Slow Losers Club #2!

[LeafUsAlone]

Thanks to @Sadteacher for pointing out we were nearly full on the old post!

Well done @Ifyounevergiveup - huge well done! Sometimes the numbers don't proportionatly represent the visual changes. I always find clothes the best indicator of body changes, without taking soul destroying photos (not saying theyre a bad thing!)
Thank you for posting

@Ifyounevergiveup I had an email this morning from a chemist regarding the impending mounjaro price rises!
Came for your thoughts.?
Im on my way down the doses with the pens I have in the fridge (about 6weeks left maybe more if I leave longer between injections), so I don't feel panicked by this news, but I know you (and others) were looking to take mounjaro longer term for maintenance.
It feels very sad that they may well be pricing people out of what has been for me, and others I am sure a life changing medication.
Could this be scare mongering, and prices won't rise as dramatically, ive seen lots of figures being quoted online?
In an email from the family chemist, they quote a price increase of 170%, which is quite shocking

@Pinkyp22 hello treasure, how are you doing? I must confess that when the Sun (ugh, but to be fair they did) broke the news yesterday I rolled straight into hunter gatherer mode and started applying to reasonably priced suppliers as a new customer so I can build up a stash. I’m lucky to be able to do that. I’ve also applied for 10mg pens rather than the 7.5mg I’m taking, so I can count clicks and get six doses out of a pen rather than five (including the bonus dose which I appreciate some people prefer not to use). That cuts the cost a lot and we can all do counting clicks if we’re comfortable with bending the instructions a tad. It does help be more confident with that approach if you have a clinical background or knowledge, which you do, so hurrah. Longer term the laws of demand and supply will of course kick in; some people will stop buying, sales will drop, prices will drop a little as a result, and suppliers are bound to compete like they do now. Keep a closer than usual eye on monj.co.uk …I don’t know about you but I’m also getting emails from suppliers suggesting that if cost is an issue we could move to Wegovy and they won’t make us go back to square one, they’ll take into consideration the Mj dose you’re on. So I think we have options which hopefully allow us to continue our journeys. I assume you’ll have moved house by now and I’m so glad that Mj is still in your picture despite all that life has thrown at you recently . What a star you are 🌟

I did have a wobble myself and contemplated ordering a back up pen but rational took over in the end.
I really do hope the 170% figure is worst case scenario, like you say after the initial madness has calmed down perhaps supply and demand will level out
Funnily enough I've had lots of emails from various pharmacies but none from Oushk who I have regularly ordered from!
Franks pharmacy just emailed saying they will lock prices if you sign up to a 3, 6, or 9 month plan. Might be worth a look.
Absolutely, buy a higher dose pen to use lower doses over a longer time. I 100% agree.
We havnt moved yet (solicitors are just so slow) it's dragging on but hoping to do so by end of September 🤞

Blimey O’Reilly, you’ve still got the move on the back burner? God bless you! Thanks for the Frank’s Pharmacy tip, not a name I know but I’ll have a look x

Hi everyone, how is everyone doing? Hope it’s still progressing even if it is slow. I’ve had a funny few months where I’ve not lost much but look much much slimmer due to exercising. I’ve also come down from 7.5mg to 5mg which has helped me to shift more weight as I can eat more 🤷‍♀️ I found that on 7.5mg I just didn’t feel quite right both in mood and in health.
I’ve still got around 10/12kg left but much more relaxed (kind of) with this taking me another 9/10 months.

not many posts recently 🙃🙂

I’m here, as always 😀. You’ve beaten me to it today, I was just going to come on and say I’ve finally lost a pound after TWO MONTHS of yo-yoing. I’m thrilled. The yo-yoing included an accidental month of 5mgs instead of 7.5mg which I got by pushing the wrong button when I ordered 🤪. I decided to give it a go and crept up half a pound each week, sigh. You did so much better! So I’m settled back in to my 7.5mg with no side effects and enough suppression not to feel deprived. Good to hear from you, @NaivePrey, glad you’re getting so close to where you want to be. I’m 13lb away from my initial target and if I continue after that will depend on my fat percentage rather than BMI. I started at 49% (that was a real wake up call, I tell you) and I’m now at 40%, much better but still a lot!

Glad it's shifting though @Ifyounevergiveup - I only weigh myself every 4 weeks or so, as I was getting very down about the weight not shifting. My PT suggested I eat a bit more and that may make the difference which it seems to have done, as well as shifting down to 5mg. I did read an article about reducing the dose sometimes can help and I found that 7.5mg did not agree with me at all. 10/12kg still feels like another Everest to climb though! I am going to keep going until I get to my target - there is no point giving up now.

Another pound has made itself scarce today, I’m now up to 10mg thankfully without any side effects, and planning to try 12.5mg from next week. @Pinkyp22 I assume you must have moved by now, hope all is going well and you figured a way of keeping on with your journey. I’m hearing good things via my GP job about people who have moved to Wegovy, broadly it doesn’t seem to have wrecked anyone’s progress, not yet at least. I still have my mad pre-price rise stash in the fridge, but that’ll disappear if the higher doses go ok. Love to everyone and keep on keeping on ❤️

Hope everyone’s doing ok and looking forward to Christmas. Don’t know if any of us slow losers are still around but I thought I’d check in. Down to 10 stone 4lb now from 12 stone 5,18 months ago when I started Mounjaro, and from 15 stone 4 at my heaviest. I’m up to 12.5mg now and will be taking the final step to 15 next month. I’m hoping to get under 10 stone by Christmas and I can’t really believe it’s real. God knows it’s taken a long time but if anyone who’s thinking of giving up clocks this post, don’t. I know it’s eye wateringly expensive but I haven’t been this weight since primary school and I’m really proud of myself after all these years of obesity. I didn’t realise how much being heavy bothered me until I wasn’t any more. Good luck to everyone on the journey, whether they’re losing hand over fist or just month to month…it all adds up in the end x

Thanks for the last few posts everyone, and especially your post just there @Ifyounevergiveup. Unfortunatly for me it just isn't working. I haven't gone up beyond 7.5mg because I struggled with the side effects, but even staying on that dose the weight just isn't shifting. I'm disappointed because the one thing I would wish for is to be a typical size.

Anyway, I hope everyone else is having a more successful time than me.

Sorry @Ifyounevergiveup I completely went off on a downer and forgot to congratulate you! Well done for sticking to it and getting such wonderful results!

@LeafUsAlone Ooh that’s a tough situation. I remember @Pinkyp22 eventually managing her symptoms by half dosing twice a week, but I’m sure you’ll have tried that. Without wanting to intrude, what side effects do you suffer? You may remember I had horrible gastrointestinal problems, and still do on my first jump in dose, but Imodium does sort it out if that’s of any use to you. Have you considered trying Wegovy? It’s a less complicated format so might be kinder?

Thanks @Ifyounevergiveup, I'm prescribed it by a consultant so would have to wait for my next appt in a few months and ask to change then, but it's worth a shot. The side effects are generally much better than on oz, but when I try and go up I get a flare up of my endometriosis as well as gastro symptoms.
I havent tried the half dosing actually - so if I try and go up to 10, do I literally do 5 on a Friday and then 5 on a Tuesday? Would I then be accumulating a much higher dose when I go to do 5 then the next Friday? I did look for info on this somewhere and people didn't seem to know what I was talking about and I couldn't remember where I'd seen it before. This sounds promising actually, if I incorporate it with some other small tweaks to my diet as well

So. A full dose on any pen is 60 clicks. So you would inject 30 clicks on Friday and the other 30 on Tuesday. You will still have exactly the same amount in your system, it’s just your body won’t be reacting to receipt of a full dose any more, and it was always that which set my gastrointestinal problems going. Imodium really is brilliant, especially the Instant version which just melts on your tongue, you don’t even have to swallow a tablet (in fact I wondered if I’d taken it at all the first time!). Give it a go.

Be of good cheer. (How festive!) It took me ages to get off 7.5mg into 10 but eventually my body settled to it and I went straight up to 12.5mg the month after. It really does get better as you go up; after all, when you go up to 10mg you’re taking 33% more, but from 10 to 12.5mg is only 25% and then your final step is only 20%. It’s worth keeping on trying, 12.5mg has been more effective for me than any of the earlier doses.

Battling endometriosis must be hell. Would taking painkillers in advance be of any help, or don’t you know when/if it’s going to kick off?

In passing I would note that I’m eating around 700 - 800 calories a day to lose an average of half a pound to a pound a week, but that’s relatively quick for me. I was almost frightened to eat so little so I do tend to fill my plate still, but with much lower calorie foods e.g. king prawns are my best friends (until I eat them. They don’t like that.). I don’t fancy carbs at all any more and look forward to eating veg and protein. That all kicked in at 10mg. Persevere, and I will keep my fingers crossed for you. Keep us posted!

Thank you so much @Ifyounevergiveup, I'll give it a go and report back in a few weeks!

Hello, is this thread still going?

I've been on at six weeks and I've only lost 6lb I'm so disappointed. I'm eating more than some of the people on the November starting through, but I don't feel like I can manage less

To be honest, I don't know how realistic it is to keep eating like this. I'm surprised I managed to diet six weeks, but then also I've had some side effects that make eating uncomfortable.

So I just wondered if anyone else was still very slow and if there's light at the end of the tunnel

it's amazing how much people seem to lose and I'm not doing it

@RoundandSad hello dear heart and welcome! We’ve learned a lot since @LeafUsAlone started this thread, and one of those things is that most slow losers on these drugs have endocrine problems, usually PCOS and/or underactive thyroid. There was nothing we could do to lose weight anywhere near as quickly as others. But (and it was a big but) we were losing - for most of us, for the first time in our lives.

So you now know, six weeks in, you’re not going to be one of those who drops stones in weeks. However, you’re only on your second dose (size wise, I mean, not week-wise). If you’re on Mounjaro, I’m guessing you’re on 5mg. Speaking personally, I wasn’t losing any weight on 5mg. Weight loss didn’t start until 7.5mg for me (a bit) and has only become a regular thing at 12.5mg. Some of us need more than others!

The clue in your post is saying you’re surprised you’ve managed to carry on for six weeks. On this thread, we pretty much all said that, and it’s what kept us going. We were able to maintain a calorie deficit much more comfortably than without the drug. Which brings me to what you’re eating. I thought I couldn’t eat less when I was eating 1000 calories a day but it was purely psychological. I now eat around 700 calories a day because I’m not hungry most of the time. It was (and is) important to me that I didn’t feel deprived, so I still eat normal size portions, but it’s low calorie food. Don’t, please don’t, compare yourself to others. If you have metabolic issues that will just finish you off. Don’t listen to the chat about working out your calorie deficit either; most on this thread say they would put on weight if they ate anywhere near what they calculate their calorie deficit to be.

What else can I say to cheer you up? If you’re like others, a pound a week is broadly what you’re going to lose if you manage to eat less (and you’ll get less hungry as you go up the doses). Only you know if that’s something you can achieve without the expense of weight loss drugs. Speaking personally, I have PCOS and hypothyroidism, I’m short and have been overweight (sometimes very overweight) since childhood. In the 18 months I’ve been on Mj I’ve lost 30lb and that half a pound a week has been my weight loss rate since day one, so you see, you’re doing well! I now weigh less than I did at primary school and there is no way I would have lost any weight without Mj. I know that because I tried for nearly 50 years and couldn’t get more than three stone off before giving up and bouncing back up again. I was the ultimate yo-yo!

Only you know if the money is worth the results. But I can tell you that my little half a pound a week has been life changing for me. We are here to help and hand hold (at less length than this, I promise!). Read back through the thread and you will see me howling with rage about my slow progress on a VERY regular basis. But now, I wouldn’t change a thing.

Good luck and let us know how you do if you decide to carry on! ❤️

@Ifyounevergiveup Thank you so much for taking the time to reply

And for your lovely caring approach

And for understanding how depressing this is It's just so weird because I'm looking at other peoples posts and I'm baffled- also know two people on it in real life and they are losing very quickly

I did actually ask the doctor to run some investigations purely because of slow weight loss or non-existent weight loss, that was a couple of years ago though

They found absolutely nothing wrong with me luckily and I do feel perfectly fine so I can see that that's a good thing

They just seem to think I'm one of these people who needs like 800 cal or something to lose weight

I was really hoping that Mounjaro would stop that problem I'm actually on 3.75 because I still have enough side-effects that I don't feel ready to go up to 5

It's really interesting to hear that you think I should go up because I was actually thinking of going back down.

But now I've read your post I will reconsider. I do often wonder if there are things that doctors actually can't identify my sister eats so much and has never had a weight problem and she's actually horrified by how little I eat, I just thought that was her perception but maybe that's correct

I read about people who've given up junk food and having big three course meals and I was never doing that so maybe I'm just wired differently and maybe I do need a higher dose

With the carrying on for six weeks, it's not that it's been difficult. I'm just surprised at myself. There's now been five weekends out of six that I was at our family Sunday and didn't eat any cake. I was expecting to find that hard but it isn't.

I had a big mindset shift in the summer, before I started on this, but while I felt like I ate substantially less - I lost about 3lb over the whole summer! And it was a very long hot summer with the kind of automatic reduction in eating that comes with hot weather on top of trying to diet.

anyway, thank you that was such a helpful post. I think I will stick with posting on here maybe every week and stop looking at the other thread.

And the ones in real life are the hardest,watching them shrink to nothing! But the sad truth is what you’ve expressed so well; some of us aren’t built that way. And there is some comfort in that; it absolutely proves that none of us were lying when we said we ate very little and couldn’t lose weight. After many decades, that alone made me feel truly validated.

If you don’t mind my asking, what side effects are you experiencing? Don’t forget, the jump from 2.5 to 5 is the biggest you’ll do, you’re doubling your dose. After that it’s a 50% jump, then a third, then a quarter…you get my point. @Pinkyp22 had great success splitting her 5mg dose, so she took 30 clicks of her pen twice across the week. My problem was terrible gastro problems, I described it here as slurry, but then I discovered Imodium Instants and never looked back. I can’t remember what dose increase it was for me (5mg to 7.5mg, I think) but I stayed on it for many months and looking back, I shouldn’t have, there was no reason to once I got the side effects under control.

Can I also say, don’t forget to celebrate the wins. A pound a week is actually superb and if maintained will mean you’ll be nearly four stone lighter this time next year. And as well as being surprised that you can resist cake now, also be proud! This is what “normal” people can do - have a bit of what they fancy, or not have any, and they don’t give it a second thought. Mj has let me do that and losing that constant chatter about food going on in my brain is worth it just on its own imo.

You go, girl!

Hi there

Such an interesting point about people not believing you

whenever we holiday with family or stay with them, there's a few who are a bit "how can you be eating so little?" so within my circle I do think people realise that some of us are just built this way. But only DH knows about the medication.

I really can't imagine the family will react well obviously I've got two friends who would be fine with it because they think it's brilliant and actually, I think it's given them more energy. It makes me think that perhaps whatever is wrong in their system this medication correct it. They are much better and much more energetic. I'm really not feeling as well as I normally do, I feel fine even though I'm overweight I don't have any of the associated problems with it and all my bloods are very good

I was really more concerned about avoiding things like joint pain in the future as well as being very self-conscious because I'm short and I just feel I look ridiculous in most clothes

originally I actually planned to use it as a three month kickstart. I really didn't want to be on it for long. It's not really about the cost it's more the fact of being on a medication

But I did start a thread about the risk of it being lifelong, so I suppose I did know when I started can I decided to do it anyway

Anyway, side effects
Exhaustion fatigue, the best case seems to be having it from days one to 3 worst case is it goes on till day seven really? Really having to drag myself through the day when previously I was very energetic. It's not the reduced calories because I've definitely tried that on diets I did get hungry, but I did not feel this really overwhelming exhaustion

Nausea and reflux - having to take Pepto-Bismol every day, that can't be good

Headaches, I never used to get headaches - some weeks I've just had a headache all the time (wearing off on day six) I realise there's no point taking anything for it. It's definitely caused by this.

I did 2.5 for the first four, then the last two I've had 3.75 because I did not feel at all right about doubling the dose under the circumstances

My original plan was to go up to 5 on Boxing Day because we have nothing major between Christmas and New Year it was just quiet family time but we will now be going down to London on the 28th or 29th so I'm not sure about that now.

supposed to be working on a big project in the New Year and I will have to be on site and I don't always have easy access to a bathroom so I have to be really careful which is why I chose Friday to take it I'll try to work from home on a Friday but it doesn't always happen

It's interesting about splitting up the dose throughout the week, but at the moment I get a sense of relief when the headache wears off so I'm not sure about that

I'm keeping a track of everything though and actually yesterday I didn't have a headache and I don't have one today so I must be getting used to it? I hope so!

by the way, I don't really have food noise I suppose I ate cake on a Sunday because we just always did - though it was a weekly treat and not a norm

I wasn't overweight as a child I was actually too skinny

no interest in junk food, no interest in alcohol

it is always much more about reducing the amount of food I eat and I I thought this would help me do 5:2 type fasting - that is working and I reckon that's why I've lost the 6lb but mostly because I'm so off my food in the first few days and not in a healthy way - when you feel nauseous.

Well of course it’s entirely a personal matter whom you choose to tell, good on you. I heard my DP having a conversation about these drugs when they first came out and he was very much “why would people want to do that”…so guess what, I’ve never told even him, never mind anyone else. As far as I’m concerned, it’s medicine. It would be if I were using it to manage sugar levels, and I genuinely see no difference between that and managing my food levels.

Speaking of medicine, I don’t think you need to worry if painkillers would help the headaches, especially as they’re likely to disappear as you go up the doses. I think anything which manages the symptoms until you’re through them is the friendliest thing you can do for your body. 5:2 fasting…out of interest, what do you eat on the fasting days and do you get any hungrier on those days than the other five? It fascinates me how many different ways there are of working alongside these drugs!

My post was a bit of a muddle, sorry

Painkillers aren't helping the headaches so I don't take anything now and of course painkillers will upset your stomach as well and it's upset enough

Actually, I should call it just one very long headache cause it feels like a continual headache from about three hours after injecting until .... earliest it has gone is day four I think... but definitely an improvement this week. I injected on Friday and I did not have a headache by Monday so I guess that's a start

Food - the 52 thing was just an observation that I could try that because my calories are pretty low on the first two days - around 800

I am documenting all of this, but it is so boring.. I'm not interested in logging it, but I feel like I have to do it otherwise I'm not really gonna be sure what's going on. Some people really seem to enjoy it and make a project out of it that's not me at all.

I'm mostly eating protein and veg and eating less carbs than I was but still some carbs so I had a little bit of rice with dinner

You mentioned that headaches are likely to disappear as I go up the doses. Is that correct? I thought going up the doses was the riskiest time for side effects and problems?

Adding all the side-effects together, I also say I'm feeling very low but really if you were ill with a bug and you felt like this, you would also feel really low.

The first week wasn't too bad, but otherwise I feel like I've spent five weeks not feeling like myself at all

People know I'm dieting and one person said to me that 6lb is really good and think of it in terms of packs of lard - that is a really helpful analogy and I looked up the images and yeah that really helps

She was also saying to me "do you feel better?" And I lied and I said "no I feel exactly the same". I didn't feel unwell in the first place, though. She lost weight that old-fashioned way years ago, and has done amazingly well to keep it off so she's inspiring but yeah, does anyone feel different after losing such a small amount? Maybe if they've only got a tiny amount to lose initially.

But the truth is, I don't feel all great. And before I started on this, I was energetic and stuff. Just normal. No health issues apart from being overweight.

@RoundandSad Made me laugh saying recording this stuff is boring, but you’re right, over time it’s really useful to have it. I can really understand your dilemma, especially if you felt fine and were perfectly happy before you started. Do you think Wegovy might suit you better? It’s a less complicated “recipe” so it might cause fewer side effects…there must be threads on it somewhere on Mumsnet, I would have thought.

Packs of lard is a good one, in my head it’s butter but I do the same!

@Ifyounevergiveup yes it is really boring. I haven't actually done it today because I forgot.

I have tried saxenda in the past, which has the same active ingredient as Wegovy I think

I was very unwell on it

I posted last year thinking about trying these weight loss jobs and explaining my previous experience really put me off

I heard about a few people who had the same problem, but were okay on MJ so in the end I thought I haven't made any progress on my own so I'll try the MJ

As I seem to have been alright in terms of side-effects three days in a row, I think I might be making progress! Fingers crossed

Debating now whether to stick with 3.75 on Friday or try five but My Friday and Saturday packing up with things to do so perhaps stay on the safe side till January