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:

Hmmmm, I've done a little more digging. I would suggest anyone using Curate dump them now. I'm about to report them to the GPhC for trading under a non-existent registration number.

Wow that's very dodgy!

Bloody 'ell. The law is also quite clear that it's illegal to advertise POMs to the public. Not sure how Curate, and most other prescribers, are getting away with the FB ads which fill my feed.

I've just spoken to the GPhC and they will be investigating. The fact they have no valid registration, paying and pushing influencers to sell, and also the fact that some people take forever to get meds and have no idea whether the cold chain has been compromised.

They want to speak to me again, so if anyone has any concerns please let me know. Shysters like this make me fucking angry.

I agree with @ItsAlrightDarling . Medexpress probably are more expensive but the service has been really good and that makes it worth it imo. I've ordered 3 pens and they've all arrived the next day. And any queries I've had have been answered pretty quickly.
I would definitely want to steer clear of a company that are enlisting influencers to promote them. I'm sure most people on here have done a lot of research before starting mounjaro whereas the tiktokers make it feel like a quick fix.

In another twist on the Curate story, I'm on a reddit thread for MJ where there has been quite a bit of concern shared like here. Several posts are also suggesting that the big FB group Mounjaro UK is effectively being managed and moderated by Curate and Oushk to promote themselves. Apparently negative posts/posters are removed and blocked!

Gosh that quite bad. One of the influencers was saying that Curate threatened to sue her for making people aware of their dodgy practices. Very shocking!

I’ve used the Family Chemist. They seem totally legitimate, box the bens with cooler packs and are very well priced. Early days, only 2 packs so far but If people are thinking of moving, take a look at them as they get good ratings. I just think there are dodgy people out there so be careful where you go.

Don't feel bad about sharing your code @IReallyNeedThisToWork

We all know how this thing goes works now so I share my code with my progress update in the hope that as new people join / people get to goal and drop off that there are enough new people to keep the chain going.

I'm with ZAVA and ordered a combo pack last time to get the max £30 discount and another poster has kindly used my code.

I wish the price was static across the board though! I'm a long way off maintenance so hoping by the time I get there there'll be some common sense to pricing!!

The registration on the Curate website 9012327 leads to the GPhC page for Oushk so I think Curate and Oushk are one and the same, Curate is just another trading name/website both under pharmacist Hira Malik

Very odd, as that number lead me to nothing, and GPhC checked whilst I was on the phone! And both directors of Curate are men, Tom Wallace and Andrew something. Whatever's going on, it's not right they're paying people to push it for them, and some people are waiting literally weeks for meds with no contact.

Apparently, according to their director Bilal 'Curatehealth sits under our umbrella and have use of our license. They are our partners.' (found on FB page where someone was questioning the registration issue)

@Ghilliedu I used health express from the beginning. Never the cheapest but I used them before MJ to get migraine medication so I decided to stick with them. Last time it took 24 hours from order to delivery, always 7 needles and you can choose your (free) delivery day. They have now also said they will prescribe for maintenance until bmi 22 so I'll stay with them for the duration.

I may qualify for being the slowest loser on this group but I love the fact that my chub rub has pretty much disappeared. It is life changing to just put on a skirt and not worry about what I'm wearing under it or how far I'll be walking that day.

Being a bit of a sad soul I had a look at the GPhC website on the registration process. I cannot be 100% sure but it looks as if any business operating as a pharmacy needs an individual licence as well as a named registered pharmacist. If Oushk and Curate are the same business, why are they operating with separate business models and websites? Looks dodgy to me and @MelissaLouRocks you did the right thing to report this.

I love that @MelissaLouRocks is bored in her "incarceration", so she forms her one-woman Consumer Task Force. That is amazing!

I need something else to do @spamm!!

joinvoy.com/r/U-0ZeohpzkI1

I'm thinking of going back to Voy after a little break... my code is above if anyone is also looking to join

@MelissaLouRocks I love your commitment to the cause! That's impressive and important work! It's the kind of shit that could stop us accessing the drug legitimately if it carries on.

Meanwhile not much happening here. Took 3.75 for the first time on Monday and am still hovering between 9-12 and 10 so I'm happy.

I forgot to bring my scales in with me, so not weighed for days. Fingers crossed my daughter remembers them tomorrow; hoping I've hit my second goal of 160lbs, feels like I have. Plus the food so rank in here been surviving on protein shakes, fruit and nuts, so if I've put on I will not be happy. 😆

Are you even allowed to run a pharmacy under a different name from your pharmacy registration? I don't really know how that works. I think it's So Important everyone involved in this is professional or the whole thing will end up massively restricted and that would be a great shame.

Just quoting myself here, I don't think it looks like this is in line with the GPhC guidelines for online pharmacies:

@MelissaLouRocks - not sure if this is relevant to your contact with GPhC.

I am more skeptical I think - one bad apple can create news stories and noise and bad press and that can result in knee jerk reactions in government.

It looks like the pharmacist is also the prescriber for Curate (and therefore presumably for Oushk).