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:

Hi from maintenance land… kind of. As I’m still taking doses, but reducing dose.

BMI is now 22.4 from 31.4.

My advice is very short and sweet at this point.

Don’t underestimate how much impact food noise and appetite has when it comes back. It is hard. I knew MJ cut it out, but coming back down doses and not having that level of suppression is another head screw to deal with.

As we all know from the fact we got big enough for MJ, giving in to those cravings is easy. I have days where it’s started to torment me. The obsession of wanting more does come back. The only way I have of fighting it is by telling myself it’s just hormones and noise. And telling myself I will undo everything if I give in to it.

Thank you @FlappyFish as this is my biggest fear, although I’m still a while off maintenance.

What strength and frequency are you using?

Hi @Namechangepleas the same thing happened to me this week with my order from cloud - also received on 18th July. I ordered on 17th at 11am it was shipped 17th pm with Royal Mail 24 hr and arrived at 10am the next morning. So was in transit for less than 24 hours but the parcel pen and ice pack were all warm. I have used cloud from the beginning and the packaging is the same and is always cold on arrival with ice packs still half frozen

I messaged them and got no reply so phoned and finally got through. The customer service person insisted it didn’t matter as it can be kept outside of fridge for up to 30 days as long as it’s under 30 degrees. I asked how can they guarantee under 30 degrees if it wasn’t packaged with an ice pack as it clearly wasn’t. So she finally told me that they’d refund it but I can’t order from them again “in case it happens again”. I’m in NI and not all providers ship here so that’s an issue for me. I said I was happy to return the pen at my expense to prove I wasn’t trying to get a free pen - but she still insisted they would only continue to provide orders to me if I kept this pen and didn’t receive a refund. So I was backed into a corner

I thought it was shocking customer service and I’m very interested in the fact that you’ve had the same issue with a delivery on the same day - I think they must have had a lot of orders and ran out of frozen ice packs so just used non frozen ones thinking we wouldn’t notice!

She told me the pen is fine as long as the liquid isn’t cloudy - but tbh she couldn’t actually have cared less

As an aside I froze the ice pack and wrapped it up again in their packaging and left it in my warm kitchen for 24 hours. When I unwrapped it, it was still very cold and partially frozen so I really don’t believe the ice pack was frozen when they packaged it and shipped it to me

It really seems as if some of the pharmacies are not coping well with the volume of orders they are now getting. Zava seem to be particularly struggling - my order that was approved Tuesday morning is yet to show up at Royal Mail. Cloud obviously cutting corners.
The trouble is, we really need to know when to place the order so that we know we can be in to sign for it and put it straight in the fridge. Particularly now we seem to be having some sort of summer.

@FlappyFish thanks for sharing your maintenance journey. It’s the bit I’m dreading most. I’ve got the buffer of at least 2 maybe 3 pens once I reach my goal but at some point the food noise will return. 😔

A little bit of advice please. I decided to extract the ‘extra’ dose from my first pen, purchased the skinny insulin needles as I don’t want any issues. I was expecting a tiny amount as I thought lt that I’d read it was just 1.ml left, however I filled the whole skinny insulin needle up. I’ve used half of it as I’ve read of a few people that injected too high a dose however I’m now able to go to 5ml as I’m in week 5. I’ve been lucky as other than feeling tired I’ve not been at all unwell. Should I inject the rest as how exactly do I know how much I’ve injected? I’ll take a look at the levels as I want to keep my plan on track. great work to everyone loosing all those kilos!

@Tireduk when I did my bonus dose it was .8 on the syringe which is about 3.33 MJ. I definitely felt different yesterday but am ok today and I’ve had zero side effects from 2.5.

i would probably inject the rest because I wouldn’t want to lose any precious elixir!

@FlappyFish how long were you on MJ for? Thanks so much for sharing it’s really interesting to hear about maintenance.

Anyone having issues with medexpress this week
My order has sat on processing since Tuesday, not even been seen by a prescriber yet.

Not sure how long to give before I chase it up, of course the money went out right away..

Weekly check in with you guys, need to catch up and read the whole of thread 17, but a quick scan read shows lots of positive posts, well done all.

Here's my weekly update (for me really as no one else is probably interested)😁

15/06/2024 SW 13st 3lbs
20/07/2024 CW 12st 0.2lbs (I know, I know, I did try to lose that 0.2lb but it wouldn't shift).
GW under ten stone for now then revaluate.

Took my first 5mg pen yesterday but only did 40 clicks. Today I feel exhausted although the heat and poor night's sleep are not helping. I also feel nauseous but I have managed to force down a jacket potato with tuna and cottage cheese earlier. The only thing I have eaten today.

I hope this passes soon, I'm fed up of feeling worn out.

@30not13 mine was 6 days from order to delivery last month and I thought that was long. Some people ordered after me got theirs before me so seems to be luck of the draw. I'd chase it now if I was you. Might put my next order in now if they are getting even slower.

@FlappyFish i gained all the weight I lost after stopping Saxenda. It’s a real worry. One thing I did find helped was ashwagandha- I didn’t seem to get the cravings for junk so much. Not sure that’s a common side effect of it though.

Gosh, I don't think I'll want to try and come off. Will aim to switch to a maintenance prescriber and keep going until they dont let me anymore!

@FlappyFish I echo your feelings. I reduced to 3.75 last week and boy am I feeling it. It does take a huge amount of willpower not to go back to snacking. And like you I'm worried I'll give in.

I'm 9st 12.4 today and a bmi of 23.6. I did initially want to go lower but it has proven impossible so I'm now trying to stay at around 10st as a maintenance goal. I'll take 3.75 for one more week and then go down to 2.5. Terrified doesn't cover it.

Does anyone know which prescribers have the best maintenance approach at the moment, and if they let you switch under 30 BMI?

.

RM have finally received my parcel from Zava and will apparently deliver in Monday - so dear knows what shape it will arrive in 🫣 I don't know when Zava actually dispatched it, didn't think they would work on Saturdays!

Flappy fish sorry to hear you're struggling. It's definitely a worry for us all. I hope you manage to find a way to shut the damn food noise up!

I've heard good things about Oushk but I appreciate we are all a bit nervous now due to their links with Curate.

Unfortunately none of the reputable suppliers we’re aware of @mcdle

I think it might take a while for regulator to catch up and suppliers have clarity. That’s why I’ve slowed my weight loss down, eating more than my calorie allowance and leaving slightly longer between doses. I’m at 27.8 BMI so don’t want to drop too much too quickly before a proper maintenance plan is available

An update re medexpress and their price match policy. I provided the information that 10mg was £30 cheaper elsewhere. Supported by screenshots and all I received was a £10 account credit. They have then sent me an email asking why I haven’t reordered with them.

A landmark here today! Two stone down!
SW 15 10
CW 13 10
GW 13 00
I’ve been using mounjaro for just over 3 months and the last 6 weeks has mostly been a steady 1 lb a week. It all adds up though and I have reached 2 stone.
I’ve been using 2.5 mg until a month ago .
I’ve actually found the side effects much better eating a bit more .
Last weekend I tried on a beautiful slinky dress that I was considering wearing for a black tie do ( haven’t worn it for 5 years) and it went on and looked nice . It think would still be better 7 lb down but I COULd wear it .

Keep going everyone!

Hi all, wow these threads move so fast!

so I’m through the worst of the shingles thankfully! Did my 4th 7.5mg yesterday and had effects in the evening (bed tummy) never feel anything like that until day three so I’m thinking the antivirals were masking it a bit.

I am now at 11st exactly starting out at
12st 5.6 so slow loss in just under 12 weeks but my clothes are down a size and the difference in my shape is noticeable.

I have quite strong fatigue but could be the shingles. I am going to try and eat more calories this week to see if that improves things and force a walk a day and try and get to strength training which I was doing three times a week in the first 8 weeks but fatigue and shingles have wiped me out!

I’ve ordered my 10mg pen and stayed with Pharmacy2u throughout and get codes from them towards the end of each pen. For the first time however they asked me for pic with my passport near my face and a full body pic ….hated doing that but hey ho.

so lovely to read everyone’s posts and love this supportive group!

This is from the first post of the thread re maintenance by suppliers:

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.

I have recently switched to Bolt but have not tested them on maintenance as my BMI is still 27.5.

I see it's all kicking off on TikTok re the curate girls. They've blocked a few other content creators who were supposedly their friends. Apparently curate told them to. People are saying curate is a cult. Whatever the truth is, I definitely think curate is one to avoid and something smells off 🤔