Mounjaro / Wegovy with > 5st / 30kg to lose: Thread 5

[VelociraptorsVelociRapping]

Thread FIVE of this lovely community. Anyone using weight-loss injections to lose more than 5 stone or 30kg is very welcome to join us, no matter what stage of the process you are on.

Please don’t post discount codes on this thread as your post will be deleted. These need to go in the dedicated thread on this board.

@InfoSecInTheCity what's your goal weight - are you nearly there? I can only dream of being 169lbs 😀

NSV happened just now in a Teams meeting - was having a 1:1 with someone I work closely with and she asked if I'd lost weight - she could only see my face and funnily enough I'd looked in the mirror this morning and thought that my face is starting to look different! Am really chuffed - which I know is ridiculous - but yay for the less fat face! 😁

@MooBaggage yay for NSVs!

Healthy BMI will be 164lbs, I'd like to be in the middle of the healthy range so probably another stone and a half.

Well done everybody. We are all doing so well! I wonder if there's a collective noun for us? If not there should be!

I have had a weekend of gin, chocolate and birthday cake so no surprise to be up half a kilo today but, luckily (and sneakily) I also weighed on Friday so I'm not too despondent and am back on it today. We are away for the weekend next one though and catering not in my control so I'm not expecting any plummets in weight soon.

I resolved when I retired last year that I was going to accept invitations, make the most of time with friends and family and never allow my weight to hold me back. I have now adjusted that resolution to never allow my weight loss to hold me back either so it may be slower than some others but I'm enjoying the journey

Hi. After some advice/reassurance…

On Saturday I did my second jab of 3.75mg after six weeks of 2.5mg. Last week I had an overnight of nausea/stomach pains coinciding with the peak of the drug in my system (according to Shotsy), but was bearable. This week the nausea/stomach pains seem to have started a day earlier (though coinciding with peak dose according to Shotsy) and show no signs of letting up.

I’m wondering whether to drop back down next week, or to ride it out? Food suppression was waning at 2.5mg (hence going up), but I had zero side effects apart from being freezing and (what in now recognise as v mild) nausea at times.

Any thoughts? Thanks!

I can only suggest you wait and see if the symptoms are the same/worse, or just at a different time this week. If you decide to reduce it, you could maybe go down to 40 clicks, from 45 = 3.75mg?

I've just gone through all the clothes that are "stored" under the bed and I have got rid of one whole underbed storage bag full. Now I just need to lug those down to the car for the next time I'm passing one of my favoured charity shops. Lots of "never liked it, only bought it because I couldn't fit into anything else" and "looks like a marquee" things. I know that if the mood strikes me again there'll be further ones in due course, but I'm not able to do those ones now. Frustratingly, even though I've lost over 3 stone, I'm still in a lot of the same clothes as before. I just have to tell myself a. they look a lot nicer now (very true) and b. if I do lose more, on the kitchen-roll principle, it will start to show faster. But I'm actively looking forward to getting my summer clothes out, especially a couple of tops and dresses which looked awful last year and didn't therefore get worn, but which are really lovely material and patterns which is why I bought them in the first place!

@Questions1234
I did 3.75mg last week (1st time after 4 weeks 2.5mg) , had no major effects except normal headache day 1. So this week (yesterday) I did 50 clicks which I work out as 4.2mg...
Headache again and complete exhaustion. I am useless and done nothing all day. I do have other reasons to be sad and tired but this dose knocked me. According to Shotsy tomorrow will be peak day for me.

I remember same effect that week 2 on 2.5mg and it wasn't as bad the next week so I think I may just keep it the same and stick it out. May be a good approach for you as body will adapt but it's very personal and depending on what else you have going on.

Hope you feel better soon

@SqueakyDinosaur "kitchen roll" analogy! I love that!

Yes 10kG loss and 7cms loss means same clothes still

Also notice my 2 chins are smaller but the lowest one still joins directly to my neck 🙄 however, despite constant fancy expensive creams and taking collagen I think I can spot STRETCH MARKS UNDER MY CHIN!!
Can this really happen!!! Anyone else??

@Questions1234 if the suppression was waning and your priority is maintaining a fairly high level of suppression then I think you need to ride it out.

I don't personally use tools like Shotsy because I know that for me there would be a psychosomatic element to knowing exactly when the drug peaked in my system and the corresponding stomach discomfort.

update… have just been very (very) sick. Actually feeling better for it, but terrified as to what tomorrow might bring as I need to be functional for the kids. I’ve found Mounjaro to be a life changer, but this is pretty hardcore, especially as I’ve been very cautious with the dosing.

Will aim for little food and often tomorrow and hope it does the trick!

If your GP bothers to read the letter (highly unlikely) I'm sure they'd be delighted that you are doing something positive to improve your health at no cost to the NHS.

Sorry to hear that @Questions1234 but glad you feel a bit better for it.

I can’t speak for anyone else but personally I have found that the best way to get through gastric side effects is to fast as much as possible. Eating little and often would have made things much worse in my case. I hope you feel better soon.

@Questions1234 Unfortunately we are all different in how we respond to these drugs. I've been fortunate that I've avoided most side effects other than vague nausea but, unlike @VelociraptorsVelociRapping mine was much worse if I fasted and I had to treat it almost like morning sickness by nibbling on little bits.
Not only have I had very few side effects, I have also had much less in terms of appetite suppression than many others, although I do have reduced cravings which are easier resisted, but I have still lost over 4 stone so don't feel you have to chase suppression.

It's a question of finding what works best for you

I had my week 7 jab yesterday and am having my worst side effect at the moment, which is insomnia for the first couple of nights of the week... I get a headache which wakes me up and then that's it - bye bye sleep🙄 By Thursday night it will have gone, but these first 2 - 3 nights after injecting seem to be always like this. I've started on Magnesium and did a couple of weeks on Melatonin, but without success!

Am OK with it though - small price to pay for freedom from the way I previously ate/drank.

I am planning to move up to 5mg today. 2.5 has been working well for a few days but then the second half of the week seems to completely wear off.

I am really struggling with worrying about my health and obesity at the moment. I have been struggling with a very productive chesty cough on and off since October. I had an x-ray which came back clear but then had a CT scan at the weekend. The Dr's phoned me yesterday to say that the results were in and that I needed to arrange a 'routine appointment'. The earliest available one was next Monday.

I am really regretting this now but I then looked up the results on the GP's online system. The positive thing is that there is no mention of anything cancerous, however it does indicate problems with my lungs and potentially my heart, in particular:

• possibility of pulmonary hypertension needs further investigation
• there is scarring
• something called band atelectasis (which seems to be partial collapse of part of lung)
• spinal degeneration

I think a lot of those things are potentially caused/exacerbated by obesity. I have been working with a personal trainer since September doing weight training and started on mounjaro 4 weeks ago. I am dwelling on really unhelpful thoughts about why I did not take action sooner. I know that I should focus on things moving in the right direction (I am getting stronger and I have lost a stone) and need to stay away from Googling

I'm sorry you're going through it at the moment @dimples76, health worries are hard.

I started on this journey because I was diagnosed with T2 diabetes last August, since then I've lost 50lb, 4 dress sizes, no idea how many inches, reversed the diabetes and I feel great.

Go see the doctor, listen to what they say, make good choices for your health and keep moving forwards, there's nothing you can do about the past.

@dimples76 I'm sorry you are going through this, it must be scary. The good thing is that you are already doing something about your weight which can only help. Hopefully when you speak to the Dr it will be something that sounds worse written down.

@dimples76 I'm sorry you're feeling like this - I can completely relate. I'm kicking myself as to why I didn't get my act together sooner - I'm 56 and wish wish wish I'd have tried weight loss injections sooner. In reality, I didn't know much about them and wasn't in the position to have been able to have afforded them. I suppose the frustration is that when we're taking WLI we can lose weight like 'normal' people and it's so frustrating that we weren't always like this - but not our fault. So try not to be hard on yourself - at least we've started!

My finally taking the plunge came after some recent health scares too - but now just focusing ahead and hoping it's not too late to reverse some of the damage!

I weighed today as it's order day tomorrow:

SW 20 stone 3lbs
CW 18 stone 13lbs
GW 13 stone 10lbs

Very pleasing to have got rid of the 19s at last, after stalling on 19 stone 2lbs for a couple of weeks!

I went to the GP with breathlessness and they found 'bibasal creps' and referred me and they said atelectasis, as well. They didn't do any more scans as the consultant just said it would show up lots of stuff and he was pretty sure it was related to lung compression as you say. I think things have improved on the MJ.

Just fyi I contacted the Family Chemist to ask about their maintenance routines - they said this: "You can stay on the 2.5mg or 5mg long-term if you have a weight-related comorbidity but we do allow everyone else to stay on these doses for a few months to help with appetite suppression or food noise."

So maintenance beyond a few months may not be available to everyone.

I am also a bit confused about what they said re transferring to them:

"You would need to have a BMI of at least 26 before we can prescribe to you. We do offer maintenance plans for you to follow when you have gone below a BMI of 25. As a new patient, you would need to start from the 2.5mg so there would be no need for you to taper down in doses, which is what we would ordinarily advise maintenance patients to do."

I am going to ask for clarification there, can't believe you would have to start again at 2.5mg if you had a BMI over 26 and were transferring from another provider.

Thank you all for the supportive messages. I don't know why I beat myself up so much. I would never judge a friend or stranger in the same way.

Moobags congrats on that loss and yes after 48, I guess I just wish that the jabs had been available when I was younger.

Had a session with the personal trainer thus morning which helped me refocus. On the gym scales I weighed exactly the same as weighed there on Friday. Well it has only been a few days and at least it was not a gain. Onwards and downwards!

This thread is so supportive. I am very glad that I found you.

To everyone who was kind enough to offer words of support about my sickness yesterday, I thought I’d update that I now feel totally fine. I started the day out cautiously with food, but looks like it’s now passed.

I think I’ll hold my nerve and do another 3.75mg next week, but interesting to see if the sickness comes back again.

Thanks to the lovely supportive thread!

I hope you’re ok. I’ve had similar & was so sick through Saturday night. It’s just the worst combo of stomach cramps & nausea. I’m on 2.5. Mine has been triggered by pasta I think. For first 6 weeks I’d not had much but on Sat I had Spag Bol & really paid for it.
I'm dreading tonight & what it holds.

Checking in after a few weeks, I've just done my fourth dose of 2.5mg and have 5mg ready for collection tomorrow (storing at work in the fridge). I've lost 5.9kg/13lb so far and have dropped from my start of 116.5kg to 110.6kg as of this morning. Almost a stone already. My current goal is to get below 105.8kg as that's the lowest recorded weight in my phone going back as far as 2019.

Ive taken my dose 12 hours early this week as I'm trying to slowly move my jab date/time backwards to Friday mornings to hopefully give me maximum help over weekends since they seem to be where I struggle most at the moment.

I'm thinking about going for the extra dose in the 2.5mg pen, I want to see if it's enough to make up a 3.75mg dose purely to try and make the step up a bit easier with less chance of side effects. Obviously I will study dosage etc before making the decision, I already have suitable syringes available.

All these posts on here are really helping me keep going and give me a lot of hope that I can do this too.

@Questions1234 what time do you take your dose? I found I had nausea and indigestion waking me up at about 3am after an evening (18.30) jab. I switched to 7.30am last week and all was OK again. I think it was because I was lying down as the level of medication was rising and taking effect on my stomach.

@dimples76 @MooBaggage I can sympathise with the feeling of wishing we had GLP1s sooner but I am a great believer in things coming along when they are meant to. I would love to have been thinner for more of my younger years but I wonder if I'd have been in the right place to use it as well as I can now.

I had a full on prat fall moment today. I'm a clumsy bugger but have actually managed to go a few years now without actually face planting the floor, just regularly hip or shoulder barging stationary objects (I'm visual impaired in my right eye so just walk into things a lot).

Today I got overly invested in a spreadsheet at work so hadn't gotten up for a while. Door knocked so I jumped up, made it 2 steps on a completely numb foot before it went out from under me and I thumped into the floor.

Skinned knee and a twisted ankle. I feel like a kid again 😂

I was on mute on a conference call at the time, and the door still needed opening so dragged myself up, limped to the door and cracked on but I'm feeling a bit sore this evening.