Continuing Mounjaro...part 13

[ObsidianTree]

Please note: Mounjaro will only be be prescribed initially if your BMI is above 30 until you get to a healthy BMI of 23 to BMI 25

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 that 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, vomiting, headaches, aches, are side effects. There may 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.

Some natural sources of protein:
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/best-sources-protein

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/321522#high-protein-foods

11 - 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), psylum husks(fibre for constipation), electrolytes.

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

13 - 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.

14 - 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

15 - 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.

16 - 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.

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

MedExpress:
2.5mg and 5mg. £149.99. 7.5mg £169, 10mg £189. Coupon codes no longer working!

The Family Chemist:
2.5mg and 5mg £149. 7.5mg £169, 10mg £169

Zava medical:
2.5mg £139, 5mg £139, 7.5mg £169, 10mg £189, 12mg £204. Zava offer refer a friend discount of 15% off. Ask for a code on here.

Simple online pharmacy:
£149 2.5mg, £149 5mg, £169 7.5mg £189 10mg

Bolt pharmacy:
2.5mg £125, 5mg £149. 7.5mg £169, 10mg £179, 12.5mg £199

Asda:
2.5mg and 5mg £179. 7.5mg £189, 10mg £189, 12.5mg £204

There are others not listed.

18 - 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

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

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

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

9th thread:
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/weight_loss_chat/5074054-continuing-mounjaropart-9?page=1

10th thread:
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/weight_loss_chat/5080755-continuing-mounjaro-thread-10?page=1

11th thread:
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/weight_loss_chat/5085436-continuing-mounjaro-thread-11?page=1

12th thread:
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/weight-loss-injections/5090788-continuing-mounjaro-thread-12?page=1

Thread for newbies just starting out in June:

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/weight_loss_chat/5082791-mounjaro-june-24-starters

Video on how to inject:

Aha! That makes so much more sense. When you said last dose and then bonus dose I thought you'd gone in twice and double dosed. If it was just a large bonus dose than that is just a bit more than the 7.5 and far less worrying.

@BellaCriesAndThatsAlright @ObsidianTree Same boat here, I've been on a diet for 15 years. I'm getting ever closer to my goal weight, a weight I haven't been since pre-Covid. Its the maintenance that always eludes me but I'm stockpiling so I can keep taking MJ whilst I figure it out.

Ah OK. Message me if you can't find them on your thing and I'll pull off some figures from the app for you.

I've just had my weigh in a week after coming back from holiday and I've had a big whoosh! I'm now 2/3rds of the way through my journey which feels incredible. I'm not sure what I've specifically done this week other than stick to my meal plan and I've exercised less than when I was on holiday (!!).

Im 8 months on wegovy and 50 pounds down. I've still got 20 pounds to go but a bit stuck as I not been able to move to highest dose without bad side effects.

Does anyone have an opinion on if it's worth switching at this point? I really don't want to come down to the bottom of MJ and have to start to testing again but guessing that's my only option?

Weigh in day today. I'd only lost 1lb until yesterday but finally lost another overnight. It's been slow going this week despite not overindulging in anything. I'm on my extra dose from my 7.5mg pen so will be moving up to 10mg this weekend.

Starting weight 15st 11lb 8oz
Last week's weight 12st 2lb 4oz
Current weight 12st 0lb 4oz

I'm looking forward to being under 12st as then I'll definitely be overweight rather than obese and I never want to reach 12st ever again!
My DP just asked me what my next goal is and I really don't know. 11st is about what my DP weighs so might go for that.

@PissedOffNeighbour22 that's amazing progress. How long have you been on MJ?

to anyone who buy bigger dosage pen and then counts the clicks to get the amount they want does it also only allows you to do the 4 dosages and then the pen locks? Thanks!

It seems to allow you to go as far as the 4 normal doses would allow.

I think the pens actually allow 4 full doses as clicks so 240 clicks total.

Morning all. I'm in a bit of a mini stall. Not really losing at all, but maybe not being as strict as I should be. After going up to 8.5 and feeling bloody awful on day 2 and 3, I'm OK now, but quite hungry a lot too. Trying to get the exercise in more now. I'm disappointed, but got a boost yesterday. I've hung onto clothes that didn't fit. I was going to throw them out in the winter. Stuff that I could barely get on, and some it it fits now and very comfortably. I'm quite shocked! I felt like an idiot for hanging onto them and convinced myself at my age weight gain was inevitable. A couple of much loved dresses and skirts too. One was halfway up my thighs though and from several years ago - I won't be wearing that!

It has made stalling a bit less disappointing and whilst I have a few lbs to go, I won't be overly upset if I don't get there.

I feel different at the gym too. A bit less embarrassed now. I always felt like an overweight beetle flailing around on my back doing sit ups before, and am less self conscious now, although despite getting into my smaller leggings from years ago, there was still WAY too much camel footage going on. Some areas are still overweight it seems 😂

Lovely to hear everyone else's stories including people getting through sstalls.very encouraging when not losing.

I’m 5’8 and weighed 10s7lb in 2019. I looked great but felt even better so I’m hoping I can get to that weight again.

I haven't ordered a pen for two weeks. Getting itchy fingers. I think my options are:

ZAVA with a 15% discount I have or
Bolt for the longevity of being able to order.

Not sure I have lost much this week so may get another ZAVA order in with a BMI still over 27.

I want some scales linked to an app. I have some body fat measuring ones but they are 10-15 years old so don't have an app. They also p*ss me off royally every time I use them as they tell my my fat is over 40% still AND it says my body is the equivalent of someone aged 69! I am mid 50s!!!! I think it's because I need some more muscle or maybe it's my bone density as I have osteopenia. Anyway I don't like it.

@Choux Zava have just sent me a 15% off code if you need one

There’s no better gift than the gift of good health. So, we’re making it even easier to share it. Refer someone to ZAVA with your personal code, and we’ll give them 15% off their first order. After they’ve used your code to place an order, we’ll also give you 15% off.*

REFP3P3N

MJ works slightly differently to Wegovy so might be worth changing over.

NSV for me! We have a family wedding tomorrow and last night I tried on my outfit and it’s too big. The rest of my clothes have been feeling slightly looser but nothing major - but this was falling off me! So I had to do some panic buying on next day delivery and have about £1000 worth of clothes arriving today and hopefully something will work. Nice problem to have but I wish I’d tried it on before last night!!

Took my first dose of 10mg last night and boy I feel rough today! Really nauseous and tired and generally no ooomph. Just forced a slice of toast down to see if that helps. Hope it eases by tomorrow as I'm back to work.

@AccidentallyWesAnderson that was my experience too. The worst of it was over in 24-30 hours.

@MyCatsSlave it isn't my first ZAVA order but thanks for offering a code.

I'm at the end of my second week. Next flab jab is tomorrow. I've lost half a stone in 2 weeks and I feel brilliant.

The food noise being gone is genuinely life changing. My mental health is already better. I think about food much less frequently and when I do it's 'I need to get protein in' or 'I need to get fibre in'.

Things still taste nice and I enjoy them but I used to be addicted to the 'mouth feel' if that makes sense. Like I could eat well past being full because I was couldn't stop crunching or munnching or a chocolatelyness goodness feel. I just don't get that now and it's just wonderful.

I think hunger is showing as a slightly sore head for me. Does anyone else get that?

OK so 7th dose this week but after feeling awful on 5mg only did 3.75 this week which seems to suit me better. I may stay on this dose for a while as I’m losing weight.

SW:13 stone 10
CW: 12 stone 1

lost a lot of weight this week but upset stomach and not being able to eat properly for three days probably contributed to that.

I have been on mounjaro for about 4 weeks now still at 2.5. I am feeling a bit bummed today as after 4 weeks I have only lost about 9lbs at one point earlier this week the scale went a bit lower but then went back up. I know that 9lbs is good but with so many losing that in a single week at the start of their journey I can't help but feel a bit disappointed.

Positives are that according to various measurements I have apparently gained about 2lbs of muscle in the past month and all over my body I have lost 0.5 and 1 inches which is good as well and visually my mid section looks smaller and I see a tiny bit of a waist coming back.

I started at 242lbs so I think at a bigger size it just takes longer to look like you have lose weight and I am trying to do it properly this time so with exercise and not cutting too many calories so I don't end up skinny fat which I have done in the past to no good outcome but those numbers on the scale going down sure are motivating.

I am due to start 5mg in the next week but I have had some pretty bad constipation even though I drink a lot of water and have a high fibre diet so I may stick at 2.5mg and go up slow until I sort that out.

My blood sugar has come down from prediabetic levels (I have a strong family history of type 2 diabetes so I do monitor it) to the normal range, my blood pressure has come down and is now ideal, I seem to have less inflammation in my skin and face and I am getting fitter and stronger and my diet is on point. All of that is good and I feel healthier but I also feel irrationally annoyed that the person in the mirror is still obese!

I have gone from eating 3000+ calories a day binging on full sugar cola and eating 3 bars of chocolate a day plus crisps and instant noodle pots as a snack to eating just over half those calories a day, exercising, and eating a wholefood diet and thanks to the mounjaro it has been fairly painless so I just need to keep on at it and celebrate the positives even if the scale is slow to go down.

@smasot 9lbs in 4 weeks is great. That's 2.25lbs a week. I'm about 15 weeks in and my average is 1.5lbs a week loss. But all those 1.5lbs add up to 23lbs now.

Focus on the things you can control - eating well and exercise and soon you will be seeing a benefit almost every day whether that's the number on the scale, breaking into the next stone down, the increase in muscle, how your clothes fit, seeing a cheekbone, someone actually noticing and complimenting you (that takes ages! So be patient)

Pooping less is part of how Mounjaro works - it slows your digestion down plus if you are eating less and better quality there is less waste. Do you feel ill or have you just noticed a difference?

Lentil soup or dhal is my saviour whenever I feel a bit too bunged up. And it has protein in too so is a win win!

NSV alert. On an impulse I just tried on a size 14 work jacket which I last wore over a year ago to my dad's funeral when it was too tight to fasten and tight in the arms. It fits! It pulls slightly across the boobs when fastened but open it looks and feels great on!

It's such a fab feeling when that happens. I have work trousers that I was struggling to do up tail end of last year and now they are verging on loose!

I've got into a routine with eating well at home but I'm now staying with my dm for a couple of nights unexpectedly. She's having surgery today, that had been planned for September, so I'm on nursing duties for a couple of days.
I've not told her I'm taking mounjaro or losing weight but I'll have to come clean later when we're home about the diet at least. She says she has chicken and chips we can eat later. So I'll be politely declining the chips.
It's more of a struggle eating out too as I've found today. The usual places I would have lunch have nothing I would eat now. I went into costa and walked out again as I couldn't face the food in there.
Managed to find a salmon and cream cheese sandwich now though so had a good bit of protein.