Mounjaro / Wegovy with > 5st / 30kg to lose

[VelociraptorsVelociRapping]

I know, yet another Mounjaro / Wegovy thread, but I wondered if anyone else with a lot to lose would be interested in a safe space to chat. The other threads (both the long-runner and the newbies) are great but I can’t believe how relatively little some people have to lose. I know it’s all relative, and two stone can be a lot of extra weight on a small frame, and it’s great that they are doing something for their health before they end up in the same position as me… but in my more ungenerous moments I think about what a dream it would be to be ‘only’ two stone overweight, and wonder how many posters I will see come and go while I plod along.

So, if any of that resonates and you don’t think I’m an utter cow for having these thoughts, come and chat! I will start. I don’t feel comfortable sharing my current weight but am happy to say that my starting BMI is over 40 and I have 7.5 stone / 47 kg to lose. I’m very tall but there’s no kidding myself that my current situation isn't very unhealthy indeed.

I’m halfway through my second week on 2.5mg Mounjaro and so far I have lost 8lb. I have not really had many side effects apart from occasional loose stools, but I am also not experiencing the significant appetite suppression that others describe. Right now I am finding MJ a useful tool to take the edge off while I count calories and keep an eye on my macros to keep my protein intake up. A very welcome effect is that it has completely removed any desire to drink alcohol, which is helpful as a fondness for wine is part of how I got so fat in the first place. Nevertheless I am looking forward to moving up to 5mg and hopefully experiencing more appetite suppression.

Anyone else?

@catgirl1976 I extracted my bonus dose from my 2.5mg pen with a syringe and got 0.8ml so I could work out that I had 3.33mg from this table (2.5mg + 0.83mg).

Then from my 5mg pen I’ve been counting clicks to take the dose I want - so 40 clicks for 3.33mg and 48 clicks for 4mg. So you could do that from your second 2.5mg pen.

I know it’s easy to feel disheartened when the scales stay the same or go up but we’re in it for the long game. Take your own advice - weight loss isn’t linear - and keep going! You can do this 💪

@catgirl1976 I wouldn't put too much stock into that gain yet. Weight fluctuates, as you said, and just because there's a gain today doesn't mean there will be one on your proper weigh day. I know some people weigh daily so they can see that natural fluctuation and not feel disheartened by it because it becomes so normal.

With your next pen, you could do a dose and then a half dose (30 clicks). That would be 3.75. You'd need new needles for the half dose.

Just as a general thought on ordering and dosing - I've decided to always buy the highest dose that I can get prescribed. Then if I feel like staying at a dose below, I can always take smaller doses from a higher-dose pen - much better that way around than wanting to go up a dose and having the lower dose pen! With 'bonus doses' I'm hoping that eventually I'll have a nice stockpile for when I finally get near to goal and want to think about maintenance.

It's possible that I'll have to factor in expiry dates at some point but for now this is my thinking. Especially given the similar pricepoints of the different dose pens, it's going to work out much more cost-effective to split a higher dose pen vs ordering the lower dose for just £20 less...

@WoolyMammoth55 sounds like you're doing brilliantly! I also eat due to work stress so I understand what you mean.

I'm quite a negative person and lack willpower so I'm surprised I'm still going on MJ 😄. At the beginning my mood was raised, I was eating better and feeling positive. I'd say now it's much like before, but I make better choices and can say 'no' much more easily to food. I've also realised that just because my (very thin) DP is eating something nice, it doesn't mean that I have to have some too! I'm also letting him eat his way through all the chocolates I have left over from Christmas and I don't want any of them.

I think I need some of your positivity though as it sounds like you've had a complete overhaul of your thinking.

Thank you all so much. I’ll have a proper look at that table and work out how to do a maybe 1 and a half dose from the new one and see how I get on - thank you!

@WoolyMammoth55 re dosing - yes! I do the same thing. It actually works out cheaper if you do take smaller doses from the larger pens ie I have a 7.5mg in the fridge which I will probably use as 5mg, which means i’ll get 8 weeks from it. It cost me £150 (including delivery) so that works out to be £18.75 per week.

The issue with splitting doses in pens though is the instructions say that opened pens should be disposed of after 30 days. So your risking the medication getting less effective if it expires.

I don't really understand why unused pens in the fridge are good until their expiration date but once they've been used they need to be discarded after 30 days. Air getting in once you insert a needle? I have no idea.

Good point @KeepingUndercover !

I think I am going to risk it for the first time this week, using the "end" of my bonus dose in the 2.5 pen to top up the first one I'll take from my 5mg pen... Technically that's the 5th week using that pen so I'll note if I get side-effects or it's less effective or anything!

It's been in the fridge the whole time though so I do feel fairly confident I won't see any huge negatives...

On cost, am I the only one her with Voy? Their discount code thing is AMAZING! I used a code from Reddit to get my 2.5 pen for £114. Then I posted my code twice - once on that same Reddit thread, once on a thread on here, and I got asked for it twice on DMs...

Lo and behold they've confirmed my new 5mg pen AND the 7.5mg pen are both free!! How brilliant is that?

I have found their customer service not the fastest - I think they probably are slightly overwhelmed with people! - but as soon as I connected with a coach on WhatsApp, I just ask her directly now and she sorts everything out for me super fast...

3 months for £114 is really the bargain of my life! And I reckon when the 7.5 pen arrives I might chance my arm posting the link again and see if I can keep the freebies rolling...?

So anyone jumping away from MedExpress might think about jumping towards Voy!

@PissedOffNeighbour22 I think the thing is - I'm just OVER dieting, so badly. I just turned 44 and that marked 30 years since I first joined Weight Watchers as an obese 14 year old! And dieting has been the theme of my adult life - shakes, keto, WW, SW, honestly I've tried them ALL. But was still my heaviest ever starting this in April...

I just never want to log another meal or google calories ever again. That shit doesn't work for me.

With MJ (touch wood!) I just feel like it makes healthy choices, reasonable portions, no snacks, all really effortless. Like, maybe this is what life is like for my naturally thin friends and family - not obsessed or compulsive about food. Not scavenging the leftovers off the kids dinner plates and eating multi-packs of crisps every evening to self-soothe...

Quite honestly if that's it - if I stay this weight on it (which I don't think will happen, but who knows?!) then it's still a miracle to me. And I'm always grateful for miracles 😍

If I had lost 3 stone like you have then I'd be OVER THE MOON! Well done you 🤗 and hope that you can find some nice ways to boost your mood lovely, you deserve to feel amazing about this!

@KeepingUndercover I think, as long as you keep it I. The fridge then it can last until the expiry date? 🤷🏻‍♀️

I think the 30 days is outside the fridge. I keep mine in the fridge even after I open it.

might do a bit more digging to get a clear answer.

@PissedOffNeighbour22 and @oreo2024
i think you are right just head down and get on with it…

@PissedOffNeighbour22 3stone in 3 months is a phenomenal achievement 🙌🙌🙌 to you

I just really thought I’d look less monstrous lose more than 18lbs in 3 months. No one has even noticed yet🥴
also the christening dress I bought in a generous 16 still doesn’t fit and it’s in a few weeks so will likely need to buy another dress that will hot and or uncomfortable sighhhhh … on the plus side this won’t be an issue next year….

I suppose I need to remember i have a toddler and a not so newborn and I’m doing it for them and my health not vanity.
(i had GD with both so it’s a matter of time before I get type 2 unless I do something fairly radical with my weight.)

On the leaflet it says 30 days and doesn't distinguish between in the fridge or out. Just says discard after 30 days. I do find it confusing because they just talk about storing it at room temperature once open and in my opinion it's not clear enough about whether storing it in the fridge makes a difference.

I stopped sharing my Voy link when they dropped the discount for referred people from 50% to £85 as it was then cheaper elsewhere.
I did get my 5mg and 7.5mg for 50% off though.

@WoolyMammoth55 Wow you are crushing the Voy discounts! 🙌

@Alicewondersalot I know right?! And I truly didn't spam it around, just got super lucky!

@RagzRebooted I agree that the initial discount being only £85 isn't as good, BUT once you pay that discounted month for £144 (is that right? I think full price is £229 for all pens up to and including 10?) THEN you get your own code to share and so you might STILL end up with some £0 months to average out your weekly dose to a very small amount...?

Even if only 1 person uses it, it's a 50% discount which is £114 for all those doses up to 10...

I'm not saying I'll stay with them forever, if I was staring at a full-price £229 month and knew I could pay £169 at the family chemist or wherever... But for me using Voy has been cheap as chips so far! £114 for 3 pens - if I include bonus doses that's like £7.50 a week! 🙃

Balls! 🤦🏻‍♀️ For some reason I thought if it was in the fridge you could carry on until you finished the pen. I did have a quick look now but you’re right they all say once the pen is used you have 30 days to finish it.

I can’t imagine why using the pen would make a difference to its efficacy if it is stored in the fridge? Unless it reacts with oxygen when the first needle pierces…seems unlikely. I wonder if it is a money thing?

I heard somewhere that when people get to maintenance they are spreading their doses out so the pen lasts longer?

In balance, I’m probably still going to stick with my plan of using smaller doses from larger pens and see how it goes and whether I notice any reduction in efficacy.

Folks I’m due to reorder from Med Express. Does anyone have a code please?
Was going to use Voy but as I’m needing the 10mg I need to speak to an advisor and the earliest I can book that in is 14th June!
thanks in anticipation!

Very much appreciate this thread and hope it's ok to join. I was mortified when I weighed myself for the questionnaire and I have at least 7 stone to lose. I'm hoping my order from Asda will be dispatched today so I can start tomorrow. Very worried about tummy problems which has put me off for ages but now feeling the potential benefit outweighs the risk.

@TimeIretired there don't seem to be any MedExpress codes at the moment. Someone on the main thread found one the other day but MedExpress withdrew it within 24 hours and we've not found anything else since. Seems like they're moving away from discounts.

It's arrived!! My first pack of Mounjaro...just reading the instructions and I'll inject today 😬

Also, had my blood test results back this morning which shows I've just tipped over into the 'pre diabetic' area 😧 Hoping that losing weight and overhauling my crappy diet will reverse this...there's time, right??? So upset with myself!!

Hi @peachbelly welcome! I have a similar amount to lose, or slightly more even 😬so definitely in this for the long haul!

I've honestly found the tummy stuff to not be too bad - I'm taking a probiotic every other day to support general happy gut, and magnesium every night to prevent constipation...

I have also by and large made healthy food choices on MJ - lots of veggies, lots of protein, healthy fats, but avoiding carbs and processed food. I think that also has helped a lot - lots of gastric horror stories seem to start with "I slipped up and ate [insert crap here] and now I feel awful..."

Touch wood thus far I've had very few side-effects, hopefully you'll find the same! Best of luck.

Thank you very much! That’s good to know. Hopefully my fear of tummy issues will help keep me eating sensibly! I have some probiotics and other things to try and keep my tummy happy arriving today. Now I just need the Mounjaro to be dispatched…

Hi all!

I just posted on the other wegovy thread, but I found this one which is probably a better fit for me - I'll have a read later but I just wanted to say hello x

I started wegovy 2 weeks ago on the lowest dose of 0.25, I've lost 6.5lb in 2 weeks and I'm so happy that's it's gone down! My starting weight is 252lb (18st) so I'm aiming for 227lb (16st3) because it's 10% off, looking further than that feels unrealistic just now... I bought a 3 month supply from simple online pharmacy and thought I'd give it the 3 months and see how I'm going.

Hope everyone is having a good day, but I'd better stop reading and get my dogs out before the rain arrives!

OK - I’m officially in. Just picked up my MJ from the chemist in my lunch break (I’m WFH) and first injection done.

SW 110kg
GW 64Kg

First goal I have just over 7 weeks before a family event so I’m going to aim for 0.5kg a week
18 July - 106.5kg

I figure that I can probably keep up the motivation to eat healthily until then whether or not the MJ is making a big impact at the lower doses

I would really value some opinions please. I hit a bit of a weight loss plateau over the last few weeks and haven’t really lost any weight during the 2nd 2 doses of 5mg and the first 2 of 7.5mg. It seems to have finally started moving again now thank goodness.

I am due to order the 10mg dose (as I now only have 2 doses left of 7.5mg) and I am tempted to stay on the 7.5 as it seems to be working again but also don’t want to plateau again, so maybe I should move up to 10mg? Has any else experienced this and what do you think?