Anyone thinking of stopping injections while not at goal?

[blacklippy]

I am thinking of stopping mounjaro (after 3 months of use) for a month to see how I get on without it. My reasons for this are

1. I am still on 2.5mg and am comfortably eating in a deficit and losing weight at a steady rate of about 8 to 10lbs a month. I don't want to drop my calories down to less than 1800 a day and prefer to lose more slowly while still being able to eat a decent amount of food. I have cut calories drastically before and while I lost weight I did go on to regain it all, lost muscle mass etc and I just prefer to lose more slowly while eating more this time.
2. I feel like the mounjaro did help me get a handle on my eating habits but the tendency to binge on crap did creep back in and I think I know now that it is not eating properly, being thirsty, stress that triggers these i.e. emotional triggers and I don't think the mounjaro actually stopped that I learned to be more mindful of it myself, noom also helped.
3. Cost it I am not really using the med to cut my calories to 1200 a day then am I really getting much benefit from it? While I can afford the medication now I can't afford it long term i.e. more than a year so as I don't want to lose the weight fast and I need to learn to do it and keep it up on my own in a sustainable way then why not just start now?
4. Side effects: Dry mouth which I know is very bad for your teeth and oral health, some worsening of constipation and some issues with other medication I take i.e. it can take much longer for my medication for migraine to get into my system resulting in some very bad episodes.

I can afford the mounjaro for now and so I could go back on if I felt like my eating went back to out of control and I started gaining weight again or binging then I could buy it again although I don't know if there is any draw backs to stopping and then restarting.

I a thinking of not taking it for a month and seeing how it goes, I feel like i have made daily exercise and healthier eating a habit and logging my calories a habit and these all feel sustainable for me now.

I still have about 50lbs to go has anyone stopped the mounjaro etc while still with a lot of weight to lose? Have you done this?

It wasn’t due to side effects that I came off it. I was actually fine apart from tiredness middle of the week. Went all the way up to 7.5mg

My main issue is binge eating as well which leads to a downward spiral.
I am using Mounjaro to try and quieten these urges / food noise whilst I develop good habits so that when I come off the medication I would have lost a decent amount of weight, be in a better head space and relearnt the triggers which make me want to binge. I am hoping all of this will encourage me to stay on plan.

I am not after a big calorie deficit whilst on Mounjaro. I just want something sustainable.
I have had good habits before and was doing so well before Covid.. was nearly at goal, had lost 8 stone. But then the lockdowns came and everything went to crap. Working from home now which doesn't help with the food noise.
I can afford to stay on Mounjaro long term, but I am frugal by nature so don't like spending out £150 a month when I think that could go towards good healthy food.

I've just taken my last 2.5.. going to 5 on Monday.
I am Type 2.. so it's been brilliant so far for me.
No side effects
But l did my research first .
Bought peppermint oil capsules in case of wind .
Ginger capsules and tea in case of nausea.
Collegan capsules for skin.
Artifical saliva spray in case of dry mouth .
Senna in case of constipation.
Diralyte in case of diahorrea.
I've not had one side effect .
I've eaten chicken / fish.
Salads and veg. Eggs
Protein bars.
I've lost a stone in one month.
I'm disabled but l swim.
My energy levels have gone up.
My mental health too.
My psychiatrist has seen a big difference in me.
Once l reach my goal wright l will continue to take a maintaining dose with the guidelines from my diabetic nurse and GP.

@Dressinggowntime Hopefully when your kids are back at school and you get more settled in a routine thigs will be easier.

@Redlightbulb I had developed some really bad habits with food not quite binge eating but I was using cola and chocolate bars to get through the day the Mounjaro seems to have knocked that on the head and now I am much happier to eat fresh fruit and drink water or herbal tea! For me a big thing is to eat enough so like you I'm not looking for a big calorie deficit just enough to lose weight month on month. Also I don't do fasting maybe in the future but for me it is better to eat regularly so I don't get overly hungry and just start eating anything I can get my hands on!

@Moier I hope it continues to work well for you. I did my research as well and felt great my first month or so but it didn't stop the side effects getting worse at about the 7th or 8th week mark, my digestion really slowed down too much which is what is supposed to happen. I know a lot of people chose to use laxatives such as laxido but personally I am not happy to take that medication daily long term.

I do think these drugs are amazing for people but for me I never wanted to have a large deficit or lose a lot of weight fast. I am not diabetic nor do I have high blood pressure or cholesterol so fast weight loss wasn't critical for me as it may be for people with any of the above. I just needed to break some bad habits with food. I prefer to lose weight at a slower pace and so I just wanted to see if I really needed to keep on with the mounjaro and so far it seems like I just don't need it anymore. I would consider using it again if I felt I really needed to but as it is I am feeling much better off it and still losing just the same really.

I just wanted to share my experience in case anyone else was thinking of doing the same.

Hey @blacklippy Really interested to hear how you are getting on now?

@SnacklessWonder Fine, I feel a lot better of the injections still weight loss is perhaps a bit slower than it was my first few weeks on the mounjaro but in keeping with my weight loss towards the end of my usage. I'm doing noom now as well as I got a special offer.

I think if I was wanting to go back on the injections and up the dose I'd lose weight faster by essentially not eating very much but that isn't what I want I still want to eat a healthy diet of at least 1800 a day. I am sometimes tempted by the idea but I can see now I felt very unwell on the injections and that really puts me off going back on.

So slowly does it! I have a wedding to attend in Italy next summer which I am using as motivation!

That's good to hear @blacklippy. i am toying with titrating down with a view to coming off.

I was 11st 7.8lb on August 12th, am now 9st 12lb and it's coming off a bit quick now. I want to get to 9st.

I've got one dose of 5mg left to take today, then bonus dose. I have a 5mg pen in the fridge and I think I may just count clicks and do 2.5mg.

I never intended to be on this long term (much to some other posters upset) I wanted to lose the weight, reset; change my lifestyle and I have no food issues (again, which seems to upset people) so I feel confident that I can maintain and maybe lose a bit more through willpower.

It's good to hear a positive story as all I get told is that if I stop I'll put all the weight back on.

Yeah I think it is likely individual but I think it is possible to use the glp-1 as a reset to help you break a cycle and then come off them. I am trying some other things to see if they help like inulin which naturally increases glp-1 and I am looking at berberine but mostly my plan is to just stick with logging my calories, eating healthy and exercising more but the mounjaro did help break my habits of overeating.

I think it can still be prescribed BMI 25-30 with a related condition such as - depression, high cholesterol or high blood pressure. It may depend on the pharmacy.