Continuing Mounjaro...part 6

[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/product/15481/pil#about-medicine

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. https://www.chemist-4-u.com/carepoint-pen-needles-31g-4mm-pack-of-100?gclid=Cj0KCQjwiYOxBhC5ARIsAIvdH51rLZBVFQxuvS7mDJooegtK8BMiyT0PwREMRHhH_1atfQIo8TEbsmkaAkA0EALw_wcB

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:
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/best-sources-protein
https://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
furthet reading about injection sites and the effects: https://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

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-continuing-mounjaropart-4?page=1

5th thread:
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/weight_loss_chat/5048290-continuing-mounjaropart-5?page=1

Thread for newbies just starting out:

http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/weight_loss_chat/5057475-mounjaro-and-wegovy-newbies-april-2024

@PissedOffNeighbour22 Ive not been in the 8s since 2016 and then it wasn’t for long. I can’t imagine being able to maintain at that level and still enjoy life. Getting to 9 seems like a dream at the moment so I don’t know why I’m worrying 😂..

2nd dose of 2.5mg and I've weighed today, it's a 6lb loss since last Tuesday which is fab although likely water weight! It puts me at 15st dead on and after this I never want to see 15st on the scales ever ever again!!

Well done you!!

Thanks. I'm wondering about my options and whether to do this. I don't fancy trying to master injections with a regular needle. Fingers crossed though after feeling awful yesterday I think I might feel better today. Hopefully my body is adjusting more.

I really struggled with the 3rd week. At the beginning of the week I was ok but 3 days I was starving. Took my last dose (plus the extra) last night. 2 days early. Moving onto 5mg next week.

TBH I prefer using a syringe but I have a lot of experience with them!

The clicks method is easy - I did 42 clicks to do 3.5mg if memory serves.

@montysma1 put up a really useful table for the 5mg pen - if you search her posts you will see it - it was 19th April at 0925 ish. I have a screenshot somewhere.

I'm not advocating using the pen off-license BTW - those posts make me ++ uncomfortable. But for me, I need to titrate to my own symptoms & needs.

For anyone else looking for that table, it's in thread 5, on the 17th April at 09:25, not 19th April, but thank you @AgathaMystery , I've taken a screenshot of it, easier than trying to do the maths.

Ah I'm sorry to hear about FIL. Hope you're okay.
I need to wait until Fri to take my next dose. Are you doing 2.5 or an intermediate amount? I'm gonna try for an intermediate, but if I can't get enough out of the pen, I might just go ahead and do 5mg.

@JanetSnakeholeMacklin i'm so sorry.

I too am practising being hungry. I can cope with hunger TBH - it's the 'food noise' that is my downfall. If I use this drug as a tool to deal with that whilst totally recalibrating portion control and movement (exercise) I think that is a sensible goal for me.

Dulling all hunger isn't going to work for me, because I will not be on this drug for life. I need to learn to live with a bit of it, and accept that it's actually normal to feel full - and that means it's normal to feel hungry!

Try an all natural, whole food one. I can't tolerate sweeteners at all, these have a minimal amount of stevia, but are not overly sweet and quite delicious. They're also very finely chopped, so are not the usual gloop and actually have some texture!

https://www.purition.co.uk/

I'm so sorry, sending a very unMN hug to you and yours. 💐

That's a very good approach and what I am trying to do too.

Getting to my goal weight alone with no Mounjaro would be a long effort. Mounjaro will make it easier for me to get there but I need to learn now how to maintain that weight. My weight chart on my fitness pal from the last 11 years is a steadily increasing trend. I need to learn how to keep it flat once off the Mounjaro by understanding and changing my thoughts re snacking and hunger.

Someone mentioned clothes and one of my favorite distractions at the moment is looking at clothes ads on Facebook. The more I look the more the algorithms start to throw up things would i actually like to wear and that gets me focussed on making good choices so i look better in my future new imaginary wardrobe. i dont eat a treat now so i can treat myself to something to wear that i will feel great in in the future.

A few months in and I get an email from MedExpress explaining how to get started on Mounjaro 😂 thanks MedExpress!

Re hunger/tiredness. I wonder if these are linked? Yesterday I ate lightly as we had a planned dinner of hamburgers, but I was very tired, not hungry; ate dinner & perked up. My normal hunger is blunted on this, but perhaps it is experienced as tiredness. My hunger pattern has been: 1st, week, general loss of appetite but breakthrough hunger, esp at night; 2-4th weeks, no night hunger, which is great! Hunger reduces day or so after my first jab, is low days 2-4, then starts re-appearing day 5 til day after next jab. So towards the end of week, more willpower is needed, bu nothing like before MJ. I can stick to 1200 cals on this, so am inclined to stay on 2.5 unless weight loss absolutely stops. My side effects are mild, but I worry the doubling would increase them, esp tiredness.
Some really impressive weight losses posted above, well done! While MJ is the catalyst, you have made the right food choices & have stuck with it.

@WannabeHealthier what you say above really resonates with me. It's hard not to be a little swayed by the media headlines and promises of fast losses.

But as we all know, the reality is that there is no quick fix.

The joy of MJ is that it makes the whole process of weight loss physically and mentally easier to cope with.

I too would have started the slow gradual slide back to unhealthy eating habits by now. But not this time. It's a long slow process but this time we've removed some of the barriers that used to stand in the way.

I use a nutri bullet blender @Soukmyfalafel.
I haven’t read criticism threads. What I’m doing is eating in a calorie deficit. The mj is helping me maintain a 1000 cal a day deficit so I’m in deficit to lose 2lb a week which I have been doing. Willpower and good choices still required.
Pre starting the drug I was consistently in deficit to lose 1lb a week for months through sheer willpower but wasn’t losing.
It’s basically made me like a normal - log everything, eat in deficit and lose. I’m visibly dieting. Weight isn’t falling off me it’s consistent with what I’m eating.
It’s been such a positive for me mentally I can’t describe how soul destroying it was to be actively trying to lose with a pt, doing all the correct things and still obese.
Like another poster said I’m educated, I’m clued up on nutrition, good cook I’m not eating junk and takeaways or cheating yet nothing was working for me at 50 until I started mj.

End of 5th week weigh in for me, though I took my 6th dose (3.75mg) Saturday as I'd moved my shot day twice by 2 days.
Total loss 6.9kg/15lbs in 5 weeks. Very happy with that. I'm now back to the high weight I was when I started Keto/low carb 7 years ago and lost over 50lbs! I don't know what was different then, as I've tried it several times since and either couldn't stick to it or didn't lose when I did. I was completely obsessed with food then though, it was taking up a lot of headspace which I just can't spare now.

At least with MJ I'm not needing to cook 2 different meals, I can eat what everyone else is most of the time and I don't need to constantly think about what I can and can't eat. I'm just having smaller portions and tracking calories most days while keeping an eye on protein.

@AgathaMystery I'm definitely having to really stop myself clenching my jaw when I'm awake, but I must be doing it in my sleep, or grinding my teeth as I'm prone to this anyway but I'm getting a very sore jaw, bad enough to take ibuprofen some days.
I'm considering masseter Botox to relax my jaw and give me a break, but it seems a bit extreme.

Pharmacy2u have emailed me to say I’m due to move to 7.5mg and they will prioritise filling orders of existing customers.

Well I've had my first woosh where I woke up today 3lb lighter than yesterday. Hopefully it actually stays 🤞🏻

🚨 just had an email from Asda to say 7.5 mg is available to order.

I’m not posting as much as I have nothing to report. Weight has plateaued and going up and down all over by a couple of pounds. Downward trend, yes, but not like the first few weeks.

Hunger is returning and mini-binge last night. But I just needed something.

At least it’s more behaviour to work out. I forgot how all consuming the “must eat something, must eat something NOW” can be.

Lovely

Oh. And I just took my injection two days early. I think my body is truly adjusting to 5. The last injection I did was the bonus dose and whilst I did inject it properly I wonder if that is part of it.

I am just mentioning it as I know some people feel comfortable on the dose and are sticking. However, after 5 weeks on 5 and 5 weeks on 2.5 I am now seeing why people do move up. I’d rather not rush up, but I have two 5 pens, one I just used fresh to inject early.

I had arthritis that shredded both my jaw joints, and needed a bilateral TMJ replacement. Due to the implants, I now have masseter botox several times yearly to preserve them. Be prepared, it's a large muscle and you have to fully clench whilst they inject, so they can find the muscle belly.

I've got a high pain threshold, but there were actual tears. 😳