Yep. Oh, BTW – I’m not taking Ozempic so I can keep eating myself into a coma instead of learning how to exercise and eat healthier stuff in moderation! I’m taking it to help lower both my daily blood sugars and my A1c: my weight HAS dropped 20 pounds since I started taking Ozempic BUT, the biggest change has been my A1c from 8.0 in April of 2025 to 6.8 in October 2025! MAJOR CHANGE! and average blood sugars dropping from 238 in April 2025 to an average of 138 this week! Again, a MAJOR CHANGE and a healthier person! I’d love to stay on Ozempic forever. The injections – which was admittedly my biggest concern before starting it (including a test run using Rybelsus, which is an oral form of Semaglutide (the active ingredient of Ozempic injected) – but the cost was horrendous AND THE PILLS WERE SO BITTER (bitter like, oh, say, I just about barfed every time I took one. I had to play around with placing the monstrosity carefully on the back of my tongue with a glass of water at hand to wash it down INSTANTLY.
I finally decided that was enough of that. I would make a plan to go OFF Ozempic. Stop using it. NOT cold turkey...but gradually with my doctor’s help.
That’s exactly what it sounds like. I’m going to quit Ozempic. But WHY??? You might ask. The problem is THE COST. Currently, even WITH insurance, it will cost me between $732 - $800 for a three month supply of Ozempic semaglutide. As there are 12 months a year, that means I’ll be shelling out…for the rest of my life…between $2928 to $3200 each year.
But is it worth it?
Well…I haven’t just been laying around, stuffing my face, and shoot my belly full of Ozempic. It’s full-on Winter here in Minnesota, so it’s just a given that I can’t get out and walk on some days. I TRIED setting my bike up on a stand and pedaling during the Winter, but that was just plain BORING, even when I read. It’s like…I ride my bike to get somewhere. Even if it’s just a few miles around the same lake as I usually ride ride around – but here, the weather can change in a matter of days. Winter officially begins on December twenty-something every year. BUT – some First Days of Winter are 60 degree. Others are 60 inches of snow, windy, and a wind-chill of ten-below-ZERO (which, I might remind you is 32 degrees BELOW FREEZING – even Minnesotans regard wind-chills (also know stupidly as “feels like”) that cold as DANGEROUS.
At any rate, I found I LOATHED pedaling indoors for 30-60 minutes incredibly BORING. So – I walk during the winter and bike as soon as the ice is off the streets and sidewalks. Then I bike between 5 and 20 miles a week. THAT’S when I feel best. BUT…I have to come up with a routine for something to DO on days it’s snowing, sleeting, raining, tornado-ing, or whatever.
Eating? Dang…my biggest weakness. I know what I SHOULD be eating (“You mean a peanut buster parfait isn’t the same as drinking a glass of milk, eating a handful of peanuts, and eating a few dark chocolate chips???” or “You mean an Arby’s Double Beef Burger isn’t the same as eating lean been slices with carrots and spinach dip? It’s WORSE?”
So, here I am. We’ll see why my doctor says soon enough and I’ll keep you in the loop about what is going on!
Source: https://www.bursor.com/what-happens-when-you-stop-taking-ozempic/ ; https://www.goldfieldsfamilymedical.com.au/coming-off-ozempic/ ; https://www.aarp.org/medicare/faq/does-medicare-cover-ozempic-weight-loss-drugs/#:~:text=But%20unless%20you're%20overweight,unless%20the%20program%20is%20extended.
