Continuing Mounjaro...part 16

[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.
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 - 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.

9 - 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

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

11 - 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

12 - 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

13 - 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.

14 - Drink lots of water. Water helps with the weight loss. Try and drink at least 2ltrs a day.

15 - 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.

16 - 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

17 - 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.

18 - 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.

19 - 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.

20- 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.

21 - 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.

22 - 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

15th thread:
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/weight-loss-injections/5107426-continuing-mounjaropart-15?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:

It is very early in my journey but I can really appreciate where you are coming from.
I can envisage a time in the future (10+ years or so) when similar acting drugs are readily available and obesity becomes almost a matter of personal choice.

Cant decide if that would be a good thing or not..

Bella - I don't understand the sulphur burps thing either, how do people know?

Cerealkiller - you look incredible! Gorgeous dress. Hope you won!

Slimstar - welcome back! I didn't contribute to that conversation but I don't think people were telling you to leave, but saying if you don't want to read about certain things then it would be best to start a separate post with those rules in place. Hopefully instead you can just ignore posts that you don't like.

Obsidian - wasn't it you with the thyroid issue? I listened to a video made by Oushk pharmacy and she said MJ may help correct thyroid issues to a degree - though it could be just down to the weight loss, she's not sure yet

'doing a flappy fish' had me laughing out loud!

The Oushk pharmacist I just mentioned said that rapid weight loss increases fertility (to do with oestrogen being released from fat cells) therefore non-oral methods of contraception may fail also - so she recommended extra precautions even for someone on the implant etc! I thought that was interesting.

Slimstar no need for any more apologies, though you're a lovely person for doing so. You were only expressing genuine concern which is lovely 😍 you're a huge asset to this group 💟

And my goodness, your success speaks for itself ⭐

Welcome back Slimstar. I know I was one of the people who responded to your post and I do apologise if I posted anything to upset you.

As you say, we are all on our own journey and doing what we think is best for our bodies but occasionally might read something where we think 'oh I personally wouldn't do that'. On the whole though, we are pretty responsible users of this wonderful medication.

Happy Friday!

My jab arrived less than 24 hours after I submitted the prescription request. I'm well impressed.

My weight has reached an all time low of 9st 12.8 😱

With regards to comments / judgement, as much as this is a public forum and nobody "owns" this group, sometimes using capital letters is seen as shouting and some of the comments here have been extremely judgemental - hence my fear of being judged when I lied about my bmi to get one last jab. I don't believe any of us has the right to tell someone else what to do, and I also believe that unsolicited advice can be offensive. I personally don't like it.

Each to their own I guess. I don't think anyone needs to feel like they should leave but equally we don't all need to love each other in order to stay.

Oh pants ...I have the implant...and have assumed am fine as the leaflet/ all info only mentions oral contraceptive.... although if it is more to do with rate of weight loss rather than absorption I did lose weight at a similar rate naturally previously (I had youth on my side / no children so could dedicate everything to weight loss) and was fine 🤔....

I keep hearing good things about Oushk. Those that have used them, what is the shipping speed and packaging like?

Maybe it's just her opinion, I honestly don't know! Her name is Hira Malik, she does Facebook lives in one of the groups and answers questions, that's wherexi heard it! She's absolutely lovely!

@Slimstar13 I really didn't mean leave the group, and apologise that it upset you. I was just trying to point out (badly) that it would be pretty hard to find somewhere where everyone followed the rules perfectly. I guess I feel like this group we are all trying to be as sensible as we can, so to see comments suggesting we are as bad as Facebook etc was surprising.

But let's move past it and support each other. I'm glad you have come back and I hope you find being here supportive.

After your comments I did remove the point in the opening post about splitting doses, so it's up to individual to decide what to do instead of advising it.

Glad you're doing well

I used Oushk for my 5mg pen. I ordered on the Thursday and it arrived on the Tuesday, that was my first order with them so I needed to do pictures etc. For the 5mg it is a competitive price, but I think there are some cheaper places out there. It came with one ice block wrapped in wool. Sadly it had fully melted, and my husband thinking he was being helpful (which he was!) put it straight in the fridge whilst I was out so I had no idea if the pen was cold or not upon delivery. However because they’d only dispatched on the Monday and it came Tuesday morning I think it will have been fine, and it’s certainly working 😂 I’ll be ordering my next with them as well. I just wish it came with two ice blocks, like Asda did for my 2.5. The pharmacist seems lovely and you can speak to them via Facebook or email very easily.

One other think with Oushk - they use DPD and you have to have a PIN, so you either need to be in or you would need to properly nominate a neighbour so you can give them the PIN. It’s not a problem for me because either me or DH WFH but could be for some. I believe if you contact them direct they will arrange via Royal Mail.

It did! Thank you ❤️

I think I've heard somewhere that these type of drugs have to potential to end obesity. Imagine that concept! I'm thinking in the future that may well be the case!

Thank you everyone for my happy birthday wishes!

It means so much that I can share my thoughts and celebrate my success on here because I’m one of those who haven’t told anyone irl.

If I hadn’t have started reading these threads at the beginning of May, I would never have started my MJ journey. You’re all so supportive so a huge thank you to each and everyone of you.

On a comedic NSV note, my Asda George size 18 knickers are starting to look very saggy - I think I might move upmarket and pop into M&S!!

@Cerialkiller you look amazing, well done!

@Pinkbendyman I'm in old sainsbury's size 18 knickers and they are falling apart. I refused to buy more until I'm down a size. Until then, crappy elastic and holes it is!

@NewLifter yes I do have thyroid issues. I think I've heard that also. Not sure it could be cured but maybe a reduction in meds. But you never know! Maybe one day! I will definitely make sure I get my bloods checked often tho to make sure I am on top of it!

Re: Oushk
At the risk of sounding like I've got shares in the company, the service was excellent when I moved last week for my 7.5. Ordered Tuesday evening, arrive Friday morning, still cold. £10 repeating discount with MJUK10 - there's actually a special 10% this weekend instead if you check out Hira's post on the FB page from yesterday which, unfortunately, doesn't fit for me at the mo.
Re: oestrogen. Having experienced spotting despite being post-menopausal for 6yrs, was told that this was also due to fat cells releasing old, stored oestrogen. So that explanation about contraception seems logical.
Apparently, Ozempic babies are quite the trend in America!

@KrankyKumquat sorry, not sure if this has been asked before, but do they still prescribe for maintenance?

The Oushk pharmacist said they will support maintenance for up to two years but also added she thinks that will be extended in the future, once people start approaching that milestone

Sounds good. I might order my next from them. What I would really like is to order from someone that will let me back on it if I start to gain in future. I don't want to have to get obese again first.

That does sound good!