldn't get myself to eat more than a few bites last night. I just felt gross, full, and like I would puke if I went any further.

This is really concerning to me because I am not trying to lose weight, and I thought if I just ate high calorie foods I could offset the effects of the drug while still reducing my alcohol intake. But I'm trying to like force myself to eat spoonfuls of peanut butter and things and it's all just... blah. I know weight can fluctuate pretty dramatically, and I don't generally weigh myself, but I've "lost" about 5lbs in the past week without trying to and that's not healthy for me.

But even moreso than being concerned about the weight loss, I feel like I am just sick, bad, tired, and unhappy. I used to run 6ish miles a day, but now I can't even motivate myself to walk. My stomach is too upset and full and my exercise has fallen off a cliff. Some of this may be due to the lack of drinking of course, but I can't explain these effects any better than a sense of general malaise. I slept for 12 hours (no joke... 12 hours straight) last night. 9pm-9am. I feel tired and gross and groggy all of the time since I started 4mg. The thought of eating makes me feel sick, any annoyingly the food that sounds good and isn't upsetting my stomach is things that aren't nutritionally dense. For instance, I tried to eat my chicken/veggie bowl leftovers for lunch today, but was disgusted by it. Instead, I hounded down a cookie and crackers dipped in cream cheese. It was the only thing that "sounded good" and felt okay in my tummy.

Sorry, I don't know exactly where I am going with this. I really want this drug to work for me because I am noticing true helpfulness with my alcohol consumption, but at the same time the side effects/the way it's making me feel just feels really unsustainable. Will it get better? And if it does get better, would the benefits of reduced alcohol cravings go away too?

I can't imagine being on a 25mg dose of this - I feel like it would kill me. The 4mg is messing my tummy/appetite up big time.

I've started taking oral Wegovy to see if it could help with my alcohol consumption. I don't qualify based on weight, but I've never had a problem eating (or drinking... ha) enough calories so I figured I could just consciously monitor my calories to make sure I'm getting enough with the hope that the pill could reduce my alcohol cravings.

I've tried so many things to reduce my drinking in the past - both medical and behavioral. I've come to terms with the fact that this will be a lifelong challenge for me. It's like there's something wrong with my brain chemistry - I can't have just one drink, I crave alcohol, and it's my main coping mechanism in life.

I tried to get my doctor to prescribe me a GLP1 based on what I heard from others about how it impacted their drinking. For instance, my mom (who throughout my whole life has been a fairly heavy drinker) started a GLP1 to lose weight and basically stopped drinking without even realizing it. I realized I was incredibly resentful and jealous of her experience - I am fighting tooth and nail every day to not drink. Sometimes I want a drink so badly that I just cry. I'm not full-blown alcoholic but I know I am going down that path, and I don't want to be a daily drinker. And she just started taking a drug and suddenly she made not drinking look so easy.

Anyways - my doctor refused to prescribe it to me. They aren't approved to treat alcohol use disorder. I think he was worried about anorexia or something- but I swear I don't care. If this drug made me gain weight but would stop my drinking, I would take it. I just want to be healthy and to not have to fight this battle every day for the rest of my life.

So me being desperate, I went to Hims/Hers to get the prescription. I intended to just see if it would help at all. I started on the 1.5mg and didn't notice anything. I just started the 4mg this week (took my fourth pill today) and I'm started to feel "effects" for the first time. I can't tell if its psychosomatic or not though so I am interested in the experience that other people are having.

I think I feel fuller but I am still eating a fair bit. My alcohol cravings have maybe decreased but I still want to drink. I managed to avoid drinking Friday night, but I had 3 drinks Saturday and felt like absolute shit when i got home that night. TMI but I had terrible diarrhea, which sometimes happens when I drink too much. Then I tried to not drink Sunday, but had a craving and had one glass of wine. I didn't drink more than that though, which might have been because I already felt so full.

However, the weirdest side effect I am having is that I am SUPER tired. I have a little nausea but mostly I just want to sleep all the time. It's not because I'm eating too few calories (I am tracking to make sure) but it is odd that I am so exhausted just since starting the 4mg pills. I sleep 9 hours a night but at like 10am I feel like I could nap.

Sorry this post is a little all over the place but I guess I am just looking to see if anyone else is having a similar experience to me. I feel like I am going it alone (I mean, I am) and I don't really know what I'm doing.