Continuing Mounjaro...part 8

[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. Also below you can plot the effect of your doses.
https://glp1plotter.com/

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

Also there is a 5th dose in each pen. To extract it you can either try a hard twist or use an insulin needle.
https://medbasic.co.uk/bd-micro-fine-30g-1ml-syringes-needles

10 - Protein is important as eating less protein can cause muscle wastage and hair loss. Try to have at least 100g a day.

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 2.5mg and 5mg. £149.99. 7.5mg £169. Use code STARTNOW. Ask for other codes if that doesn't work.
• The Family Chemist 2.5mg and 5mg -£149. 7.5mg £169.
• Simple online pharmacy - £159 2.5mg £179 5mg
• Bolt pharmacy 2.5mg £125, 5mg £179. 7.5mg £189
• Asda 2.5mg and 5mg £184. 7.5mg £189
• Boots £219 +
• Chemist4U £179 +
• Superdrugs

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

Thread for newbies just starting out:

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

@askingquestions25 your results are amazing. That's an average loss of 5lb a week. But a word of caution - you shouldn't be expecting to keep losing 5lb a week. That's not realistic or healthy even if you are now doubling your dose to 5mg.

A good thing to focus on is eating 1,000-1,200 calories of nutritious food. Learning how to reset your portions, make better choices, getting more active and prepare yourself for getting to a healthy BMI and resuming your life without the support of Mounjaro. That should mean you lose around a couple of pounds a week - maybe a bit more - but you will get to your goal towards the end of the year.

I wouldn’t have asked if I had a leaflet. I’ve not ordered yet. I’m working out when to order.

I'm not with The Family Chemist but may switch to them at some point, I had asked them a previous question on their contact form and they had replied so have replied to that email asking this question about up to what BMI they prescribe. Got an automatic reply as they're closed for the Bank Holiday but will post their answer when get it.

@Choux thank you :) oh absolutely, I'd think something might be going wrong if I was dropping 5lbs every week (although whether right or wrong probably wouldn't complain!). 2-3lbs a week would be great and should be achievable from what I've seen. Just had a bit of a wobbly moment this morning at seeing a pound fluctuating back on (most likely because I ate saltier food than normal this weekend) and thought I'd share on here.

Your comment has made me feel better though so thank you :)

Ah, ok, once you've has the first dose it's ok out of the fridge up to 30 days, so long as kept below 30 degrees. As you're traveling in the UK I think you'll be fine on that front!
Do make sure you do read all the information if/when you do order it.

@CherryPickle the first post in the thread has a link to the patient information leaflet. Paragraph 7. There is lots of other information about the medication in that post too.

I don’t know if it helps @askingquestions25 but here is my graph. Some drops some static some plateau. I weigh every morning after a week and I don’t record gains any more, just plateau and losses.

It probably is a bit of water gain due to salty food. And that's fine. If you eat well today your weight will go back down in the next day or two. Today's gain is what would have made many of us throw in the towel on a diet before and give up. But with the added support of Mounjaro we can get back on track and keep losing. Stay strong!

@AgathaMystery that does really help thank you, it looks like you're doing great, well done!

Like most people on here I've struggled with my weight and been aware of it since I was about 10 years old (I'm 25 now) and realistically I know that 20 pounds down in 4 weeks is incredible and I couldn't have hoped for more! Seeing other people's progress definitely helps to know I'm not doing it alone :)

Wow.

Hopefully your manners will make a comeback next time you ask a question of total strangers.

It’s a bit deceptive though as because I don’t record gains it all looks pretty linear, when, as we know, it isn’t!!

You will get there, I know it.

I'm finding the messages on here much more realistic and down to earth than the tiktok videos.
On tiktok people are showing insane levels of weight loss!
On here it seems much slower, but that seems more realistic.
I'm glad I've read all through here first as it means I'm approaching it as seeing MJ as a tool, rather than a magic fix.
I am still waiting for my order that I placed last Tuesday, but at least I've finally heard from MedExpress today. They've told me it will arrive Thursday or Friday.
Incredibly slow service, not convinced I'll stay with them.

@Choux oh absolutely in the past it might have lead me to a binge but the beauty of MJ is that I couldn't properly binge even if I tried because I'd feel full too quickly! I'm upping my water today to where it should be and adding some more fresh food into my diet again. I've gotten lazy this weekend if I'm being totally honest with myself and this is the reminder I need that whilst MJ is a great helper it's me that has to do the work

@AgathaMystery thank you :) good luck with your journey and I'll absolutely not be recording today either 😂

Tbh I thought the reply to me was rude. I simply replied stating the fact - I don’t have the leaflet which is why I asked!

NSV- I saw my absolutely favourite pastry item at Lidl this morning, & had no reaction. It could have been a rock. I’ll take that!

@Purpledefector 🤣
I've come to accept that a stone generally is not noticeable, however 2 stone definitely is.
I carry my weight fairly evenly, so a stone off is hardly noticeable, which is super annoying!!

Can I ask, how have people found Juniper as a place to order from? I noted it’s dropped off the list of where to order.

@askingquestions25 that's an amazing loss. What have you done food wise to achieve that? You are totally on track here

I’m with CherryPickle on this one. She asked a genuine question and had quite a dismissive response and replied factually without rising very much. Everyone is new at some point - there are 7000 posts to read in order to catch up. Let’s be welcoming as we have been most of the time on this thread.

@EclairClaire thank you :) this is such a lovely community it's really boosted my mood! I started off trying to just listen to my body then realised the hunger suppression was a bit strong and I wasn't eating enough so have been making sure I get protein and fresh food in (this weekend it was too salty and has caused the fluctuation but ready to reset a bit now). I know this is not advised and I'm not advocating for it but I tend to struggle to force myself over 1000 calories a day. However this is an improvement for me as I was sitting around 500-600 for the first few weeks and have managed to get myself up to 800-1000 now so trying to do this in a healthier way

Checking in, I don’t post much but love catching up on the thread every night, everyone is so supportive and smashing it!

Week 12 completed with a total loss of 26.3lbs 🥳

Since starting 7.5mg I don’t feel it’s been working nearly as well, I also had this with Wegovy. The food noise comes back and the sugar cravings back with a vengeance. I’ve been stalled for almost a full month ( gaining +5lbs some days) and today 4lbs FINALLY decided to come off literally overnight, so I’m hoping that was the end of my stall 🤞

And I’m in the 11s for the first time in years. So I really need to get my willpower back and really make an effort with making the right food choices.

@Concernedforthekids I'm with chemist 4 u and got a vague but much more reassuring response. They said they would never do a hard stop and would suggest a maintenance dose for a while. So I'm definitely sticking with them but may find a back up provider too.

How, was my reply rude? I said to read the leaflet and then said unless you don't have one as haven't ordered yet?

Instead of simply replying that you haven't ordered so don't have a leaflet you said "I wouldn't have asked if I had a leaflet", which comes across as rude.

We're a very pleasant helpful bunch here, I just wanted to make sure that people are reading the information that comes with it, rather than a stranger on the internet, it's safer that way. We also get asked things all the time that are covered in the leaflet, asked by people who do have them, it's concerning as they are not getting informed themselves about a serious medication and asking people on a forum instead.