Doubling Up on Ozempic
May. 8th, 2026 10:13 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
canyonwalkerIt's been almost a month now since I started taking Ozempic, a GLP-1/Semaglutide medication. I had a followup appointment with my GP yesterday. She's stepping me up to the next higher dose. It's double what I've been taking the past month.
Going in to the appointment I wasn't sure if the doc would want me to continue the previous dosage or step up to the next level. In favor of "continue" was that I was I've been observing good improvements on the starter dose. Some people see little or no change on it, but I've already seen a 15% improvement in my blood glucose levels and I've lost 9 pounds (in a month). Plus, I've had only mild undesirable side effects.
These results had me thinking, "Perhaps I should go another month at the same level and see if there are further improvements before increasing the dose."
But the doc's thinking was, "These are great results, let's double your medication and see what happens!" 😳
Okay, it sounds a bit cavalier when I phrase it that way. A point in favor of "This is normal" is that the starter dose is meant to be just that; a starter dose. The next level up is considered the therapeutic dose. And for people of my body mass the next level beyond that, 4x the starter dose, is where we usually land. I guess I'm just unusual— in a good way, like right end of the bell curve unusual—for seeing improvements on the most minimal dose.
I've got to admit, I'm nervous about doubling up. Double up to get double the benefit? Sure, sign me up! But double (or worse) the undesirable side effects? Ehhh... I'd rather go slow-and-gentle if that works. We'll see what happens within the next week as I switch the higher dose.
Going in to the appointment I wasn't sure if the doc would want me to continue the previous dosage or step up to the next level. In favor of "continue" was that I was I've been observing good improvements on the starter dose. Some people see little or no change on it, but I've already seen a 15% improvement in my blood glucose levels and I've lost 9 pounds (in a month). Plus, I've had only mild undesirable side effects.
These results had me thinking, "Perhaps I should go another month at the same level and see if there are further improvements before increasing the dose."
But the doc's thinking was, "These are great results, let's double your medication and see what happens!" 😳
Okay, it sounds a bit cavalier when I phrase it that way. A point in favor of "This is normal" is that the starter dose is meant to be just that; a starter dose. The next level up is considered the therapeutic dose. And for people of my body mass the next level beyond that, 4x the starter dose, is where we usually land. I guess I'm just unusual— in a good way, like right end of the bell curve unusual—for seeing improvements on the most minimal dose.
I've got to admit, I'm nervous about doubling up. Double up to get double the benefit? Sure, sign me up! But double (or worse) the undesirable side effects? Ehhh... I'd rather go slow-and-gentle if that works. We'll see what happens within the next week as I switch the higher dose.
