Flying away 3 weeks in

[snoopyduh]

Need some advice please. Can you order your next Mounjaro pen(s) before you have finished the first month? I would like to start but I would be flying abroad after 3 weeks for several months so would need to get the next month ones with me. Thank you.

Yes. Most people order their next pen before they've finished the first one. Some pharmacies also sell bundles of 3 pens eg 2.5, 5 and 7.5mg pens. So you can certainly get a supply for a few months in one go.

But... How many months worth of pens would you need to take with you if it's several months away? Sounds like it might be more than 3 pens?

Thank you for the information. I will be away for around 5 months. I met with a doctor when I was abroad (my native country) last time and that doctor recommended only 3 months on it to get rid of the worst visceral fat etc. so I am thinking I take it with me from the UK as it's out of stock in my parents' town. The only thing is if I then want to do longer I am not able to access it until I return home in the UK so would have two month break between.

@snoopyduh will you qualify for a uk prescription for Mounjaro as in BMI over 30, or over 27 with a weight related health condition, or over 27 and one of a list of specific ethnicities?

My BMI is 48 so definitely.

If you order them and take them with you, bear in mind that they have to be kept in a fridge. So you'll need to ensure they are kept cold when you travel

You also need to bear in mind that, until you start taking them, you don't know how you're going to react or move up through the doses. So you might want to stick with 5 for example rather than moving to 7.5. You can get round that by only taking 5mg out of a 7.5mg pen but it's a faff.

This is none of my business; but if your BMI is 48, why are you only wanting to take them for 3 months?

Your situation doesn’t really make sense.

You would only be on the medication for 3 weeks.

At that point you then want to acquire 5 months worth of medication and essentially move abroad during that time.

I can’t see how your plan is feasible because the medication needs to be kept under specific conditions eg at a specific temperature range before usage, so you risk deteriorating the medication during travel. How will you be able to ensure the temperature of the medication the entire time, as you cannot break the cold chain?

I think given you are out of the country for an extended period of time, you should try and find alternative medication in the other country instead of starting MJ in the uk. If anything goes wrong whilst you’re abroad, British pharmacies can’t really help you anyway.

If your bmi is 48 it seems pointless going on them for just three months. I agree with others that you should try to find something in the country you are going to.

The doctor I saw said to use it for 3 months as a booster for weight loss. Good point about it being kept in the fridge as I didn't know this. My plan won't work then that being the case. Thanks all for your information.

Yeah people have issues with MJ being shipped across the UK, let alone transported across countries. Usually when it’s posted in the UK, it is in a box with ice packs and wool to keep it at a consistent temperature. But if the delivery is late or the weather is warm, the ice packs will melt.

With all due respect, it doesn't sound like the Dr you spoke to actually understands how MJ works. Many people on these boards have said their GP doesn't know about WLI so that's not surprising.

Taking it for 3 months to 'kickstart" your weight loss makes no sense. You may not even reach your optimal dosage in that time - lots of people need to be at 10mg or more to get the full benefit, and the most you could reach in 3 months is 7.5 which (in the UK) is a titration dose only.

I suggest you do some research and then try to source a supplier in the country you're visiting.

Ordering and storing the pens is one issue. They do need to be kept refrigerated before use, so transporting with delays etc could be tricky.

But the main issue for me would be knowing what dosage you might need in advance. For example, I did 4 weeks of 2.5mg, then 4 weeks at 5mg then gradually worked up to 7.5mg by doing partial doses from a 7.5mg pen and then I've stuck with 7.5mg for the rest of the time, which is 22 weeks now. Some people stick on 5mg. Some people need to move up to 10mg, 12.5mg or 15mg which is the maximum dose. You won't know until you start how you react to the medication.

I also really don't understand the comment from the doctor about only using it for 3 months. My BMI was 50 when I started, I've been on Mounjaro for over 7 months now and my BMI is now 33. I've lost weight but I'm still obese and need to continue for several months yet. In total it's likely to be a year or more to get to a healthy weight. Taking it for just 3 months would have left me still morbidly obese.

Thanks for all the practical information. Yeah I never thought about this 3 month thing when I met that doctor last summer as I was concentrating on exercising and meal plan by my PT. I only started thinking about it this year so still gathering information. I doubt too much would happen in 3 months with so much weight to loose.