“My Lukewarm Take on GLP-1 Agonists § My Own Experience”, 2024-08-26 (; similar):
[another anecdote of no benefit in lean healthy people] …I was quitting nicotine (switched to an unpleasant administration method and gradual dose reduction), and I had put on 2–4 kilograms of fat past what I’d consider optimal (but also, my 90% CI on optimal is like ±6kg).
Given the reported ability to help with addictions and weight loss, I thought I’d be a nice double whammy. Make it easier to stay off nicotine, avoid weight gain, and maybe even lose that extra weight without having to diet for a few months.
My own experience with semaglutide was trying it at a small dose for about a month (~0.2mg intramuscular ~1 week apart, dosed 3×).
I certainly noticed some gastrointestinal effects, nothing major but I was slightly nauseated on a few mornings (I never get nausea), and I had mild abdominal pain a few times. I was also a tad bit more sluggish, but it could have been the summer heat.
What I didn’t notice was a reduction in weight or a reduction in my desire to eat. I didn’t try very hard to eat less, but I tried a little bit, and the stomach discomfort made it less appealing.
As an interesting note, I’m pretty sure I know how to decouple “hunger” from “need to chew on yummy stuff”, and I’m pretty sure my “hunger” went down, but that’s never the reason I eat anyway… I eat because I like chewing on yummy stuff.
I also didn’t notice any ease in quitting nicotine, actually, the reverse, I seemed to peak in using my rather unpleasant nicotine supplement 2–4 days after taking an IM dose (roughly when I’d expect peak blood concentration to be reached).
Now, I was intentionally not trying to exert maximal willpower, but I was sorta trying. And nicotine addiction is odd, especially if you have it since your teens, and it takes a long time to fully break—But compared to my “control” of low-dose naltrexone and gritting my teeth, semaglutide was noticeably worse, if I had to bet, I’d say it had the opposite effect.