Continuing Mounjaro...part 15

[ObsidianTree]

Please note: Mounjaro will only be be prescribed initially if your BMI is above 30. If you have additional health conditions you can get the medication with a BMI 27. (Prediabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol or heart problems)

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 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 - Some people find that they don't need to go up a pen dose each month if the current pen dosage is working well for them. If you are unsure when to go up, speak to your prescriber.

8 - The move up from 2.5mg to 5mg can be quite a shock to the system. Some people chose to take 3.75mg dosage for a few weeks to ease the transition.

9 - If you are having bad side effects after titrating up or you are struggling to eat your calories each day, your dose may be too high so should consider lowering your dose. Speak to your prescriber if unsure.

10 - 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

11 - Once you take your first dose you can choose to keep your pen in the fridge or somewhere else. It's up to you.

12 - 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

13 - Protein is important as eating less protein can cause muscle wastage and hair loss.
Some natural sources of protein:
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/best-sources-protein
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/321522#high-protein-foods

14 - 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.

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

16 - 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.

17 - 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
further reading about injection sites and the effects: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/316618

18 - 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.

19 - 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.

20 - Some of the places you can order from are:
MedExpress:
2.5mg and 5mg. £149.99. 7.5mg £169.99, 10mg £189.99. 12.5mg £209.99. 15mg £209.99 Coupon codes no longer working!
The Family Chemist:
2.5mg and 5mg £149. 7.5mg £169, 10mg £169, 12.5mg £194, 15mg £199
Zava medical:
2.5mg £139, 5mg £139, 7.5mg £169, 10mg £189. 12.5mg £204. 15mg £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 £149, 5mg £149. 7.5mg £169, 10mg £179, 12.5mg £199, 15mg £199
Asda:
2.5mg and 5mg £179. 7.5mg £189, 10mg £189, 12.5mg £204 15mg £204
There are others not listed.

21- You will still be prescribed Mounjaro when your BMI falls below 30. However, it may be harder to move suppliers once you BMI is below 30 if you wanted to move.

22 - Worried about your supply being cut off when you get to a healthy BMI? Below is some info on some places maintenance plans.
The Family chemist :Would consult you as approached healthy BMI to discuss maintenance under close supervision(if you started with family chemist)
Curate: up to 2 years
Cloud: up to 2 years
Boots: Cut off at BMI 23
Asda: Cut off at a healthy BMI
Pharmacy2u: Will supply for maintenance
Bolt:Individual assessment once BMI 22 and does offer maintenance
Zava:Once healthy BMI will stop prescribing this treatment
Med Express: BMI 25 and cut off.

23 - 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
13th thread:
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/weight-loss-injections/5096704-continuing-mounjaropart-13?page=1
14th thread:
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/weight-loss-injections/5102149-continuing-mounjaropart-14?page=1

Thread for newbies just starting out in July:
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/weight-loss-injections/5101435-mounjaro-july-2024

Video on how to inject:

@Oakcupboard
I have a code for Zava if that’s any good.

15% off your first order at ZAVA:

REFA5RT2

www.zavamed.com/uk/?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=refer_a_friend

Maximum discount value: £30

In a similar boat….I had very strong suppression on 2.5 and total suppression first week of 5mg. I could literally not eat for a day or more, and have had to force food down. I’ve also felt very flat and often tearful in the last week or so, bordering on depressed. This might have something to do with having been over-focused on protein at the expense of nutrients such as healthy fats (and fibre, a whole other story!). And the weightloss has been minimal recently, as I expect I’m reacting to a crash in calories and nutrients.

Clearly my body is telling me I’ve not been doing this right even though I’ve been focused on unprocessed wholefoods, but when you just don’t want to eat…

My provider (Phlo) doesn’t encourage jumping up automatically if the current strength is working. I’ve dipped down to 3.75 for my 2nd dose from the 5mg pen and will see how it goes.

I’m just going to tirate down to 3mg and build up from there.

I’m on 3.5mg as 5mg was making me so ill going to drop down to 3mg and see if that helps. Thank you.

5mg was brilliant for the first 4 weeks, really good appetite suppression so I opted to stay on it for another month.

Typically, within 2 jabs of my second 5mg pen the positive effects had all but worn off so I had to stick it out and double down on my will power.

I was so hopeful that the 7.5 would bring some of that suppression back 😕

I suppose to look on the bright side it's only right I should be leaning into being more disciplined as I'll be off the medication before long, it just makes the journey much less enjoyable when you're fighting off hunger pangs all day.

I'm on an antidepressant that has increased appetite as a side effect so my brain tells my body I'm hungry constantly 🤦🏼‍♀️ MJ put paid to all of that.. but it's back 🤦🏼‍♀️

Well done on all of your losses 🙂

Do you know if these are for the 5mg pen?

Hey hey hey

Congrats for this week’s losses! And for anyone in a stall or not losing as fast as they wish - just you wait! The weight will come off!

I must say…I’ve actually had a pretty great week! I’ve lost a little over 2 lbs already this week, which has been wonderful. I also took 3.75 and haven’t had any side effects (yay!). Suppression is good in the sense that I am not hungry at all, but also it’s not like a have to force food down. Like I can eat, more or less my entire portion, but haven’t felt an ounce of hunger.

But can anyone else relate to this - my sweet tooth is back! Like I must have a sweet treat! Not sure if it’s my body adjusted now fully to the Mj, or the time of month (due in a few days), or the fact I found a protein bar that is DELICIOUS. But yeah, I must have a sweet treat daily, whereas the first week or two, it wasn’t even on my radar!

Just 2.5mg I think. I guess the higher doses were made more recently and it was only 2.5mg sitting around waiting for the UK to approve?!

Took my third 2.5mg jab this morning and weighed .myself, 6.6 pounds down in 14 days , I'm ecstatic.

BMI still in the obese category though so a while before a healthy weight is achieved.

I'll be considering moving up to 5 but might stay on 2.5 for another 4 weeks as my loss is steady and my appetite suppression is good. I'm staying under 1200 cals without any effort at all and trying to get in 80gms protein daily. I've got low level nausea that comes and goes but it's not debilitating. Certainly keeps me from eating all day.

I started with simple online pharmacy, can I swap to a cheaper supplier ? So many options my small brain is a but frazzled

That's amazing losses so far @butterfly0404!

I'm also tempted to stick to 2.5mg as long as it's working and the side effects aren't too bad - don't want to rush it and get thrown off by nausea or anything!

I think it's easy to switch, have seen lots of people do so - from what I can gather you just need to send a photo of your last box/prescription.

If you want to use Zava, feel free to use my code for 15% off - REFSWEMU

No pressure to use it, just appreciate this stuff gets expensive so any savings come in handy!

Thanks Snickle, that's great, I've got another dose to take next Friday and looks like there is the bonus dose that's going to be left after all 4 are done. Will try and get that injected as well before starting a new pen.

I'll check out your code for Zava, are there any delays in delivery? SOP were incredibly quick and efficient, arrived next day in cold packs. I'm only considering changing to save some cash.

@butterfly0404 no, mine was approved with within 2 hours and came the next day, also in a cold bag with ice packs etc - I had a couple of follow up queries re storage and they came back to me super quickly.

I think I'll also order again soon just to make sure there's one pen in the fridge waiting, don't want to leave it too late just in case of any unforeseen delays!

Best of luck!

Has anyone else been subject to nausea like @butterfly0404 ? I usually wake up
feeling sickly and a bit green on and off through the day especially if I drink a Diet Coke. Used to love breakfast but no more. I’ve lost 33lbs in 8 1/2weeks so very pleased with appetite suppression but still on just 3.5mg as afraid nausea etc may get worse on 5mg.

I have to say it's kicks in about 4 hours after the injection, if I eat more than my tummy can cope with or anything too oily. I had a salmon fillet last night, it was fresh so not off, an hour after eating I felt really nauseous and gassy.

Had a couple of rennies which helped and I felt fine this morning. I had my injection at 11 and i'm feeling a bit yuk and headachey again. I know it will pass and it's not intolerable.

Oh @butterfly0404 hope things settle.
It is a weird nausea I find as it does ease off through the day. I never fancy eating greasy foods either. Saw an ad for a Big Mac which I used to love and it looked repulsive 🤢 to me. It is so strange.

I was wondering if anyone found this?

when it comes to normal food, I feel full and / or satisfied on about a third of what I used to eat. And couldn’t force another bite down.

But when it comes to some sweet stuff I could still eat the same amount but just have the willpower to stop now.

wish I had a complete aversion to it, always have a fear I’ll slip up. I’m on 7.5mg

If anyone has a Bluelight card (for emergency service workers etc) Pharmacy2U has an offer on weightloss medications. I have no idea what they are like as I've only ever tried Boots and MedExpress but in case either helps anyone, offer is on this weekend only.

I'm on jab 20 today, regained the 1kg I'd lost but it's still 1kg down on my 5 week stall so stall still counts as over. Have lost 11% of starting weight, BMI down from 35 to under 32, not a super responder but good enough.

NSV - wearing a pair of summer shorts I've not fit in for years- they look pretty good actually.

Grr. My MedExpress order hasn't been approved yet. I guess I'm going to be waiting until at least Tuesday then.

Mine too. Submitted early Thursday morning with a view to delivery by Friday or Saturday. Still stuck at awaiting prescription. Wonder if Medexpress can’t afford doctors’ rates?

For a Friday night, we aren't flying through pages for once!

Is everyone watching the football?

How is everyone getting on?

I have seen a few people saying they are hungry/craving sweet things. This is me too at the moment! Just want to eat crap! My appetite seems to be back and feel quite hungry more often. Odd after quite a while feeling suppressed for a long time!

No much going on here. Eating dinner. Wondering when I’ll ever be able to finish a meal again! 🤣🤣

I'm ready but half asleep because I stayed up most of the night watching the election 😆

Tennis!
Was looking forward to celebrating today what with the election results and wot not. But struggling to resist a drink - not fussed by food, but really want to open a bottle. First cravings in 8 weeks.

My husband stayed up most of the night watching the election. I kept waking to him laughing he his head off. No idea why he found it so funny!

Were we worried a while back about labours stance on injectable weight loss drugs? Hope we don't have anything to worry about!

@ThirdStorm I seem to be able to finish my meals again! Think I need to titrate up again soon! So one day I'm sure you'll be able to finish a meal ☺️

Enjoy the tennis @KrankyKumquat