Scared of feeling faint

[Helpmechooseausername]

Hi, I'm seriously considering starting Mounjaro, but I'm really scared of feeling faint from having not eaten well! I know that sounds daft.

I'm currently 85kg (down from a max of 119kg a few years ago). If I don't eat much I often get to a point, beyond hunger, of feeling faint or sick, which is always resolved by eating something. My blood sugars aren't very low when I feel faint, so I've always assumed that it's my 'fat' brain telling my body it feels shit so that I eat something!

Anyone else have this? Did it go away on Mounjaro, or will I have to learn to manage it?

Thanks x

I’m on Wegovy and get a metallic taste that usually goes away if/when I eat.
I’m fairly lucky I still get to record on a diabetic finger prick recording system for now.

I’m also getting ever such strange cravings - past weeks was caramelised mini weetabix (ordinarily I hate that caramelised biscuit fashion) and then the next was a prawn sandwich. Not my usual food choice. 🙈

Mounjaro doesn’t stop you from eating well. It takes away the food ‘noise’ and keeps you feeling fuller for longer. For me it’s about having the headspace to make healthier choices. There may be some days when you don’t feel like eating much but you still need to eat to fuel your body. You’re in control not the medication.

I've had this for a long time, I feel dizzy, hands start shaking, get mood swings and irritability and feel ravenous if I don't eat regularly. For me it's insulin resistance which mounjaro has helped to resolve by stabilising blood sugars. It could also be low blood pressure for you. I had high BP and unstable sugars so often go low and high and had increased hunger over time. It will make a big difference.

So make sure you eat. Not eating is not necessary or desirable and just sets up a bad relationship with ones own body.

It is a sad fact of SM that people become competitive about how little they claim they eat on MJ but it is a side effect that doesn't last very long and is not necessary or desirable for decent sustained weight loss. MJ principally works by increasing satiety, which allows people to not overeat. This is quite different from appetite suppression which is actually a drug side effect and wears off after a few weeks.

No drug suppression doesn't wear off after a couple of weeks, I'm on 10mg and it's gotten stronger the higher up I go. On 10mg it lasts all week and has done for 9 weeks so far. Some get it on 2.5mg for many months.

If you get hungry at mealtimes and can eat a normal, calorie counted meal and find it is filling without the urge to overeat or eat more than that, then you are not experiencing appetite suppression. You are experiencing how the drug is designed to work.

If you have to really force yourself to eat, or if you do not want to eat because feeling cold, shivery, tired and nauseous, then you are experiencing appetite suppression which will fortunately wear off as time goes on. Some people find they have to drop a dose for a while, and then when acclimatised, find they can increase the dose again without this side effect.

That is the difference.

I think I know the difference as I've been on it 6.5 months now, thanks for the lecture!! Teaching grandma to suck eggs comes to mind..not to mention a registered health professional who has qualifications in anatomy and physiology 🤣🤣

I suffered from this as well, really all my life, would either get a faint / confused feeling or migraine. I’ve been on mounjaro for over 6 months now, this was one of the things I was worried about but I don’t feel it’s been worse at all even when I’ve had days of strong suppression and not eaten a lot, infact I would say it’s maybe been better as it’s not taken as much food to get me back to feeling full, whereas before I’d go on a bit of a binge. Mounjaro has helped me to eat more sensibly, little and often making good choices.

I agree, it stabilises the blood sugars with the extra insulin and keeps stomach full so often the opposite and dont want to and can't eat, I usually manage 850-1100 cals a day and towards the end of the week 1200 and i work everyday so the low cal intake makes me cold and tired all the time. I'm on 10mg and suppression is very strong, so often manage a few mouthfuls, but I prefer that to the opposite feeling ravenous which I had on the lower doses when they wore off due to unstable blood sugars. The worry for me is when I stop it and eventually go off it, that the insulin resistance continues, hoping with my weight loss it reverses or I may have to stay on a low dose.

Thanks for the replies, it's reassuring! I guess I haven't got round my head round how something like this could give me such control over what I eat, having struggled with that control (or lack of it!!) for my entire life.
Thanks!

I use Mounjaro to help me ‘eat well’ - don’t ignore the fact that you need 3 proper meals a day, make healthy choices within your calorie deficit and you will be fine.