Increasing dosage while still losing?

Long winded backstory:

I started Oz in March of this year and have lost ~45lbs so far. Prior to taking this medication I was not an overeater (if anything, I undereat); I’m at a very high weight due to hormonal imbalances and insulin resistance after the birth of a child. While being on Oz has by necessity changed my habits (I can only have small portions and by extension I’m forced to eat throughout the day instead of forgetting and then having one large meal at 4pm or something, eating fewer high-carb meals and avoiding fried foods because they make me sick now), it hasn’t lowered my caloric intake, which has stayed about the same or increased a little.

Up to this point, I’ve stayed on .5mg (split into two doses on separate days) because I had a lot of side effects and was losing steadily at this dosage. My endocrinologist has been happy to follow my lead as far as that’s concerned. At present, I’m still losing about a pound a week, which may not seem like much to others here (esp given my weight/BMI) but it’s nothing short of a miracle for me.

I have a surgery tentatively scheduled for March of next year. The surgeon has drawn a hard and fast line that if I’m not down to a bmi of <=30 by then she’ll cancel/postpone the surgery. This is due to the risk of blood clots in larger patients and she won’t allow me to sign a waiver accepting the risk.

The date I’ve scheduled it for is important because I’ll have someone around to help with my child while I’m recovering; if I don’t do it then I’ll likely have to wait another 6 months to a year. This wouldn’t be preferable as I really need this surgery. Given the type of surgery, finding another provider also isn’t a great option.

The weight goal is technically doable for me as it’s a loss of ~25 lbs more, but it’s cutting it close. As a result, I’m considering finally upping my dose to 1mg but I’m reluctant.

Aaaaaaanyway, on to the question (finally)!

I shared this information with my endocrinologist, who wrote me a script for the larger pen and suggested I move to 1mg. However, I’m hesitant. The people I’ve spoken to who lost well on lower doses have always advocated for staying at the lowest dose that works, as long as it’s working — and it is still working. I’m not losing fast, but I am losing.

If I increase my dosage, I’m worried about untenable side effects (though at this point my side effects are minimal) but my biggest concern is that my weight loss will stall out or stop entirely if I increase and don’t need to; I’ve heard of this happening to others.

What do you think I should do? I’m especially interested in hearing from anyone who stayed at a low dose for a long time and then increased while they were still losing.

Long winded backstory:I started Oz in March of this year and have lost ~45lbs so far. Prior to taking this medication I was not an overeater (if anything, I undereat); I’m at a very high weight due to hormonal imbalances and insulin resistance after the birth of a child. While being on Oz has by necessity changed my habits (I can only have small portions and by extension I’m forced to eat throughout the day instead of forgetting and then having one large meal at 4pm or something, eating fewer high-carb meals and avoiding fried foods because they make me sick now), it hasn’t lowered my caloric intake, which has stayed about the same or increased a little.Up to this point, I’ve stayed on .5mg (split into two doses on separate days) because I had a lot of side effects and was losing steadily at this dosage. My endocrinologist has been happy to follow my lead as far as that’s concerned. At present, I’m still losing about a pound a week, which may not seem like much to others here (esp given my weight/BMI) but it’s nothing short of a miracle for me.I have a surgery tentatively scheduled for March of next year. The surgeon has drawn a hard and fast line that if I’m not down to a bmi of <=30 by then she’ll cancel/postpone the surgery. This is due to the risk of blood clots in larger patients and she won’t allow me to sign a waiver accepting the risk.The date I’ve scheduled it for is important because I’ll have someone around to help with my child while I’m recovering; if I don’t do it then I’ll likely have to wait another 6 months to a year. This wouldn’t be preferable as I really need this surgery. Given the type of surgery, finding another provider also isn’t a great option.The weight goal is technically doable for me as it’s a loss of ~25 lbs more, but it’s cutting it close. As a result, I’m considering finally upping my dose to 1mg but I’m reluctant.Aaaaaaanyway, on to the question (finally)!I shared this information with my endocrinologist, who wrote me a script for the larger pen and suggested I move to 1mg. However, I’m hesitant. The people I’ve spoken to who lost well on lower doses have always advocated for staying at the lowest dose that works, as long as it’s working — and it is still working. I’m not losing fast, but I am losing.If I increase my dosage, I’m worried about untenable side effects (though at this point my side effects are minimal) but my biggest concern is that my weight loss will stall out or stop entirely if I increase and don’t need to; I’ve heard of this happening to others.What do you think I should do? I’m especially interested in hearing from anyone who stayed at a low dose for a long time and then increased while they were still losing. https://ifttt.com/images/no_image_card.png https://www.reddit.com/r/Ozempic/comments/xrwzqu/increasing_dosage_while_still_losing/?utm_source=ifttt