Why some people only need 2.5mg.and others need 15mg

[WaterInMajorca]

Just wondered if any knows, or has any thoughts on, why some people get great suppression on 2.5mg, while others don't get it til 15mg? Why some have side effects and others don't?

I've heard a few theories but not sure I agree.

I'm asking as someone who is on 10mg and has no side effects so far. 2.5mg was like a placebo or sugar sweet for me. I'm the same with other meds too - paracetamol may as well be a polo mint or tic tac. If I have a headache I need the powerful stuff!

Why are.some.bodies less responsive to.lower doses of mj, do you think?

• I also apologise if you took my post the wrong way. I disagree that I think I am superior... I have no control how I respond to the medication... I have explained to KindaFruta what my intended message was

When people respond to the medication the way we do it always helps me to remember that not everyone does and for many the battle is still very real when it comes to cravings. How we post about our experience matters.

It’s along the same lines as those who could have lost 6 stone in as many months when others have the battle of their life for every pound they lose and may have lost a couple of stone in the same time frame. Yes people are happy for the super losers but how they go about posting their progress also matters very much.

For me it’s as simple as that.

@PurpleCoo my downfall I think is wine ( half a bottle twice a week , sometimes 3 ) in all fairness I lost just over a couple of stone 2 years ago by rigorous calorie counting in 8 months - and I’ve actually gained slightly on last 18 months but not that much ( around a stone). - thing was though I stopped when I had 3 to 4 stone to go - I think I had just run out of pep and stopped weighing . I have very good willpower though and don’t really get good noise , not do I binge - which is why I am going to do 2 lots of 2.5 and then switch to berberin herbal appetite suppressants- these worked well for me last time without the fannying around with injections and no feelings of nausea or indigestion which mounjaro gives me- even at low dose. If it doesn’t work then I will restart mounjaro - at the moment I’m about half a stone down in 3 and a half weeks - but have eaten well at around 1250 cals a day plus 2 regular glasses only on a Friday and Saturday

@PurpleCoo A misunderstanding - I didn’t think it was your post that was confrontational! As I said, I thought you were trying to be sympathetic to the poster who was having some struggles with WLI.. It was @wee pixie who I thought was being unpleasantly confrontational to you. Apologies for any confusion in the way I wrote it. 🙂

I’m interested in this too! I’ve been what you might call a super responder as I lost my entire 5 stone on less than 5mg dose (I made it to 5 but it was too much so the highest I settled on was 3.75 in the end). It did seem to be really strong for me. DH has lost 6 stone just on 5mg. What’s interesting is that now he’s approaching a normal BMI he’s started to get the odd side effect, some digestive stuff in the day or two after the jab, that he never did before, and I wonder if it’s because the same amount of medication is now going into a body that weighs a lot less 🤔

I'm a biology geek and love this question and the surrounding discussions!

I'm climbing up the doses and this is the first time I'm due to stay on a pen longer than 4 weeks at 10mg. No side effects at all.

A few theories come to mind:

• Being able to metabolise the drug quicker or with ease, hence the no side effects/limited side effects to have the same impact.
• Different numbers of receptors in the body responding to the medication. If you have a higher number of receptors, then more work for the drug to do to create the same impact compared to someone who has less, therefore needing higher doses.
• Starting morbidly obese, therefore lower amounts of leptin and the other hormones naturally in the body so needing a higher dose (DEBUNKED from those who have lost +100lbs on 2.5mg)

Things that impact why we are all different:

• Personal factors - height/weight/sex/age
• Psychological factors - for some, it's a pricey solution, therefore people are more likely to want to make it work faster and on lower doses
• Psychological factors - the relationship with food and how long that has been effecting the individual.
• Historical factors - previous diet habits vs new diet habits
• External factors - stress, sleep, lifestyle, job

It's all very fascinating for me!

You sound very much like me :) except the alcohol bit!! I absolutely can NOT tolerate alcohol and haven't since I was about 32 (I'm late 40s now)! I can have one small 125ml glass of wine usually with no ill effects, but even then, and definitely with more, I suffer migraine or hangover!! (doesn't stop me drinking a nice glass of wine on a Saturday night though!)

Don't give up! 💪

Would love to know this

didn’t really hit me till 10. Then 2mths of that and up again. At top now 15. Been on that think x3 pens now

had odd day of strong suppression and odd queasy day

But generally no effects - tired at times but not sick

friends on 2.5. Go to 5 and feel awful so so around 3.75/4 tops

we are all different and if only they knew why

very weird

Interesting indeed! Great to get your perspective! The bit about metabolising the drug faster is interesting and I'd not heard that before but it makes sense

I am quite ignorant when it comes to biology so can you explain to me (like I'm 5!!!) - to metabolise the drug quicker or slower - what does that involve? Is it related to actual 'metabolism'? So eg. I have the metabolic age of a 25 year old (apparently! ... one of my only claims to fame in life!) and I'm late 40s. So I'm guessing I have 'good' or at least 'young' metabolism. Does this mean I'd metabolise the drug faster ? (Or is this something completely different!!?) and that could be why I need more of it(?)

(Sorry if I've got the biology all wrong there!)

Exactly. I'd love to know why!

I had really hoped I would only need to got to 2.5 or 5 max! So disappointed I'm having to keep going up!!!

Indeed. More costly

but worth it

Love the questions!

Without going into confusing details, your body releases hormones and enzymes to break down things we put into our body (food, alcohol, medication etc) . Sometimes the release is fast. Sometimes it's slow.

Sometimes the body overshoots this and releases too much, or releases too little.

Releasing too little (or too late) is a good example of what happens with diabetes - due to years of sugary food, the tolerance level of the body increase, so it takes more sugar in the blood to release insulin needed to break it down.

Exactly like those who are heavyweight vs lightweight drinkers. And as you drink more often, the tolerance level increases. So this tolerance is fluid and not set in stone.

But here's the catch - each hormone or enzyme released is seperate from each other. So just because you metabolise food fast, doesn't mean you metabolise alcohol or medication fast. Each thing you put in your body is broken down by different things, so you know those people who can drink spirits all night, but wine gives them headaches - even within alcohol, there are different tolerances and how your body responds.

I do believe metabolism of the drug plays a big part in which dosage works for you (and why some go to 15mg and still don't respond).

Thank you v much! So interesting!! 🧐📖

I think you might be right about metabolism of the drug. I'd love to see and read some research on this area.

I’m on 2.5mg and don’t have huge suppression, so you could say I ‘need’ a higher dose and I’m sure I’m one of the small outliers as I don’t want my appetite to be fully suppressed.

I find this really interesting too, and wish there was more information on it.

I seem to be a super-responder, did a 2.5 shot last year and was in a terrible way. Tried again this year and have done 15 clicks x2, 30 clicks x2 and then 45 clicks x2 of a 2.5 pen. Hardly any side effects this time other than feeling cold (especially tip of my nose and inner eyelids 🧐)

My body is sensitive in general to medications , can’t tolerate any birth control pills, patches, coil etc. Even multi vitamins make me vomit.

Its so fascinating how our bodies respond to things differently.

I’ve take my first 15mg. I feel like I’ve had a placebo all the way through. I’ve only had occasional constipation, heartburn, and been sick twice.

So have you lost weight in the last 5mths

I started in May 2024 and I’ve lost 65lbs. For the last month I’ve just gone up and down the same 2lbs. I’ve never, ever lost weight before - it’s the first thing that’s worked - and I think I’ve got about another 1.5stone to go. I’ve just started at the gym.

Great it worked tho why the first 15 if felt was a placebo and not working. They say to go up each month till find a dose that works /feel sone kind of suppression

but 4s in almost a year is good

I found each month on a new amount was good
But when I stayed on 2/5/7/10/12 for the second month it never seems to work as well.
I'm on my second pen of 12 and really struggling,food noise is strong the urge to binge is still there
Next month I go up to 15 and there's nowhere else to go after that .

I posted to soon
And I've had no side effects except tired and cold sometimes
I've ,ist nearly 6 stone in about 7 months
But .....
I'm hungry all the time ,my stomach rumbles constantly.
I'm forcing myself to eat around 800 to 1200 calories a day ,and on 1200 calories a day I don't loose weight..
When young the weight would drop of me
Now I'm home nearly 24/7 no exercise
Monjroro helps by silencing the food noise ,but the hunger is all night and a lot of the day .
I'm only half way through my journey on monjroro as well .
I know from past attempts to loose weight...on more than 800 / 1000 a day I don't loose weight regardless of monjroro or not

I meant the whole time I’ve been on Mounjaro I’ve hardly felt anything. It’s obviously working but I’ve been lucky to have absolutely minimal side effects.