Mounjaro DECEMBER Starters Thread 2

[OnTheMJ]

Welcome all December 2024 starters, and November and January starters too😊. As we're almost at the end of the first thread, I thought to start a new one before it finishes.

Thread 1 here:
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/weight-loss-injections/5220172-mounjaro-december-starters-support-thread-1?utm_campaign=thread&utm_medium=share

@Goinghome20 I'm nervous a bit, as it feels easier to lose than maintain. There is a happiness standing on the scales and seeing it has moved in the right direction.

But a long time ago I lost weight with slimming worlds and kept it off for a number of years, until menopause and thyroid issues hit. Their method of gradually introducing 200cals of healthy food and monitoring the effects seems sensible as a start. They also have a +/- 3lb principle so that you don't fret too much about staying exactly at the same weight and that seems sensible too.

I've had to change my Levothyroxine dose now as the weight loss meant I was over medicated, which made me feel a bit jittery but also may have contributed to faster weight loss. It made my heart rate a bit fast.

I feel better after the dose change and am really enjoying fitting back into the clothes I had from when I was thinner. I'm feeling pretty happy in my skin, I even wore a bikini on holiday 😱

Enjoy it and wear that bikini with pride!

Has your thyroid function improved on MJ?. It seems to help to balance my endocrine system. My hormones are so stable now.

Thanks for sharing the slimming world tips. Sounds really sensible to have a healthy weight range rather than a number to stick to. Also the small increase in calories if you want to maintain rather than lose any more.

I still have a couple of stone to go but feel so much better 2 st lighter and like you am enjoying fitting into clothes again.

Its also so much easier to be active when youre no longer obese.

Sending you best wishes for the next few weeks. Let us know how it goes.

I'll mention it when we review the blood test results.
It has confirmed for me that I should be staying on the lowest effective dose for as long as possible and only move up very gradually.

@HesDeadBenYouCanStopNow congratulations on reaching (exceeding!) your target!

Thanks @Goinghome20 yes I noticed really quickly my thyroid function seemed to change, went from being chilly all the time to boiling. I changed my dose a couple of weeks ago following a blood test, and now I need to wait 4-6 more weeks and retest. I may need to adjust further.

I also noted my sugar levels seem much more balanced, no huge peaks and troughs after eating carbs. No headaches after eating anything with sugar in (in fact almost no headaches at all)

It definitely feels like it's worked magic on my whole system so far 😊

Thanks @JunoRoma I never expected it to come so quickly so I'm chuffed but surprise 😊 I hope your journey is going well too 😊

@OrangeDonald - 1 lb a week is still a great, consistent loss. I hope you find 3.75 better.
@JunoRoma - thank you. That's rather low BP, I hope you're not feeling too dizzy and lightheaded from it.
@LC4life - sorry to hear you've had a tough time. 3.4 is awesome! I'm a long term 7.5er/green too.
@Goinghome20 STS is better than a gain and you might find a whoosh next week happens! 7.5 has been spot on for me.
@HesDeadBenYouCanStopNow - you've done incredible!! I'm very interested in how your maintenance journey goes too.

At last down under the 86kg barrier this morning to 85.7. That means it has taken me 19 days to lose 2kg instead of 14 days.

But I’m 18kg down now and I quite suddenly feel like that’s a lot and my body is tired. My BP is now quite low (though not as low as Juno’s!) and I’m woozy standing up quickly. Taking extra iron. I think my blood sugar is sometimes rather low now too.

So at the moment I’m thinking it’s ok for the rest to come off more slowly. My BMI is 29 now so I’m out of the major health risk zone. I want to lose another 7kg, possibly 12 (to 24ish BMI). But for the moment I don’t think I’ll go up a dose and hurry it.

I’ve had 3 weeks now on 10mg and it’s been my lowest loss to date - 2lbs in 3 weeks 😕 I know I’ve been eating too much sugar - I’ve had more sugar craving this last week than I’ve had since I started. I ordered another 10mg pen but thinking maybe I should’ve gone up to 15mg. However, my biggest loss was at 5mg! I really fail to understand this. Maybe I need to get back into a better mental approach- as in focussing on my calorie intake, approach it like a weight loss programme thru diet, and treat the WLI as just something giving a bit of help. I know that’s how it should be anyway, but other months have been easier.

I just read this online: “Eating sugary foods can make it more difficult to manage blood sugars and increase insulin resistance thereby lowering the effectiveness of the medication.”

Assuming this is reliable info, maybe by eating more sugar recently I’ve done more harm than just the extra calories - I’ve made the medication less effective. Have other people come across similar information?

It’s interesting - I’ve had a much more stressful time in the last few weeks and have slept terribly - have felt exhausted. That’s when the sugar cravings start, even while on mounjaro! I think as well as cutting out sugar I need to focus on sleep etc.

Its proven the eating sugar makes you crave more.

Before MJ , if I wanted to lose weight I would go cold turkey on it and always lost a few lbs that way.

Its hard to maintain as there is SO much added sugar in food but cutting back might do the trick if youre stalling

I think you’re right about sleep too. Nothing makes me want sugar like tiredness. And the daily info reading exercises my provider gets me to do are big on sleep being important for appetite regulation.

Hope your next few weeks are much less stressful for you, sorry to hear has been tough.

@Goinghome20I've always had a bit of a problem with sugar. At the moment I’m using phfizz electrolytes and protein powder every day which both also contain sugar, which doesn’t help either!

wow @shrinkingthiswinteryou get daily reading from your provider? That’s interesting - who is your provider?
Yes I need to improve my sleep hygiene. And banish the phone at bedtime!

I'm feeling a bit sorry for myself.

Having reduced from 5mg to 4.5mg after last week's episode of gastric distress, a similar episode started yesterday evening and went on throughout the night, so I haven't had much sleep.

To add insult to injury, the scales haven't moved for a week.

Anyone else on 10mg?

I've moved up every dose as I haven't really had any horrible side effects. Now on my second dose of 10mg. Still no side effects but the appetite suppression is very strong so will certainly stay on this dose for a while.

I'm not weighing myself very often or counting calories as just trying to go off how I feel and don't want to become obsessed. However, it's bloody amazing fitting into old clothes. The 12s are now too big, the 10s a bit tight and the 8s are a loooooong way off.

@JunoRoma that’s a bit brutal! Hope you feel better soon!

@claudia1994 on 5 here, which I think is ok for the moment, but will see how it goes.

@BigTightropeWalker yes, where I am, not UK, you have to get it prescribed by a doctor rather than a pharmacy, so I get it through a specialist weight loss service called Yazen. They have an app with a doctor and coach I can message, access to a dietitian and psychologist if I ask for them, recipes and work outs, chat boards… and daily reading and advice. It’s available in the UK too but there’s a monthly subscription and then the medicine on top. When I saw my GP recently he said he’s actually started prescribing mj, but I find the support through Yazen so good that I don’t mind paying for the support. And I don’t trust that the GP might not move or go on parental leave or something and leave me high and dry. A relative got mj through her GP with no advice at all, since GPs don’t necessarily know anything about how it works, and she ended up with massive constipation and no weight loss, because she hadn’t been told how to work with the drug 🙄. So that made me appreciate a specialist service even more. When I get to maintenance apparently there’s a lower monthly charge.

@shrinkingthiswinterthat sounds like an amazing service, I’m not surprised you’re sticking with it!

Week 16 stats! 30/03/25
SW 213 lbs
CW 193 lbs
TW 161 lbs
Total lost: 20 lbs!

After stagnating on 195 pounds for 3 weeks, I’m pleased there’s some movement in the weight downwards!! I’m on 7.5mg now and this will be my 3rd week on that dose. My sulphur burps have come back with a vengeance today 🤢. I have a new 7.5mg one so will stay on that for the foreseeable. Happy Sunday all x

W18 D1. Another 1.5lb off, so 34lb total. Still on 5mg but itching to go up to 7.5... not long to go!

Ah thats rubbish! Hope you feel better very soon

Week 17 weigh and jab day
SW 15 stone
CW 12 stone 11
TW 9 stone

just a pound off this week but seems to be the pattern a bit- a few 1 lb weeks then a 3-4 lb week! Still trusting the process and feeling pretty good. Got into a beloved old pair of jeans and have been wearing them non stop ever since! I can definitely see and feel it more now and vain creature that I am, I love it when people comment!

Extreme suppression all week, and today a third episode of abdominal cramps, unpleasant tasting burps and diarrhoea. Thankfully it started after I got home from work. This is day 6 after injecting 4.4mg, and I have been eating very carefully and sensibly (small portions, nothing fried or high fat, nothing high sugar, nothing spicy).

I can't face doing another injection tomorrow. I'm not working next week and don't have much on, so I'm going to leave it until the weekend (10 day gap) then try 3.75mg. If that doesn't help then I'm going to contact the prescriber for advice.

Oh that’s awful and so frustrating. I obviously can’t advise but if it were me I think I’d get the dose down to a tolerable level and live with that for a while. I’m not sure if it’s a myth but does it make a difference where you do the jab?

I got more symptoms when I jabbed my tummy and back of my arm. I use my thigh as a preference 😊 but there is a group discussing preferences