- Staci Rice lost 64 pounds on a compounded form of the weight loss drug semaglutide.
- It was expensive so she tried to maintain her weight loss without medication and gained 26 kilograms.
- Rice started a side hustle so she could get back into medicine.
The weight loss drug semaglutide was a “miracle” for Staci Rice, banishing cravings and “food cravings” and helping her lose 64 pounds in about eight months.
To cope with the prospect of continuing to take drugs, she started a side hustle in digital marketing alongside the 40 hours a week she worked to launch her new insurance business.
Semaglutide, marketed as Wegovy for weight loss and Ozempic for diabetes, is part of the family of appetite-suppressing drugs called GLP-1, which includes products such as Mounjaro. Many insurance companies cover diabetes drugs, but not weight loss.
Rice, 42, of Georgia, is among users taking compounded GLP-1s that are not FDA-approved because they are significantly cheaper than brand-name products that can cost about $1,000 a month.
In August 2024, Eli Lilly cut the price of GLP-1 Zepbound by almost 50% to compete with the shots. It’s now on sale for $399 to $549 per month, down from $1,059. In November, the Biden administration proposed a new rule to expand Medicare and Medicaid coverage to include GLP-1 for weight loss, but it’s unclear whether President Donald Trump will follow through.
But even the composite form, which cost Rice $499 at the time, was expensive.
Rice stopped using semaglutide and gained 20 pounds
Rice began taking weekly injections of semaglutide in May 2022. After reaching her goal of losing 64 pounds, she saved up for an $18,500 “mammy makeover” (tummy tuck and breast augmentation) in April 2023, she told Business Insider.
GLP-1 users are encouraged to bulk up from a low dose to minimize side effects such as nausea and constipation. At first, a $499 supply lasted Rice three months, reducing to one month as she increased the dose.
After the surgery, she began injecting the drug less frequently to maintain her weight rather than lose more. In early 2024, money was tight after Rice changed jobs, and semaglutide seemed like something she could cut back on. She bought the compounded medicine online, so she made these changes without the guidance of a medical professional.
Dr. Spencer Nadolsky, an obesity specialist and founder of a virtual health clinic specializing in GLP-1, told BI that it is not advisable to change doses without consulting a doctor.
“I thought I could go lower and lower and eventually I got to where I was forgetting to give the injection,” Rice said. “I was thinking I had this, I was thinking, ‘Now I’m ready. I don’t need to take the medicine anymore.'”
Staci Rice in June 2023 after the ‘mom makeover’ (left) and in November 2024. Staci rice
Rice kept her weight off for several months. And although she started eating more, she assumed it wouldn’t affect her progress.
But the “food buzz” in Rice’s head—cravings for sugar and sweets when experiencing strong emotions—gradually returned, and she regained 26 pounds over about six months.
Rice had a small amount of medication left which she would take from time to time, but it wasn’t enough to lose weight and she couldn’t afford her previous maintenance dose.
“I started noticing that my clothes were getting tight,” Rice said. Knee problems, swollen toe and various pains returned.
Nadolsky said he has seen clients who suddenly stopped taking GLP-1 because their insurance no longer covered them or there were shortages. However, weight regain is the biggest risk associated with taking and coming off the drug, he said.
“Obesity is a chronic disease and these drugs work by helping people manage their appetite and food cravings,” he said. “The cost of these drugs needs to come down. And if insurance doesn’t cover them, it would be ideal if the cost were low enough to pay for them out of pocket. Drugs are not a short-term solution. They are designed and used for chronic disease of obesity”.
Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, CEO of Novo Nordisk which makes Ozempic and Wegovy, has previously blamed insurers and intermediaries for high drug prices.
A side hustle to fund semaglutide
By late 2024, Rice had begun her side hustle and resumed medication at a low dose to minimize costs, deciding when to start and stop without medical guidance. The cost varied depending on the provider and she used money from her “very stressful” jobs to pay.
She now takes a low weekly dose (0.25 milligrams was the lowest and 2.5 milligrams was the highest). A 10-week supply costs her $305, and she’s planning to afford it.
“I’m going to get back on track and get back to where I was,” Rice said. “But I hate that I ended up spending a good amount on a mom change.”
Rice said she feels guilty for putting her family in a financial bind and, if she could go back in time, she’s not sure she would have had the surgery.
She hopes to be back to her goal weight by February, and then plans to stay on a long-term maintenance dose. She sees regaining the weight as a valuable lesson that keeping it off medication isn’t as easy as she thought.
“It’s a miracle drug,” Rice said. “I will always be an advocate for him.”
