4 & 5 week updates + 5 things I gave up while on Zepbound

Takeaways

The main points, in the order they come up. Tap a time to play from there.

1. 0:00 Elise moves up to 5 milligrams and tries her thigh for the first time, which she says hurt.
2. 1:30 She says she lost zero pounds in week four and then chose to go up to 5 milligrams with her nurse practitioner.
3. 2:30 After week five she reports 10 lb lost in total, longer appetite suppression, and constipation that she links to a 4-day trip.
4. 4:45 She notes that going up after 4 weeks is a recommendation, not a requirement, and is a decision with a health care provider.
5. 5:30 She lists giving up wine at home, seltzer sodas, breakfast, and artificial sugar.
6. 8:40 She uses smaller plates and leaves two bites, and plans to rotate injection sites tummy, arm, thigh.

Key moments

From the creator's own chapters. Tap one to play from there.

1. 0:00 Zepbound journey update
2. 1:17 Dosage increase results
3. 2:52 Side effects and dosing
4. 5:32 Lifestyle changes made
5. 9:22 Future injection plans

What the video says

As stated in the video, not checked by us. Doses and results are the speaker’s, not advice.

Medication

Zepbound

Doses mentioned

2.5 mg and 5 mg

Point in the journey

Week 5

Side effects mentioned

fatigue

Who is speaking

Patient

Read next

Our guides closest to what this video covers, with prices checked weekly.

• Zepbound dosage chart: every tirzepatide dose, the escalation rule, what each rung lost in the trial, and what it costs

  Zepbound has six doses, 2.5 to 15 mg, taken once a week. The label's rule is four weeks at 2.5 mg, then 2.5 mg steps with at least four weeks on each, to a maintenance dose of 5, 10 or 15 mg. In SURMOUNT-1 those three doses lost 15.0, 19.5 and 20.9 percent of body weight over 72 weeks. Direct from Lilly each rung has a price, $299 at 2.5 mg rising to $699 at 10 mg and above, so the chart below carries the dose, the rule, the trial result and the bill in one place, plus the vial and KwikPen concentrations for anyone measuring in units.

• How long do Ozempic, Wegovy and Zepbound take to work? The label calendar and the trial timepoints

  GLP-1s act from the first dose, but the labels start low on purpose and step up every 4 weeks, so most people do not reach a full dose for 3 to 5 months. Each dose reaches steady levels in the blood after about 4 to 5 weeks. In the trials, people averaged 10.6% weight loss after 20 weeks of Wegovy's escalation and 20.9% after 36 weeks of Zepbound, with the full trial results at 68 to 72 weeks. For type 2 diabetes, Ozempic's A1C results were measured at week 30.

• Zepbound side effects: the label's table by dose, who actually quits, and how it compares to semaglutide

  Zepbound's label puts a number on every common side effect at each of its three maintenance doses. Nausea runs 25 to 29 percent against 8 on placebo, diarrhoea 19 to 23, vomiting 8 to 13, constipation 11 to 17. Across the two approval trials, 4.8 to 6.7 percent of people stopped the drug because of side effects, against 3.4 percent on placebo, and most of those who quit did so in the first months, from gut effects during dose escalation. Below that table are the rarer things the label warns about, with the trial rates where it gives them, and the honest comparison to Ozempic's table.

Find more like it

Side effectsDose changeWeigh-in and resultsFood, protein and eatingFood noise and cravingsInjection techniqueAlcoholStopping and maintenanceFatigue