Wegovy 11: Addressing the Shortage
This is the eleventh in a continuing series about my experience with the weight-loss drug Wegovy, which is similar to Ozempic.
I’ve just injected my eleventh shot of Wegovy. I’m still at 1.0 mg for one more week, and then after that, I’ll increase to 1.7 mg. This drug is absolutely working for me and when I scroll through my feed and read the reports of the Wegovy / Ozempic shortage, I will admit, I freak the eff out.
So far, I’ve been lucky. I use a local, family-owned pharmacy and they’ve been able to keep me stocked in my new drug-of-choice and have assured me that the higher doses will be available when I need them.
But what if they aren’t?
I must be prepared that there could be a gap in my Wegovy treatment or, worse, I may not be able to get it again at all (or at least for a long period of time). And there will be nothing I can do about it. So, how am I going to handle the worst-case-scenario actually happens?
Now is the time to be — gasp! — an adult.
After a lifetime of binge-eating, 12-Step programs, therapy, hypnosis, eating disorder treatments, vitamin therapy, exercise, etc. and ad nauseum, I have learned a few things about myself and here they are:
· Artificial sweeteners react in me just like sugar and trigger a binge.
· I need structure with my food; I don’t do well when I eat what I want, when I want.
· My body needs water … lots and lots of water. I don’t know why, it just does.
· I don’t like feelings.
· I need a lot of sleep.
· I need a lot of personal support.
· I’m sensitive as shit.
So, what I’m talking about here is investing in radical self-care. I began taking Wegovy because I could not catch a break from my insane binge-eating (read my first entry). All I wanted was to get a breather from eating myself to death and gaining weight seemingly on a daily basis. And then it still took me a month to stop binging, even on Wegovy (read about it here). And now I have 50 days of not binging and it’s truly a miracle.
One of the core principles of 12-Step groups is the concept of a “Higher Power” — it doesn’t have to be God, necessarily, just something greater than you that you can turn to for help and relief. I have been very, very careful to not make Wegovy my Higher Power, to not worship this drug or put all my eggs in one basket.
When I started Wegovy, I also started therapy, and have continued my exercise program, participation in a 12-Step group for food addicts, and meditate daily. Wegovy is only one part of a holistic recovery and wellness program.
If one day Wegovy isn’t available, I will just need to rely more heavily on my other tools, eliminate the foods that trigger me (goodbye, Diet Coke, sob), and lean into my support.
Wegovy or no Wegovy, I am committed to getting better. Wegovy makes the journey much, much easier but it’s not the only game in town and I’m never leaving the game, ever. My health and sanity are worth the struggle.
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