Continuing Mounjaro...part 17

[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! Make sure the needle is twisted on tightly. Priming will help confirm if the needle is on securely and not faulty.
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.
https://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 - Taking Mounjaro can stop birth control from being effective. If you are on birth control, consider extra protection if you aren't planning on conceiving anytime soon!
11 - Once you take your first dose you can choose to keep your pen in the fridge or somewhere else. It's up to you.
12 - 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
13 - 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
14 - 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.
15 - Drink lots of water. Water helps with the weight loss. Try and drink at least 2ltrs a day.
16 - 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.
17 - 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
further reading about injection sites and the effects: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/316618
18 - 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.
19 - 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.
20 - 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.
21- 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.
22 - 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.
23 - 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
16th thread:
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/weight-loss-injections/5115015-continuing-mounjaropart-16?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:

Have a look at Fitbymik on YouTube

I started on her 20 minute videos with 2kg dumbbells. I'm now on 40 minute with 4kg dumbells. My core, strength and flexibility is vastly improved in only a few weeks. Highly recommend.

They're fab, 45 seconds on 15 seconds rest, no jumping, combined movements, strength and sculpt. Honestly I actually look forward to it. Unbelievable.

Good luck.

They're great, weigh yourself and pings all the info to your phone. Some of the readings you can pretty much discount, as the only really accurate ones are Dexa scans.

I've enjoyed seeing my age reduced from 62 to 58 though.....even though I am only 55! 😂

Good luck, you won't regret it. Best decision I've ever made- I'm 10kg down in 7 weeks!

I never weighed either, now weigh only weekly in kg. Best of all I feel so much better.

@MelissaLouRocks Thanks! I'm not at risk of running out so not an issue, its more being around for delivery but as it goes I do have some flexibility next week so I think I need to relax and wait for their notification.

Finally have a decent loss after several weeks pretty much stalled.

Starting weight 15st 11lb 8oz
Last week's weight 11st 7lb 2oz
Current weight 11st 4lb 2oz

BMI down from 40 to 27.7

It's been months since I had a 3lb loss in 1 week. That finally takes me to 4.5 stone loss. It's taken weeks to get the extra half stone off and I still have around 1.5st to lose.

I'm really starting to notice the loose/flabby skin now. My bingo wings look atrocious and the insides of my thighs are looking a bit saggy. My overhanging CS pouch is feeling very wobbly.

I've decided to post my measurements to show what a 4.5st loss has done:

Bust was 47in now 38.5in

Waist was 43 now 35 (although I'm not sure I'm measuring in the right place as I'm buying 31in waist jeans and they fit)

Apron fat was 48in now 39.5in

Hips were 50in now 41in

Thighs were 27in now 23in

Bingo wings were 16in now 14in

@Slimstar13 great losses so far. Well done 🎉

@Slimstar13
Bloody 'ell! That's a phenomenal loss and in 15 weeks! Well done.
I'm still struggling to get to 30lbs - the 13s have been a real struggle and wavering around 1 or 2lbs above the new stone mark. I've upped my calories marginally to try to counteract the dizziness and lethargy and the weight loss has slowed/stopped but on last week of 5mg so hoping 7.5 will give me a boost (without leading me to faint in the shower!)

@PissedOffNeighbour22
I haven't a clue where my waist is either! My favourite to measure is round my belly button as it stays in the same place, I reckon this is my abdomen but who knows! Anyway, it's dropped 5ins so that'll do for me.

After a 3-4 week stall, this week I've lost 5lbs! Bringing my total to 36.6lbs lost in 3 months and 3 weeks.

Doing my bonus 7.5 tonight and then up to 10mg next week. Am working on moving my jabs back a couple of days to fit in with holiday, so I'm not travelling having just done a jab as I still get nausea the first couple of days.

Am really hoping the 10mg pen is a dose I can stay on for a few months. Fingers crossed!

Am also thinking of moving from Asda to another provider - like a poster above, prefer DPD and a provider with a good maintenance policy. Mind you, I'm BMI 39 now so I still have a while before it becomes an issue. Hopefully I have time for them to get with the programme!

@Slimstar13
You may be right about the water - I drink weak squash, coffee and 0%beer but realised it's nowhere near 3lts worth.
It's also definitely a BP thing - I spent a day measuring mine and my average was around 100/70 which is a massive drop from 130s prior to MJ. I've never had blood sugar measured so don't know if that's very low too.
I've invested in some over 50s women's multi vitamins and 4 in 1 magnesium so hoping these will help in time too.
I've never been so obsessed by the inner workings of my body before!

Well done @spottydogsarethebest !! That's an amazing loss.

Well done to everyone else as well!!

I have been lurking on this thread for months and it's so supportive.

I will post frequently I'm sure once my first pen arrives - I'm champing at the bit to get going!!

I think I'm most looking forward to losing the food noise and being able to stop eating.

I'm going to try to ensure that I eat plenty of protein and drink lots of water. Does anyone have any other tips? Should I be taking any supplements?

@KrankyKumquat that's where I measure too. I think it's supposed to be measured a bit higher, but as my stomach is knackered from pregnancy, above my belly button sticks out a lot anyway.

Thanks @Slimstar13. I wish I'd measured other things like my calves and neck but as it was all so new when I started when MJ was first released, I just went with the standard parts people usually measure.
I also wish I'd had my fancy scales when I started too, rather than when I'd already had almost 3st loss.

I've put a pound on overnight 😥
In the past, this would have been my cue to give up, and eat my own bodyweight in crap.
Now, however, I know that it's because I'm not drinking enough water (hardly any yesterday), and also a much higher carb meal last night than I would usually have. Visiting my daughter and granddaughters, I had a lovely spaghetti bolognaise with cheese cooked for me. On top of the previous day's omelette and chips dinner, this is much more carb than I eat when at home.
It's my last day at my parents today, off on holiday tomorrow for a week.
Today I'm going to drink more water, ease up on the carbs, and the pound will disappear in a few days.
Now to meal plan for next week, self catering so I can increase my protein back to usual levels.

After seeing my success with MJ my DH decided to give it a try. His pen has been sat in the fridge for 3 weeks as he’s really squeamish and struggles with needles! He’s finally just braved it (although I had to jab his arm while he had his eyes closed!).

I posted a little while ago about not losing very much by week 5. Now end of week 6 and still up and down the same couple of pounds, not yet consistently below 10lb loss.

I'm going to try low carbing for a bit, I think. I hope this makes a difference, but then part of me thinks, maybe making these changes means I could lose weight low carbing without the MJ? Or lose 1lb a week on Slimming World. Which is ridiculous, because I never have done before (and I really hate the SW diet)!

I think I'm self sabotaging because I feel a bit rubbish about the weight loss, so I really need a kick up the bum!

RENPHO Travel Scale for Body Weight, Mini Bathroom Scale for Body Fat, Portable Digital Weight Scale for Traveling, 13 Body Composition Analyzer Sync with Smart App, 400 lbs, 11.02" x 7.09", Elis Go https://amzn.eu/d/0dlnHPY9

I've just bought this one
I'm going to Spain on Monday. It weighs 820g so I'm taking bit with me. It weighs in kg to start but when you download the app you can select how you want to record it. I weighs me 2lb heavier than WW scales but hey ho. Trends are important!

Aaaargh

My 15mg from Med Express has arrived. Completely not cold.

Processing was quick ordered Monday dispatched Tues so I was pretty impressed.

It got here yesterday, so it took 2 days but thats normal due to where I live. It's always arrived with everything very cold despite the extra day .

Until now.

Really pissed off. I decided to keep sucking up the MedExpress higher prices as they were so reliable and everything arrived cold. ( After my slow delivery debacle with cheap Curate).

If this really just left the warehouse on Tuesday there is no way it should be unchilled by Thursday.
So I have to conclude that the ice packs weren't properly frozen or that the pen has sat out of cold storage for a while before being sent.

They cant blame Royal Mail as 2 days is what it's always taken before with no temperature problem.

I am not due to open this pen for weeks😡. Essentially this is not useable if I follow the 30 days guidelines

Honestly. Are NONE of them reliable?

Amazing progress everyone! @Slimstar13 yours is just astounding!

I've woken up today with a sore arm (from my injecting debacle of yesterday) and a feeling of trepidation going into a week not knowing how much I have injected or lost. I'm reassuring myself that MJ is long acting so, hopefully, the damage will not be too great

Oh that’s frustrating 😔. My MedExpress order has just arrived, thankfully very cold.
I think they’re all struggling with demand. They need to up their game quickly.

My personal theory which I cannot prove is that prescribers obv need a freezer to freeze the ice packs. If you fill a freezer with ice packs the ones in the middle will take a long time to freeze. If demand increases and they haven't got enough freezers to freeze all the required ice packs they will start using partially frozen or even just chilled ones. And some suppliers only use one ice pack.

They may invest in another freezer so it's just a temporary blip in their ability to send out pens that are still cold when they reach the customer. Or they may not bother in which case orders dispatched on Mondays have ice packs that were fully frozen over the weekend but if you get one dispatched midweek they may have been struggling to find frozen ice packs.

@montysma1 oh no! I was thinking of switching to them after my warm pen from zava.
My pen was dispensed on the morning of the 19th but didn't seem to be picked up by RM until the 20th and didn't reach me until the afternoon of the 21st. Zava just say to just use it within 30 days, which I'm not able to do.
I suspect lots of them don't have the facilities to fully freeze gel packs before despatch because of the volume of orders and/or are packing well before despatch.
I think the risk is of reduced effectiveness rather than infection. I have also been unable to establish whether refrigerating immediately pauses that degradation or not, but I instinctively feel it must do, at least to some extent.
The only other option seems to be just in time ordering so that we start using pens straight away so arrival temperature doesn't matter. But the long delays make it difficult to predict when orders will arrive. Which also makes it hard to know when you will need to be at home so running the risk of a failed delivery.

By the way, I know this is unlikely as most posters are chasing the low costs but, I use the monthly subscription with Chequp who are a bit dearer but offer free health and nutrition coaching, are really fast in responding to any queries and I've found them really good. They are now offering £15 off for referring a friend (that's £15 off for the referrer and the referred). If anyone is interested please PM me

@Fromthesidelines Med express have been good until now that why I put up with the lack of discounts.

Even when I tried Curate and it took 6 days to arrive, the pen was colder than this current Med Express one!

I am worried about reduced effectiveness rather than infection. It's clearly a heat labile substance. I work in a lab, I KNOW how quickly these type substances lose activity at the wrong temperature😡. So annoyed.
It's too expensive to have them deliver something which essentially may be "damaged" for want of a better word.

Have emailed a furious email but I expect a generic response .

I’m about the same weight loss as you.
I put 2lb on this week and although I know it’s down to inflammation from a bad back spasm and gym going it’s still so annoying!
Although it’s slower than others I keep reminding myself how easy MJ makes it to eat so much less.