Mounjaro “golden dose”

[mamaxbear]

I’m just wondering how you have all managed to get your 5th dose from the pen? I’ve just ordered some insulin needles - 8mm 1ml 30G. I’ve seen others using 32G, will a 30G be fine to use for the golden dose?

The higher the gauge the finer the needle. 32G is finer than 30G.

Both work. 32G might be slightly more comfortable.

If you have ordered 30G off a medical supplier, I would give them a try, the difference is probably not much.

Thank you, I’m going to give it a go. Ordered from a UK supplier, I saw this was best over Amazon.

I used a syringe for the first time on Wednesday, and it was 30G. Was absolutely fine, didn't feel it just like when using the pen.

What's a 'golden dose'?

@BlunderMifflin its what people call the fifth dose in a pen. There’s enough left at the end of your pen for a fifth dose, I think it’s in there as extra for priming. It’s controversial and not everybody agrees with it.

Ok I must be missing something! Why the need for a fifth dose? Don't you start on the next dose up on week 5?
I've just started on Mounjaro yesterday and I'd never heard about this, so I'm just curious.

The medication is expensive. Each pen officially contains 4 doses but in reality it contains 5. Therefore if you're happy to use the 5th dose you can make each pen last longer which is obviously good given the cost.

@Glorybox2025 oh I see! Thanks for explaining

@BlunderMifflin there's no "need" but some people choose to use the remaining medication, usually for cost reasons. If you plan to move up to 5mg after 4 weeks on 2.5mg then you wouldn't choose to use it. But, if like me you have been on a higher dose for many weeks (7.5mg in my case) then you would choose to use it, as it's the same dose as you are continuing to take.

Have you tried just turning the pen really hard and injecting the bonus dose as normal? That's what I did and it worked fine. In fact, I think there was slightly more in there than the normal amount per dose and I got much stronger suppression

@Shmee1988 the hard twist approach worked for me on previous pens, but the recent two have both just broken internally and become unusable. The pen twists, but the plunger doesn't move.

@Shmee1988 I’ve done my fourth dose tonight so I will try the twisting method next week when it’s jab day. I intend to try that first, but bought some insulin needles just incase the pen breaks.

@BlunderMifflin I’ve chosen to stay on 2.5mg for now, I’ve had very high suppression and lost a stone so far so feel it’s best to stay on it until I feel I need to go up to 5mg.

They seem to have stopped producing pens that can be hacked that way

@Glorybox2025 I thought so, that’s why I bought some needles incase this method didn’t work :)

Just a little tip, which I found from reading a thread on here earlier this week.

The liquid is in a vacuum seal in the pen, so if you just stick the syringe in and pull it back, it can be really difficult and there are various reports of the pen 'sucking it back in'.

I pulled the syringe back before inserting it (pull it back enough to cover the dose you want to get out), then pushed that air into the pen. When drawing the syringe back, it practically did it by itself, and made the liquid very easy to extract.

Whole thing was a doddle to do, and I actually preferred using the syringe as it was so much easier to push in. I find the plunger on the pen quite hard to push (weak thumbs, clearly!).

@BlunderMifflin this is how your pen looks after each dose. There is some left at the end, usually a full dose. Officially it should be binned but if you buy syringes you can use within 30 days - 5 doses on days 0,7,14 ,21,28.

Hopefully picture will appear eventually

@macandcheeseforthewine thank you for that! I've been using syringes for the bonus dose but I have struggled at times and this makes total sense! I'll definitely give that a try next time.

Needles and syringe separately as you need a drawing up needle and then change to a fresh one for injection.

No, I don't bother.

No, you don't. You draw the medication from the pen into an insulin syringe and inject a measured amount (0.6ml) directly from there, exactly as a diabetic would with their insulin.

Please do not consider trying to break the pen as recommended by idiots on TikTok as, even if you manage to inject that way, the dose is not accurately measured.

Using the fifth dose is controversial, not because it might be "off" but, because the manufacturer only tested the pens for 4 doses (i.e perforating the seal four times in 4 weeks) so don't recommend it as they don't have any safety data. That means that prescribers don't recommend it as they generally have to prescribe in accordance with the licensed information so, if you do administer it, it is at your own risk (although, in my view, any extra risk is minimal).

Here you go just incase you don't fancy using insulin needles.

www.reddit.com/r/MenOnThePen/s/PxKanHwiV0

Thanks all who answered my question! I had no idea. I'll stop hijacking the thread now

😂 think I'll stick with syringes!