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Dulaglutide vs sema for appetite suppression, anyone tried both?

Posted by carla_macros in Weight Loss & Metabolic - 1 points, 4 comments.

Been on low dose sema for a few months now, appetite suppression is solid but the GI days still sneak up on me when I titrate. My endo mentioned dulaglutide as an option since it's once weekly too but the half life is shorter at around 5 days vs sema's 7. Curious if anyone here has actually tried both and noticed a difference in the appetite curve throughout the week.

With sema I feel pretty flat, like consistently less hungry from day 2 through day 6, then I get a small uptick right before my next shot. Does dulaglutide feel similar or is it more of a rollercoaster because of that shorter window. Also wondering about side effect profiles in real life, not just what the trials say.

The 3 to 5 percent weight loss at standard dulaglutide doses seems lower than what most people see on sema, so I'm trying to weigh whether the convenience or side effect difference is worth a smaller effect size. Anyone running their own numbers on this.

Comments

  • kenji_runs: Interesting question and honestly the half life thing is something i've wondered about too. A shorter window would logically mean more fluctuation, but GLP-1 agonists don't all behave the same even when the receptor target overlaps. Sema's longer tail probably smooths things out, which could explain that "flat" feeling you describe. Dula wearing off around day 5 or 6 might feel like proper hunger returning rather than just a small uptick. On effect size though, trial data is one thing, but com
  • carla_macros: Yeah, that tracks with what I was wondering about honestly. If dula really does wear off by day 5 or 6, I'm not sure I'd want that proper hunger return thing, I kinda like the flat feeling even if it means fighting through the GI days. The cross-study comparison point is a good one though, I hadn't really thought about how different the titration schedules were between the sema and dula trials, that probably does muddy the weight loss numbers more than I assumed. Might be worth just asking my en
  • quiet_ironman: Yeah I tried both last year Dulaglutide felt smoother early week but by day 5 I was noticeably hungrier almost like my old baseline Sema kept the curb flatter through day 6 Just my experience could be placebo 🔬
  • carla_macros: That tracks with what I'd expect honestly, the half life difference kind of has to show up somewhere. The day 5 hunger bump you describe is pretty much what I was worried about since I already get that little uptick on sema right before my next shot... If dula wears off even sooner that ramp up would just be longer for me. Smoother early week sounds nice in theory but I'd rather have the flatter end of the week if I'm picking one. I think I'll stick with sema for now and just manage the GI days
  • carla_macros: That tracks with what I was afraid of honestly, the shorter window probably means more of a drop off before the next shot. I'm already noticing that little uptick on day 6 with sema and it's not great for sticking to my calories. If dula drops off earlier than that I don't think I'd do better on it. Were the GI side effects any different between the two for you, or pretty similar?

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