GLP-1 TV · Patient story · views checked Oct 2026
4 MONTHS ON SEMAGLUTIDE | Weight Loss at Age 49
Patient story
Our summary
Shelly, who runs the Geek Out of Water channel, describes her first 16 weeks on compounded semaglutide. She is 49, 5'5", and started on December 29, 2023 at 274 lb in a tight US size 20. She says she has lost 30 lb, a little under 2 lb per week, and hopes to lose about 100 lb in total. She stresses that this is not medical advice and tells viewers to talk to their own doctor. She says she has no diabetes, high blood pressure or heart failure, but wants to avoid them and ease joint pain.
One person's experience, in their words. Not medical advice.
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The three cheapest partner programs for semaglutide, all in per month, checked weekly.
What else the video covers
Shelly says the biggest change is that "food noise" stopped around the middle of the second week. She describes the drug as mimicking a gut hormone and says she read that it may quiet the brain's reward response to food without removing enjoyment of eating. She reports she now feels full much sooner and stops without wanting another bite. Her only side effect was occasional nausea, 3 to 4 times a week for 5 to 10 minutes early on, usually when she waited too long to eat. She says she has had only two episodes since, and none after her latest step up to the final maximum dose. She notes her doctor warned about undereating, constipation, muscle loss and thyroid cancer studies. She has not yet started formal workouts.
Shelly explains why she does not get it through her regular doctor. She says her insurance would cover Wegovy only with a BMI over 30 (hers was 46), a listed risk factor, and a failed non-GLP-1 weight loss drug in the prior 6 months, and she meets only the first. She says the uncovered price is $1,025 per month. She instead uses a compounded version from a Virginia med spa for a $500 monthly membership, after an earlier special of $1,500 that covered her through mid June. She says she worries about the FDA shortage list changing and warns about unreliable compounding pharmacies.
Our summary of what is said, in our words. Doses, results and prices are the speaker’s, not advice.
Takeaways
The main points, in the order they come up. Tap a time to play from there.
- 0:03 Shelly says she has lost 30 lb in 16 weeks on semaglutide, starting at 274 lb on December 29, 2023.
- 15:00 She reports occasional nausea of 5 to 10 minutes, 3 to 4 times a week early on, and none since her latest dose increase.
- 17:18 She says the biggest change was that constant thoughts about food stopped around the middle of the second week.
- 29:30 She says insurance would cover Wegovy only if she met three criteria, and she meets only the BMI requirement.
- 33:30 She says the uncovered Wegovy price is $1,025 per month, so she uses a compounded version for a $500 monthly membership.
- 42:00 She expects about 18 months of active weight loss, possibly followed by a lower maintenance dose, if she can afford it.
Key moments
From the creator's own chapters. Tap one to play from there.
What the video says
As stated in the video, not checked by us. Doses and results are the speaker’s, not advice.
- Medication
- semaglutide
- Point in the journey
- Month 4
- Weight loss mentioned
- 30 lb
- Side effects mentioned
- nausea, constipation and low appetite
- Prices mentioned
- $500 a month and $11,000 a month
- Who is speaking
- Patient
In their words
"the food noise was gone it stopped"
Questions this video answers
How much weight did she lose on semaglutide in 4 months?
Shelly says she lost 30 lb over 16 weeks, a little under 2 lb per week, starting from 274 lb. She hopes to lose about 100 lb in total.
What side effects did she have on compounded semaglutide?
She says she had occasional nausea, 3 to 4 times a week for 5 to 10 minutes early on, mostly when she waited too long to eat. She says she has had only two episodes since the first weeks and reports no other issues.
Why isn't she getting Wegovy through her insurance?
She says her insurance requires a BMI over 30, a major risk factor such as hypertension or type 2 diabetes, and a failed non-GLP-1 weight loss drug in the previous 6 months. She says she meets only the BMI requirement.
How much does her compounded semaglutide cost?
She says a med spa weight loss membership with the monthly dose and supplies costs $500 per month. She says she paid $1,500 under an earlier special, and that the uncovered Wegovy rate is $1,025 per month.
Videos on the same question
The closest videos in the library by what is said in them, not by title.
11 MONTHS ON SEMAGLUTIDE | Weight Loss at 50 Years OldShelly, who runs the Geek Out of Water channel, gives an 11-month update on compounded semaglutide.
SEMAGLUTIDE: 8 MONTH UPDATE | Weight Loss at Age 49Shelly, who runs the Geek Out of Water channel, gives an 8 month update on taking compounded semaglutide.
Compound Semaglutide Weight Loss Journey || IVIM HEALTH 🩺Miss Arianna, a creator who says she is a mom and a student, shares her weight loss results after about 12 weeks on compounded semaglutide from a provider she names as IVIM Health.
My 6 Month Semaglutide Weight Loss Journey! | Patient POVJenny, a 32-year-old patient of Barrett Plastic Surgery's weight management program, documents her first six months on semaglutide.
The food noise is gone! #semaglutide #glp1 #weightlossjouney #ozempic #motherdaughterIn this short clip from the Grannysoffherrocker channel, a woman marks 10 months on semaglutide and shows a pair of pants she has not worn in years.
WEIGHT LOSS UPDATE - WEGOVY | What happened when I went off it?Shelly, who runs the Geek Out of Water channel, gives an update on her time with semaglutide.
About Geek Out of Water
Patient story, 47.7K subscribers. 5 of their videos are in GLP-1 TV, 178K views between them, mostly on Compounded semaglutide, Wegovy.
- SEMAGLUTIDE: 8 MONTH UPDATE | Weight Loss at Age 49
- SEMAGLUTIDE 9 MONTH UPDATE: Results from my doctor
- 11 MONTHS ON SEMAGLUTIDE | Weight Loss at 50 Years Old
Read next
Our guides closest to what this video covers, with prices checked weekly.
- The best GLP-1 for weight loss, ranked by the evidence and then by the bill
By weight lost, the order is settled: tirzepatide (Zepbound) first at 20.2% in the only head-to-head, then semaglutide 7.2 mg (Wegovy HD) at 18.7%, then semaglutide 2.4 mg (Wegovy) at 13.7% to 15.6%, then the pills. By what you pay, the order nearly inverts: compounded semaglutide from $69 a month, the Wegovy tablet from $149, Wegovy pen $349, Zepbound $299 to $699 by dose. The best one is where those two lists meet for your budget and your plan.
- Tirzepatide vs semaglutide: the head-to-head result, and what the better one costs
They were finally tested against each other. In SURMOUNT-5, 751 adults with obesity took the maximum tolerated dose of one or the other for 72 weeks: tirzepatide lost 20.2% of body weight, semaglutide 13.7%. That gap is real and it is the whole argument for tirzepatide. The other half of the decision is the bill: compounded tirzepatide runs from $85 a month on our board against $69 for semaglutide, and the branded gap is wider still.
- Wegovy 7.2 mg (Wegovy HD): what the higher dose adds, and what it costs
Wegovy HD is semaglutide at 7.2 mg, three times the standard 2.4 mg dose, in its own pen. In the STEP UP trial it took 18.7% off body weight at 72 weeks against 15.6% for 2.4 mg and 3.9% for placebo, in 1,407 adults with obesity. That puts it within 1.5 points of tirzepatide's head-to-head result and makes it the strongest semaglutide there is. Novo sells it direct for $399 a month, $50 above the standard pen, and it sits above the normal ladder rather than replacing it.
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Side effectsDose changeWeigh-in and resultsFood, protein and eatingFood noise and cravingsMood and mental healthCost and insuranceStopping and maintenanceHow it worksThe trials
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