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:

i am reading this thread and getting inspired. Just finished my first week on MJ and haven’t lost anything. I haven’t been calorie counting though, just trying to eat less and think about what I eat rather than binging. Feeling slightly demoralised but trying to see it as a long-term journey.

@GoodLuckBabe I started my journey the same way as you and the weight loss was pretty slow. After 3 or 4 weeks I downloaded Nutracheck and started tracking food and it made a world of difference. Appetite suppression is great when it kicks in and it helps you makes healthier choices, but for me I have learned a lot by tracking calories and protein and aiming to focus on protein intake and max protein for calories. It's also a great way to develop a taste for a diet which will be sustainable in the future.
Also don't be demoralised, 2.5mg is like a priming dose, you're getting your body used to the medication.

I just took my first dose also. Not expecting anything much for the first few weeks as 2.5 a low dose just to get us used to it / through side effects etc. Also getting inspired re: diet changes and exercise

@NCfor24 thanks. Yes am taking it slow but know I will need to start tracking and start increasing exercise. I am prone to getting anxious/low with too much pressure so figure it is better to be the tortoise but stick with it rather than give up early! Weight piled on about 14 years ago when I went on anti-depressants for PND, and that coupled with a change of lifestyle with kids, has meant I’ve been overweight for a long time. Hopefully I can get into the right headspace soon

Thank you all for your responses- as am so disorganised and worried about delivery issues I might order the 3 month pack from Zava, least its there on fridge when I need it.

Do we know if any of the providers do double packs for 5 and 7.5 or 7.5 and 10? Or is it just the starting off doses?

@OnInstagramAsFitFabForties I used Zava for the second time and I was re-approved within 24hrs and it arrived by Day 4 but the ice pack was melted yet still cool inside. It was 32c outside so RM had tried to get it to me within 24-36hrs

Quick question - how long do side effects take to kick in after injecting? I did my highest dose yet early this morning and feel dreadful.

Oh wow! Well done - you’re almost at goal weight!

how long has it take you and on what doses? Im same start weight and had first jab yesterday :)

I understand your concern and would probably be the same but I'm not sure that will win the argument for you as it is about the supply chains between wholesalers and pharmacies, etc. Nowhere on that does it mention supply to patients.

Someone upthread posted a reply from Eli Lilly, the drug manufacturer, which was a bit reassuring.
I may have just been lucky but I use Chequp (it is a subscription one and a bit more expensive as it includes nutritionists, etc) and have always got mine approved within 24 hrs and delivered by Royal Mail the next day. If anyone is interested please PM me as they do a £15off for both of us for a referral

@QueenOfHiraeth It says “shipping by wholesalers and pharmacies” not shipping between so I would have thought the pharmacy shipping to you is included.

@Time4changeagain Good point, you may be right!

I have not lost a lot but realised I can now cross my legs without hauling my leg up and over using my hands to pull on my leg or by pulling my trouser leg to aid my leg going over the other. Iyswim. It's so strange that something most people can just do, I had lost the ability for but only really noticed it, when I could actually do it again 😊

Have a look at Zava, they do a few combinations.

I started mid March. Am currently on 10, and planning to titrate down soon. It’s been a slow steady journey with quite a few stalls, but getting there.

Just double checking, I know we are told it's ok to keep MJ out of the fridge once in use, but has anyone actually done it? I'm taking it on holiday (Scotland, so temp shouldn't be an issue 😂) and would rather keep it in my make up bag as I'm afraid of leaving it behind 🙈

Just wondering if anyone has actually done this, and did it continue to work effectively.

About four hours for me. I don't feel awful but can feel it working if that makes sense? Hope you feel better soon.

I did this as I was on holiday in various hotels etc which didn't have fridges and it was fine.

I've been away for a week and not weighed or counted calories
I've been pleased to come back not having gained a ridiculous amount only 1.7lbs which could probably be down to water retention from salty foods.

I weighed in at 178.1lbs before going away and this morning was 179.8lbs

Official weigh in day is Tuesday so hopefully may be even closer to where I left off by then.

Also an update on my spreading 12.5mg pen (due to an uncertain delivery resulting in me not trusting the pen had been kept sufficiently cold I decided to take smaller doses from the 12.5mg pen rather than wait.)

I got my 12.5mg pen on the 20th of June and began using it on the 25th
So far this is an estimate of what I've take. And when as you may notice I adjusted my day halfway as I wanted to take a dose just before I went away rather than miss a dose in the middle so I dropped down to 6.25 (which is what I was taking before this pen arrived) and moved the doses closer together.

25/6 35 clicks =7.29
2/7 40 clicks =8.33
9/7 35 clicks =7.29
14/7 30 clicks =6.25
19/7 33 clicks 6.6
26/7 32 clicks 6.6
3/8 37 clicks =7.7

I have an estimated 2 more doses to take from this pen before returning to a normal schedule with the 7.5 pen I had intended to use before the dodgy 12.5 turned up(I was stock piling essentially) but will have to use a sterile needle to extract those as the pen will now only click 6ish times.

I've not noticed a drop in efficiency beyond the 30 days but wouldn't advise this method due to increased infection risk from piercing the rubber seal soo many more times than normal.

Has anyone moved providers when their bmi was under 30? I ordered my first pen and my bmi was like 30.1 so just in the cusp.

I have tried to order my 5mg one through Zava and I’m worried they’ll decline me!

Celina's me at 29.8 a few weeks back 👎

@Eyf typo, meant to say declined

I thought that might be the case! 🙄

Im nowhere near my target either. Will try and reorder through my original supplier and hope for the best!

Annoying how they take the money first too!

Yeah, should wait till they prescribe to take money! And it was a few days too, not sure why it can't just be automatic when you full the form in. I stuck with med express who do price match now which helps a bit, and have a good approach to maintenance. Would have been nice to save a few more pennies though.

Hi I have a ZAVA discount code if anyone wants to message me. Thanks