Very confused hopeful newbie - any advice re providers?

[purplepandas]

I feel like a hopeless newbie but I am struggling to see how to get started in terms of deciding which provider to go with. I have been looking on this forum and read about shemed (see the possible issues about not checking in and going to the £199) so less keen. Looked at monj but I cannot figure out what pen I would need so hard to decipher what prices would be. How do you know the pen amount please? Any advice re good providers (price and service). I know that I need to do this. Huge thanks.

Assuming it's Mounjaro you're considering. So, if that's the case, everyone starts on the lowest dosage pen which is the 2.5mg pen. That's what you should be looking for to check for prices.

All of the Monj list providers will be regulated and provide a similar service level. You can change providers if you aren't happy with their service, so don't worry about having to pick one and having to stick with them.

Thank you, that's a big help. It all feels hugely scary in many ways!

Can I please ask more questions? Sorry, i have a lot. Does everyone increase their dose? Does one dose last 4 weeks?

Thanks!

I have (I'm currently on 7.5mg having worked my way through 2.5 and 5 for 4 weeks each) but I am impatient! My mum started a bit after me and she's staying on 5 a bit longer because she's getting results she's happy with. You don't have to move up each time unless you choose to. You can also get 5 weeks out of a pen by using a 'golden dose' - they always put more in than exactly 4 doses and a lot of people get an extra dose out by extracting the 'spare' liquid with a syringe on day 30. I haven't yet, but I might try when I get to the end of my current pen.

A dose lasts for a week. Each pen, regardless of dose strength, contains 4 doses so it will last you for 4 weeks. It's a multi use pen.

The standard dose schedule that will be suggested by the pharmacy is to move up a dose after 4 weeks. But, it's only a suggested dosing schedule. If you find that the dose you're on is working for you and you're getting a lot of appetite suppression, then you don't have to move up to the next dose level if you don't want to. You can even move back down again if you find it's too much appetite suppression and/or lots of side effects. It's a very individual decision based on how you respond to the medication.

You do not have to increase your dose if it is working for you. Ive stayed on relatively lose doses for 4 months as the suppression has been good and its kept the side affects down too. My weight loss has been pretty great even thought ive never really gone above 5.5mg.

I knew someone would come along and spam their discount code onto this thread! People can't resist hawking them to possible new starters.

Thanks all, I am really very grateful for the info. It's a lot of money I know and I don't want to mess it up. Thanks again. I love MN for this, best to talk to those who are in the know.

Sorry to spam the thread with a discount code. Its there if Op would like to use. If not there is a whole thread with various codes.

I was just talking about my experience with MedExpress, op mentioned price so it was a suggestion to lower the cost for the first pen. I had someone pass the code onto me this way and i was very grateful as it got me started with a good discount when i was worried about money for the treatment. It also helped me save on future pens.

There's a dedicated thread for them so they don't clog up what should be a thread for advice and support, not an opportunity for people to get a discount for themselves, which is what supplying your personal code is for. If you just wanted the OP to get a discount you could just point her at the specific thread where she could use anyone's code.

Simple Pharmacy are a decent provider.

Just make sure you're buying from a registered pharmacy (the list on monj is fine), other than that the product is the same so it's down to price/preference. I started with Boots as I'd used them before, but they're terribly expensive so I switched to Oushk because I can pick the delivery day, and I like their maintenance approach.

One pen should last four weeks (one dose per week), and the idea is to move up through the strengths every month until you find the highest strength that suits you (or, if you're me, the lowest one that still works).

Check out all the prices on monj.co.uk. Good luck x

There are some providers like Juniper, Habitual, Chequp, Trim, etc who offer a subscription service which is more expensive but includes dietary advice, health coaching, exercise plan, etc

Most providers are online pharmacy/GP services where you place an order every month after answering a list of questions so they can check you are well, not suffering side-effects and losing weight, the prescriber approves it and they supply by post or courier. Some are more professional and strict than others.

Most have set prices, some offer discounts here and there, a few have set a culture of permanent codes which encourages people to spam others with their codes in the hope of getting more discount. One TikTok influencer posted a clip showing how many code comments she has to delete from her page - I think it was about 300 on one post! That suggests to me there are a lot of people out there desperate and competing to get discounts so, personally, I would not want to join that scrum.

Ashcroft Pharmacy are generally among the cheapest and have a good Trustpilot rating. Oushk are not bad for price and have excellent support and advice including a Facebook group. Cloud Pharmacy also seem to get a lot of positive comments so I would suggest looking at those three as a place to start. I have friends who use all of those and are happy with them.

Thank you @QueenOfHiraeth , that is beyond helpful. I will absolutely look at those. Thank you for such a helpful post.