Continuing Mounjaro... Part 23

[Jimmyneutronsforehead]

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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)
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I will be back in the morning to add all of the information I had spent an hour on earlier on the original thread 23 that sort of went bust but I've just not found time this evening.

I'll cover UTIs again, as well as add the images from Miss Mounjaro, and the list of possible side effects.

Not quite the start to thread 23 that I had planned for, but I do think it's very important that everyone who had successful losses in thread 22 gets a huge congratulations and well done.

Happy thread 23 everybody!

Yeah that sounds about right. I've still got a long way to go. I'm currently in 18-20 clothes size and I'm starting to see changes from an apple shaped body back into an hourglass shaped body which I never thought I'd see again. Whatever weight I end up when I'm a size 10-12, I think I would feel very comfortable maintaining.

I'm a slow loser though, and I live in a house of short slender people with hollow legs and am often at the mercy of their cooking. I've recently swapped to OMAD though, because I found they'd say we are having stuffed peppers and salad tonight, so I'd account for more calories during the day and then they'd say actually we're having spaghetti bolognese instead so just to avoid accidentally front loading all of my calories and nutrients, I decided it would be best to just eat what gets put in front of me and see if I need to top it up with any vegetables or protein and I'm seeing some good results so far. Still have a cup of tea when the kettles being boiled though.

Has anyone given blood since starting mounjaro? I’ve found I bruise really easily now (I never used to bruise before!) and I’ve been eaten alive by mozzies over summer when I’m not usually touched by them. I’m wondering if MJ has an effect on blood that I’ve not read about. Can we still donate? Thanks!

@GlueNoGlue I tried to donate but wasn't too well on the day and they decided against. I said I was on MJ and they didn't seem to think that it would be a problem, but I never got as far as the qualified nurse to check.

@GlueNoGlue I have given blood twice without a problem or bruising.

I'm seeking advice from you knowledgeable lot please..... I'm 15 weeks in and constipation is becoming more of an issue 😩

Does psyllium husk take you back to pre MJ regularity? Or does it just make you go a bit more often than if you didn't take it?

I am definitely going to buy some, but was just wondering what to expect really. Thanks in advance.

I think it depends what you mean by constipation - do you mean frequency or that, when you do go, it's difficult to pass a stool? Mj slows digestive transit so, generally, you will find you don't go as frequently. But psyllium will help keep the stool soft when you do go. Sufficient fibre from your food and good hydration are also important. Kiwi fruit are particularly helpful!

@Fromthesidelines
It's both unfortunately, I'd gone from daily (pre MJ) to every 3 days, but recently, with no change of dose, is now 4-5 days and I'm having increasing difficulty in passing stools. Yesterday when I did go (and I realised that it been a week) OH MY! 🙈

My hydration and fibre levels are ok/ish, but have probably lapsed slightly since the first weeks of enthusiasm 🤔 I'll concentrate on increasing both and try the psyllium husk too.

Thank you for your reply, and I've just added kiwis to my shopping list too 👍

@MontyJinks I went most days but was passing little hard rabbit pellets despite drinking loads, chia seeds, etc.

I tried Fybogel which is psyllium husk in a reasonably palatable form which helped a bit but the one thing that made a real difference to me was Dulco-Ease stool softener capsules. One or two a day made a big difference and, strangely, my poo problems have gone since I went up to 12.5mg.
I was only thinking this morning how happy it makes me being able to "go"

Just be careful with psyllium husk as I believe you need to drink a really good amount of water with it or it can have the opposite effect and make you more constipated. I think they recommend you drink it with at least 300mls and drink at least 2/3L a day

It did cross my mind to wonder if there could be an issue with using fibre laxatives with MJ so would always suggest that, if anyone uses it for a week with no improvement or, if things get worse on it, stop.
I remember that patients who get constipation as a side-effect of codeine, morphine, etc which slow the bowel are not given Fybogel etc as it often means more "junk" sitting inside the bowel and more discomfort.
I suspect this may be different as we are all, hopefully, more mobile and more focussed on healthy diet and movement than many of those patients but it is worth a thought as the same interaction could apply with MJ

Will be making part 24 after the school run today but did promiss DS a trip to the bowling alley first so might not be directly after school.

I have 5 dates with breakfast and that is working to keep me regular ISH!

Love a date. Or a handful of dried apricots or figs. Seems to do the job better that psyllium husk for me.

Growing up dates were a Christmas only thing - so being wild and having them every day feels very exotic 😁😁

Ugh. Two weeks of staying the same.

I'm on week 3 back at 7.5 (I went down to 5mg over Xmas to tick over) so may be time to go out again.

Posting here to get the moaning done so can be full of positivity on the new thread. I've had so much on - I had a trapped nerve over New Year so only just about fully mobile, I'm at risk of redundancy and we lost my step dad last weekend so I guess I should be thankful I've not piled it on.

I have braved returning to spin class - we have new bikes so there's no hiding in low gears! Onwards and downwards!

Our local council leisure centre are running a 12 weeks free access to their facilities for people between BMI 25-40. My BMI is somewhere close to 43 I think, but my mum is desperate for us to both sign up so she's begging me to live off of lettuce for a week.

I can kind of see her point. We both love swimming and it costs so much these days and it would only further my weight loss, and who doesn't love a thing for free but there's absolutely no way I can drop 3 BMI points within a week.

It does feel really trivial to cap the upper limit at 40 BMI when it's part of the tier 2 weight loss pathway in our area. Swimming is a great way for those firmly in the obese category to move around safely and ease pressure on joints, but I'm sure they've got their reasons.

I'm really sorry for your loss. And your trapped nerve. And also the risk of redundancy. It sounds like you're having a very hard time of it lately. You should definitely be more forgiving of yourself with your weight stall, you're going through a lot, but spinning class could be a wonderful outlet to just get your mind cleared and create a bit of space between you and the outside world.

My BMI is somewhere close to 43 I think, but my mum is desperate for us to both sign up so she's begging me to live off of lettuce for a week.

🤣

Are you sure it's not just a guideline? Why would they cap it at 40? Are they actually going to weigh and measure everyone to check BMI's? I'd just go along and brazen it out!

Your first session is an hour where they take your height and weight measurements. It's part of the tier 2 weight management as far as I can see. I genuinely don't know why they've capped it at 40BMI. To lose enough to get below 40 BMI I would have to drop 9kg, which is almost as much as my total loss since October, but within a week.

They state if you don't meet criteria they'll offer a concessionary monthly membership at £25, but that's as much as my actual gym membership that I get solitude and peace at, so it'd double my fitness expenditure per month, although would grant me access to swimming. They do also have a gym so I could technically quit my other gym membership for 12 weeks and restart it but there's a physical barrier of there being a steep hill to get to it and I'm currently having cuboid subluxation investigated in my left foot which seems to occur mostly when uphill walking steeper inclines. It would probably also knacker me out completely before I've even got to the gym so if I was gonna risk it, I'd much rather it be for free.

Ahhh oh what a shame - I don't blame you then, stick with the one you're at. Your dm will have to go it alone!

Hopefully when your bmi has dropped it may still be available? You'll get there x

Continuing Mounjaro... Part 24 | Mumsnet https://search.app/QN2a3LTdffFur3869

New thread is up.

I think we've got about 30 posts left on this thread.

Going to call the leisure centre today to ask if their policy has any wiggle room. Really wouldn't mind 12 weeks of free swimming.

It'd definitely get me over the cold February and March hump.

@Jimmyneutronsforehead good luck 🤞 it doesn’t seem fair to cut the BMI off. Maybe not enough people will sign up!

I went for my first swim yesterday and I really enjoyed it. It wasn’t half as daunting as I thought it would be!

The way my mind works to worry me…..

It's normal to worry about things that you're not used to. I'm absolutely petrified of bumping into people I know. It sounds really daft because it's not like I've gone round with the intent of becoming everyone's arch nemesis or anything.

It doesn't matter what I'm doing, it could be the swimming pool, cinema, shops etc, and in the back of my mind the biggest worry I have is running into someone I know who probably would just say hello.

Even my friends from work whom I'm really quite fond of and would love to meet up with, there's always a "what if I see so and so at B&M this random Thursday and 10:34am".

Then once you're there your brain sort of goes, see it's not that bad and everything calms down.

Hi, I am due week 3 of 5mg tomorrow but I need some help distinguishing whether the side effects have suddenly hit me like 101 bricks or whether I am unwell? I need to know for peace of mind and have genuine fear that I will feel like this when I inject again. I had absolutely no side effects whatsoever until week 2 of 5mg and it was 4 days after injecting I suddenly got sulphur burps horrifically, was dire. And then the worst upset tummy, feeling sick, running to the loo every 10 mins. I realise my libido has gone too this month. I've started to get massive red hand size reactions at the site/ honestly, not sure I can continue if someone tells me this is it now. Sulphur burps only lasted a day, so maybe the gastric things were a bug. What do we think? Can anyone help?

@dandeliondaisy I've had the same gastric issues twice on MJ. I think it's been triggered by eating foods that are slower to digest (red meat), not enough veg/ fibre and not enough water. Both times its happened after a weekend so now making a big effort to keep my fibre and water up plus be careful about what I'm eating. It was awful and if it happens again I'll be dropping a dose as I can't cope with it but it's happened twice in 4 months so not a regular side effect for me.

Someone recommended peppermint oil capsules so I've bought some of those but really focusing on nutrition and hydration to try to stop it happening again.