Losing my nerve

[Pinkjenny]

I'm only day 6 of Mounjaro, but I'm starting to panic. I've been very lucky indeed to have no side effects other than constipation.

However, now I'm worrying about this medication. It looks like it's been around for diabetes since 2005, but are we all being horribly naive taking it? Is it going to have awful long term effects? Will I just put it back on straight away if I come off it? Is my bloody hair going to start falling out?!

I know also that the issues around long term obesity are a concern.

Has anyone else had these worries?

Personally, no. But I'm not prone to worrying. This drug has gone through the same rigorous process that all drugs go through before they are available to the general public. That includes at least two very large scale, long term, multi national, drug trials, for example.

Hair loss was not a common side effect. Apparently any rapid weight loss can cause some hair loss for some people. There were no awful long term effects, no one is reporting any new awful long term effects in the several years since it was introduced.

Putting weight back on is a risk in any kind of weight loss process, from diet-only to bariatric surgery. My personal approach to that is to spend the time it takes (likely a year minimum) to lose the weight to plan my approach for when I'm no longer taking the injections. Including what I will do if I experience a rise in hunger, or a return of the urge to snack. But I think that having had a year plus of not wanting to snack and overeat will have a mental impact and be habit forming. Being a healthy weight will mean I can do the exercise I want to do and be more likely to keep that up. And so on.

I also know that if the weight does creep back on and I end up approaching a BMI of 30, then I will use Mounjaro again to address that, if necessary. Rather than allow my weight to spiral higher as it has done in the past, so I plan never to be in the higher classifications of obesity (>40 or even > 50!) ever again.

Assuming you did your due diligence then you know the risks? Yes I have had a lot of hairloss, I fixed it with a weave. Yes I have loose skin, it's a fact with rapid weight loss. Yes I gained a stone when I couldn't afford it for three months. But this is better than being 10 stone overweight. I'm only half way there but the plusses still outweigh the minuses

We're not being naive taking it - the potential side effects and risks are well documented. If there was a concern of "awful long term effects" it probably won't be on the market. Getting a drug approved for use is a rigorous process, involves all sorts of clinical trials and data. Even though MJ is new, GLP-1 medications have been used for the past 2 decades. They're not new drugs.

You will probably put it all back when you come off it IF:
a. You don't also develop some healthy new habits around food and exercise while taking it
b. You have some medical conditions that make losing weight/maintaining the loss impossible without medical help

Your hair may start falling off - this is a very common side effect of weight loss. Not of MJ. Any time you lose weight quickly, this can happen. It is not abnormal, and it will stop/normalize once the weightloss slows down.

Being obese carries many well-known issues. Diabetes, high blood pressure, issues with your joints, cardio diseases, difficulty getting pregnant, etc. to name a few. These are not risks. These are known issues.

So, I guess the trade off is the potential risk of MJ vs known issues from obesity.

I did a lot of research before starting in order to answer my concerns. I suppose the biggest worry I had when I started was that it wouldn't work!!! Hence the username😂😂

I have never been one for jumping on the latest weight loss bandwagon. Never taken tablets to speed up my metabolism or make fat indigestible etc so this was a BIG leap of faith for me!

As has been said already, GLP1 meds have been in use for years and there is plenty of research into side/long term effects to be read if you are worried.

Hair loss is a known possibility of rapid weight loss (a friend with a gastric sleeve has noticed it and I know someone with a fairly evil eating disorder whose hair is very thin due to lack of nourishment ). All you can do is eat as well as you possibly can and take things as they come.

Good luck!

Randomly my hair appears to be thicker on Mounjaro. I've had pretty nasty diarrhoea having moved up to the 5mg dose but spoke to doctor and have a plan to try and deal with it. Overall I'm happy with the medication and have lost 18lbs so far.

Thank you, the talking to I needed!!