I'm 47 and I've been diagnosed with Type II for over a decade, been on insulin for the last 2 or 3 years. Here's my perspective. Doctors do a horrible job of explaining what is going on and do a lot of fear-mongering to sell more drugs.

If you are Type II (which I assume) it just means your body is running a little rich like that old Evinrude out board motor. It's probably a combination of insulin resistance from fat around the middle and an aging pancreas that has been overworked. You ain't gonna drop dead if you blood sugar is in the 200's or even 300's. You do need to pay attention. The logic behind Ozempic is if you lose the belly fat your insulin resistance goes down which increases the effectiveness of the insulin you are making naturally, which lowers A1C, wonderful. But the downside is you will also lose muscle, particually sketal muscle, which as a you age you want to hang on to as much muscle as possible. Maintaining skeletal muscle and strength in old age is associated with better outcomes.

Some studies that show Ozempic can cause or exasperate parlyzing the digestive system. That is probably what you are experiencing. I'd personally stop now and throw it away. I've had that before, non-ozempic related and it put me in the ER 3 times. Pure misery.

At the end of the day, all this is aiming at maybe extending your life span by a couple of years or months for most people. I know 80 year old men strong as an ox literally losing their mind about waking up at 120 or 130. It's absolutely insane, let grandpa enjoy his birthday cake. He's going to die of something else lost before diabetes at that age. You have to weigh out the pros and cons and not listen to the drug pushers.

My RX is: Lift weights, walk, try to eat ok, avoid binge drinking, don't smoke, use insulin to keep my Glucose in reasonable safe levels. I usually run about 50 points higher than a non-diabetic person on average. 150 while fasting, 250-300 after eating. I have had no negative effects in 10 years. Nothing on my last diabetic eye exam and just passed a clean stress stest with a strong heart. All at 300 pounds and 47 years old. I haven't always lived a clean life either.

My point is that losing weight is important and will help your outcome, but it's not everything. I dropped 30 pounds in a month during covid because the bars and restaurants were closed in Dallas. I had nothing to do but walk 3-4 miles a night out of sheer boredom and I don't drink alone or at home. My levels went down and this was before I was on insulin. We don't realize how much we are eating out and sitting on our butt most of the time due to routine.

That being said, don't throw caution to the wind. I've seen someone think their diabetes wasn't real and I went to his funeral. He was over 600 when he got to the ER. Everyone is different, just keep checking you blood sugar. Most of the people you see losing limbs and suffering major complications just refuse to accept the condition or deal with it mentally. You'll be amazed what even a 10 minute walk does. Our bodies were designed for 8 to 9 miles of walking a day. Diabetes is a by product of modern life for most of us, especially the husky and brawny.

I'm the third person in my immediate family with Type II. Everyone has lived normal lives, we all basically ate normal just had to make sure we take our medications and get some regular exercise. Most of these medications exist because people simply won't exercise enough and eat like a rabbit. I include myself, but I try to do a mix so I am not 100% dependent on medications. As Goomer said, there is always going to be a risk with any medication.

I don't know your age or condition, but this is a great time to pick up a new hobby like weight lifting, walking, pickle ball, etc... Do what you can it and do it as regularly as possible. It adds up and makes a big difference. Good luck to you.

Last edited by ShootemupTex; 08/29/25 08:29 AM.