Continuing Mounjaro...part 9

[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.
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. 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.
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:
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
furthet 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 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:

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

2nd thread:

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

3rd thread:

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

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

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

6th thread:
www.mumsnet.com/talk/weight_loss_chat/5057916-continuing-mounjaropart-6?page=1

7th thread:
www.mumsnet.com/talk/weight_loss_chat/5062935-continuing-mounjaropart-7?page=1

8th thread:
www.mumsnet.com/talk/weight_loss_chat/5068850-continuing-mounjaropart-8?page=1

Thread for newbies just starting out:

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

@pinktransit the exact same thing happened to me. Order cancelled this morning with no explanation. I’ve emailed customer service about it so will see what they say.

well I’m finally feeling better after a rough few days after moving up. Still don’t feel 100% but getting there. Weighed myself out of interest and I am 7lbs down on where I was on Sunday which is staggering! I’m not adding that weight to my tracker app though as I fully expect to regain some of that as I start to eat and drink normally again so I’ll wait til the weekend and see how it balances out.

@lurkylurk - thanks for the link, I've ordered those, and will hope that they appear at some point tomorrow. If not, I might push back my jab day till Friday and see how that goes. I really have bruised horribly from the medexpress ones that came with my 5mg pen, when I didn't at all with the first pen.
@Ghilliedu - Chemist4u came back to me with a response that they'd had issues with the payments system yesterday and my payment hadn't gone through. I'd have been perfectly happy with them if they'd said that in the cancellation email, but just to have a blunt 'your order has been cancelled' annoyed me, so I haven't gone to them to reorder.

On a plus point (seeing as my last 2 posts have been rather negative!) I have an NSV 😀! I've moved in a bra hook on a bra that used to be too tight on the loosest hook. And I have a couple of jackets that I've not worn for a while that now fit again.

@pinktransit congrats on your NSV!

Does anyone find there’s an awful lot of fat bashing posts on MN of late?

We are probably more sensitive to them TBH.

Also - these drugs are a Brave New World. Until you've been on them, you can't REALLY comprehend them can you? I can understand people being sceptical, dismissive & even unkind. It's not nice but it's reality.

I'm exactly the same. Ordered 10mg last night even though I have only taken 1 x 7.5mg dose so far (am going away so need it delivering before I go). It's better value than 7.5mg and it's too early to say I won't get used to 7.5mg and need to move to 10mg. If I need to I will take smaller doses from the 10mg pen to use it up.

If you were giving up smoking no one would frown on you using nicotine patches to ease the cravings.
If you had high cholesterol no one would say using Benecol was cheating.
If you had depression no one would say you should just cheer up and forget about taking anti-depressants.

Don't let anyone you tell pass judgment on using Mounjaro to give you extra support while you get healthier and reset your eating patterns.

There are some scary stories about people injecting fake weight loss drugs. I think some people here those and think the real drug is not properly tested either.

But over the last couple of days there has been a lot of press about the benefits they have on heart health and inflammation (as @MelissaLouRocks has also found) and there is still more research going on. Plus research about how most people don't regain the weight and discussion about maintenance doses etc.

Not everyone wants to be an early adopter of new developments whether that's electric vehicles or medications. But that doesn't mean they are right and we are wrong.

Hi all, I’m considering starting mounjaro and just deciding whether it’s for me or not.

Could anybody tell me what happens once your BMI gets below 30? Do online prescribers stop prescribing to you or do they allow you to use mounjaro until you have a BMI under 25?

You can keep going until BMI of 25. You can possibly still get it after that depending on the provider. Some say you can go to 23 but none of us have got to 25 yet!

If anyone likes an ice coffee. Aldi have a caramel latte 15g protein, 125 calories and it's not bad.

Thanks @Choux. Which are the providers who will let you get to 25/ 23? I’m guessing it’s easier to do the whole journey with one provider rather than trying to convince a new one that you started off obese. My bmi is 36 so I have a good few stone to lose until I get to 30, and 5 stone to get to a bmi of 25. Like most people I want it gone as soon as possible! I’ve started Cambridge diet which works but is hard… I figured mounjaro would make it a lot easier. I’m not sure whether to tell my Cambridge counsellor or not.
I have tried saxenda before but once I reached the top dose it stopped working for me.

True.

Tbh I am now just dismissing the opinion of anyone who hasn’t lived with obesity, or is a bariatric specialist. They don’t know what they’re talking about.

I’ve not told many people I’m on MJ either. As far as I’m concerned it’s private medical treatment and I don’t disclose my private medical information to all and sundry.

@mymounjaro I will say this kindly but a couple of things about your post concern me.

Combining the Cambridge with Mounjaro sounds a bit extreme especially if you don't tell your Cambridge counsellor. If Cambridge isn't the right diet for you and your lifestyle that's fine but why not quit and try Mounjaro on its' own? I just looked up what Cambridge was and it seems to be all Cambridge branded packaged foods. Does the company help you learn how to eat sensibly at social events or once you leave the diet and start doing your own shopping and cooking? With 5 stone to lose you have - like all of us - been eating too much of the wrong things so some re education is needed if you are to keep the weight off long term.

To lose 5 stone you will probably be in Mounjaro for a year or more so you might want to focus on the cheapest supplier rather than the one that will let you get to a BMI lower than 25. You might decide once you have lost weight that a BMI of 26 is your best level from an ease of maintenance and how you look perspective so how to get to 23 or below is irrelevant.

Please take some time to consider what is best long term for your overall health and don't take a short cut because you hate the way you look now. Because if you take a short cut, lose a lot but don't learn better habits, you will gain the weight back and then hate yourself even more. Good luck and do keep posting.

Cambridge is a meal replacement diet @Choux

I also saw Second Nature does coaching and nutrition along with Mounjaro or Wegovy as part of their program.

@mymounjaro I don't think you should do both MJ and Cambridge diet.

MJ helps take away cravings and reduces hunger, but it's best to use it with good diet. I.e. you need a lot of protein. Doing the Cambridge diet along side it would result in a lot of hair loss.

Taking MJ is to try and help you adopt better eating habits for when you have to come off the drug. If you lose your weight on Cambridge and mj, this won't be sustainable once you stop, so you would be more likely to gain the weight back.

I second the others. I've done Cambridge and lost 3st, and as soon as I could eat real food, I put it all back on again. Definitely don't do Cambridge and MJ at the same time - it's probably even a bit dangerous.

Just seen the thread.

It's got my shackles up! I don't get what people's problems are. All I see is comments from people that have no clue but like to give their bullshit 2 pence anyway...often with made up facts!

I had to comment. A little bit of Mumsnet viper came out of me today 🤣

MN is constantly full of fat bashing isn’t it? All approaching weight issues as laziness, a moral failing, stupidity and lack of pride in yourself. And of course ‘eat less, move more’ is the only approved method. So few posters have any knowledge or even understanding of it all. I just ignore them now as reading them adds nothing whatsoever to my life.

I put on 2.5lbs over the weekend as I went out eating for a birthday party, and drank (so rare for me now) and also started eating more in general since being ill. But 1.5lbs has done, and to be honest, I fully expected to gain given the circumstances. I’m just thrilled to be back under 12 stone without eating so little, so I know I can do it without feeling poorly!

I think I have a bit of PMT today as it's wound me up more than it usually would! Think I need to avoid threads like that in future!

I hate all that nonsense about self control, eat less, move more bollocks. I hope these people saying this will hit menopause then see how much they can move more and eat less before they join us here 🤣

@Wonkypictureframe Re weight gain, don't worry about it. We also need to keep living our lives. I feel like I always over indulge on the weekend. I seem to be able to tolerate alcohol again so some weekends I'll have a drink. I am usually up a few lbs by Monday. But during the week it goes down again and I lose a bit more.

Just had my first dose 2.5mg this morning. Then felt quite shaky at lunchtime and needed to eat. Hopefully the no appetite effects will kick in soon :-)

I’m fine, @ObsidianTree. Totally agree that it’s a normal part of life!

I did mean to say congrats on all the whooshes!