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:

@IReallyNeedThisToWork you could use the unflavoured collagen from myprotein it says mix with water so you could mix it into whatever you wanted I guess. 18g of protein per serving

That is concerning as I've seen 6 weeks quoted several times so have even mentioned it myself! Just shows that we should all do as we are told!

@Vamozz see above. Stability cannot be guaranteed beyond 30 days plus the pen is designed for the red seal to be punctured 4 times. Every puncture creates a small risk of contamination so by using it more you are increasing the risk. The two things combined are a risk when you are injecting

The above quoted reply from MedExpress about maintenance is encouraging. I'm still technically under them, I just went to Zava for my most recent pen as the impression I got before was that M.E would boot me off as soon as I hit BMI 25, rather than helping me titrate down which is what I always wanted to do.

Thanks for sharing that 🙂

This is where I got my info from re the 6 weeks....

www.numan.com/weight-loss/medication/mounjaro-what-to-expect#:~:text=However%2C%20as%20long%20as%20it's,replacement%20in%20your%20monthly%20delivery.

For those using proton pump inhibitors for reflux due to MJ like omeprazole you may not need to take them every day.

I have GORD and a hiatus hernia and my consultant was very much of the take them when you need them not all the time view. They can take a day or two to make a difference so I would consider stopping after 1 or 2 doses if things are improving and the restarting when you need (obviously if your GP has said something different follow their advice)
PPI affect iron absorption and increase your risk of food poisoning because they reduce stomach acid.
If you already have low iron levels speak to your GP if you need to regularly take ppi.

For me omeprazole caused stomach problems so I take lansoprazole instead. Different ppi suit different people.

I just didn't want people to think I was making it up but where we've had discussion about people titrating at different intervals due to side effects etc there is conflicting info out there.

Ah, I see, however all the documentation from the manufacturers always says 30 days, so I think they've made an error on that page, particularly as it contradicts their own other page that I posted above. Again, it's always 6 weeks for Wegovy (per the manufacturer's documentation) and 30 days for Mounjaro.

I've seen errors on other suppliers' pages as well, such as giving instructions for the American single-use pens rather than the UK multi-use pens, and even when pointed out they didn't update it so always go by what the manufacturers say, Numan, as a pharmacy, have no authority to override that. If it were the case it would say so in the documentation that comes with the pens, but it says 30 days.

@lurkylurk is correct on the 30 days. A few of us have decided to use the pen for longer but that was an individual decision to take a risk in doing so.

@InspectorGidget

I've messaged them to point out the error, hopefully they will amend it so they're not giving out the incorrect information.

Oh that's good to know about omeprazole I was wondering whether to take it daily or not.

Now to sort out this weeks insomnia

The road on MJ isn’t quite as simple as that!

Wednesday weigh in. Ordering some anti-nausea drugs 😬 but weight results good on 10mg.

SW: 13st 10
CW: 11st 0
GW: 9st 7

Start weight 13st 10
After 1 week: Feb 28th 13st 2 (- 8 pounds)
After 2 weeks: March 6th 12st 12 (- 4 pounds)
After 3 weeks: March 13th 12st 9 (-3 pounds)

Moved to 5mg
After 4 weeks: March 20th 12st 9 (-0 pounds)
After 5 weeks: March 28th 12st 8 (-1 pound)
After 6 weeks April 3rd 12st 4 (-4 pounds)
After 7 weeks April 10th 12st 3 (-1 pound)
After 8.5 weeks April 22nd 12st 2 (-1 pound)
After 9 weeks April 23rd 12st 0 (-2 pounds)

Moved to 7.5
After 10 weeks May 1st 11st 12 (-2 pounds)
After 11 weeks May 8th 12 St (+2)
After 12 weeks May 15th 11st 12(-2)

Moved to 10mg
After 13 weeks May 23nd 11st 10 (-2)
After 14 weeks May 29th 11st 9 (-1)
After 15 weeks June 5th 11st 8 (-1)
After 16 weeks June 12th 11st 7 (-1)
After 17 weeks June 19th 11st 5 (-2)
After 18 weeks June 27th 11st 3 (-2
After 19 weeks July 4rd 11st 2 (-1)
After 20 weeks July 11th 11st 0 (-2)

38 pounds total loss (2st 10Ib)
BMI down from 35.7 to 28.7
Body fat down from 45.3 to 39.6
HbA1c down from top of prediabetic to normal
Waist down from 40 inches to 33.5

2 weeks tomorrow since first 2.5mg and I have lost a stone. NSV I can fit into a jumpsuit bought last year that was going no where near me then plus my feet have shrunk so no chubby overspill

Wow!! That’s incredible

Great work @the @Thebaldprimadonna ☺️ some great progress there. Are you going to stay on 10mg?

I think it's a joke

God there’s a poster on their own thread asking the most basic questions about weight loss drugs and someone is sharing discount codes with them!

This really worries me- people jumping in without their own research, relying on responses to their ridiculously simple questions on a forum. I do think we need better prescribing and support for these drugs. Even though it will be more expensive and inconvenient for the rest of us.

I done 5 weeks 2.5mg and 2 weeks 3.75mg. All yesterday had the worst nausea, upset tummy and first time for sulphur burps which came all throughout the night the burps even waking me up. Tummy cramping so much. No major side effects before this.

Had to ring in sick to work this morning I've felt so unwell.

No plans to go up as 10mg has knocked me about a bit (whilst 7.5 didn't work from a weightloss angle).

Very excited that I will be 10st something on the scales soon. Still a way to go (shorty) but that will mentally be a huge thing for me 😋

Thanks @ciderjabs
How much longer have you used it for?

I used a final dose at 35 days (with last 7 days out of the fridge) recently due to holiday @vamozz. It definitely felt less effective but I'd also skipped a dose before so that won't have helped.

12 week weigh in today and hit 2 stone (and 1.5lbs) lost. 1 stone to go!

Yep, saw one last night asking if you could take every other week, from the outset! Most advised no, but someone chipped in, saying 'go for it, you'll be fine, my friends do this'. Profile showed this person was most definitely not Obese. One or two posts creeping in with offers to sell unwanted spare pens - while some replies advise this is illegal, there's still plenty wanting to buy. Complete absence of page moderation. This is going to get a lot worse, given the sudden popularity of MJ.

Yes! I've hit my first stone!

SW 18 stone 4lbs on 14th May
CW 17 stone 3.5 lbs
GW 13 stone

Had a 2 week all inclusive holiday during that soo feeling happy / ok with a stone in 2 months -- more than I have lost in ages!

Given me a little boost this morning as I've been static for a few days :)

And my NSV yesterday was my work uniform not feeling as snug as last week!

I'm having to wear a uniform with the wrong colour piping for my grade (a lower grade) because I was too stubborn post last baby to let HR order me the next size up in my correct piping! Was convinced I'd be back in the correct colour within a month or two.

A year later and I'm still in the wrong colour! But very much feeling like I WILL be able to get into my correct colour soon!!!

Thanks for sharing @Thebaldprimadonna I find it really encouraging the steady slow weightt loss as my body is normally like that. I have previously lost 40lbs ten years ago and it took me 6months to lose the last 14lbs. Menopause has definitely massively slowed my metabolism so using MJ is helping me to keep the calories down and get a loss whilst still eating a healthy balanced diet & enjoying exercise . I’m very nervous though how to maintain when the drive for sugar kicks back in. Still got 20lbs to lose.