A woman who claims to have been dubbed 'Ozempic's poster girl' by her doctor has revealed what common mistake a lot of people taking it make.
Aisling McCarthy says that the weight loss drug 'changed her life' after she got her first prescription at the beginning of 2022.
The mum was diagnosed with arthritis and fibromyalgia in her early thirties, and flare-ups would make her feel 'so low' that she dealt with them by 'eating her feelings'.
"It was constant toffee popcorn, chocolate bars, muffins and ice cream," she told Metro of her life before Ozempic. "Then I started to lose mobility, which caused me to gain even more weight."
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Determined to escape the vicious circle she found herself stuck in, Aisling tried 'every diet under the sun' in the hopes of reducing her weight from 17 and a half stone.
However, she said she would 'gain it all back' each time - until she was introduced to Ozempic three years ago by her doctor.
The medication, which is manufactured by Novo Nordisk, works by mimicking the action of a hormone called GLP-1, and this suppresses your appetite, slows digestion and regulates your blood sugar levels.
Although it is designed to treat people with Type 2 diabetes, it can also be used for weight loss purposes - but make sure you consult a health professional before you sign yourself up.
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Aisling admitted that she was 'a little anxious' about using Ozempic at first as she 'didn't know a lot about it', but she soon got the hang of it.
She first began injecting herself with a 0.25mg dose each week, before doubling this amount after a month had passed, and later increasing the dose to 1mg after another two months.
The former fad dieter said the weight loss jab was so 'effective at turning off any food noise' that the weight 'started coming off straight away'.
"I didn’t see it myself until around three months, even though my clothes were hanging off me," Aisling said, before then revealing what impact slimming down had on the inside.
"I’d gone from hating to loving myself, and that’s a hard thing to do," she continued. "I’m in less pain, which means I’m able to do things I haven’t done since my twenties."
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The mum reached her target of 11 stone within a year of beginning her Ozempic journey, so she decided to call it a day as she was 'happy with her curves' - and there was a shortage in supply, too.
"[My prescription] was a bit late one month, and then again, and then I couldn’t get it at all," Aisling said. "I thought if I didn’t choose to come off it, I would start to struggle mentally."
She's since undergone a breast reduction as well as a procedure to remove loose skin, known as an apronectomy, to complete her physical transformation. Aisling now weighs 10 stone and 9lbs.
Her doctor now dubs her the 'poster girl for Ozempic' thanks to her successful weight loss - and because she hasn't regained all the weight since stopping the jabs, like a lot of other people do.
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And that's why Aisling wants to share some advice for other Ozempic users about how to navigate their doses of the drug as they come to the end of their weight loss journeys.
"Weaning off made the difference," she said. "I tell everyone not to go cold turkey, because it’s hard to handle the appetite coming back in one go."
As well as this, Aisling said that addressing any underlying issues which may impact your weight - such as mental health struggles or lifestyle factors - are just as important.
"Some people are looking for a quick fix, rather than a tool," the mum added.
"They’re not treating the reason they gained the weight, so when they stop, the issues that caused the gain creep back, and they don’t know how to handle them.
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"You have to work on your mind as well as your stomach, because otherwise, they’ll sabotage each other."
Aisling urged people considering Ozempic to 'do their research' and emphasised that it 'shouldn't be people's first choice' - but said anyone taking it 'shouldn’t feel any shame in trying to get healthy'.
"Ozempic genuinely changed my life, so I have no regrets," she concluded.
Olivia Burke