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:

That is interesting that appetite only needs to be controlled not suppressed because I’ve been thinking it’s not doing enough

@Wonkypictureframe I ordered from medexpress on the 29th, no movement so emailed and then called them on Friday as they weren’t processing. They apologised and put me on priority with the pharmacist to dispense. It left yesterday and is being delivered hopefully on Monday but will be in the cool bag up to 3 days? They seem totally under pressure so I’m unsure if I’ll use them again, will go back to Family Chemist. If I hadn’t followed up I’d still be waiting ..

@montysma1 you look fabulous! Well done, I’ve still got up 3 or 4 stone to go .. 🫣

@Tireduk You will get there!
I won't even tell you how much I weighed in 2022! It's too cringe!
Lost a whack on Ozempic till the shortages, then restarted with MJ in March.

Facebook pages have promo codes popping the groups and all the promos are there, used one last night with Medicare £40 off immediately. 1 month 2.5mg I was £121 including postage

Well I'm pretty confused 😂 this morning I had explosive diarrhea and now I feel constipated - straining on the loo but only getting the odd wee pebble out. How is this possible 😂

Montysma, you look fabulous! Keep the jeans!

What's the best FB group to join to share and use codes. I have used Voy for my first month but I don't want to pay 229 for month 2. X

Ooh that’s handy to have all of that in the box @BettySwoll0cks

Voy just had a booklet, waste bin and a plastic storage box for the pen.

wish you all the best on your journey! Good luck x

What I'm seeing from a lot of the US posts is that it should be used as a tool to learn healthier eating and lifestyle so the medication should reduce your cravings and stop you feeling ravenous but still allow you to feel hunger cues. I guess the message is to lose weight a bit slower and learn better habits ready for maintenance as opposed to suppressing hunger, not eating but not being prepared for life after MJ.

I had been thinking it wasn't doing enough for me but went to 7.5 a couple of weeks ago and have had quite a bit of nausea this week which is a bit weird, I kind of want to eat and don't want to at the same time...

Could it be overflow? That's where you are constipated and the solids back up but liquid forces its way past, it's also known as paradoxical diarrhoea as it is a symptom of constipation.
I use Fybogel to add more fibre and Dulcosoft as a stool softener if needed

Oh I bet you're right, thanks for the tips!

2lbs down this week on my first full 5mg jab. Had just a nice amount of suppression that has prevented me from constantly snacking or eating massive portions but I’ve been able to eat normal meals and nothing has made me feel sick.

my next mini goal was to lose another stone before our big holiday in 9 weeks. Felt a bit ambitions as my weight loss was slow while I titrated up to 5 but I feel like it might be possible now!

Just a suggestion for those struggling to get to the gym.
Les Mills On Demand is excellent and has all the programmes you will recognise like Body Pump for weights work.
I like it as they have full hour sessions but also shorter ones if you don’t have as much time. So you can do 30mins of upper body for example.
I can send you a code for a 30 day free trial if anyone is interested (I get 30 days free if you sign up for a subscription after the trial) - PM me as I don’t think you can post referral codes.

I'm going on holiday in two weeks - am going to push my jab day back a day so that I take it the night I arrive. I just don't want to travel after taking it in case I get side effects. I may also take a slightly reduced dose, depending how bad the side effects are on this new dose.

Huge thanks to the poster who wrote out the HUGE protein food list - I tried the aldi protein mousse today. Very rich - managed half. It was good though!!

This is a message for those of you who have argued their case over a warm pen and got the pharmacy to send you a new one:

I’m a very non-confrontational person by nature, and so this is very hard for me to come up with what and how to say to make a compelling case, but basically I waited for Medexpress for a full week to process my order. I saw on Fri afternoon it was with Royal Mail, but I didn’t receive it yesterday, so assuming it will be on Monday. Which means it would have sat at a depot somewhere for a good 2-3 days. IF it arrives warm, what can I tell Medexpress to get them to take me seriously and send me an appropriately cold new pen?
I hate that this is so expensive and they take it so lightly. I emailed them a few times already to complain about the endless waiting and unreliable delivery dates, but they’ve not even responded.
If anyone has a good/compelling point that I can use, quoting some regulation or something to make my email more credible I would so appreciate it if you could share!!

@3wDavid
I saved this from a post on here, it clearly states that the temp has to be kept between 2-8*C before we receive it.

I've just reordered another 10mg pen from Asda - I've been using them from the start and they're always delivered cold with the ice packs unmelted. When I went to order, they've offered click and collect from an Asda pharmacy - something they haven't done before - in my area anyway. I've went for this option - surely a pharmacy will make sure they're stored at the correct temperature. Maybe an option for those who keep getting warm pens from medexpress?
I might go and find the codes thread and put in my 10 percent off code if anyone wants to try them.

Week 9 weigh in!

SW: 86.9kg
GW1: 70kg
GW2: 64kg

2.5mg
Wk1: 82.4kg (-4.5kg)
Wk2: 80.5kg (-1.9kg)
Wk3: 79.9kg (-0.6kg)
Wk4: 78.6kg (-1.3kg)
Wk5: 77.6kg (-1kg)
Wk6: 77.6kg (-)

3.75mg
Wk7: 76.3kg (-1.3kg)
Wk8: 75.7kg (-0.6kg)
Wk9: 75.1kg (-0.6kg)

11.8kg lost total or 26lbs x

Amazed with this weeks weigh in as I was in Paris the last couple of days and although I didn’t go overboard, there was some wine and good food involved!

Congrats to all the NSVs and losses this week x

Hello. I started 2 weeks ago and have definitely noticed MJ making it easier to control my sugar cravings and urges to snack. Have lost about 2 kg so far. It feels to me a bit like when you are just a bit under the weather and lose your appetite and don’t fancy food. Having to force myself to eat meals.

I’m on holiday at the moment an all-inclusive and I’m due my next dose on Tuesday, fly home the following Sat. Thing is that looking at the buffet is just making me feel a bit queasy and I’m not finding the dinners a very pleasant experience.

So I’m considering not injecting on Tuesday and delaying it a few days so I inject on Sunday when I get home, then making Sunday my new injection day going forward.

Can anyone think of a reason not to do this?
I have actually never tended to over-eat or drink on these sorts of holidays anyway and was naturally making good choices while away, also the heat naturally dampens my appetite. My downfall was cheese, bread and chocolate while at home!

Also for those looking for some good workouts, I follow BodyFit by Amy on YouTube. She does great workouts all varying length and from compete beginner up to more advanced workouts. I recommend her!

Also recommend bodyfit by Amy. Lots of workouts and all for free!

For the first time in 14 weeks I’ve had some food noise!! I must admit it caught me by surprise! I’m very close to my goal so I won’t be moving up a dose or anything. I’ve been on 2.5mg throughout my journey. So this is the real test. I didn’t give in to the noise but it felt oh so familiar. I may of course have actually been hungry as very soon I won’t need to eat in calorie deficit tdee.

I've finished my first week and have lost 2.9kg or about 7lb. I'm really pleased with that as I struggle massively to lose weight. In the past I've only lost on a severe keto and that's miserable and unhealthy as I only lose on really low levels of carb so I can hardly even eat leafy greens on it.
This has been amazing. I've felt energetic, none of the dizziness, shakes and sweats I usually get when I'm hungry. No tiredness. And I've eaten really well. Obviously less food than usual, about 1100 cats a day but really good food with some wholegrain and loads of veg. Fair more veg than I could eat on keto.
I have 8 stone to lose so it's a long road and I know the losses will be smaller after this week but I'm delighted. I've just felt so normal this week.

So I’m considering not injecting on Tuesday and delaying it a few days so I inject on Sunday when I get home, then making Sunday my new injection day going forward.

I've done this. It's fine. Don't ruin your holiday experience for the sake of 5 days.