Considering starting but clueless

[WIcurious]

I’m seriously considering starting one of these but am hoping for a short term thing. I have about 3 stone to lose, but my circumstances mean I need to lose at least one quite quickly. I keep thinking about injections and I’m trying to weigh up whether I should. I’ve got some questions to ask more experienced people, if you don’t mind?

I’m maintaining my current weight but not really losing anything, so I’m not too concerned about putting it back on if I lose it quickly.

1. Which one should I go for, or are they all much of a muchness?
2. Can you just do it for a month or is there a longer commitment involved?
3. What is likely to happen in a month? Is it worth it?

Which one should I go for, or are they all much of a muchness?
Mounjaro is regarded as the best for weight loss - but depends on if you have any other conditions or take certain drugs already. Your prescriber will ask the pertinent questions.

Can you just do it for a month or is there a longer commitment involved?
Some are subscription based, but most online pharmacies it's a pay-as-you-go model so you could feasibly just do one month of you wanted as long as you meet the criteria.

What is likely to happen in a month? Is it worth it?
There's no way of knowing how you'll react really. Some people lose a lot in a month (a stone, for instance) but the first dose is mostly to get your body used to the drug, and lots of people don't lose anything until the next dose/month or even the one after that. It's very personal

Which one should I go for, or are they all much of a muchness?

There's Mounjaro and Wegovy. Its up to you which you choose. However, Mounjaro targets two hormones instead of one (Wegovy) and has been licensed for treating obesity in the UK. Also known in the trials to cause higher percentage of weightloss than Wegovy. However both of them work for people. If you don't have a bmi of 30 and above, or a bmi of 27 and above with other qualifying health conditions or from other ethnicities, you will not qualify for WLI as you'd not be classed as obese.

Can you just do it for a month or is there a longer commitment involved?

Technically, you can do it for a month if you choose. Even the subcription-based ones would still let you cancel anytime easily so you're not stuck with them. However, the chances of you meeting your goal for a month is unknown. It would be better to expect less results than more so as not to be disappointed when you don't meet a high expectation. It's not a quick fix and you may not lose what you expect to lose in a month.

What is likely to happen in a month? Is it worth it?

No one knows. This prescription medication is not a quick fix for weightloss. You can't go on it and give it one month to lose 1 stone because it may or may not happen to you. 1 month on it is only the very beginning and the least you can do. If you lose a stone, great, lucky for you but don't expect to do so, again to avoid disappointment.

You'll have to see how your body responds to it first as it differs from person to person, and it also works randomly (eg; loss this week and no loss next week; side effect today and nothing tomorrow or continuous loss or no loss at all or constant side effects or no side effects at all, etc). You just can't tell, therefore the benefits will have to outweigh the risks to you, and you need to be patient on it as well as balancing being on a calorie deficit with eating properly. That is if you qualify for the medication to start with.

To start, you'll need to go through the consultation online with the registered pharmacy you choose and answer all the questions honestly so that if you qualify, you will be approved and you can begin your journey, but if you have issues that would cause you to be declined (like a disqualifying health condition or medication, lower bmi, etc), then you'll know and find alternatives.

what is your BMI?

Thank you. I have my trigger finger hovering over the payment screen for Mounjaro and can’t decide whether to go for it.

My BMI is 33 and a bit and meno means I’m not losing like I have in the past, despite being much more active and working harder at it. Pretty healthy otherwise afaik.

Think I’ll go for it and see what happens.

33 and a bit I think.

Think I’ll go for it and see what happens.

That's the best idea. Go for it, see if you get approved (you should do with your bmi alone if you have nothing that will cause you to be disqualified), then see what happens. Take it one day or one week at a time and continue to do what you're doing. Hopefully it will give you the boost you need to lose.

You need to prepared to lose nothing in that first month though. You're supposed to increase your dose from a low base - some people lose on the lowest dose, some dont. Some don't respond until the highest dose which takes 4-5 months to get to

That sounds like a plan. I asked about your BMI because we do get quite a few people
on this board trying to access MJ when they don’t qualify.

Just be prepared that because you are post menopausal and have relatively little to lose you may find that it is slow. You will still need to stay in a strict calorie deficit to lose weight. There’s every possibility that you will respond quickly to the starter dose but not everyone does. The posts you’ll see on here about people losing very large amounts in the first month are often from those of us with much more to lose than you. Good luck!

Thanks all.

I went for it but they sacked me off, presumably because I ticked that I have some gall bladder trouble. I have gall stones that very rarely do anything at all. Very occasionally they remind me they’re there but mostly leave me alone.

Not sure what to do now. Lying to someone else to get it feels like a silly idea. Might speak to a GP then go from there.

Sorry to hear that.

Lying to someone else to get it feels like a silly idea.

Yes, definitely a very dangerous idea especially with gallstones even if they're rarely triggered before MJ. It could become much more often with MJ or worse.

Might speak to a GP then go from there.

Sounds like the best plan. Goodluck. Hope you find a good alternative/solution.

Oh bad luck, OP. There was a poster on another thread who talked to her GP about taking ursidol as a preventative measure for gallstones. It might be worth asking your GP if this could be an option for you.