Half dose twice a week

[WideFootWelly]

Is it possible to do half a dose every 4th day, instead of a full dose once a week?

I got on well with 2.5mg, but towards the end of the last week the snacking crept back in a bit so I was glad I'd ordered the 5mg.

5mg has been tough. The nausea is pretty relentless - I actually did a pregnancy test just to make sure, as the symptoms were so similar. I hoped it would settle down, and have just done my 4th dose of 5mg and have already ordered the next pen.

I'm reasonably happy with the weight loss, although it has slowed - mostly I think because the fatigue and nausea is getting to me and reducing my motivation to make healthy meals (I'm not eating much of anything) and definitely no energy to properly exercise.

I'm down 10kg in 7 weeks, so I feel I should continue, but really need symptoms to improve. Today I have sulphur burps and its disgusting. Added with the nausea I'm totally fed up.

If I counted clicks and took half a dose every 4 days do you think this could help with symptoms?

I know there are a couple of people doing something similar. There was a discussion about it on the main thread a few days ago re splitting the 7.5 dose into a 5 and 2.5 with good results. I am sure someone with experience will be along soon 😁

Answering my own question here, but thought it was worth updating in case anyone else is looking for answers to the same question.

I'm taking half a dose of 5mg roughly every 4 days (sometimes 3.5, sometimes 5).

Nausea and sulfur burps have basically disappeared. I'm managing well, and not getting hungry even when I'm taking the next dose (was previously feeling hunger by day 6). I'm hapy with it, and have now officially reached 29.8 BMI and am overweight, not obese for the first time in many many years.

It's been slow going in parts, but I started in August. In 4 months I've gone from 36.2 BMI to 29.8 and I feel so much better. I have more energy, I make better food choices, and I've dropped at least one dress size (sometimes two, depending on clothes brand)

Some people think you should just follow the protocol and any deviation is dangerous and irresponsible. Others think it is better to adapt and experiment. I am in healthcare and know the protocol is not necessarily the best treatment for any individual: it is the treatment they managed to very expensively test and if you follow you will be most legally protected.

Because I am a very knowledgable user, I understand the science and trust my decisions. For example, there is a very good logic for taking half doses more frequently (you get a more constant smooth drug level with less peaks and troughs). There are also some downsides - a slightly higher risk of injection side-effects and if things go wrong then it will be difficult to sue or get compensation.

And if everyone felt completely free to ignore instructions and develop their own treatment it is easy to see that many people who are not health care experts would end up over-dosing, under-dosing, injecting contaminated products etc.

I think it sounds good and you will be fine, but anyone on the internet could be a dog, and obviously it is at your own risk.

Op where do you inject, I found my thigh alleviates side effects.

I inject twice a week. It mitigates the peaks and troughs and has worked very well for me.

I am not comfortable dosing more frequently than 7 days without agreement with someone qualified.

My main concern being more frequent injections may pose unknown risks, particularly around how the body processes and clears the drug. Does more frequent injecting put more stress on your liver, kidneys, heart?

There may be more to this drug than just keeping levels more constant. I don't think anyone, credibly, knows the answer to the risks of more frequent dosing.

There are many tweaks I would do that I consider low risk, but more frequent dosing I personally consider that very high risk, with potentially initially unseen impacts, so I wouldn't do it.

I inject in my stomach - although I can't pinch as much fat to inject as I could to start with. Still plenty on my thighs.

I did want to inject in my thigh, as I found this easier when using blood thinning injections, but I recall the instructions saying back of the thigh and that seemed like I had more chance of messing it up.

Thank you for this response, and of course you are right and I hadn't thought about the risk of not using as advised - or potentially encouraging others to do so.

It's annoying though, as if this was prescribed through a GP they'd likely advise me to do as I'm doing - or tell me why I shouldn't. But they can't prescribe even if they want to. My Doctor has told me she'd like to, and thinks it could help many people and the NHS in reducing the risk of diseases and conditions associated with obesity.

As with my HRT medication, it's very much trial and error, and at every appointment we try something slightly different (usually adjusted dose) in the hope of getting the right balance for me personally.

I’m sure it is front of the thigh, I googled it and also watched some videos. It is back of the arm.

Ah yes, maybe that was it - its back/side of my thigh with more fat. Front I feel like I might hit muscle and that sounds painful!

It's annoying though, as if this was prescribed through a GP they'd likely advise me to do as I'm doing - or tell me why I shouldn't.

Have you discussed it with your provider? They are the qualified professional to discuss the risks with it and have the conversations and training with Eli Lilly. Any decent provider would have a conversation about it.

For the first 2 weeks I did 4 x 1/4 doses by counting clicks. For the coming 2 weeks I will do 2 x 1/2 dose. Only when confident re no debilitating side effects will I go to 1 x normal dose per week. I had to buy extra needles of course as you must not use the same needle twice because of risk of infection.

I should add though I am one of those people who seems to be very sensitive to ANY medication and get side effects easily. So I wanted to start at a lower dose than 2.5 mg.

My provider is online. I'm not sure I'd get a proper response, but it might be a good idea to try.

The other possibility is simply to do 1x 3.75 mg dose per week. From my reading on here over the last few weeks people often find the jump from 2.5 to 5 mg the hardest.