Continuing Mounjaro... Part 21

[Jimmyneutronsforehead]

Welcome to thread 21.

Please fill up thread 20 before starting this thread.

Massive congratulations to any one who lost even a little bit over the past few weeks, and hello to any one who is new to the threads or is just taking the leap into starting their mounjaro journey.

If you are new I do recommend visiting the older threads for advice as there are some wonderful pointers and resources that will help you on your journey.

Pointers for newbies:

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 link below:

Promo codes :
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/promo-codes-bargains

Linking Wallywobbles site, as theyve very kindly compiled all threads so far, pointers for newbies, weightloss tracker, links to discount codes, tips and tricks and high protein recipes.

Site with all the info :
https://wattnext.notion.site/e880d9342b7a4bab94c244b34e0e5841?v=cc1edc3f1c2b41dab3011c8d9063df0a

Very off topic but I have seen a few of you mention that you have ADHD. I think I do too (assessment happening soon). How and when were you diagnosed? I've had a particularly crappy work week and my weight loss progress is the one thing keeping me in a good mood.

I’m still waiting for my assessment @BellaCriesAndThatsAlright, it’s been 18 months or so on the waiting list. I did have a very quick ASD diagnosis (4 months from referral to diagnosis on the NHS). I’m in the NW.

edited to add I was 56 when I received my ASD diagnosis and was referred for an ADHD assessment about 6 months later.

Thanks. Glad your ASD one was quick at least. I've been waiting 3 years (maybe 4?) and have my assessment in November. I have just acquired a new micromanager boss and I'm really struggling at work.

Oh well, hopefully at least I can take "fat" out of my self imposed list of failings soon.

The ADHD wait is brutal but I'm so glad the end is in sight for you.

There is nothing worse than being micromanaged. Its one of the leading causes of burnout in work and that's not accounting for neurodiversity.

What field do you work in? Is it something you have transferable skills to move over to another job role elsewhere? Life is too short to be unhappy and really I think if you love yourself enough to lose weight and do better for your body, then you should also love yourself enough to not burn yourself out and know you're worth more.

Easier said than done, and I'm probably a massive hypocrite as I'm off work myself because of autism burnout and stress so not exactly a good role model for this example, but now I understand that I am neurodivergent a lot better if I could go back before the burnout I would have started making plans to leave.

On the plus side today I met with an NHS employment advisor who works alongside the IAPT service for service users and I was so impressed by the support they could offer and how they can write letters of evidence for support with reasonable adjustments. Was more cathartic than therapy.

Thanks. Sorry to hear about your burnout, it sucks doesn't it?

I'm a software engineer. I should probably look for another job but I can't face it while waiting for the assessment. If I get diagnosed I think I will feel confident to advocate for myself. My old boss was very understanding but this new one has a very rigid view of how work should be done and does not understand that people all have different strengths and ways of working. Given the industry, there should be plenty of understanding of neurodiversity.

I don't know what I'll do if I'm not diagnosed. I guess I am just lazy and stupid.

Sorry, had a bad day.

You're already used to the medication so the effects at lower doses were bound to be reduced.

A bit like the first time you have an alcoholic drink it really hits you but after you have been drinking a while you build up a tolerance.

Thank you!

Laziness is a concept invented by the Catholic church in order to make peasants more productive so they could get more coffers for the donation boxes.

We are denied periods of rest, not like annual leave but like seasons of rest because of the industrial revolution. We need rest both physically and mentally. When you've got ADHD though you've got the added issue of a never relaxing brain and a brain that is most at ease when it's problem solving.

You are not lazy, and you're probably not stupid with a job like a software engineer. You just can't work to the impossible standards that are set by narcissistic micromanagers because of the ever moving goalposts.

And you're right your manager should be more understanding given the industry, it draws ND people to it because of the analytics and pattern recognition but more and more employers want to wring out those skill sets till they run dry without considering the many other facets of being ND like needing autonomy over the environment, needing clearly concise and direct instructions, understanding executive dysfunction and that it isn't simply a lack of willpower, and by law they're classed as disabilities so reasonable adjustments should be accommodated, and you don't need a diagnosis to receive reasonable adjustments as they are based on need not diagnosis so please don't feel like you can't advocate for yourself even if you don't get the answer you're looking for.

You wouldn't call a friend lazy and stupid, if you were holding hands with you as a child right now you wouldn't look yourself in the eye and call yourself lazy and stupid, because it's not true is it? You work hard to keep up with every one else and that's far from lazy and christ you have to practically learn another language for software engineering so you've got brains about you too.

This is the nicest thing I've read in a long time. Thank you!

You are right, I'm not stupid. I just can't conform to her impossible standards.

You know you aren’t lazy and stupid @BellaCriesAndThatsAlright 💐

Do you have an occupational health / disability team who could help with interim reasonable adjustments? In terms of work, I work at a large university with lots of ND students and staff. There is a lot of support. Once diagnosed you can refer yourself to Access to Work for support (info in the FAQ’s page at www.adhdadult.uk/faq/). They can fund in-person support where someone can come in to your place of work and see how best you can be supported. It would be difficult for your manager to ignore that. Also micro-managing is a form of bullying behaviour so check your dignity at work policies x

Thanks @Greyrockin. It's a huge company so there must be something like that. I'll do some proper digging around on Monday. So far I've just had verbal discussions with managers. Old one was great (and probably had it himself so understood) and new one things we are all robots on a production line who are failing if we don't all produce the exact amount of work on demand. I asked to have fewer meetings, to be left alone with minimal interruptions and written instructions but it has all been ignored. I'm pestered constantly and accusingly. I've been doing this type of job for 20 year but she treats us like new graduates who need constant supervision and guidance.

I'm fairly sure I'll be diagnosed with something, even if not ADHD. I already have a diagnosis of depression, anxiety and OCD. ASD is also a possibilty but the wait is even longer for that where I am.

And I'm sorry for derailing the thread!

It's quite alright and sometimes necessary to derail a bit.

I don't consider it a derail if it's to support someone with their self confidence which will impact their overall goals including for weight.

When I was under the Manual clinic on ozempic they focused on the 4 pillars which was sleep stress diet and exercise (I think, might be misremembering.) The ozempic wasn't very effective for me but the focus on 4 specific areas of my life to support weight loss did resonate and helped quite a bit.

I had a team day in the office today which involved seeing many colleagues I hadn’t seen for several months as many of us WFH. During lunch and drinks I told quite a few people about the MJ (mainly as a rather odd social anxiety response so I’d have something to talk about). It did turn out to be a good talking point. One guy wrote down the name of the drug and several others had stories of relatives or friends either taking weight loss drugs or considering it; all positive. I thought I would share as hopefully it might give reassurance that this is starting to become part of the norm. After I revealed I was taking MJ one person also said he hadn’t known whether to mention the weight loss beforehand as it can be such a sensitive topic, which supports some of the previous discussions on this forum about the weirdness of people not commenting.

Congratulations on the weightloss success team, the total weightloss of this thread must be astronomical ❤️

We are a successful bunch! ⭐

Hi, thanks for your interesting post. I'm on week 5, my first dose of 5mg and I have already changed my diet considerably. All snacking gone, and not interested in sweet things at all.

I am struggling with getting enough protein into my diet and still enjoying it, I'm very much a carb lover and probably will not be able to give them up completely. I'm trying to eat about 80 to 90 grams of protein a day and it seems to be mainly chicken.

Do you mind giving a few examples of the type of high protein, low calorie meals that you eat to give me a few leads to vary my diet. I don't really like red meat which could be a problem.

I also try to eat half a protein bar even though they are a bit sweet.

I am not having any trouble eating 1200 to 1400 cals a day, I just seem to miss my protein target.

@Slimstar13 im thinking of aiming for 14stone. Like you, I think I’d look rough if I was a healthy weight! I’m aiming for overweight instead of obese! I’m also really struggling with side effects (I spend at least two days a week ill every week and I’m now completely lactose intolerant!). I’m going to see how I feel at 14 and then make a decision then based on how I feel and look? How are you deciding?

It’s Dr Andrew Jenkinson Why we eat (too much)

A brilliant book!

Not the person you replied to but I have been bulk buying chicken or pork mince or mixed mince and making sliders with them, or veg stir frys or even sometimes just fried mince and seasoning it with sesame oil and soy sauce and some herbs. I'm not a massive chicken shaped chicken lover and find breast too dry and drumsticks too veiny so do eat more processes meat than I probably should but it has been helping me hit my protein goals for the day and stay fuller.

@AnnieMcFanny You are right, Andrew Wakefield was the doctor who lied about MMR vaccines. The book is by Dr Andrew Jenkinson

Interesting chat about adhd and ND in general as we are a ND family and it wasn’t until I observed my two kids have very different relationships with food at a very young age that I clicked how it was impacting me. My DH & one child very much ‘see’ food as fuel it’s not got lots of emotional things attached to it they easily stop eating when they are full. My other ND child doesn’t recognise appetite, but can easily overeat and uses sweet stuff to get a dopamine hit. The hormones in our bodies have a huge impact on appetite regulation and especially in teenager years and menopause years asa similar upset happens at both points in women’s systems in particular. Interestingly that many on here have said nothing worked to lose weight once they’d hit 50s yet this drug has worked straight away. I’m fascinated by which hormones it’s disrupting to make that possible.

I average 80-90g a day of protein by eating Greek yogurt full fat , nuts, eggs, ham, the odd Get-pro yoghurt, minced turkey as a chilli or turkey burgers are nice, plus I’ve had feta cheese or cottage cheese, tinned tuna is high as well in a salad. I add beans and pulses to main dinners, Plus the occasional clear whey protein drink but only on high exercise days. I try to avoid lots of up foods

Hi there, I’m mum to a severely autistic young man off 33 so I recognized the name straight away. And strangely enough my good friends daughter was one of the initial 12 Wakefield children. Not that I ever believed what was said about the MMR but it never got in the way of our friendship. When I read your reply to me I did think that perhaps you’re also mum to a loved one on the spectrum.

@AnnieMcFanny No, I'm not, my children are NT, but I have a family member works in that field and I was reading something about vaccine uptake problems recently so I just had a brainfart
Sorry for the confusion!