Mounjaro

[Hotpinkangel19]

Hello,
I'm looking for real honest opinions. I'm 41, 5'7 and around 16st 7lbs. I've struggled with my weight all my life, tried every diet going since i've been 18. I just always fail. I'm now looking at Mounjaro. I have health anxiety so I'm questioning it!
How long have people been on this for? Does it work? Is it worth trying in my situation?
Going to add i have borderline high blood pressure, and a family risk (Mum) of Stroke.
Thank you

Hi @Hotpinkangel19 I've been using Mounjaro for almost 15 weeks now. I started off at almost 22st and currently weigh 17st 6lbs, so I've lost almost 4 and a half stones now. So, yes, it's working for me. I still have a decent way to go though so it's a long term process.

I think if you can afford the injections for a decent amount of time, then yes it's worth trying. People do experience side effects, I've had one instance of unpleasant side effects (gastric, D&V type) around week 5 that made me have a think about what to do, but it settled and I've learnt how to avoid a repeat. I definitely can't eat fatty, sugary, carby type foods in any reasonable quantity. So you'd have to think about how you'd feel if you experienced any period of side effects, if that would trigger the health anxiety and how you would manage that side of things.

You'd also have to think about how to maintain the weight loss when you're at your target weight. What changes would you make to your life to be able to maintain, and so on.

Thank you so much @SilenceInside. That's an amazing weight loss! My health anxiety is mainly around Cancer, and the Thyroid Cancer risk is really worrying me. But at the same time, being Obese is a cancer risk too, so either way i'm risking it 😬

Thanks, it seems crazy to me now that I was struggling along at my highest weight for so long.

The theoretical increased risk of thyroid cancer is very specific, the risk factors are if you or anyone in your family has ever had medullary thyroid carcinoma (MCT) or if you have Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia syndrome type 2 (MEN 2). It is also only something that has ever been observed in mice/rat experiments, not in any of the various long-term large-scale human trials.

The actual increased risk of cancer from long-term obesity is much more real and serious than the limited and theoretical risk of thyroid cancer from using Mounjaro. So the least risky thing to do is to use Mounjaro to lose weight and then maintain that weight loss.

If it helps, it doesn't make you feel anxious whilst you are on it. It makes you feel motivated, clear headed and calm imo. I'm someone who has suffered from panic attacks in the past but this just feels like it is good for me in a funny way. I'm staying on a v low dose of it so I avoid side effects personally and it's giving me hidden strength to address my overeating issues.

What dose are you staying on please? I'm thinking of doing similar.

So far I'm getting good results with half of the lowest amount. So half a dose of a 2.5 pen. No real.side effects either. I know a few people who have done this and it has worked well. Depends on how receptive your body is of course.

Wow, yes that's great if you respond to that. I'm on 5mg and just took mine a day early as it's wearing off...funny how we are all different.

@SilenceInside wow that’s an amazing loss in under 4 months. How many calories are you eating a day?

I have no idea because I'm deliberately not tracking calories. I find that unhelpful for me because of my previous dieting/weight gain cycle history.

I don't snack at all. I eat only at meal times on a small plate and prioritise protein and veg over carbs. I don't have dessert. On the days where I'm feeling the most appetite suppression I might not have breakfast.

Is it easy to half dose? I would feel mush happier starting in a small amount but I thought the does/measurement was set

It's about counting twists of the pen. I possibly have under twisted really but I was so worried about getting side effects that Ive just started on.a really low dose of it. It seems to be working, so I'm happy to continue with it.

Anyone lost weight and now body all saggy?

Going slow reduces the chance of this.

I had an initial big drop of 1 st in a month. Since then I have slowed way down and am losing 1 -2 lbs a week, sometimes not losing at all.

I have now lost 2 and a half stone. I have gone down the staying on a low dose and focusing on exercise and healthy living which seems to be working. My BMI has dropped into the overweight range so a way to go but my skin so far seems to be shrinking with me

From reading alot of lose skin cam also be addressed by toning the muscles under the skin so focusing on that.

Mounjaro lowers blood pressure. There is an article on the BBC news website about mounjaro today.

No my body is looking great. I've lost weight on a very low dose and very slowly. Been toning up with yoga and pilates. I feel amazing tbh. Life changing it has been for me.

Yes it does really work. I've been on since August and have gone from a BMI of 30 to a BMI of 21.2. I've had no negative side effects and honestly it's been really easy. The easiest weight loss journey I've ever had. I'm currently on a maintenance dose and aim to be on this medication long-term as it has improved so many aspects of my life. I exercise, but also I'm not obsessed with exercise, or over-exercising trying to out-run my poor diet as I've tried in the past. I'm so comfortable having lazy days because I know I'm not going to gain weight. I work our much smarter rather than harder. I ate pretty clean for thr most part of this journey which worked for me, however, I'm now allowing myself treats as and when I fancy them but just including them in my daily calories. Like the other day I just really fancied a sugar coated jam filled doughnut! I had one, couldn't eat it all actually, but it was so satisfying and in a non-binge triggering kind of way. And then I merrily went about my day with no guilt or self-sabotage. MJ has been life saving for me.

Hi Guys. I've had to take 2 weeks off taking Mounjaro. I'm on 12.5mg. Do you think it would be ok to carry on with 12.5, as they do say it stays in your body for upto 30 days, or do I have to start all over again?

You can take the full dose if it's 14 days since your last one. If you're worried about side effects you can take half today and half in 3 days, but I took a week off over Christmas (only half deliberate, i couldn't get a pen delivered in time as they asked for a photo and then rejected it causing delay) and I was fine when I went back on it.

Thank you

@Dinky13 You could plot your doses on a GLP-1 tracker or Shotsy app so you can see what level you have in your system now and then decide if taking a full dose will be too much of a sudden increase for you.

Ah thank you, I've not heard of shots or Glp, I'll rake a look

Is 12.5mg mounjaro a maintenance dose or can you still lose weight?

EL have caused so much confusion by naming some doses ‘maintenance doses’!!!

In the context you are thinking, YES 12.5mg is a TREATMENT DOSE of mounjaro and you will still lose weight if your body is responding to it (I.e. you don’t need to go up to 15).

In reality, there is no such thing as a ‘maintenance dose’. It’s purely a term they used when doing the trials to name the doses they wanted people in the trials to stick on rather than those they used to move up through to get their bodies used to greater amounts of the medication.

Thank you.

I'm going upto 10mg next Monday, I'm due my inj Thursday but I have my grandchildren alone, so camy just nip off and sit on the loo with a 2 yrs old and 9 week!!!

7.5 I'm not loosing on anymore, I have had 2 months of it tho, do we loose on 10mg, whatever I ask Google I get contradicting answers 🥺