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:

Woohoo! We have a pharmacist. MumsnetMed is born!

My job is costing, budgeting and preventing projects spending too much money. I can work out what our cost price needs to be to cover the marketing, branding, packaging and our payroll and try to rein in anyone who wants to overspend on these.

@QueenOfHiraeth oh wow! You're the jewel in our crown. I'm genuinely starting to think we could put something together here. There's so much expertise and experience in our ranks.

@Thebaldprimadonna that is exactly it. So simple, seems so obvious and yet something nobody has achieved.

I know an incredible psychologist that works in mindset change specifically around food, very helpful for putting together a full maintenance support plan to go hand in hand with a downward titration plan.

@WannabeHealthier That's why I rarely out myself on social media because there is a risk that people take any advice given in my capacity of any old regular idiot as being professional guidance!
I haven't seen any of Hira's live sessions so can't comment on whether they are poor practice or not but there are a lot of doctors post about MJ although they do always caveat with "I am a doctor but not your doctor... etc".

@choux you're in, you're our Financial Director.

We almost have a full house.

Apologies to anyone opening the thread in the morning to find I've derailed things with an entire business plan! I'm sure normal service will be resumed shortly.

I'd be very happy to make sure we're accessible at all points!

I just put Mounjaro into the search bar on FB to case out the groups and a page came up called "Sunkissed Slim" saying Mounjaro Pens will be in stock from Friday.
www.facebook.com/Sunkissed.slim2024
These will come 5mg and 7.5mg & 10mg
£50 deposit to secure one.
These won’t be live on the website until 01/08/24

She then answers a query with:
The monjuaro ones everyone is raving about on TikTok,
It’s just a stronger solution but I’m doing them a lot cheaper than what you get over the counter xxx
So online the 2.5mg pen is 4 weeks and it’s £160
My
5mg one will be £130
7.5mg one will be £150
10mg one will be £180
Xxx
It’s still a weekly injection you’ll get roughly 8-10 weeks out of each pen, starting on the lower dose pen is still recommended but after 2 pens you will need to increase to the higher dose pen
Xxx

This is getting more like the South Park Ozempic episode every day!

My husband is a top strength and conditioning coach. He could advice on fitness.
Only problem being he STILL believes that the Mounjaro pen in the fridge is because our cat is diabetic.
So his new role might come as a bit of a shock.

I'll fill in the gaps, as long as you're OK me working from home, or a hospital somewhere in Derbyshire....

Even has a whole post complaining about someone tackling her about safety
and this!

@MountKilimounjaro I'm a nurse in primary care, I already support patients on GLP1s and teach new starters injection technique, give lifestyle advice etc. Can I have a job too?

@AgathaMystery
Your work history sounds fascinating, I bet you'd be great to have a dinner party chat with!

@spamm that's amazing news on your health progress, congratulations!

@QueenOfHiraeth gosh that all sounds so dodgy. There really needs to be better regulation.

@WannabeHealthier that was a red flag for me too. But it goes to show people do really want something more personal than the faceless companies and she offered what seemed to be the one to one support. Shame it seems it may be more of a marketing/sales/advertising pitch.

Agree that this thread is very much peer support and advice is given and taken in that spirit.

@QueenOfHiraeth I think that's a very sensible approach and shows your professionalism and understanding of human nature.

I'm careful about advice I give in my field when I'm not in a professional environment and what I do isn't even remotely life or death. But like doctors I have one of those jobs that when mentioned at parties people immediately want your feedback/advice...my mind is always half on my glass of champagne and where the canapés are coming from!

I used to be a sports therapist if that helps? Strangely enough I used to make wedding dresses, so could run up the uniforms. Built hardware and installed and ran accounting packages, and part qualified in Podiatry before I became too poorly. Foot massage anyone?

You can't tell I have ADHD...

@QueenOfHiraeth we'll have gone full South Park once we start planning the lab to make the drugs.

Sooo...any Chemistry teachers? 😂

I’m really sad about the bad press these weight loss medications are getting. It just doesn’t match the reality of all of us on here.

I really hope there is a celebrity who is brave enough to admit to using Mounjaro and tell normal women the actual reality. Cut through all the crap between
mainstream media and social media.

Rosie McDonnell has done this in the US. Her reason is all about empowering women and spreading awareness of how life changing it is for her health, after decades of struggling with her weight. I found her interview really inspiring.

I do hope some British celebrities who have had a good experience speak openly about it and break the stigma/ taboo of using Mounjaro. Some celebrities have spoken about ozempic like Stephen Fry, but it’s overall still negative (cause ozempic).

I feel sad that more people who could potentially benefit aren’t getting a real picture - it’s all so overwhelmingly negative and skewed.

I feel like we don’t have a voice in the emerging narrative and I worry about knee jerk responses from government - possibly banning or restricting access significantly.

I bet I can find a few teenage ones hanging around the estate other end of town. 😂

@montysma1 my kids found mine and asked if it was to go up the dog's bum!!! Poor dog.

So for anyone wanting to keep it a secret it seems pet medication is the best excuse.

I am loving finding out about the varied careers you've all had/have
@montysma1 your DH is going to be a bit surprised if you ask him to design a programme for those taking the same medication without coming clean!

Oooh forgot about my daughter, as a biochemist I'm sure we can rope her in!

I love MNJaro. I did just snort loudly.

I’m an international HR VP… I’m glad we have payroll sorted. I will merrily do the growth plans and some awesome benefits and set up our entities.

Absolutely this. It's made such a difference to so many of our lives but the press and social media goes after the horror stories and the exploitation. The 'easy fix' 'cheating' narrative just gets perpetuated. Sigh.

I agree there needs to be a better way, which is still affordable. There isn’t in reality much support offered by the online pharmacies, hence why this mumsnet tread is so popular. But if you’re on facebook and haven’t discovered our lovely thread, your experience will be very different as there’s a lot of risky and dangerous behaviour being shared. People are easily influenced (myself included!) so I’m glad I found this sensible group!

Yes, I’m also careful about sharing advice…not that anyone is asking me as I’m not very important lol! But my Doctor friends have to be very clear about their boundaries when giving medical advice to friends and family. Lots of caveats!

I also think about the champagne and food when I’m at work events…. Which is part of the reason I put on weight in the first place! I used to travel around the country a lot for work and used food as a treat/ escape from work!

@MelissaLouRocks your daughter can look after the lab and if you round up the kids from the estate she can train them up. Job done!

@RagzRebooted how great that you're already working with people taking GLP1s, are you ever tempted to point them in the direction of this thread? And do you get time to hear about their experiences?

Yes it’s amazing isn’t it? This thread is full of kick ass women.

Not the lazy, uneducated idiots who don’t know how to eat healthy, exercise and cook that those horrible threads paint us to be!

@WannabeHealthier I travel for work too and also used food and drink as a way of escaping work/the stress of travel.

I'm just back from a long work trip and it was game changing in so many ways. My colleague had the best time, he was eating for two as the time difference and MJ meant I could barely eat so he finished all my food.

Also Americans are a lot less reserved than the British and I had sooo many people commenting on my weight loss...which was a mix of lovely but also embarrassing and I felt very exposed. Also a bit of a shock as not one person in the UK (other than my husband) has said a word so I assumed it wasn't noticeable.

Sorted. 🤘