Undecided

[ShrinkingMama]

Hi,

I have a BMI of 40 and I know I need to make some changes. I'm seriously considering drugs as I can't seem to ever stick to anything. I absolutely love food and have so many cravings.

I'm worried about side effects.

I do have two small preschool children, a professional job and a long commute in the car. Reading about extreme tiredness and some of the other effects make me really question whether I could cope safely. Do some drugs have fewer side effects? How do you all cope with the side effects?

Thanks

I've forgotten to mention that I had my gallbladder taken out a few years ago, which I saw could be an issue?

I had my gallbladder out 8 years ago and I'm taking Mounjaro.
It's not been an issue and I've had no side effects, only the positive ones that help me lose weight.

There's really no way to guarantee you will or won't suffer any side effects.
You would just have to give it a go if you decide you want to.

I've only had one instance of unpleasant side effects, D&V, but I think it was linked to something possibly dodgy that I ate that was then exacerbated by the Mounjaro. It was difficult for a day, but thankfully not a work and school run day. The rest of the time I've either had no side effects or mild ones that wouldn't interfere with my life. I have not had excessive tiredness, the opposite really, I feel like I have more energy and my sleep is much better.

With the side effects, I just think, I could get food poisoning or stomach flu or something at any time and I'd have to cope and my DP would need to step up and sort out the children and so on. If I ever encounter any long-term side effects that don't ease up, then I would stop using the injections.

My BMI was nearly 50 when I started, it's now just squeaked under 40, and will be continuing to head downwards. I am glad that I decided to give Mounjaro a try.

@Snozzlemaid thank you, I read a thread on here about gallbladder removal being an issue so I thought it's worth mentioning to hear experiences. Sounds like you're doing really well!

@SilenceInside you're right and my husband is great to be fair with these sort of things so I know he'd be supportive. A few days would be fine, I just couldn't cope longer than that with work. I'm a teacher so diarrhea or whatever wouldn't be super convenient long term 😆
Sounds like you're doing amazingly well, well done! How long has it taken you so far?

I've starting the injections at the beginning of July, so just over 3 months now. I was fortunate in that I had an immediate response to the injection and lost weight from the start and have continued to lose weight throughout. No stalls/plateaus as yet, although I'm prepared for them! I have a long way to go yet, and will need to be on the injections for at least 6 months or so.

I'm the the kind of person who has never been able to take any medication without tons of side effects. I haven't had a single one (started mid June and have lost 34lbs).

I tried it but couldn't manage the side effects. I 'only' had diarrhoea, but I wasn't able to leave the house or go to work with it, so I stopped taking them.However, it has spured me on to lose weight without taking medication to help. The weight lose it slower but I'm getting there

@Mumof1andacat nothing like just diarrhea, you must have been feeling awful! How long did it take you to go back to normal after stopping injections?

@daffodilandtulip thank you, that's reassuring!

About 2 or 3 days. I mean no harm in trying. I did. Maybe if I could wfh, i would have had time for the side effects to settle but I couldn't be off work or wfh.

I had my gallbladder out 12 years ago and had no issues getting it prescribed.

I'm up to 5mg and no side effects so far luckily.

Who did you get it from? Medexpress asks whether you had the surgery and immediately rejected me due to that.

I have been taking for 15 weeks, starting BMI 42.8 and have lost just over 3st.

I am sticking to the lower doses and side effects have been minor-ish in the first few weeks - feeling bloated/backed up for a few weeks, 2 diarrhea incidents (one very urgent, neither lasting more than a couple of hours), fatigue a couple of days after injection each week. Hair loss, but that is normal side effect of weight loss not MJ. For me, I think the diarrhea incidents were probably related to something I ate the day(s) before.

I have been fine now for the last 5-6 weeks but I am sure if/when I increase dose I will get some side effects again for a few weeks.

When you buy you get a pen that lasts 4-5 weeks, one injection per week. If that dose is working for you you can stick at it, or increase to the next dose after a minimum of 4 weeks. If you do get side effects they are likely to happen at the start of each new dose. You might get no side effects at 2.5mg then increase and do get them at 5mg - no way to tell how you will be impacted.

You can have handy immodium/anti sickness etc to help with the side effects if minor.

Thank you @WeAllHaveWings , for all the detailed information. I have bitten the bullet and gone for it and ordered it. I think I'll take it one week at a time, and could really start with kick starting my weight loss journey.

To chip in with everyone else: there's no way of predicting what side effects you'll get or at what stage. I think the best you can do is prepare for possibilities - there's lot of good advice here about how to handle nausea, etc, and if you join a thread with other people starting at the same time as you you can talk about it as you go along. It's worth keeping tabs on what you're eating and drinking - no need to calorie count if that would be stressful, but a lot of side effects are either affected by, or can be managed through what you're consuming. A lot of folks also take vitamins, electrolytes, and protein supplements to make up for reduced calories which I do think helps; also make sure you get enough water.