Lost 42 pounds on Wegovy in 12 months — but the savings card expiring almost stopped me.

I started Wegovy at 218 pounds after my BMI hit 35 and my doctor flagged prediabetes. My insurance approved it with the NovoCare savings card — $25/month copay. The first month was brutal. Sulfur burps, constipation, fatigue. I almost quit at week 3. My doctor adjusted me to slower titration and added an anti-nausea med for two weeks. By week 8, I had no nausea. By month 4, I had lost 22 pounds. By month 8, my prediabetes was gone — A1C dropped from 5.9 to 5.4. The hardest part wasn't the side effects. It was when my 12-month savings card expired in month 11 and my copay jumped to $145. I called Novo Nordisk and got extended eligibility for another 6 months. After that runs out, I'll need to either accept the higher copay or switch to compounded. I'm honest about this — Wegovy is a maintenance drug. Discontinuation = weight regain for most people. I've already accepted I'll be on this or something like it for years. What surprised me: I had to actively learn what hunger felt like again. For 20 years I ate every time I felt anything resembling hunger. On Wegovy, real physical hunger is rare. I had to set meal reminders for the first 6 months because I would forget to eat for 8-10 hours and then crash. I lost lean muscle in the first 4 months because I wasn't tracking protein. Started weight training and 1.4g/kg protein at month 5 and that fixed it.