Ozempic
The last of my Ozempic – for now
I have been Type 2 diabetic since 2010 when I started taking metFormin. I took that for about 5 years before I was put on Glimepiride and then 2 years later, I started taking Pioglitazone. They all worked to some degree, except for the metFormin which ended up being more of a placebo. I went to my doctor and he kept pushing more pills on me.
I asked him if I could go on Ozempic as I had heard it worked for others. He kept telling me how expensive it was. Finally, I told him prescribe it and we will see what insurance covers. This was in July 2023. Turns out it was only $25 a pen and my prescription was for 3 at a time.
Each pen holds 4 doses of .25mg or 4 doses of .50mg. I started doing the simple math and realized that if I did 4 doses at .25mg that each pen still had 2 doses at .50mg. So once I started taking the once a week shot – I picked my day as Tuesday – that I could get 6 weeks out of each pen. So for 4 weeks, I would take .25mb each time and then for 2 weeks, I would take .50mg.
Giving Yourself a Shot
So how do you administer the shot. It’s a small needle and you dial up the correct dose – .25mg or .50mg – and then you stick the needle into the fatty part of your belly and hold the button down at the top part of the pen until it stops. I hate needles and shots, but I was comfortable enough to do this once a week.
Results
So what were the results? Within 3 weeks, my numbers were under 130mg/dL for the first time in years. They had been over 200mg/dL even with proper exercise and diet. I rarely drink sodas or eat fried foods. I had already started reducing the amount of metForim I was taking in April 2022, which started at 2000mg a day – 4 500mg pills. Eventually, I stopped taking metFormin completely in July 2024.
At the end of October 2024, I lost my health insurance after I was laid off from my job of 9 years and 7 months. That meant I had to find other means to get my prescriptions. I turned to GoodRX which for the pills I take, the cost was just a bit more than the co-pay I was paying when I had insurance. That part worked out. For the Ozempic pen, GoodRX is $995 per pen. That is 40 times the cost I was getting Ozempic when I had insurance. So I had to find a way to keep taking it but not as often. I stretched my last pen out to June 2, 2025 going as long as a month in between shots. What did that do my numbers? They went up, but not as much as I was thinking they would. I was now around 175mg/dL when I tested my blood sugar.
I still try to keep my exercise and diet in check, for the most part. I ended up getting 3 months of Freestyle Libre 3 CGM sensors from a family member that passed away in April 2025, as he was Type 2. So I track my numbers throughout the day now and try to snack when they get too low – which is around 75mg/dL – and drink more water when they get over 200mg/dL which does happen after a walk or eating anything.
the Freestyle Libre app on my iPhone
Managing all of this is difficult and time consuming, but important. Once I get working again and on health insurance, I will get back to taking the once a week Ozempic shot. It works very well. I just wish the cost would go down or a generic version of it will be out soon.
About The Author
I must admit I did wonder how these shots are administered. So I’ve learned something new today.
In hindsight, I should have filmed the process. It takes all of 20 seconds.
My wife self administers a similar pen injection. She was doing it in her stomach until her bruising got really bad so she started in her upper thigh. Still bruising but not in as potentially painful an area.
Yeah, upper thigh was suggested for Ozempic. Fortunately, I never experienced bruising. Sorry she had that happen.