Reassurance/advice welcomed!

[Slimwannabe]

Unsurprisingly at 19.5st I've been approved for mounjaro, but I'm scared to confirm my first order.

I hate taking medication and am scared of the side effects. Could some of you at an equivalent weight share your experience of the first couple of weeks so that I know what to expect?

I am also embarrassed to tell my husband that I'm so fat it's come to this, but not sure how feasible it is to hide! Part of delaying is to avoid it being delivered when I'm not home - pathetic I know!

You can try it, be brave, many people have tried it and successfully lost weight. Spend a month trying, you can lose weight, come on, believe in you

You may get some tummy aches and diarrhoea but it's really not that bad and not everyone gets them. If you do get side effects they will pass. It's better than being fat! I didn't tell my DH for a while until I was sure it was going to work because I was also embarrassed but I'm glad I did. He wasn't judgemental at all.

I think we've all been scared at first, I know I was. It's just such a new thing for us and the fact it's an injection makes it sound so much more scary, if it was a pill to take I don't think it would seem so bad.

I was 18st 6lbs when I started at the end of May and MJ has changed my life. I'm now 14st.

The first couple of weeks for me were really exciting as I felt the drug start to work and I believed I could actually do this.
I have been extremely lucky with few side effects. I had a sore neck and shoulders for a couple of days after my first jab, as my glands at the back of my neck were a bit swollen. And I was cold, when previously I radiated heat!
The only thing I've suffered throughout is a horrible taste in my mouth, which is always worse for a day or two after injecting.
I'll take all of these happily though in order to make my body healthier and lessen my risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer.

Injecting is so much easier than you will imagine it to be. I didn't know if I'd be able to do it. You honestly won't feel the needle, they're so fine and tiny.

There's no way of knowing how you will react to the drug, everyone has different experiences so you just need to decide if it's something you're willing to try. I knew I had to do something and this felt like a last resort of failed diets.

I ordered mine and took a couple of doses before telling dp but he has been quietly supportive once I explained I wasn't buying some random drugs off the internet.

Good luck if you decide to give it a go. You'll get lots of support here if you have any questions. There's a thread for those starting each month you could follow to get support from others at the same point in their journey.

Honestly just do it op. You don’t need to tell your husband your weight, you can get the drug at 30 bmi or 27 with health issues, or certain ethnicities ,and unless you’ve joint money you maybe don’t need to tell him about the jabs, although I advise it as you live together.

i was less than you at fifteen stone. But I told my husband and daughter,before hand and also discussed with my doctor, in 5 weeks I’ve lost 13lbs, the first week one being the big one. I didn’t tell them my weight, just my bmi. And how much I had to lose,Not as they’d judge me, they’ve eyes in their head, but as I was embarrassed.

i mean this gently but your husband can see you. He knows you’re obese. He’s known for a long time.

so don’t let shame, or fear stop you getting healthy.

Thank you all so much - you are all so kind and reassuring! You are right, I just need to bite the bullet and try it.

@Slimwannabe I also can totally understand what you're feeling. I started at the beginning of July when I was 22st and had a BMI of 50, which is what pushed me over the edge to make the decision to try Mounjaro. I am now 16st 9lbs with a BMI of 37.6 and continuing to make downwards progress. Still got a long way to go to get to my final goal weight, but unlike every other weight loss attempt I've tried, I actually feel like I will make it there. Normally I wouldn't have lasted this long!

You can give it a try and see how it goes for you, you can stop at any time if it doesn't suit you. I have had some digestive upset, around 6 weeks in, which settled and now I haven't had any real side effects for weeks.

Congratulations to all of you on your weight loss too - how fabulous you all are!

Thank you all. Am aiming to start on Sunday and did tell my husband but he is not supportive. I will start on 2.5mg of mounjaro anyway, and see how it goes!

That’s odd, why is he not supportive?

I'm sorry to hear he isn't supportive. Did he say why? A lot of people who have no knowledge of obesity or weight loss see one or two media articles about Sharon Osborne or someone who ended up in hospital with severe side effects and assume they're all dodgy drugs.

Then there's the ingrained belief we've been taught as a society over the last few decades that fatness is all the fault of the obese person and they should suffer while losing weight as penance for their greed, so taking meds is cheating. Which is total bollocks, but it's going to take a long time to shift that opinion.

You don't have to talk to him again. This is about your journey and you've been bold enough to take it on your own, and I hope as you see results, you'll have the confidence to continue with your head held high.

He's worried about the side effects - I think because there are needles involved he finds it a bit scary.

I'm also quite a disordered eater - my job is stressful, and when I'm stressed I physically can't eat, so I skip meals a lot (god knows how I'm still so fat!) He really worries about my poor eating habits and doesn't understand why I want to take medication that will make me even more unlikely to eat.

Finally, he says that I don't need to lose weight and am beautiful just as I am, which is very sweet albeit delusional! I've probably gained about 8 stone in the time we've been together, and he has always loved me just the same.

If you're mostly worried about side effects, my advice would be to go slow and stay low. Meaning, don't progress up to the next strength just because 4 weeks have passed - if the starter dose is working for you, just stay there. If it stops working, then consider moving up. I've found that by going slower than the minimum 4 weeks between strength increases, I've not had negative side effects. I'm not a HCP, though, it's just what has worked for me.

I've been on MJ since beginning of July and lost nearly 40lbs. It's been really, really easy to stick to a healthy diet - not just lowering my calories, but eating healthily. First time ever!

Thank you - I will bear that in mind, and see how I go on the initial low dose.

Does he not worry about the health risks of your weight?

honestly I find his answer concerning, thay you don’t need to lose weight and you’re beautiful. And sadly what I was expecting. This is not about vanity or your attractiveness to him i assume but for your health.

you do need to lose weight, he knows it, you know it, we know it. You are obese, possibly morbidly so. We all are or were obese. It isn’t an insult, it is a fact. That’s why we are on the drugs. As being obese is a life sentence. The risks are huge. He knows that, and so do you.

sadly a lot of men don’t want their partners to lose weight, as they worry other men will be interested if they are slim. Or they will,leave them when they become what they perceive as attractive again. Fat is safe. The dynamic is you’re lucky to have me. It’s all about me. As his answer showed. I fancy you so stay fat.

and op not moving ip the doses doesn’t stop side effects. I’ve on 5 and I’m fine. I move up with the recommendations by the manufacturer. The way to avoid side effects is to eat nothing too carby, nothing too fatty, eat lots of veg, salad, proteins, and take something like a psyllium husk daily with a large glass of water. Lots of water.

once you get to five mg see how you feel. You don’t need to race up after that. You’re an intelligent woman, you will be able to judge. But the first month isn’t therapeutic it is just getting your body used to it. The real magic happens when you move up, before that a lot of it is in the mind and huge willpower to succeed.

good luck.

Thank you for the good advice. DH isn't malicious in any way, he just sees my existing disordered eating and worries. He doesn't like the idea of me taking MJ but won't stop me and will look after me if needed.