Mounjaro - is it effective? Currently 22 stone and need to lose weight

[Hippopotas]

I wondered if you could advise if this has been effective for you? And if so did you have a lot to lose to begin with?

where would be the best most reliable place to get it with a good medical assessment as I have other medications and I supposed I just want I be reassured there will be interactions if I decide to try it.

thanks in advance

I am on Mounjaro as I am insulin resistant after intense cancer treatment (x2) messed up my endocrine system. I worked with an endocrinologist to figure that out, and he's been liaising with my oncology teams etc to ensure that I am monitored sufficiently, etc.
I know that it is possible to just use an online pharmacy to get a prescription, but I wanted to share a few things my endocrinologist told me:

1. The failure rate is c. 15%. That includes people who get intolerable side effects, and those who just don't respond.
2. This is a long term play. You should plan to be on this medication for at least two years, but this time period has been going up - it might be necessary for me to take this for life.
3. Once you start, you can't mess about with it, but you need to inject the right dose at the right time. You can't skip a month and then restart.

If affordability is a potential issue, then the last point is something I'd recommend you think through quite carefully. What would you do if you could no longer afford this?

Having said all of this - I wish you so much luck. I'm about 6 weeks in and have lost an average of 1.2 kgs/ week in that time.

I'm sorry to hear about the cancer and hope the treatment is working 🤞.

Yes right now I don't know if I can afford it and was thinking it might take me 2 years to lose it anyway so should plan for at least 5 years and hope things might be cheaper then

I'm actively job hunting right now.

Started beginning of September 15 and a half stone with T2 diabetes so was prescribed by Diabetes clinic as I was on insulin and full dose of Metformin. Since starting Mounjaro I've been able to come off the insulin and down to 500mg (1 tablet) of Metformin a day.

Lost 2 and a half stone so far, averaging 1-2 lbs loss a week. No side effects at all but I eat very low carb and stick to lean meats and veg predominantly.

The biggest positive is I just barely think about food at all. It's not that I feel full, because I don't really, sometimes I feel hungry and realise it's a meal time, but I don't have that constant feeling of peckishness and I'm never gnawingly starving hungry which is how I would feel dieting before. Like my stomach was trying to eat itself and I couldn't think about anything other than the next thing I could eat.

I stick to around 1400 calories a day and I do track my food in MyFitnessPal because I need to know I haven't eaten too many carbs to keep control of my glucose levels.

OP I was exactly 22 stone when I started. I took my 16th dose this week and I'm just over a pound away from losing three stone so far. I absolutely knew I would never want to have a surgical option so it was this or very likely stay fat forever.

Mounjaro changed me within a few days of taking the first dose. I still have the odd junky snack and I've had takeaways and cake etc but I have never binged to excess the whole time I've been doing this. I have steadily lost on each week so far, some higher than others and I've gone a couple of weeks with very small losses overall. But key for me is that I've not fallen off the wagon when I've seen a loss of less than a pound, I've been able to keep control because I just don't want to binge and would feel ill if I forced myself. I also haven't had a single alcoholic drink the whole time, I was never a big drinker before but I just haven't fancied it at all.

You will find a wealth of information on this board and there are some useful Facebook groups as well. It's really one of the best decisions I've made to start this. I accept I'll be on it long term and I'm fine with that.

Yes yes yes!

My overall starting weight was 18,10 and lost around 2 stone of this thanks to a particularly horrible pregnancy. So MJ starting weight was 16,10. It's been the "easiest" weight loss regime I've ever tried. I'm currently at 15 stone and hope to see 14 something this week. When I say it's life changing for me I'm not exaggerating. Not only is it helping me create better habits but it's also letting me exercise and build up healthy foundations without feeling like I'm too fat / unfit / whatever to start.

I don’t know if this will help or not, but it might be worth considering. We have ‘saved’ money each month with me being on MJ as our weekly shopping has come down in price and I can’t remember the last time we had a take away, used to be at least once a week, so they cancel each other out if that makes sense. 4 takeaways a month would cost us a minimum of £120! I’ve sort of enforced a healthy eating plan on DH, so he’s not sneaking things into the shopping trolley.
Try totting up things that you wouldn’t be buying if you were on MJ and see if that helps, plus I’ve made quite a bit selling clothes that are too big now on Vinted 😆

I started at 23st 7.5lbs on 29th August, now on 10mg and have lost 3 stone 5lbs. I follow WW alongside to track my protein and points. I'd like to lose another 6 stone but already I've got more energy and feel amazing. It's worth every penny

It’s fantastic