Continuing Mounjaro...part 5

[ObsidianTree]

Please note: Mounjaro can only be taken if your BMI is above 30.

Pointers for newbies:

1 - For taking your first dose you need to twist the pen a lot to get to 1! The instructions say prime each time you take a dose, but actually Eli Lilly have confirmed you only need to prime for the first ever use of a pen. (The video posted says every use, but this isn't true!)

2 - When injecting, hold down the button until the number goes back to 0. Once at 0, keep holding down the button and count to 5 with the needle still in so no medication is lost!

3 - Your first dose may not have an immediate effect. For some people the effects build slowly. It could take 3 or 4 days to notice anything, it could take a few weeks. Some people don't feel the meds working until they get to 5mg. See titration chart which shows how the medication builds up in your system.

4 - 2.5mg isn't a therapeutic dose, meaning you aren’t meant to lose on 2.5mg. You need to start on 2.5mg to get your body used to the drug and gradually introduce it into your system and get used to any side effects.

5 - Not everyone loses a lot in the first few weeks. Don't feel discouraged if you don't lose a lot initially. Again, you might need a higher dose to start losing. Also, inches can be lost without anything showing on the scales. Start your journey by taking measurements and check them as you go along.

6 - If you do lose a lot in the first few weeks, please don't assume you will continue losing at this rate. The first few weeks it is usually water weight that is lost, after than a good weight loss is about 2lbs a week. Some weeks you might not lose anything, but this is ok too…again, taking measurements might show inches lost instead.

7 - Constipation, coldness, nausea, diarrhea, headaches, aches, are side effects. There may be be other side effects also. Read info here :
www.medicines.org.uk/emc/files/pil.14201.pdf

8 - Once you take your first dose you can choose to keep your pen in the fridge or somewhere else. It's up to you.

9 - Don't reuse any needles as this could risk infection. If you damage a needle or one isn't working, you can buy a pack of about 100 spares. Ask for suggestions of sites /types to buy.

10 - Protein is important as eating less protein can cause muscle wastage and hair loss. Try to have at least 100g a day. There are protein supplements you can take. Myprotein have a good range. Ask for a referral code if you want to buy some.

11 - Some natural sources of protein:
www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/best-sources-protein
www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/321522#high-protein-foods

12 - You can use supplements, some that people use are magnesium(for sleep and constipation), protein(to reduce muscle wastage), collagen (skin elasticity), aloe vera(for constipation), electrolytes.

13 - Drink lota of water. Water helps with the weight loss. Drink at least 2ltrs a day. Preferably 3ltrs.

14 - Don't be afraid to feel hungry. It is entirely normal and healthy to feel hungry. Just eat something. Treat it as an opportunity to start good habits around hunger. Eat a nice balanced snack or a meal if it's a meal time. It's ok.

15 - Does it makes any difference where you inject? yes it does! Drugs get absorbed at different rates depending on injection site

In order of fastest absorption, it goes:
• Tummy
• Arms
• Thighs
further reading about injection sites and the effects: www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/316618

16 - Abdominal side-effects are much easier to control with smaller meals. For example, having 4 small meals in the day vs 2 big meals can have an improvement in nausea and burps.

17 - You can track your calories / protein on apps such as My fitnessPal, Carb Manager or Nutracheck. Nutracheck is quite useful and easy to find foods /build recipes.

18 - Some of the places you can order from are:

• MedExpress - £149.99 - Sometimes there are codes that can be used for a discount. Ask for a code on here or do a Google search to try and find one.
• Voy - £114.99 for first month then £229 after. Need a referral code (ask on here for one if needed)
• The Family Chemist -£149
• Simple online pharmacy - £159 2.5mg £179 for 5mg
• Bolt pharmacy 2.5mg £125, 5mg £179. Or starter pack with 2.5mg and 5mg pen £319
• Asda £184
• Boots £219
• Chemist4U £179
• Pharmacy2u
• Superdrug

There other other sellers, we don't have them all listed

19 - If you want to switch suppliers, make sure you have pics of your Mounjaro box with your name and dose. This will come in useful when other suppliers ask for evidence.

1st thread:

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/weight_loss_chat/5007744-mourjano-starting-soon?page=1

2nd thread:

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/weight_loss_chat/5028495-continuing-murnjaropart-2?page=1

3rd thread:

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/weight_loss_chat/5037623-continuing-mounjaropart-3?page=1

4th thread:
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/weight_loss_chat/5044316-continu
ing-mounjaropart-4?page=1

Good luck everyone!

Newbie looking for advice here 👋🏼

I've had my prescription approved from Boots and I'm going to pick it up today, here's my dilemma....

I'm going on holiday in 11 days, is it worth starting it or would you wait until I get back? I know there's a possibility of side effects but I don't know how it reacts with alcohol and I don't want to spend my week abroad being sick.

I'm also thinking I'd have to take it with me or I'd lose a dose because you can only use it for 30 days from opening?

Oh I would definitely wait until you get back off of your holiday. Alcohol could well be an issue as will the volume of food and fatty foods. Also if you're going abroad will your insurance cover it if you were unwell but hadn't declared the medication? Enjoy your holiday and then get in the mindset of giving it your full attention when you get home. Just my view.

@susiedaisy1912 thanks. I thought the same but I'm excited about picking it up and need someone to talk me down 😂

Hopefully by my next holiday later on in the year I'll see the difference and this will be my last holiday when I'm hiding behind baggy coverups and feeling fat and miserable.

Hi - I would start right away as otherwise you could come back from holiday with even more to lose.

A few people have side effects on 2.5mg but most of us haven't. Some people find they get a really good feeling of appetite suppression from 2.5mg but a lot of people find it helps them make good choices but still lets them eat a decent amount.

If you do decide to start and are concerned about using it on holiday you can always space the doses out a bit more but still use it within 30 days. (I took some Mounjaro yesterday 42 days after the pen was first used. Some leaflets seem to say that you shouldn't do that but it isn't clear but in my view.)

Good Luck

@BlackFriYay it's baffling isn't it! 🤯 I was just contemplating swapping some of the ingredients in the meals I'm choosing to up the calories a bit. So Greek yog instead of almond milk in my smoothie etc. I was loosely following Fast800 as it seemed quite well researched and I liked the recipes.

There's so much conflicting info out there it's hard to know what to do for best!

I'll trial 2 weeks at 1200 and see if anything changes. I haven't been wanting more food than I'm already eating so maybe just making it a bit more calorific will work - so counterintuitive to what we're hammered with in MSM!

What part of the holiday do you enjoy the most? If food and drink are a big part of your enjoyment whilst on a holiday then I would start when you get back 🤷🏻‍♀️

My weight hasn’t changed for 3 days 😒 dose 3 due this evening and official WI tomorrow so I’m desperately hoping I get that whoosh affect in time!

@susiedaisy1912 I'm quite fussy with food when I'm abroad, I'm one of those who won't try new things and have been known to eat chicken nuggets from the kids buffet because I don't like whatever the theme night of the food is. I suppose it's more the drinking, I do like a cocktail and don't want to be ill after a few.

@Choux I was thinking the same, I thought about taking the first dose today then the second one next Thursday and I travel on the following Monday so I'd probably skip that one. I wish I had started a few weeks ago so I'd have been further along my journey but hey ho!

Wow I've been MIA for about a week due to the flu and we've gone through 2 threads in that time.

It's time for my 4th injection today of 2.5 and I've lost 9.5lbs in the last 3 weeks which I'm delighted with. Week one I lost just over 4lbs and my aim has been to lose 1kg a week so I'm right on track at the moment 🙌. I am toying with staying on 2.5 for another cycle since it's working for me before moving up next time.

Hope everyone's doing well

It really is!

I've just been looking on reddit (googled 'mounjaro weight loss stall') and there are quite a few suggestions which people have found helped them so I'm going to try and implement a couple and see how I get on.

The first one was to have a high(er) calorie day. It sounds counter productive at first but apparently has worked for a fair few people, so I'm going to do my best to go over 1200 today.. as hard as it feels.

Another one which sounds promising is switching injection site to the back of the arm. I haven't tried that injection spot yet and always rotate between my stomach and thighs.

Its funny, when I started out on MJ (and lost a stone in just under a month) I was having weetabix for breakfast every morning. Two biscuits + milk. I decided to switch to having fruit and protein yoghurt with some mixed seeds every morning and now the weight isn't coming off as fast. You'd think it would be the opposite.

I do find it really confusing how all of this weight loss stuff works. I'm told that intermittent fasting is great and helps, yet when I eat few and far between I don't lose weight. That doesn't work for me at all now, but did at the start (and I had to really make an effort to meet my calories then)

There's a lot of conflicting advice which baffles me, one subject being the 'starvation mode' thing where your body hangs on to calories so you don't lose. If that's the case.. how do people have success with IF and diets like the fast 800? Because some do have really incredible results which doesn't align with the starvation mode theory.

Let us know how you get on. I will report back and let you know whether the higher calorie thing helps.

Weight loss plans like Fast800 are long term managed programs designed to help rid you of visceral fat - the fat that collects around your organs inside your body. The sudden crash in calories is designed to put you into a state called Ketosis, which in turn will make you more sensitive to insulin. You then combine it with intermittent fasting and exercise (this bit is v important) and you have yourself a weight management program. You do it for a minimum of 12 weeks. More realistically you might be looking at a year.

It’s not a simple weight loss scheme and shouldn’t be tried without GP or nutritionists support.

Incidentally, for glucose control, weetabix and milk (which is essentially liquid glucose) is about the worst combination you can have. If it works for you, fine, but purely from a glucose control POV, it’s not great. Which is annoying, because it’s quick and easy isn’t it.

I've been decrying that I haven't lost weight, just checked my Fitbit and I have lost 5lb since starting mj and I'm on my second 5mg tomorrow, so although not the huge losses I've seen on ozempic, I can live with that!

Also realised I haven't done a weight breakdown. I'm going to start tracking inches too.

S/W before Oz: 237lb/107kg

After 5 months on Oz: 211lb/95kg

After 6 months without Oz: 229lb/103kg

Now after 5 weeks on MJ: 224lb/ 101kg

(Using Google conversion)

ASDQ Not sure I buy starvation mode theory. The best WL I ever had was on Lighter Life, around 600 cals a day & I lost 3.5 lbs per week, every week. This I did for 5 mo & kept off for several years thru careful eating & a lot of exercise. The difficulty with a lot of weight regain after weight loss is that a smaller body uses less energy than a large one so if people revert to anything like their former calorie intake, they regain.

I think, if you react anything like quite a lot of us on here, you will have a real aversion to alcohol once you take MJ. It’s so weird. I can’t describe it.

An incredible bottle of red wine has been sat on the kitchen worktop for 5 weeks and I couldn’t be less interested in it. It’s baffling. The thought of a cocktail makes me feel so nauseated. I LOVED them!!

Has anyone else now got an aversion to beige food? At the weekend we had fish and chips - I couldn’t face the batter or the chips. Fish fingers I definitely couldn’t contemplate now. Something like a lovely home made sausage roll seems inedible. So weird.

I used to be an enthusiastic fan of a glass of wine and I am now utterly uninterested. Towards the end of 2.5mg I had a weekend in which I went out twice and both times I did drink a bit but less than the others I was with both times and I’m normally one of the front runners! Now I’ve upped my dose I’m back to total indifference. I think what’s hard to understand before you start on the jabs is the magical way that not drinking/eating certain foods doesn’t remotely feel like sacrifice. You just don’t really want them - at least for some of us. I could happily go on holiday at the moment and barely drink.

Well done to everyone on their losses :)

Week 5 check in for me! Minimal symptoms, eating about 1000 cal a day, slightly focused on protein but not counting.

SW (14th March) 103.8kg
CW 92.6kg

Over 10% of my weight lost in 5 weeks, it's truly miraculous!

Yes. This exactly!!

Love reading everyone's updates! Puts a big smile on my face, I am genuinely pleased for everyone😊

I started feeling hungry again yesterday (tomorrow is injection day) which took me by surprise. Still managed to resist having a slice of the pizza my husband was having.

My Non Scale Victory is that I am wearing size 12 cargo trousers that I found at a local charity shop, brand new! And I am wearing my jumber tucked in, rather than trying to hide the fat. I've not been able to do this in at least five years, and that was when I was on a very strict keto diet.

@NoMoreCoffeePlease
Yes! I am so looking forward to being able to tuck things in!

My jeans are size 20 and now very baggy but I am sticking with them till they actively fall
down. Needless to say I do own smaller jeans which I could now be wearing but I’m not.

Interesting about a high calorie day jump starting loss. I’ve found that I occasionally have a day where I’m randomly ravenous. When I do eat I can’t eat a big meal but I do eat more than most days. And usually I do then see a loss either next day or the next.

Week 9 weigh in.

I’ve stopped doing weekly weight lists Weight loss is really slowing now. Yes, pissing me off. Can’t lie. I’m not eating any more and I’m now right in the beginning middle of cycle.

SW:14.1
CW: 12.2

I’ve only lost 2 lbs in two weeks now with the whole period kerfuffle.

Nevertheless onwards and downwards I hope. I have two pens in the fridge. I am not stopping. It still means I’ve basically lost two stone in two months and that is a LOT! 🥳

Placemarking!
I'm on first of 5mg injections. Had so many side effects on 2.5mg, but thank goodness none so far on 5.

SW 11 stone 3.50
Now 10 stone 6.02

Happy with this!

Got email for approval on Wednesday at 5pm. This was from Asda online doctor.

When can I expect my pen to arrive? I haven't had any tracking info. Estimated time is today - Wednesday.

I'm hoping it's today. How long did it take for others to get their pen?

Also, when does everyone order their next pen? If you need to go up a dose how does that work? Will it automatically be increased or do you need to speak to the online doctor ? Thanks

I can’t remember if it was here or our FB group but I’ve just extracted the bonus dose. No needle or anything showing, but I’ve still hidden it the photo. 7.5. So a little over a dose?

@FlappyFish I'm in the same position and my weight has just gone up and down the same pound or so.

My period turned up 4 days early and I could just eat all day, my stomach is constantly rumbling.

Like you, I really can't complain about my 2st weight loss but it's pissing me off that I haven't lost a pound yet this week. Weigh in tomorrow so we'll see if anything changes overnight.

I've just done my injection a day early as I'm struggling too much with the hunger.