Updated: November 23, 2024
My name is Barb Herrera and I have been on the health gain and weight loss adventure since I was 10-years old. I am now 63. On speed at 10, trying every diet and fad, Fen-Phen in 1996 (with subsequent heart damage), a Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass in 2001 (with a lifetime of crippling deficiencies), Trulicity from 2022 until late 2023 (fantastic!), and now Mounjaro starting in late 2023 and is still ongoing in the fall of 2024 (even more amazing!).
Short aside: During the major Mounjaro shortage, I also took compounded tirzepatide for awhile. Then in August of 2024, my insurance denied me Mounjaro -after a year on it- and said I needed to take Ozempic for 6 months and prove it didn’t work before they gave me Mounjaro. I appealed the denials (three times) and took Ozempic during that time. I finally won my appeal November 15, 2024, so will now be prescribed Mounjaro for as long as I need and want it. That would be forever.
I’ve experienced the gamut of weight loss experiences.
I started out weighing 405 lbs. on April 22, 2022. Today, I weigh 145 lbs. I am done losing weight and am actively working to eat a little more because I do not want to go any lower on the scale. As long as my labs and health remain as fantastic as they are, I’m thrilled. I am working hard to get and stay healthy.
Having been a midwife and birth worker for 32 years, I have a specific eye on the medical aspects of the GLP-1 (Ozempic/Wegovy/semaglutide) and GIP/GLP-1 (Mounjaro/Zepbound/tirzepatide) medications. I’m watching the dawn of the healing of Type 2 Diabetes, a disease that has crippled and killed many members of my Latin family.
I do not want to die.
Hence this blog. I want to live, no matter what it takes. And I know I am not alone. While some flippantly use these medications for vanity reasons, I’m hoping most of us, those with obesity especially, just don’t want to die.
It is for those people that I write.
Welcome to my complicated world of Type 2 Diabetes treatment and weight loss medications.
NOTE:
This site does not use any AI at all. Not for my writing. Not for my pictures.
Nothing.
I am adamant about displaying my own writing,
even if AI might make it more palatable.
This is me.
Fantastic! It’s great to see you Speaking about your experiences!
Thank you! It feels great to be writing about these experiences and parts of my life.
Thanks for coming along for the ride!
You’re amazing!!! Thank you for sharing your journey and inspiration. Keep pushing forward. We can beat this together. It was a pleasure talking to you in the chemo infusion room.
You were FAST! Faster than our infusions. HA! Thank you for our amazing conversation. I already adore you! Thank you for being here and sitting next to me. You have made my holiday season and I will think of you often. Can’t wait to read your book!
Ha! You’re very welcome! I believe I was meant to sit next to you today. I am happy that we met and were able to have a beautiful conversation.
Thanks for the support. Please leave a review after reading the book. I look forward to hearing your feedback. Have an amazing holiday.
I am pre diabetic and my doctor wants me to take Ozempic but Medicare want pay and I don’t have cash so what can I do I’m not old enough for Medicare but insurance company’s don’t care can you help?
Hi, Carolyn… I totally understand your dilemma. I wish I had an answer for you. Insurance isn’t my specialty, but I can refer you to a YouTube creator that is: Dave Knapp of On the Pen. He is really great with maneuvering the insurance information issues. He might not have the perfect answer for you, but he might be able to lead you towards some possible solutions.
There are other medications that might be covered until you can get on the GLP-1s so be sure to ask your Primary Care Doctor. Calling your insurance can also give you ideas of what they will pay for. Not the perfect solution, but a possible start.
Medicare sucks right now, for sure. I am hoping Congress will change the Medicaid and Medicare guidelines sooner than later for folks just like you. Much good luck and I hope you are able to get on the right meds asap.
I feel your pain and know all about the issues of weight loss and gains. I am 72 years of age and still fighting the battle of the bulge. It never stops, everyday
I think about what I can’t eat, when to stop eating what. Obesity is a big lousy switch in your brain, not what you eat, but how much you eat and the quality of the food. Ugh ugh😳😳🤔🤔😠😠😠
We are women “of a certain age” and that means we have a LIFETIME of knowing this pain and difficulties. You said it fantastically, that obesity is a big lousy switch in your brain. You are right on there. It is exactly why these medications should be available to all who need them to shut that brain up from telling us what to do… when we know darn well, we don’t be needing to do that exact thing.
Thanks for writing Theresa. I am with you, sister!
I ran across the Atlantic article featuring you. Great article and I’ve been forwarding it to several people.
But a question…are you the same Barb Herrera who was an Outlander fan and on in our private FB page? If so, we are all so delighted to see you alive and well!
It’s me!!! Vicki! How cool to see you. Email me at HealthAtAnyCost@Gmail.com and let’s catch up!
What a wonderful coincidence re: The Atlantic and finding me there. I can’t wait to hear more from you!!
I’m so glad the Atlantic article wound up in the facebook feed I was scrolling at a long labor in the middle of the night. It is so wonderful to see you and read your stories again. I don’t know if there is a way to subscribe to the blog but I’m just delighted to “see” you again.
LUCINDA!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Did you hear me squeal when I read your comment?!? I’m in Orlando, but I am sure you could have from there.
So you see my new passion after midwifery. I am just as into educating about GLP-1s as I was about midwifery. It is glorious being able to use my “medical” skills and my research nerdiness for something that brings me joy. And apparently, I’m helping some folks in the meantime. I love it!
Please email me: HealthAtAnyCost@Gmail.com and fill me in on you and your life, in birth and out. I hope you are well and SO happy you connected!
HUGE smile!
I love your story, your honesty, and your disclaimer about AI!
It sure is a changing world! I’ve already seen so many new things in my 72 years, but I never expected a breakthrough in weight loss medication!
My insurance covers Wegovy but I haven’t been able to find a consistent source for it. It may be too late for me to benefit from it, but I hope that someday obtaining and paying for these lifesavers will be a reality for everyone.
Best wishes,
Ellen Keim
Ellen! Not too late, love! Does your insurance pay for Zepbound? It’s more in stock now and getting better. I can even find a 12.5 (I take 15mg) and am supplementing with compounded tirzepatide to make it to 15mg. As I write this, the starting dose (2.5mg) of Zepbound is not in shortage. The others are supposed to perk up by the end of June. 10mg. and 12.5mg are already more available. Maybe ask about it?
I am 63, and I know you feel as young as I do. Aren’t we still 16? And yes, I agree, never in my life did I think something like this would come along, but I am here to tell you how absolutely thrilled I am that it is. Please hang in there because any loss is going to bring you to feeling better (if you aren’t feeling 100% perky now). Don’t quit!
Thanks so much for reaching out! I’m glad to meet you!
Hi Barb!
Thanks so much for mentioning this morning in your comment on my Anchor Moments YouTube video that you are an author of a blog! I am so glad to be able to read your blog and see your beautiful smiling face! Next winter, Jeff and I plan to drive our van to Florida and visit my parents. I would love to visit Orlando on that trip and meet you for coffee. Would love to give you a big hug! I look forward to your comments on my videos because you give such great advice. I appreciate you and am so glad I can read more on your blog website! You rock!
Hugs!
Gina La Benz
Author and Vlogger of Anchor Moments
How exciting to see you here, Gina!! When you and Jeff come down this way, I insist we meet with each other!
And how wonderful I get to see your smiling face twice a week! I will link to your channel in the next post that works with it in there.
As you read through, you will see why I am noisy about information and “advice” – it’s in my nature. I had a 10-year long midwifery blog (now deleted) called Navelgazing Midwife. I have another blog (pretty quiet atm) called Navelgazing Writer where I talk about my love of Queen, my having Bipolar Disease 1, how much I love my kidlets, and memories of my life. This one is still new, not yet a year old, but I am LOVING delving so deeply into GLP-1s. I am quite the research nerd… comes from being a midwife and a nosy girl. HA!
Again, thanks for stopping by and see you on Anchor Moments soon!
Hi Barbara, I’ve been reading your blog and watching you on different platforms. I just got a quick question for you. Unfortunately I developed a twisted intestines. I don’t know if it was with the medicine. I have been on since April which is Monjo or zip bound or if it’s something I had developed over time, but I am sure my doctor will advised me to quit taking the medicine. What are your thoughts?
Hi, Laura! I am so sorry you are having issues. I’d love to know what the official diagnosis is… is it a bowel obstruction? (This can happen from having any abdominal surgery ever. I have a bowel obstruction that I keep unkinked with diet and eating slowly.) An intestinal malrotation or volvulus? (This happens before birth.) I encourage you to get an actual diagnosis and then you can weigh the risks and benefits of staying on GLP-1s or not. If the GLP-1s caused this (and that is REALLY hard to determine… ask the lawyers who are representing people trying to sue Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk), then of course you will want to get off of them. I am really adament about not going off them myself because they have saved my life, BUT if my life was at stake? I would find another route. There are other medications to help lose weight and to help with diabetes. The most important part is for you to get and stay healthy and alive.
I really encourage you to see an Endocrinologist and possibly a GI doctor as second and third opinions so you know better what to do. Most docs know nothing about these meds, but the Endos and GI docs know them well and will not steer you wrong. And it might not be the worst idea to go off the meds until you get other opinions just to make sure you aren’t making things worse. It is what I would most likely do. Once you have a clear idea of what is happening, then it is easier to know which direction to take.
Please let me know what you find and what you and the doctors decide is the best course for your case. Sending lots of light your way that things resolve quickly and easily.
I’m a small 5” 2 and weight almost 200 lb. My Medicar and supplement will not help me . I need help!
I know how hard it is… the weight, the trying to access the medication, the desperation. I wish I had an answer for all of us.
Have you had your heart checked out? To see if you have sleep apnea?
This is from a site about Medicare that might help:
Because it’s an outpatient prescription drug, Ozempic falls under Medicare Part D. Coverage for Ozempic differs between plans. If you have Original Medicare, you can buy a stand-alone Medicare Part D plan to get prescription drug coverage. If you have Medicare Advantage, most plans include prescription drug coverage.
Might any of this help? Much good luck and please hang in there!
Thinking of you today Barb!
Cyndi! Thank you!! You are so kind. *hugs*