MJ August starters #4

[Wingingit11]

New thread as #3 full and to mark my disastrous crashing off plan today so hoping to be reinspired !

Oh that's all sounds really tough.

I've had constipation but apart from nausea on and off for short periods that's about it which I can cope with.

I've mentioned before MJ seems to have helped with my mind clarity so it's been a positive experience for me but if it was getting me down as much as it seems to be you I would definitely think about stopping. How many does do you currently have left?

Morning all. Just wanted to ask a quick question. Has anyone found MJ has affected their periods? I've been having the same half hearted period for nearly 3 weeks with just a brief 2 day break in between.

Poor @AuntieDote, that does sound rotten. I think you have to hang onto the fact that it doesn't have to be this or being fat, and hope something else works if this doesn't. Fingers crossed you adjust to it soon and start feeling some benefit that outweighs the rotten side effects.

And congrats @MabelSpan! I've got about another half a stone to lose before I get to the weight I was last December, at which point I'll also be seeing any losses as a real reduction. So cross with myself at how much I gained, but all I can do is resolve not to let it happen again and hope I get out the other side.

@AuntieDote similar to me with no loss

It's hard and annoying

Also I feel 5 isn't doing anything

Have one more left at end of this week then 7.5 starts next week

Hopefully that will be the one for us both

Thinking of you @AuntieDote - I've been feeling rough for 1-2 days per week since going up to 3.75 and had similar feelings of 'is this worth it?'. But also can't disentangle from the general autumn plague that's going around (ie. headaches, shivers).

@Arraminta My periods have been heavier since I started, I think?? But I'm also 46 so can't discount that being some perimenopausal nonsense going on too.

Bodies!!

@AuntieDote @Arraminta I've been bleeding horribly heavily for two weeks now. No idea if this is MJ related as I imagine I am perimenopausal at 47 and I have had similar issues previously. It's getting me down though.

I'm sorry for those feeling crap. I have thought a couple of times that I miss the comfort of food. I miss a cream cake and a takeaway. And I am a bit worried that I can't sustain this incredibly restrictive lifestyle forever.

I'm going to carry on and worry about it later. But I am concerned.

Any period changes should be checked. They will also be making you feel pretty wiped out and crave sweet things. A rice cake, peanut butter and teeny blob of jam or a slice of apple with cinnamon might do the trick.

@weaseleyes thank you! It makes me feel a bit sad at how I have not been able to manage my weight for years, but even worse since peri hit me. I really hope that with mj I can break my self destructive food habits. I hope that if I am on it long enough to reach my ultimate goal weight, (about a year) and slowly lessen the dose, those habits should finally become buried and forgotten.
Its an expensive gamble but one I feel I have to take.

Hi everyone, I’m getting my 2nd one today and moving up to 5mg. Ive decided to split the dose (ie take 2.5mg more regularly) and try to avoid any awful side effects.

I've read loads about the number of clicks to use to change the full dose and I wondered if anyone has done that in this situation?
how many clicks is it to take a 2.5 dose from a 5mg pen?
TIA

I'm 56 and started Perimenopause a little over two years ago. Many of the symptoms that are from MJ have also been my Peri-symptoms - tiredness, insomnia, headaches, stomach issues, aching, an occasional bleed (despite having a coil), etc., and I get cold flushes, not hot ones 🙄 !!!! As I know these are my Peri-symptoms, I think they are unlikely to be MJ ones, BUT it is hard to separate them, especially if you are younger and just entering Perimenopause and don't know how it will present for you.

Many GPs are clueless about menopause, so I went to a private Menopause GP - it cost me £250 for a session. She was brilliant and wrote a letter to my GP recommending HRT for me, which I'm on, and I manage the dosage myself, asking for increases if I need to address Peri-symptoms. My MJ symptoms are light so far, though I do start 5mg at the end of this week, so we'll see.

Basically, what I'm trying to say is that it is tough to figure out if this is hormonal or reactionary to MJ unless you know your Peri-symptoms already, so it might be worth coming off for a bit to identify if Peri or might be worth a discussion with either a weight loss expert or menopause specialist to figure a way through it. I hope it has given you something to think about, ladies.

@CaptainWaffle here you go

I hear you all with the is it worth it? My side effects have been with my MH and I don't know if I should keep going. I'll call the GP tomorrow, I just want to get as near to my goal weight reasonably quick and come off. There's no way I could increase my dose from 2.5 so if my body stops responding with suppression I'm done.
If I come off now, I know I will regret it and beat myself up about another failure, I need to keep going. Xx

I was tempted to delay my second 5mg yesterday or at least reduce the dose as I felt crap all week until Friday. Constipation, nausea and just generally bleurgh.

I didn't though, I jabbed as normal as I thought maybe I was used to the 5mg now, after feeling better(ish) by Friday.

I didn't lose as much weight last week and no inches even though I was really under calories every day and having to prioritise main nutrients.

No idea how that works. Anyway, I'm back to feeling bloated and nauseous again today.

It's interesting, your point about whether you can sustain this restriction forever. I often find myself thinking similarly (now and on previous diets) and for me it's usually a trigger for me thinking fuck it and giving up. So I've been trying to think about it differently this time. I'm not sure I've arrived at a good way of thinking about it, but so far I have two strategies:

• nice way of thinking about it: I won't be this restricted forever, because the whole point of the current regime is to lose weight i.e. have less than I need. When I'm maintaining, I won't be able to eat whatever I want, but I could eat a little more and some of the out of bounds stuff occasionally
• less nice way of thinking about it: if I had a serious condition or allergy, I'd have to deal with sustaining a very restricted diet. People with serious conditions don't just have the luxury of going Oh, that's not sustainable. So maybe I have to treat recurring/persistent periods of obesity as the serious condition that I know it actually is in health terms.

Obviously I prefer the first strategy, but I might have to play good cop and bad cop with myself!

Sorry you're struggling with bleeding too. I'm bloody 54 so most definitely perimenopausal and have been for about 10 years. Periods have been erratic for a while now, but this is the first time it's lingered on and on. Then just when I think it's finished, off it goes again.

Fantastic! Thank you.

Can anyone link to the needles I need to buy as they’ve only given me four.
thanks all, you’re wonderful 😀

Bloody bodies!!! I had my usual period midway through my 2.5mg month which lasted longer than usual. Then a break for about 5 days then when I upped to 5mg got another period which has just limped on for nearly 3 weeks. At least it's not heavy and it's the only side effect I've had.

What I will be going to do to maintain goal weight when I have reached it ( I'm expecting a year if all goes well) is a concern. When, and if, I reach it it will be the longest time that I have followed a reducing regime in my life.

Hopefully the way of life will be truly ingrained by then and I can slowly introduce more food to maintain my weight. But I am fully aware that it will be a much smaller amount than I was eating pre MJ. I would certainly, hopefully, have built up a relationship with a prescriber by then, and will get advise and help.

I will probably follow some sort of restricted time/intermittent fasting plan. I found it good for maintaining weight before MJ but not so good for losing.

@Mum0ntherun I am also peri, have been for at least 10yrs. I agree with you about all the symptoms you mentioned and will also add muscle and joint pain, awful brain fog/dopeyness and terrible carby cravings.
So many of these things go unrecognised by GPs as being due to perimenopause, I was about 41 or 2 when I started suffering with bad joint and muscle pain in arms and legs, I was given tramadol. In fact it was early peri. I also went private and am on HRT which really did save my life.

For those of you who take a magnesium complex, or citrate, glycinate or oxide, these 3 forms of magesium can have a laxative effect. Something to bear in mind if you are suffering from the runs or need assistance with blockages! And Taurate can reduce blood pressure, so I would really avoid that, as MJ also reduces BP. Mine was slightly raised to high when I began mj, now it is normal. So if you are taking supplements, make sure you consider their effects both alone and when combined with MJ.

I hope I dont come across as sound preachy in any way, I am just offering some alternative reasons for some of the nasty symptoms some people are experiencing😊

Well today I’m wearing a Boden top I couldn’t pull over my boobs and thermal leggings which practically cut off circulation last winter and are considerably looser now.
But the scales haven’t budged AT ALL I’ve been at .1 kg for ages and just can’t get past it. I had lost already before starting MJ so I supppse this is my plateau. I’m trying to think positively and eat healthily and reassure my body I know what I’m doing but it’s driving me crazy!

And sweet foods/simple carbs could well cause unhappy stomach with MJ working on blood sugar.

Many of us buy these. I bought them but just jabbed anyway with 2.5

I may use for bonus 5 to ae what I get out

amzn.eu/d/gQLIFXT

I'm ready to start my 5mg pen tomorrow.. had my 5th dose of 2.5 last week..

SW 18.6
Cw 16.10

GW 15 stone .. First goal, overall goal is 12.5 stone..

I'm happy the scales are going in the right direction, had a loss every week, I know it will stall soon and I will stay the same weight at some point. But fingers crossed the 5mg gives me another boost as the supresson is starting to wear off..

Still making healthy choices for each meal.

@AuntieDote im so sorry you’re feeling so grim and I could have written your post word for word. Why am I taking so many medicines to try to counteract the horrendous side effects of this blasted medicine? Seems so counter intuitive. I feel ill 5 days out of 7 and it’s no life right now. I’m just pushing on until the end of this pen (two plus bonus left) then I’ll reassess.

my periods are all over the place too. I’m peri menopausal and have been on HRT for heavy grim periods for a year. Now I’m getting heavy grim periods again. 😢

Sorry to hear some of you are having a rough time, I hope things get better soon.

After me whinging for ages on here about having the runs, it turns out it might not have been the MJ after all. I’ve been diligently taking various supplements, and think I may have gone a bit too far. I’ve had a break from the supplements for a few days and the diarrhoea stopped, pretty much straight away, and has stayed away since. I’ve now finally got the constipation that others have been discussing!

I will go back to some of the supplements I think, but not so many.

I’ve also managed to eat a bit today, after super-strong suppression since my first 5mg jab last Wednesday. I’m conscious that I’ve not been making great choices while the suppression was strong, so I’m going to try tracking calories & protein on My Fitness Pal to try and keep me inline.