Continuing Mounjaro... Part 22

[Jimmyneutronsforehead]

It's thread 22 time! As usual please fill up the previous thread before we make a start on this one.

Huge congratulations to every one who has made losses, and well done to those who have graduated the mounjaro club! We would love you to come back and share your tips for maintenance so we can all continue to learn and grow from each other.

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

Miss Mounjaro UK has the most up to date price comparison charts: https://www.missmounjarouk.com/

This one's the most recent I will also post the image.

Just to copy from the previous thread as it's highly useful information:
https://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/enjoy-food/carbohydrates-and-diabetes/carbs-and-cooking
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/cooling-resistant-starch#TOC_TITLE_HDR_6

MabelSpan:
For those who love their carbs, I grow my own veg, including lots of potatoes so eat them most days. You can dramatically increase the amount of resistant starch, a type of fibre, in your potatoes, rice and pasta and bread simply by cooking then cooling, ideally overnight or freezing in the case of bread and then reheating or toasting in the case of bread.

Please remember to do this safely if this is something you would like to do.

In light of being in close proximity to someone who has had complications from Mounjaro, I just want to say for any newbies: We are a wonderful community of Mounjaro users with a wealth of knowledge between us, but we're not a medical service. We are all people who have acknowledged the risk to benefit ratio, and are following our clinicians advice. If you do have any serious side effects listed on the information sheet that comes with your medication, please seek medical advice.

There are no questions too silly, no loss too small to celebrate, no hurdle not worth the challenge and huge congratulations to everyone who has made it this far in their journey and once again, welcome to thread 22.

@SillyGreenHam what do you mean by "safety"? The suppliers mentioned on the threads here will all be GPhC registered and regulated. For each pharmacy you can check their most recent inspection on the GPhC website by searching using their registration number.

There are various well known companies that you can order from like Asda, Boots, Lloyds, Superdrug and so on if that helps at all?

Thanks

My weight loss has proper slowed down now to 1lb a week (which I know isn't bad at all) but I was planning to titrate down this month, but I am still 6lb away from goal (although happy where I am really) so I don't know what to do now! I'll probably do 5mg tomorrow and see where I get to. Work travel over the next 3 weeks so not really in control of what I eat but hoping the MJ at last stops me overeating.

The online pharmacies like MedExpress are all registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council and have registered prescribers. The information is available on their websites.

Dr Online charge more so that you get a video consultation with a doctor before you start and every month if you want. I would have gone with them had I known, at least initially.

dronline.uk/dronline-weight-loss-service/

@OrangesAndLemonz UTIs were discussed at length a day or two ago and @Jimmyneutronsforehead posted some good info and advice.

@SillyGreenHam All pharmacies are registered but some provide a better and, in my view, more professional service than others. The companies who provide coaching, advice, F2F consultations, etc tend to charge more but it can be worth it if you want that.

I have used a local pharmacy but they have stopped offering this service so I now use Ashcroft, independent pharmacy with good ratings plus very reasonably priced. I had to ring last week with a query and was very impressed with the pharmacist I spoke to. He was telling me they have put in a separate phone line for MJ queries and have a doctor working with them every day now who will deal with any clinical queries. If you order by 2pm, delivery is by 1pm the next day most days

I would avoid the companies who push discount codes (MedExpress are probably the worst) as I think it is unprofessional

* UTIs were discussed at length a day or two ago and * posted some good info and advice.

@QueenOfHiraeth thanks yes I found that and thanked Jimmy NF. I’m on D Mannose and have cut caffeine. Really hope it clears for good and I can stay on MJ

I think I may be sabotaging myself so I need to think out loud so to speak & maybe gain a little feedback. I've been doing well on MJ for around 3 months now. I've lost almost 2½ stone & several dress sizes. I've just taken the final dose (5th) of my 5mg pen but did have a 5mg dose from the previous pen (had gone from 2.5mg to 3, 3.75 then 5mg over several pens). The 5mg dose hasn't had the same great effect & it's been a struggle. I think about food constantly on it & fluids have been horrendous to tolerate but I've tried. Anyway, this week has been Halloween and there have been extra treats around, longer stints away from home etc. I've had 2 fredos this week! I'm intolerant to dairy for goodness sake but both times they were down my throat before even thinking. The only plus is that they seem to have solved my slow bowels. Tonight I ate sweets with the kids. Didn't even want them but just did it anyway. I feel sick and so annoyed with myself. Before 5mg I was eating well, drinking well & feeling amazing -smug that this was the best thing that ever happened to me & I was smashing it. Now I'm wondering is it the increased food noise, lack of will power or just my greedy butt losing control, doomed to fail yet another diet attempt.
I had 0.7ml out of the 5mg pen tonight which I will go work out the dose of. I'm really hoping that 7.5mg next week will restore the suppression & food noise reduction cause clearly I don't have will power alone.
I'm also kind of fessing up here to hold myself accountable as I know I need to put the work in. I'm obviously not ready to go it alone though & really need MJ to work for me like it did before. I also stepped away from daily weighing this week which has been worse for me. I think I need the accountability every morning to keep me on track. I want to succeed so I'm not giving up. I just wish my brain would play ball & stop trying to sabotage me.

Sorry to be a downer. I hope everyone else is well. I'm going to catch up on the thread a little to inspire me to do better.

Don't apologise for being honest about how it's been treating you.

Before this dose, my suppression was dreadful for the past 2 week and I've regained a lot of weight. I had a dreadful night's sleep and scarfed a load of refresher sweets and drumstick lollies. Trick or treaters got left parma violets.

Think of recovering from obesity as recovering from a food addiction. Addiction isn't linear. You actually have to fail to succeed.

Its good to identify your barriers to weight loss. What I've identified is that I am struggling with food due to chronic pain that means I can't stand up to cook, and a lack of knowledge of good variety of food that is convenient, cheap, low calorie and full of protein, but I can work with that now.

What I'm getting as an outsider from your situation is just that you need more time to try different things that can help you with your hunger. The food noise is always going to come back so you just need more time to plan.

This week since my jab and changing sites I've had really good suppression and no side effects on a full 7.5mg dose, but the things I've done differently are planned ahead, hardboiled 12 eggs (1 hardboiled egg is approx 77 calories) for fridge snacks, made a whole squeezy bottle of chilli and garlic sauce for the eggs and for the prawns because it takes 2 seconds to squirt on something for low calorie flavour (whoever put me onto prawns thank you so much, 140 calories for 10 prawns iirc), I make a flask of miso soup because it gives me the sensation of having eaten compared to other liquids and carry it with me all day and have been telling myself it is a prescribed prophylactic against hunger, and I've felt more empowered that I've got tools even if they may only be short lived.

I hope you feel more empowered tomorrow, and just know you're not alone. It can be hard seeing every ones weight loss successes, but I think a big success is knowing where you've gone wrong so you can put things to rights.

Thank you for this! I think I need to plan some prep. I've not really needed snacks in the first 2 months but healthy ones would probably help right now. I made it through Thanksgiving last month with nothing but healthy choices & good losses so I know it can be done. If I reflect on it more I can see I've not been having many cooked meals but using allergen free ready meals as a quick fix to it (maybe these are more triggering than helpful). I can definitely make many excuses for myself like my allergies, chronic pain, busy with the kids, irregular eating times etc but ultimately I guess I need to find a way forward that works for me cause I know I don't want to fail. I don't want to go back to the miserable unhappy person I was over 5 stone ago. I'm kind of half way as I've another 4 stone to go (maybe 5) so a little wobble is ok I guess. I just can't let it derail me completely.
My usual go to foods have begun to repulse me like chicken & yoghurt so maybe this week will be about discovering new foods to enjoy.
Thanks for listening to me & taking the time to reply.

@MamaBearH Sorry you've had a difficult week but don't beat yourself up about it, we've all been there! You've lost an amazing amount so far and you know you can do the rest - you've got this!

It does sound as if you're ready now to go up. I'd hoped to be one of those who stayed on the lower doses throughout but start 12.5 next week. My weight loss has been slow compared to many with lots of stalls, but I'm reconciled to that now as the trend is downwards overall.

I do think you could be right about the ready meals - they can have a lot of additives and hidden sugars that can play havoc with our metabolic responses.
I've found batch cooking and freezing absolutely essential so I can always find something to eat quickly. For quick snacks - boiled eggs, babybels, nuts, hummus, high protein keffir yogurt with berries and chia. The salads i had most lunch times are less appealing now, but I used to make a batch of miso and ginger dressing which was great on black beans or tuna. I try and make a batch of soup for lunches with chicken, lentils etc that lasts 3 or 4 days but some of the higher protein ready soups are good and additive free.
I've found some quite good recipes on the Zoe Instagram feed and the Fast 800 web site.
Next week will be better!

Hi all. I have ended up with two pens at the same time. One is in use and the other has been hidden in the fridge. Problem is, I am travelling with work for 4 days and no guaranteed access to a fridge. I don't want to leave the unused pen in the fridge at home in case its found - I haven't told anyone I am taking it. If I take the unused pen out and store it with the current being used pen, will it be no good? I can't quite understand how a pen thats being used can be stored out of the fridge but an unused pen can't be. Any advice please? Thanks.

Its interesting you say that because whenever I have tried to lose weight before I fill my fridge with chicken that I have flavoured, natural yoghurt that I add protein powder to etc and now (I'm on 10mg) I just can't stomach them either. I think of something I'd really like (Homemade soup etc) and make a load and then just don't fancy it. Currently have a freezer full of things I have made and now don't want! Even going to a restaurant doesn't seem to tempt me. Bit worrying as I know I am not eating well and worried that once I come off the jabs I'll put the weight back on.

@Thanksforyourlackofthought pens out of the fridge, whether they're in use or not, will start to degrade, this isn't noticeable for a month or so but as I understand it, past that time they're less effective.

Can you leave the unopened one in the fridge but heavily disguised as something no one will use? Mine's wrapped up in a box at the back of the salad drawer. They also fit quite neatly in tomato purée boxes, etc.

Or you could look at getting a refrigerated travel case?

Morning all. Another one here that has not being doing as well on it lately. My loss for October was only 2lbs in total which is a bit of a shocker. I'm sticking with 7.5 as the surpression is fine but I've been away for half term and have been drinking far too much wine. Wine has completely ruined the loss even though I've been eating fine. I need to get back to abstaining.

Part of the reason for the wine is slightly crappy mental health. I'm freaked out because I have my long awaited ADHD assessment this week and I'm scared.

9lbs until I'm at a BMI of 25. At this rate I won't achieve it by the and of the year.

@HippoPortlyMouse Hi. Thanks for replying. It has been hidden in the fridge - salad drawer - but (and I am an over thinker) I am worried that one of the family might actually decide to cook something for a change whilst I am away and find it. I do have a small cool bag and I could put a frozen block in it and potentially use a work fridge for two days but day three is the worrying one as I def won't have a fridge for about 12 hours. I have three doses of my current pen left so it will be a while until I use the unused pen.

@MamaBearH · I find I go off foods too - at the start of this I was eating a lot of tuna and eggs and salad etc. They turn my stomach now. Can't even bring myself to drink a protein shake these days!

On eating the sweets, I am sometimes a lone voice in this aspect but I honestly don't think it's that bad to slip every now and again - they key is being able to pick up again where you left off and don't let it derail you. It's all too easy to say "Oh well I had X I might as well have Z" but in reality, you just need to go "Well that happened, but tomorrow is another day!" and get back on track. We're all human.

@BellaCriesAndThatsAlright · I've been drinking more wine recently which may have also stalled my weight loss, although still in a calorie deficit. I am trying to get to BMI 24.7 which is 6.4lbs away. Also feel like it will take ages now. Good luck with your assessment this week.

Will you be travelling anywhere that there's a small supermarket you can buy a bag of like, frozen peas or frozen chips or just something small that can act as a cool bag when things start to get a bit melt with your cool blocks?

@Jimmyneutronsforehead Of course! Brilliant idea! Thanks so much!

@Thanksforyourlackofthought - you could buy a Frio wallet from Amazon. They work by running the gel pack under cold water. That way you could take your pens with you and keep them fridge cold with no need for freezer packs. I’ve bought one for travel next weekend.

Just checking in and giving mutual support to all of us, myself included, that are struggling atm with our food choices.

I’ve just got back from a week long holiday in Cumbria and before we set off I decided not to stick to my usual healthy eating habits. Just weighed myself this morning and have gained 1.8 pounds which now means I have 6 pounds to lose to reach my goal weight of 11’10 and a healthy BMI.

It’s the first ever time I’ve gained weight since starting MJ in May, so this is something I need to mentally recover from. Previous to MJ, any slight weight increase would set me off on a huge negative journey of overeating (followed, of course, by even more weight gain)

So, as others have just mentioned, it’s back to being organised and planning my meals for the next week, cooking from scratch and ditching the sugar, carbs and alcohol (although it was really good to go ‘off piste’ for the week!!)

Good luck, everyone, we can do this!

Thank you. Definitely good to remind myself that for me too the trend has been downwards overall as well. This week is a bump in the road that I am not going to allow to turn into anything bigger.
All my allergies & intolerances make food planning a little trickier, more so when I'm out or short of time. Starting to hate chicken & salad due to it. Batch cooking is a good idea though, I'll have a look at freezer space & see if I can fit a few back up meals in to use instead of the allergy free ready meals.

It's strange the foods I have loved then suddenly not liked but I don't think it's long lasting. I was having plain dairy free greek yoghurt until it sickened me but I have found I can still stomach a little if I change the flavour every week. Chicken though is becoming more of a texture thing. Avocados are another thing I can't stand but given time to miss maybe it'll come back round. I think being aware of how we feel and planning for any difficulties should help. I've realised that I will have to wean off MJ rather than stop cold turkey and I'll also have to be strict with myself to avoid gaining all the weight again.

Sounds like you have a lot of pressure on you. I have been through assessments with all of my children & I know how stressful the process can be. Can you replace the wine with something else? If it's a habit or a reflex is there something else that could be used in its place? You have done really well to be so close to that BMI. Be proud of yourself and remember how far you've come. Good luck with your assessment.

Thanks for this. I've never heard of them. Too late for me to get one for this week but I'll definitely get one in case the situation occurs again.