Continuing Mounjaro...part 18

[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)

Mumsnet does not allow promo codes. Please do not post any. If you want one, ask and someone will PM you a code or there are now threads on the promo page that have codes for Mounjaro.

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.
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 - 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.

10 - 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

11 - 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!

12 - Once you take your first dose you can choose to keep your pen in the fridge or somewhere else. It's up to you.

13 - 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

14 - 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

15 - 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.

16 - Drink lots of water. Water helps with the weight loss. Try and drink at least 2ltrs a day.

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 your 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: Now saying they support maintenance upto 2 years.

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 to 9th thread, get link from thread 10

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

17th thread:
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/weight-loss-injections/5122095-continuing-mounjaropart-17?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:

Not had a good week this week, weight still coming off but since I did my first 5mg last Friday I’ve felt shit. Absolutely zero energy, dizzy, nausea. Watched a TikTok yesterday from a woman who seemed to give some sound advice about upping calories and eating small amounts regularly throughout the day. Did that yesterday, despite feeling sick and as though I could just skip food, and it worked. I’ve actually done my 10,500 steps again for the first time since last Thursday and not had to lay down and rest.

Not really rocket science, it’s so obvious I need more food but bloody hell 1200 calories is hard to swallow. seems like anything less and I want to lie all day in a darkened room.

You burn your fat stores, the body metabolises this into usable and unusable components. The unusable gets excreted, the usable gets used and the waste products then get excreted.

This really interested me .... The fat gets metabolised to fuel you and the metabolites (by products) are mostly removed from your body through wee and your breath.
You sometimes may get odd smelling breath.

I am struggling so much with the heat 🥵 Way more so than pre-MJ 🥵

I like to picture little adipose that look like white tic tacs, ala Dr Who, running around my body and being expelled when I go loo or belch or generally just breathe 😆

Haven't been on one of these threads for a while. I'm on week 3 of 7.5mg and definitely experiencing a stall. It's also been a really difficult month emotionally as we lost our beloved old dog a few weeks ago and it is heartbreaking, so DP and I have been drinking more and generally not being as healthy as we were. I seem to be also seeing a fluctuation in my weight recorded on the scales - went from 15 s 4lb up to 15 s 11lb seemingly within 30 seconds by repeating my weighing. It's really not motivating!

I, due to start 10mg next weekend but am feeling a bit nervous about side effects as I'm working that weekend and don't really want to be dashing to the toilet with diarrhoea as I'm trying to cannulate a patient (actually I rarely cannulate as the nurses are much better at it, but you knkw what I mean). I didn't have any problems going from 5-7.5 so will I see any with 10?

@DesparatePragmatist I suppose all of these things are finding a balance. My first appointment with the nutritionist was an eye-opener as she pointed out my pre-MJ diet was very healthy but low in protein so not satiating which might aggravate bingeing and lower metabolism.
I aim to eat as un-UPF as possible but top up with protein shakes or bars where needed as I cannot, physically, stomach anywhere near the amounts recommended. I would hope most of us do similar rather than overdoing them.

No offence to anyone who finds it helpful but I have been following the "What I eat in a day on MJ" thread and am finding it very dispiriting. I joined the thread thinking I'd spot healthy meal ideas, etc but what I'm seeing really looks more like dieting or undereating making me wonder how many people on MJ are actually eating their recommended calories and not regularly skipping meals?

I would say for my first three pens I was eating my calories as I could physically eat that much without a problem. Since being on 7.5mg I really struggle to eat a normal sized meal for at least half of the week I just can't physically swallow more food, so my average weekly calories have dropped a bit but on my days when I'm hungry and can eat more I do eat over my daily calories to make up for it.

@DesparatePragmatist I think the protein options are useful as sometimes people struggle to eat some days so having a list of protein options is great to try and get calories and protein in. But do agree that we should also try eating mos of our protein in meat etc.

@Slimstar13 I don't think desperate pragmatist was just focusing on your post and was more talking in general. Just maybe concerned if people were mainly having these proteins options and not eating a balanced diet etc.

Just been listening to a Zoe podcast.. well on YouTube. Quite an interesting listen.

Made me think we should probably get more support from our prescribers instead of the odd generic email. Glad we have each other for support!

Re the protein discussion, this has inspired me to work on a meal plan to get my protein in etc. I'm a bit rubbish with meal ideas at the moment. The heat is also putting me off cooking.

I think meal planning is an excellent idea and is something I hoped we could learn and share on the other thread I mentioned above rather than undereating. I'm trying to meal plan (and live in part of the country which is not hot - annoying but it helps!) but still find it hard

Sorry about your dog @daliesque . Don't worry about drinking etc. I'm sure you'll get right back on it when you feel better.

Some people find 10mg comes with a lot of side effects. Equally some people move up no problem! If you are unsure, you could take 8.75mg clicks worth?

Maybe start your own sensible meal plan post! Or do it on our Facebook group of like minded people ☺️

I need to check out this thread you are talking about!

Just cancelled my Med Express order which I placed on Saturday for 10 mg as it is still waiting to be approved due to high demand. Just placed it with Lloyds at 10pm and was approved within the hour.

Absolutely, I was intending to put forward an alternative perspective on the high-UPF route, but everyone should definitely do what works for them and sets them up best for maintenance in the long term. May we all get there healthily and happily whatever eating route we follow.

I'm terrible at meal planning - I find it simultaneously intimidating and boring - so tend to cycle through the same kinds of things in a formula. I could definitely improve here!

How did you cancel? I’m really wanting to start asap as on holidays atm. I’ll happily pay a little more for a reliable service.

My meals tend to be protein item plus veg basically. But that was the same pre-MJ. I just have a smaller appetite now. Eg last night we had a barbecue and instead of eating several meat items (because it was protein and therefore fine) I had a single burger, green salad, tomatoes and aubergine in yoghurt. For lunch in our work canteen, with posh salad bar, I had broccoli, sweet potato and shallot salad, with a jerk chicken protein helping of about 2/3 breast.

In the FAQs there’s a question that says What is your refund policy? And it directs you to a contact form https://support.medexpress.co.uk/hc/en-gb/requests/new It says you can cancel up to the point of despatch.

Brilliant, thank you.

Just catching up! Last week we were chatting in work about the fake drugs and someone said their friend has been going to some dodgy woman and paying £20 a week to inject them! They believe it's MJ, but not at that price!!!!

I don't think the what I ate today thread is promoting under eating at all, it's just like this thread where people share their experiences, it's very often said in here that people struggle to get in their cals or protein due to the effects of the jab.

I'm finding it very useful to see im not the only one finding that difficult.

Again trying to catch up on the thread, so apologies for no specific comments or congrats. However, I can say how amazing the ongoing positivity and weight loss stories are on here!

I just wanted to say that I am having a pretty bad time at work right now and not enjoying it at all. BUT I have been able to stick to my healthy eating and exercise, which is pretty amazing - no pity eating or stupid indulging because I am struggling with emotional overload etc...

Also, my NSV is that I have finally managed to get my wedding and engagement rings off - after 42lbs lost. I cannot remember the last time I was able to do that, but it was probably 8-10 years ago (at a much higher weight). I think my knuckles have thickened with age, which I read can happen. But now I can have my engagement ring cleaned and serviced - which is know is recommended every few years.

Morning all.
Have hit crisis mode in work, a very tight deadline with a tonne of things to do. Last night I needed a dopamine hit to help me focus and concentrate. None of my usual healthier go to options were hitting the mark so in the end I went for the big guns: sour sweets. Not a great choice but it did help me get more done.
I have to accept that my ADHD brain is like this, the difference from before MJ is that I managed to only have a few, not finish the packet.
I've not bought sweets for months, felt very odd heading out with that specific aim in mind!
Scales show a 1.1kg weight gain this morning. Old me would spiral at this point and give up, MJ me knows I haven't put on that much weight since yesterday and to not worry about it.