I'm type 1 and on Ozempic for about 4 months now. It is not recomended for type 1, but is it down to specialists discretion fi they feel there is a benefit You won't be able to get it on the NHS through GP or diabetes clinic. I am under endocroolgist consultant who prescribed it to me.
The reason I was prescribed it was as I have several metabolic conditions, which is why I see an endocrinologist. I have high insulin resistance and had weight gain over the years which I found hard to shift. I suffer from neuropathy after 25 years of diabetes, I also have maculopthay which is borderlien needing treatment and I need to tighten my control to ensure I keep my site long term. So I have a nu,ber of factors that led to this being prescribed.
I do beleive it is a grey area giving it to Type 1, as it is expensive drug and there is no benefit to well controlled type 1 diabetics. There has to be other factors involced, such as over weight, insulin resistance, other metabolic issues, poor diabteic controle etc which is why it is only prescrived by specialists.
I did at first experience more hypos, but with the help of the diabetes clinic, I quickly managed to get my carb to insulin ratio re-adjusted. As it delays your stomach from emptying, your blood sugar rises much more slowly. I also found that my insulin resitance has reduced dramatically. I have reduced my basal insulin down to just under half what i was on before and my bolus is now down to about 1/3 of what it was before.
With regards to side effects, I have had a few. I started out at 0.5mg for 4 weeks, then at 8 weeks it was doubled to 1mg and finally at 12 weeks I started 1.5mg, which I have been on now for a few weeks. At each stage there is mild nausea, headaches as my body adjusts to it, but after a week I have found this has settled and I start to feel okay overall.
Results so far have been positive so far Is strate dof at 17st4 and when I weighted in at month 3, I was 15st8, which I'm pretty pleased with and I am down from 2XL shirts to XL. I have also lost 2 inches from my waistline.
Tips for anyone who does start out for this would be don't force yourslef to eat, only eat when you feel hungry and stop when your full or the nausea will get bad. You need to adjust your diet a lot to cope with it. Keep dairy down to a minium, avoid fried foods. I find acidic food and spices also make me feel off. Drink plenty of water to avoid constipation due to delayed gastric emptying. Stickign to that I find I have no day to day nausea, unless I pick the wrong things to eat.
Good luck to anyone who reads this and is going to start it. Ozepic has changed my life and I feel so good for the weight loss. My freestyle libre is finally reporting an estiamted HBa1C that is within the nornal range! I don't think I have had a range within normal for over ten years. I have always been in the red.