Question for those who are far along in their mounjaro journey... I am not feeling positive :(

[mounjaro2025]

Morning everyone. I injected my first 2.5mg MJ dose last Thursday evening and honestly, now we are on day 4, I don't think there has been any change to my eating habits / appetite / constant "what am I going to eat next "chatter in my head. I also went out last night for a pizza and had no problem eating all of it except some of the crusts, and I still wanted to eat chocolate afterwards...

I know that 2.5 is a "loading dose", and it can take time for it to kick in, but I've read online of so many people within 24-48 hours suddenly not being able finish off a meal and they end up losing a significant amount of weight in their first week on the drug.

Everyone is different but it's quite disheartening to be spending £00's of pounds a month on something that is potentially not going to work and cause gastric side effects which I am already worried about.

I really do want to give it more time - my BMI is 36.2 and I am about 6 stone overweight - but also part of me just wants to throw the towel in now.

For those who are far along in their MJ journey, or perhaps even now maintaining, how long did it take for you to feel appetite suppression? I would really like to hear some stories of encouragement right now!

Thank you @Doggymummar
I'll follow your advice
X

Agree about giving it time. I lost a stone on 2.5 but I think it was more psychological, I'd decided to make changes and that was it. The MJ just helped especially later when I'd usually throw the towel in on healthy eating.
You need to educate yourself about food, the obesity code is a great book as is Ultra Processed People. You need to make the change too, make a conscious decision to not eat the whole pizza.
Good luck!

I wonder this.

op, you do need to use some self control. It really isn’t a magic drug that does all the heavy lifting for you. You need to make healthy choices. You need to eat within a calorie deficit, and make sure you eat healthy food, with enough protein.

the drug just helps you do that.

if you’re not in the right head space to do that. Then it’s best to hold until you are. Going out for pizza, what, three days after the very first injection , and expecting the drug to stop you eating much, is unrealistic. And then wanting to chuck it in as it didn’t, would indicate you’re head isn’t in it.

the drug works for 85 percent of people. But the truth is most of us could push through thr suppression. And nearly all of us are making healthy choices. We do that. Not the drug.

if you’re in the right head space, to do this, eat healthy, manage portions, then it’s a fantastic tool,.but if you’re not. Then it’s best to wait till you are.

Keep going OP, I started 7 months ago and am down more than 5 stone. Whilst I did have suppression quite early on, DP (who started after seeing my progress), found that he only started getting suppression on 5mg (although he did lose weight on 2.5).

I had suppression, lack of food noise etc from the first dose but actual weight loss has been v slow for me. I’m up to 10mg now and it’s sped up a little but I’m definitely not a brilliant responder, 1lb a week if i’m lucky.

However it has been so nice not thinking about food all the time, and feeling so much more in control. And it has really stabilised my previously crap blood sugar control. I feel much more well in myself, so I am keeping plodding on.

I have been researching for a couple of months on mounjaro after seeing people I know looking amazing. I’ve read & read & read, studied the data of multiple tests & listened to many podcasts. I am very wary of the side effects. That said i decided to give it a go. I am only 4days in bear in mind. I have got 3 hives which has got to be MJ. I’m sure it is, this to me is my body realising histamine as it’s come accross something it doesn’t like. People say - take an antihistamine but if it carries on I’m kind of thinking imagine what a higher dose could do. I believe for some people it’s great for others it’s not. Reddit has some interesting reads. All the best to everyone

Reddit has every single thing under the sun due to mounjaro. I’m fairly sure someone is about to proclaim it’s caused aliens to invade.😂

Also worth noting stress causes hives, and it does seem you’re incredibly anxious about it, based on what you’ve written with all your research , studies, listening, and how wary you are.

My advice is to trust the process and everyone has a different journey. Most people will only post about the negatives, such as side effects and not losing, so bear that in mind too.

I've been on Mounjaro now for 6 months and currently on my last dose of 10mg before moving up to 12.5mg. I stalled on 7.5mg but stuck with it and the weight loss kicked back in again.

Good luck and remember to drink loads of water!

I had terrible hives on Mounjara, when I moved up to 5 mg, on my arms and knee. It was awful, my ski. Was terribly inflamed and itchy. Skin rashes and hives - basically a (minor) allergic reaction - are a listed side effect. However they did go away after a few weeks.

I’ve lost 3 stone. Now been stuck pretty much for 3 months. Body is still changing though. You do have to change the way you eat and move. But not feeling like I want to graze the fridge and the cupboard helps. I also don’t eat any sugar or pure carbs and haven’t since May. So no bread, pasta, potatoes etc. But I eat masses of veggies. On Mounjaro it’s sustainable without much thought. I’m at 10 and I have no side effects bar slower transit. Ive spent at least 2 months at each dose. I’ve another 3 stone to go.

On ozempic but I stalled for 8 weeks, exercising, definitely eating at a deficit, just carried on and then it started coming off again in the 9th week.

I'm on 15mg I've lost 4stone since November kinda slowing down now though

You can’t be eating pizza anymore

They start you off slowly to monitor side effects and ensure that you’re safe taking the drug. Can you start to make some small changes yourself to your diet or exercise? It will help you get in a better mindset.

I’m now on 7.5 and still waiting for the suppression to kick in. I feel sick if I overeat but I never actually feel like I can’t eat a meal. Friends have lost loads and have zero appetite.

@batterypark suppression is a side effect that not everyone gets. The main purpose of the medication is to make you fuller more quickly (as well as all the clever stuff it does biologically too!).

I was the same, so for the last 3 weeks I’ve taken 12.5mg, things are moving again now. I think the suppression was too high.

Please don’t worry. Everybody is different and some (like me) don’t notice any suppression until they are on 10mg and above.

I started 3 months ago and have lost 2 stone so far at a pace of 1-2 pounds a week. I’ve not had any bad side effects but no real suppression either so it has taken a lot of willpower! 2.5mg felt like I had injected water as it did nothing at all for me but I started on 10mg last week and had zero appetite the next day. This passed on day two fortunately and now I’m comfortably able to eat small portions at meal times without feeling ravenous in between!

I was also feeling a bit defeated when I saw the huge losses some people have managed in such a short period of time but I’ve kept going and am starting to feel the difference now I’m two stone lighter. I’m also telling myself that the more gradual loss of 1-2 pounds a week should help me avoid gallstones / hair loss / loose skin etc.

It takes some people longer to build up the dose to feel suppression. It usually takes me 3 days, I injected Wednesday evening and felt its full effect yesterday but I am on 10mg and took the full bonus dose which was almost 12mg. If you injected Thurs evening you've just hit day 3 as its sunday evening, not day 4, but it may take longer for you to feel it. 2.5mg didn't do much for me, it was when I went up to 5mg that I felt it strongly but then that only lasted 5 weeks for me as I have insulin resistance. If you have pcos, insulin resistance, underactive thyroid, diabetes etc its common to need a higher dose to feel suppression and for effective anti inflammatory effects. Give it time it will come.

I am about 7.5 months and almost 70lbs into my journey.

Appetite suppression is not the goal. I know it feels like it is in th early days but really you are looking for

a) greater ability to say no to foods (rather than just not be able to eat them)
and
b) greater satiety
and
c) greater ability to choose better foods for you, at least most of the time

I think lots of people don't get all that on the lower doses, so still move up when it's time. However, I also found doing some research into gut health and UPFs also helped me. They too are linked to obesity and hunger signals etc.

I changed my diet to try to eat as wide a variety of plants per week as possible (ideally 30+) to improve my gut biome and keep it healthy. There are many ways that drives satiety and helps you choose better foods. Things like, higher fibre means the food moves further through your gut before being digested and so is around longer to hit satiety triggers. Or a wider variety of plants encourages a wider variety of gut bacteria that communicates with your brain and demands more plants - rather than feeding the bacteria that eat pizza which will then grow that bacteria that will then demand more pizza 😉Not totally knocking pizza, especially a home made one, but it's perhaps not the best as a staple food. The more you eat of the healthier foods, the more you want to eat them.

I also now try to eat much less UPFs. They can do things like trigger hunger signals when you are not hungry, damage your gut bacteria and lining and cause digestive issues when you try to eat right. They are often developed specifically so that your body cannot detect when it's eaten enough and allows you to keep on eating way beyond a sensible point.

Those things have definately helped my journey and are possible because of MJ but also help MJ be more effective.

Basically, because I am spending £150+ a month on this and it's the very best shot I've ever had at being healthy - I've gone all in to give it the very best I can.