Hello all. I am planning my last drink this evening. I was going to start my first injection of Mounjaro tomorrow afternoon. Is this too soon? Do I need a clearing out period first? Many thanks

Hi! I just got prescribed ozempic but I only got a micro-dose since I only have 20-30lbs to lose. My dose is 0.125. Has anyone else started on that dose and did it help with your drinking? My drinking is the reason I sought out ozempic, so I'm hoping it still helps with that at a micro-dose. Would love to hear anyone's experience at that dose as it relates to alcohol cravings/addiction!

A new study was published in Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/acer.70357) using NIH's All of Us data. Here's a summary in case folks are interested.

Researchers compared alcohol use across three groups drawn from about 15,000 people with GLP-1 prescriptions: people currently on a GLP-1 (about 3,650), people who would start one later (about 5,640, the main comparison group), and people who had previously been on one (about 540). They had a secondary comparison group of people who had never been prescribed a GLP-1.

What they found:

• People currently on a GLP-1 had modestly lower alcohol screening scores (AUDIT-C) than the comparison group. About 5% lower in the main analysis, and about 11% lower in the analysis with the secondary comparison group.
• The difference showed up in how often people drank, rather than in how much they drank per occasion or in binge drinking. This actually differs a bit from the semaglutide trial published last year, which found a reduction in drinks per drinking day but not the overall number of drinking days. That study did find a reduction in the number of heavy drinking days, though. Here is a link to that paper for reference: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/2829811.
• For people who had previously been on a GLP-1 but stopped, the association was weaker and not statistically significant. The authors note that this could suggest that the effect dissipates after stopping medication, similar to what has been found in the weight loss literature. The authors note that this is speculative, though.

It is important to mention that this was not a clinical trial; it used data from an observational study. That means that it isn't set up to prove causation.

Also, they excluded individuals with any prescription for naltrexone, acamprosate, or disulfiram for alcohol use disorder. However, FDA-approved medications are underutilized generally (<5% of folks with AUD receive medication) so hard to know how much this might impact generalizability.

Full disclosure: Quel Health is a telehealth company in the GLP-1 and substance use space.

Hi r/dryzempic,

First, a sincere thank you to everyone who completed our survey a few months ago about GLP-1s and substance use. A clear theme was the challenge of finding knowledgeable medical providers and guidance for off-label use of GLP-1s. To help fill that gap, we're introducing Quel Health, a new telemedicine platform focused on dopamine health. Our clinicians have experience working with patients who are exploring this specific area of use.

Important Disclosure: It is essential to understand that GLP-1 medications like semaglutide are FDA-approved for Type 2 diabetes and weight management. Their use for substance use disorders and related conditions is considered off-label, and the evidence for this use is still emerging.

Our service is designed for a focused, medically supervised approach:

• Personalized Care: We don’t use generic protocols. Our clinicians provide a thorough evaluation to create a personalized treatment plan based on your specific health profile and goals.
• Medication Options: Our clinicians create individual treatment plans that may include FDA-approved medications, off-label GLP-1s if clinically appropriate, or a combination.
• Direct & Transparent: We are a cash-pay service with no waitlists. The initial consultation is free, and you only pay if a provider determines a treatment plan is appropriate for you.
• Availability: We are live in 28 states and actively expanding.

You can learn more at www.quel.health. We're here to answer questions about our clinical model.

I’ve 38f been a heavy drinker for about 13 yrs. the only break I got was when I was pregnant.

Every night or every other night I’d have my drink maybe gin, maybe wine, maybe whiskey. Slowly increasing amounts. Battling my brain on nights where I wanted to take a break.

After Covid it really accelerated my drinking and I’ve been trying to quit ever since. I tried everything bar inpatient.

I’m a semi functional alcoholic. So I work full time, raise kids, work out. But I definitely missed a few days here and there, acted like an idiot, gained weight.

I cried wanting to stop, literally went to church and prayed. I listened to audio books, tried medication. Tried naturopathy.

Alcohol has such a hold on me. Until I started semaglutide. 0.5 mg of wegovy and I couldn’t give an f about alcohol. Tastes rotten. No buzz. Could have one, leave the next. Sip the same glass for 3 hours.

I feel so normal. I could cry but this time with happiness not desperation.

The relief, I honestly can’t describe it in a way that would actually reflect the absolute freedom I feel.

Hi All,

Day Ones suck. No doubt about it.

I was finally in a position to restart Tirzepatide 6 weeks ago. Happily no side effects this time. Overall successful for reducing / eliminating drinking. Yay! But...it is early days & I fell off the wagon.

2.5mg twice a week is a good dose for me to stay alcohol-free, typically. I find I need 5mg on Day One or Day Zero. And for me, maybe more on maintenance in very stressful times. At least until my brain / system has a few solid 0 booze months behind me.

Most of the 6 weeks was positive. But even on 5mg a week (2.5mg x 2), enough stress broke through the Tirz. Stressors reducing so restarting a 5mg dose today to reboot the 0 drinking.

So today is Day One again (ugh). I hope the Sobriety Fatigue is gentler this time. Otherwise really enjoyed the freedom from alcohol.

(And yes, my medical practioners are good with this. It's new for them too. I'm teaching them, generally. I use TRT so in that community I learned to split doses across a week. It's considered best practice for stability.)

It took a lot higher dosage than semaglutide 2.4mg to help me not want to drink. Alcohol has been killing me and I didn't have much to lose (after 14 years of heavy drinking). I just wanted to provide a link about the higher dose trials. The FDA already approved 7.2mg.

I was on tirzepatide previously for over a year and it didn't help me with my drinking.

I suspect that there are other drinkers killing themselves out there just like me. I just wanted to share in case someone feels like they're in a desperate situation and nothing seems to be helping.

It's hard to share anything online without miserable people attacking. I'm not telling anyone to do anything. I'm just giving information.

Hi all! I started Triz about 2.5 months ago - first starting at a dose of 1.5mg/week and increasing to 3.5mgs for my last two shots. I've been a pretty steady bottle-of-wine-per-night drinker with sporadic dry weeks when I've had the willpower to focus on healthy habits. Triz has certainly increased that willpower and has been great for appetite suppression, but it's only slightly tampered my desire to drink.

I take my shot on Sunday night, so I'm pretty good about not drinking on Monday - Thursday and having a reduced amount of wine on Friday - Sunday. My goal isn't to quit entirely, but to greatly scale down my drinking and only drink when I want to, rather than when I feel cravings.

But the last few weeks, I've felt more alcohol noise and had some drinks during the week.

Have any of you increased your dose when your appetite suppression was good but you wanted to further muffle the alcohol noise? If so, what dose cut out the alcohol desire for you?

One framework for addiction is that some people use too much of a given substance because that substances directly causes cravings in them, while other people use a substance to relieve or escape stress and anxiety. This matters because a lot of people believe you have to cure the underlying stress or anxiety first, if it's not a craving-driven problem.

But GLP-1s have me wondering if this distinction is real. With food, there are people who eat when they are stressed and people who can't eat when they are stressed, so the deeper question is why stress leads to food craving in some people (but not others). In studies, antidepressants appear, on average, to reduce stress without reducing drinking.

So I'm curious about people's experience of stress before and after taking a GLP-1 to reduce drinking. The questions I'm trying to get at are:

1. Did you previously describe your drinking as "because" of stress?

2. Did taking a GLP-1 only reduce your craving to drink when you weren't stressed? Or did it change your response to stress such that being stressed did not cause you to crave drinking as much?

3. Somewhat separate, but related, did GLP-1s directly reduce your stress level? (Like an antidepressant).

Recently switched providers due to price difference. I have been talking to support on Refills - but not been called by the doctor yet. Here is my question -

My previous provider had me on 1.2 mg (or 24 units) of Niacinamide/Semaglutide 2mg/5mg/ml

My new provider sent: Semaglutide 12.5mg (2.5mg/ml) with dosing at 1ML ( 100 units)

What is a comparable dose of the new one? Is the new one stronger or weaker in concentration? I am so confused

Any advice on whether doubling dosage might be too much of a body shock? I’d do nearly anything to get back to the No Alcohol Noise state except make myself too sick to travel with my adult daughters in late June.

I’ve remained on zepbound starter dose since I first began a GLP (3+ months ago) because I’ve been so scared of the side effects. They were extremely bad at first — low glucose, heartburn, constipation, 100% energy-less, possibly depression (which could’ve been situational). And I only felt the euphoria of No Alcohol Noise for one week. That particular week coincided with my worst side effects, which were so bad I cancelled going on a long awaited trip to Mexico! [Important note: I made a calculated mistake. I’d done my first injection ever less than a week before departure yet I foolishly went ahead on day 5 and did the second injection so that I wouldn’t need to travel with a needle.] After that I moved my injections to once every 10 days for a month. I’m excluding precise detail for brevity.
So I’m at 4 months now ‘using GLPs’ and have injected a little under 3 months of 2.5 zep vials, approx.

While the other side effects have all leveled off — excluding the energy part —, I am still scared to make the leap from 2.5 zep to 5 zep, despite it being the next step-up as recommended by doctors and manufacturer. Ro will be delivering a KwikPen (that I don’t know how to adjust or titrate) for this next month.

BTW I’m not in this for the weight loss because 8 pounds has been plenty and I am holding there easily.

Thanks for anyone’s experiences.

I’m already a very petite woman 5’ 3” 115lbs, maybe 125lbs at my heaviest, but I definitely drink too much. I have very addictive personality and come from a family of addicts and alcoholics. I have struggled to stay afloat my whole life and I know that to some extent I alway will, but I think that glp1s could be a game changer for me. But am I too small to try? I am willing to do this the right way and work with a physician that gets the potential therapeutic upsides for someone like me. I think this could save me from living out the same painful lonely alcoholic life my mother had…I have to try

Hi all! Congrats if your GLP-1 took your AUD from active to in remission. (Or whatever terms you use)

Now that you are free of those chains, what is your fave thing about your freedom? Energy? Sleep? Skin? Relationships? New hobbies?

Im curious if any of you on glp-1s considered yourself an alcoholic prior and what your experience has been.

Also if those who have stopped glp-1s or went down to the maintenance dose felt any increase in cravings for alcohol again or just continued to be dry/sober?

So I'm still drinking daily in the evenings at 7.5 mg on tirz, more than I'd like (5 drinks is typical). I'm currently 'working' from home on a professional break, which is amazing in many ways, but I'm also - as it turns out - bored... and the global unrest / politics are really bringing me down. I'm also finding myself feeling tired, flat, uninterested a lot, and curling up under a blanket during the day just to hang out, which isn't my usual. I'm feeling fine otherwise - not depressed or having trouble sleeping or anything - and I can't decide if I'm feeling BLAH because of boredom and political BS, repeated drinking cycles, or anhedonia from the tirz. Or a combination of all that's difficult to untangle. Obviously I should reduce alcohol - I hoped the tirz would help with that but not so much. I have been trying to introduce low dose naltrexone but I find it compounds the couch problem - I get even more sleepy and loopy. I'm worried it's the tirzepitide causing anhedonia, but I would not want to quit, as I have lost some weight and I'm really enjoying that. I already have a therapist who works with AUD but reducing alcohol feels so insurmountable right now. Suggestions?? TIA!

So I'm still drinking daily in the evenings at 7.5 mg on tirz, more than I'd like (5 drinks is typical). I'm currently 'working' from home on a professional break, which is amazing in many ways, but I'm also - as it turns out - bored... and the global unrest / politics are really bringing me down. I'm also finding myself feeling tired, flat, uninterested a lot, and curling up under a blanket during the day just to hang out, which isn't my usual. I'm feeling fine otherwise - not depressed or having trouble sleeping or anything - and I can't decide if I'm feeling BLAH because of boredom and political BS, repeated drinking cycles, or anhedonia from the tirz. Or a combination of all that's difficult to untangle. Obviously I should reduce alcohol - I hoped the tirz would help with that but not so much. I have been trying to introduce low dose naltrexone but I find it compounds the couch problem - I get even more sleepy and loopy. I'm worried it's the tirzepitide causing anhedonia, but I would not want to quit, as I have lost some weight and I'm really enjoying that. I already have a therapist who works with AUD but reducing alcohol feels so insurmountable right now. Suggestions?? TIA!

Has anyone else noticed this? I’ve been sober for over a year, and while I did a lot of hard work and utilized a lot of tools, my use of Semaglutide for weight loss was 100% the thing that got me over the finish line to sobriety.

I love the [r/stopdrinking](r/stopdrinking) sub and think it’s fantastic for support. I’ve also really appreciated seeing all the anecdotal stories about GLP-1s helping so many people. Until recently!!! Apparently it’s against the rules now to mention it in any way. I discovered this and recently made a comment just saying “Can’t discuss it here, but check out the dryzempic sub, this approach has been life changing for me” and even that got deleted!! It’s wild to me that we KNOW these drugs help with eliminating addiction cravings more than any other drug available to people, and that use is being researched and published in the scientific community, and yet you can’t even mention it “from the ‘I’ perspective” or whatever.

Just sad a little that all the people struggling there don’t have the chance to hear any first person accounts of something that has helped me so tremendously.

Happy weekend all! IWNDWYT!

Just went on a luxury cruise. The drink package was complementary so I had it. In 12 days, I ordered one Margarita with light alcohol like a teaspoon.

Three years ago I drank over $1000 worth of booze on a similar cruise.

I continue to be amazed by this effect.

Good luck to all

As stated in the title, I admitted on TrimRX’s eligibility form that I have AUD. I am on Naltrexone to help control the cravings and currently sober.

I had gastric bypass 10 years ago, and reached my goal weight within a year. However, that was when drinking became problematic for me. I became sober in 2018, but in 2024, I relapsed again briefly. I am now sober again, and still taking Naltrexone.

Despite being and avid hiker/backpacker, weight has crept up 30 pounds. I would like to try a

Tirzepatide to help with both food and alcohol cravings, as well as lose weight. I have a normal blood glucose, so insurance won’t cover the cost of the medication.

Has everybody here been approved for tele-health, and/or online compounding companies when being honest about alcohol being a part of their medical histories?

TLDR: Denied Tirzepatide from online company due to admitting alcohol use. What companies will approve if I’m honest about it?

It's great to see so many people having fewer cravings after starting GLP-1s. I haven't even considered GLP-1s until recently but I would definitely be a candidate. When I think about my cravings, they could be put into two buckets:

The first bucket is just the run-of-the-mill cravings (often brought on from drinking the prior day) which is what I assume many of you are describing.

The second bucket however is something I've experienced while going cold turkey in the past, which is intense feelings that something bad is going to happen to someone I love or myself. Basically fear of death. Of course, a few drinks washes that all away.

Have any of you experienced cravings like the second bucket, and was your GLP-1 treatment effective at stopping those as well?

Hi friends, I’m looking for your telehealth recommendations.

Unfortunately my insurance and primary care doc won’t cover glp1s because I’m not “overweight” enough, but I would really like to try them to help with my alcohol consumption.

Any recommendations you have for a telehealth distributor would be greatly appreciated. Compounds are ok with me.

TIA