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:

@BlackFriYay it might be the steps, if I do a long walk I'm always heavier the next day. I looked into it and apparently the body can hold water after physical activity so it might be that?

Also a good consideration, thank you. That's interesting and I'll keep it in mind as I'm planning to re start the gym this week!

@BlackFriYay I'm sharing to make you feel better... I'm up 3lb as on Friday I ate...
A McDonald's quarter pounder with cheese and large fries
Half a cheese pizza
A cheap cheeseburger at a BBQ
A chocolate mini roll
A Mr Kipling lemon slice

Does that sound like a poor retelling of the very hungry caterpillar to anyone else?! 😂

Literally not a single morsel of anything that could be considered even remotely nutritionally beneficial.

Anyway, my sister tells me it's water weight and it'll come off. So I believe her and I believe @Choux too.

I was due my jab and in my defence it was the childrens' fault with their activities and force feeding me.i had my 10mg yday morning and right now I'm struggling to manage a protein yogurt. It'll all balance out I'm sure. In the meantime despite being a daily weigher I'm not recording any until I'm back to my lowest!

I also had a rubbish food day yesterday, finished off with Chinese takeaway that I didn't want but the rest of the family did, and I still managed to overeat. Do other people find they can still be a bit 'greedy' with food like this, despite the MJ and all their good intentions?

I'm up nearly 2 pounds from yesterday, mostly I suspect because it was so salty.

Have just been browsing the June and July starters threads and they are saying ZAVA are being slow to send out pens and when you get to the payment page are warning of delays. Perhaps they are swamped now MedExpress users have all gone to ZAVA for the discounts? But, if you need a pen from them soon perhaps try to order early.

I seem to be back with Bolt now. I ordered a 15mg pen from them and had an email from them (on a Saturday afternoon!) querying if I had previously had a 12.5mg from somewhere else and to send proof and then they would dispatch it. So I sent the proof. They didn't want photos but that could be because I have had my first two pens from them and sent photos then. Anyway I am happy to return to them and will not be switching to anyone else now. My BMI is getting close to 27 so I doubt anyone else would have me anyway!

Has anyone actually taken a 12.5mg dose yet? How was it?

I haven't started my 12.5mg pen yet so felt a bit odd to be deciding to order 15 mg but I am not a super fast loser - about 1.5lb a week average - and haven't had any nausea, diarrhoea etc so have no reason to assume I won't cope with the higher doses. My main side effect has been tiredness some days.

What all these water weight gains after a bit of social eating, 1 bad day etc plus my own experiences tell me is that I need to get down to 5 or 6 pounds below my target weight. That way when I start eating for maintenance rather than weight loss the water weight will lift me up to my goal weight and not above it.

Aw thank you Slimstar and NC

You're a lovely bunch.

The solidarity is appreciated. I do need to remember that I'm only human after all and few of us, probably none of us, have perfect food days every day.

It's given me a kick up the bum to do better today so I'm going to have a nice chicken salad for tea, lots of protein and water and aim for another 10k steps 😀

A weird side effect!
It's taking me longer to get dressed!

When all I have in my wardrobe is a few grim shapeless fat clothes that fit, I wear the same stuff every day. Whatever is clean.

NOW, from my "retrieved from the loft collection" I have masses to choose from and getting quite fussy with what I fancy that day! It's taking me much longer to get out in the morning😁

This is a good point, I've always thought I'd be happy to get to BMI 25 but I need that leeway really as we do socialise a fair bit and without mj making it easy to get back on track I would definitely struggle not to think sod it, I've had a Chinese, might as well have cheesecake now since the whole weekend is ruined! That dramatic throw-in-the-towel behaviour definitely played a big part in my obesity.

I also had a bad eating and drinking day yesterday. I'm not going to weight today! 🫣 As I've moved my injection day to today I was able to eat and drink without feeling too full etc. still ate less, but more than usual for sure.

@Choux I ordered a pen from Zava on Wednesday. It was showing as despatched on Thursday and arrived Saturday. I was checking the tracking and it only got received by royal mail on Friday. Someone said that Zava might print the postage labels but not actually give to royal mail until a day or two later, I think this might be the case. The ice pack was still cold but had melted. So more likely out of the fridge for a day rather than 2 days.

NSV last night, my OH plays in a band and at the gig the drummer said to me, 'Hope you don't mind me saying but have you lost weight ? '

I'd managed to get a favourite size 14 dress done up comfortably and felt really nice in it.

Orderd a prawn Salad for my meal but only managed half of it. Did have a vidka tomato juice though:-)

Very happy 😊

Morning all!

NSV - saw my brother yesterday (at a major sporting event so v public) for the 1st time since Xmas and he just gawped and hollered ‘OH MY GOD YOU HAVE LOST WEIGHT!’ I was like yes, I have, thank you for noticing. Had 2 glasses or rosè and feeling it today.

Any suggestions where to get a good underwired swimsuit? My £££ bravissimo Speedo is too big now. As is its friend the £££ bikini. Must be built like scaffolding for the F cups I haul about 🙄

I'm really nervous about maintenance stage, really hope @Slimstar13 is correct and it will be easier. I have been building better eating habits lots of salads, berries and yoghurt... Including protein in breakfasts too feel full and exercising more.

I hope you're right Slimstar!
I'm less confident that I'll not put weight on if I eat, say, 2000 calories a day - this is what I was eating when I became obese (I did omad and/or regular fasting for years) and know I can put 2lbs on in a weekend of 'normal' eating and take 2 weeks to get it off again (I really don't want to live the rest of my life like that). I'm currently eating 800-1000 a day, losing 2lbs a week approx. I think there's so much else going on, besides CICO, that I'm at a complete loss to know how/what I'll eat when I get to target weight - metabolism, gut health, age, exercise, hormones, bloods, etc. I'd love to have a complete MOT when I eventually get there and really dig down into what my body does and what it needs - maybe that's something I could spend my MJ money on then instead!

@butterfly0404 @AgathaMystery remind us again how much you have each lost.

I am seeing some friends next weekend that I haven't seen since Easter. I am wondering if they will notice I am now 20lbs lighter.

I'm also worried about maintaining because I've always had a massive appetite and can eat like a horse. So even though I don't always snack, my portions are way too big for my frame.
I'm hoping that once I've been on MJ for 9-12 months I'll have gotten used to the smaller portions.
@FlappyFish I've also converted my dad and my best friend and they are both on it now - but I've said my DP takes it (which is true). I've regretted it now and wish I had been honest with them but now I'm too far into the lie to come clean 🫢

@KrankyKumquat I agree. My bmr is 1445 and tdee 1915 - and like you, I'm pretty certain I'll put weight on if I eat 1900 a day. And I'm quite active (go to the gym 4/5 times a week) so I think there is more to it than CICO.

I'm 8 pounds down in just over 4 weeks, not a fast looser but never have been. I can put it on at lighting speed though.
I'm having fluctuations, today I'm 2 pound up on yesterday but it's 100% not food related. I'm struggling to eat more than 800 - 1000 cals a day which is mostly protein, veg and yoghurt

@Slimstar13 You're so right about the habits we are building now. The mounjaro is helping us to create those new eating habits without having to rely on willpower or motivation alone (as they never last) but all these decisions we make day in and day out while on mounjaro will just strengthen the habits, and our decision making/routine behaviour neural pathways. So that hopefully, our improved behaviour is just automatic - the new normal.

I know that already (3+ months in) no matter how hungry I am, or if I'm craving something, I'll still make sure the food I cook is lean with lots of healthy veg. It's become habit to drink 1 litre of water after work and before bed, even if the mounjaro makes me feel like I could puke. These habits won't go away overnight when we stop mounjaro, especially if you've been on it for a long time.
(Now to work on creating good exercise habits now that the mounjaro doesn't make me as tired as it used to!)

Wiw, everyone is doing so well!

2 weeks in, and I'm down 11 lbs. Got confused and thought it was 3 weeks, but I've had 3 doses of 2.5 !!! I'll be happy with 2 lbs or so a week, as I know this didn't go on overnight so it won't go away quickly either.
My only side effect has been feeling fuller and constipation but I think I've sorted the constipation now.
I've been swimming. (Only for short bursts, but today I did 20 minutes for the firdt time in about 20 years so happy with that- I'm 57 and v lazy)

I have 7 stone to go. I'm a size 22/24 (24 on top with 40 gg boobs) and 5 ft 9.
How long/how much weight did it take to reflect in your clothes. Size ?