Mounjaro - Late September Starters, Round 2

[ShiftAMountain]

Following on from https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/weight-loss-injections/5168998-mounjaro-late-september-starters?page=20&reply=139052946

@Marble02031 ..I am on 3.75 mg.
I don't use clicks, I'm drawing dose out with insulin syringe and needles.
5mg is 0.6 MLS...so I'm using 0.45 MLS each injection.
I've just done third on that dose and it's working very well. Complete suppression, no food noise and utterly off alcohol.

@allmyfavouriteleople your dreams made me laugh! Funny how the subconscious works.

I have just finished my first pen. I started my 5mg two days early because I have been hungry for about two weeks! Have been ok but am definitely being very cautious of what I put in my mouth.

Total loss end of week 5 is 1 stone exactly. Am really pleased with that. Well to everyone and thanks for all the information which is always invaluable.

Glad that no one seems to be suffering too much on 5mg so far!

I'm not sure about my goal weight - I think 10.5st / 147lbs which is about 24.5 BMI for me. In the middle of the healthy BMI would be around 9.5st - but the last time I was there I was in my early 20s and my uncle asked if I was taking drugs as I looked so gaunt! So I think that would possibly be too much, but we'll see. It depends where the weight comes off I guess.

We had fish and chips last night and I had a couple of handfuls of chips and some cod - taking most of the batter off. I was worried that the oil might make me feel bad, but it's been fine.

End of week 5 for me. 2.1lbs lost this week, 16.8lbs total.

However, I also measure my hips, waist and bust each week and this week, despite losing "only" two pounds, I have seen the biggest drop in measurements so far.

I have a looong way to go yet and I really don't know about goal because I have barely been out of the obese ranges my whole adult life. My kinda target is 175lbs which would give me a BMI of 26. But, in reality that is based on a distant memory of being that weight and feeling OK about myself - but that was so long ago it may not even be that relevant anymore.

I am trying to see that any loss is still a benefit. For eg, I heard from a nutritional scientist the other day say that even a 10% weight loss can result in a 50% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

My first 5mg jab tonight.

I really struggle with taking measurements - I think I end up measuring in different places each time as the numbers go up and down like a yo-yo!

But, some of my clothes feel a bit looser - especially my (expensive!) coat which would barely do up over my hips in early September, but now feels much more comfortable. NSV for not having to buy a new coat this winter!

Fitting back into an expensive coat is a great NSV.

Sadly, I finally 'caved' and bought a very large but pretty expensive rain jacket a few months ago - so sick was I of either squeezing into jackets that were too tight or wearing a very cheap one to walk the dog that never kept me properly dry. I decided I spent so much time walking in all weathers I deserved a decent coat that fitted.

That coat is already now a bit big for me. I may be able to stretch it to last through this winter, but that's about it. A bit of a waste if so. Ah well, maybe I'll make a note to look in the sales after Xmas to see if I can get similar in a smaller size.

Stick it on Vinted - you'll recoup some money at least.

I never use Vinted usually - I hate clothes shopping. But when I was going through some old pics to try and decide on a goal weight, I came across a dress I felt amazing in - many years ago! I've found a very similar one on Vinted for under a tenner in a size 12. I've bought it as my inspiration dress - hopefully by spring time I'll be able to fit into it, and I'll be bringing the year 2007 back to wherever I wear it

Vinted is not a bad idea!

I'm taking my first 5mg injection tonight. Let's see how I get on with that.

I've lost nothing this week which I'm putting down to the fact my appetite suppression has been a bit rubbish this week whilst I've been in my magic, week 5 dose.

That’s interesting about the magic fifth dose. I used an insulin needle and think I got about 0.6ml - but maybe bot quite! Do you think you got the full dose?

@Bellyblueboy there was still a little left in the pen even after the 5th dose, so presume I got a full dose.

I took my 5mg injection a few hours ago and feeling sick now, not sure it would take effect so soon or it's all in my head.

@JustWalkingTheDogs I did the hard twist to get the 5th dose and wasn't convinced I got a lot, as like you could still see liquid in the pen. so I got a syringe and got a further 0.6 out of it therefore don't think I got much from the pen method!

So another 1kg down this week which is great, 6 kg lost in 4 weeks which I’m so pleased about.

so I’m wondering, I’ll be at my target weight (at this rate) in around 2-3 months. What is your plan once you’re at target weight? What I’ve found is that I feel totally different on Mounjaro. When I’m hungry before a meal, it’s so easy to make sensible choices and not just hoe into food like I used to. I have no desire for chocolate or biscuits and honestly I cannot face the idea of going back to how I was before, constantly thinking about food, it being a total battle the whole time.

im happy to stay on it for life but can I? Is that recommended? I’m going to ask my weight loss woman when I have my next appointment but I wondered if anyone here had turned themselves to that question?

Today is the first day I have felt truly nauseous since starting seven weeks ago. Not sure if it’s the drug, or if I’m just having a rough time, but I’m not loving it at all right now!

I have lost 7.5kg so far.

I don’t have a target weight. I just want to be able to have more than one choice of shop in my town that I can buy clothes in.

Sorry to hear that @RandomID - I had an afternoon of nausea the other day, 4 weeks in. But then I wonder if I kind of assumed it was caused by the medicine and actually it was just coincidence!

Start of week 5 now and got my bonus dose out of my 2.5ml pension using the insulin syringes. I got about 5ml out and injected it into my thigh but am wondering whether I should have gone for 3.75ml? Too late now ! The food noise was starting to creep back anyway so perhaps I've done the right thing. I have a 5ml pen in the fridge ready to start next week.

SW 16 stone 7lbs
CW 15 stone 9lbs
GW within a healthy BMI range for my height so I think 10 stone 4lbs is the max before I tip into the overweight category.

I think you're confusing the strength of the medication with the liquid volume.
A full dose from any pen is 0.6ml of liquid. In a 2.5mg pen 0.6ml of liquid gives you a 2.5mg dose.
If you have an insulin syringe they are usually 1ml in size.
So I'm guessing you drew out 0.5ml, not 5ml?
If so, you will have had less than your usual full dose of 2.5mg and not a 5mg dose that you seem to think you've had.

@Ozgirl75 - my provider offers a maintenance plan once you reach a healthy BMI - 3 options I think : stay on current dose (I can't see a maximum timeframe mentioned anywhere), taper down, or stop the meds but you can pay a small monthly fee to stay on their books and restart up to a year after stopping.
Lots of providers here seem to stop as soon as you get to a BMI of 23ish, hence why I changed to one now with a decent maintenance option.

I'll have to have a proper think nearer the time, and maybe check out the older month threads to see how those women are getting on. I doubt I'll be there until March assuming a 2lb loss per week, but I imagine it'll slow down the closer I get to goal.

That’s good to know - I’ll speak to my provider about it next time. Hopefully I can just stay on the maintenance dose as it’s working so well and honestly I don’t think I could maintain with no medical help.

It's hard isn't it? I can't imagine going back to how I used to feel, but equally I hate taking medication long-term! It took me years to agree to start statins because I was so afraid of the side effects long-term (hereditary cholesterol condition, not related to weight)

I think I'll probably try and taper down depending on how high of a dose I end up on, and then come off MJ, see how I go on my own, knowing I have the option to restart if my weight increases. Hopefully after 6 months of eating better some of my habits will have changed for good.

But - I do think the reason this is working for me is the right-sizing of the hormones and blood sugar regulation, which presumably will remain issues for me. So maybe I will need it for good, and I'll just have to view it as longterm medication like the statins.

I don't know about anyone else but any nausea I have seems to directly correlate to how much fat is in my meal so I have to be really careful eating things like bolognese or lamb even when in low calorie recipes (also red meats so longer to digest). I tend to cook from scratch and I've noticed shop bought items can make me feel pretty rough. I bought a one person quiche not that long ago and had it with salad as a treat one night and spent the whole night puking up. That's the only time I've been really ill so I haven't done that again! If I feel background nausea then drinking lots of water tends to help. I also fast until lunch because I eat dinner late and that seems to work. What sort of things do people eat to keep feeling good? Anyone else noticed foods that are no nos? Sometimes I look around and have no idea what to eat because I know a lot of things I would previously eat will make me feel rough. All food tips gratefully received!

I feel like it’s stabilised my blood sugar as well - or it could be that I’m eating so much better that it’s the diet doing it. But I’m just not ravenous and shaky between meals like I used to be when I would diet. I had gestational diabetes and although I don’t have diabetes, clearly there is a weakness there somewhere.

As for food, well weirdly the one time I have felt terrible is when I had a hard boiled egg salad! I haven’t found anything else has affected me, after the first couple of weeks I haven’t had any side effects really.

End of week 4 official weigh in. 2lbs off this week for a total of 15.5 lbs.

I am very pleased with that!

I took pictures in my knickers and bra and you can’t really tell at all but I think it will become apparent at my next measuring session in another 4 weeks.

Just found you on here but started 4 weeks ago too .....4 week weigh in this morning and have lost 16.25 lbs. Only about 5 stone to go!! Took bonus dose and got around 0.8 with the syringe which will hopefully be a good interim level ready for the 5 pen next week

That's so interesting! I'd have thought the boiled egg salad would be ok. Funny how different things affect us. I guess it also depends on how our bodies are feeling after the injection etc.

I know what you mean about blood sugars though. That is the one thing I'm really amazed at - not shaking when I haven't eaten so much. Normally, even on a low carb diet I will start to shake late afternoon and end up eating rubbish.