Mounjaro to Wegovy

[HomeTutor]

So I hit the jackpot with every symptom known to man on Mounjaro.

Ice cold, sick, dizzy, faint, slow heart rate, constipated, suicidal/anxiety attacks through the night. HORRIFIC, but I lost 1.5st in 6 weeks. I remember crying, desperate for the last jab to leave my body. This was Februrary.

I'm also an alcoholic, and it was the first thing ever that stopped me drinking. I was having a glass or two of wine a week, which is unheard of for me. I'm now back to a bottle of wine every night, and 10lb back on.

I'm starting Wegovy as soon as my pen arrives. Please, please, someone tell me that it may work without the side effects. I'm absolutely terrified. Terrified of the side effects, terrified of the suicidal thoughts, but also terrified of my level of drinking.

Thoughts and experiences welcomed!

I would imagine a lot of your symptoms were actually related to the sudden drop in alcohol consumption rather than the MJ. Have you discussed this with the pharmacist prior to ordering wegovy? I would imagine you need alcohol withdrawal support before starting any form of drug again

It sounds like you had symptoms of alchohol withdrawal rather than side effects from mounjaro. Perhaps you need to focus on dealing with your dependency on alchohol before going on another weight loss injection?

Could you consider a very low dose of MJ for some weeks building up slowly to 2.5, so that your body can get used to it and perhaps most importantly to the alcohol withdrawal? It sounds like you respond very strongly to the drug for both good and ill. You could start on 1/4 or 1/3 dose?

A prescriber with experience and active interest in using the drug to manage alcoholism would be ideal, of course.

I also think you need to address the alcohol problem separately to the wanting to lose weight/get fitter.

The injections do seem to have some positive unexpected side effects such as minimising addictive behaviours but it's not a magical solution for dependency. It takes more than a drug to give up reliance on alcohol (speaking from personal experience). I wish you well.

Alcohol withdrawals are the only kind of withdrawals than can kill you, please be careful

Thanks team. I'm not medically dependent on alcohol. I have a bottle per night from 5-9pm. Which means my body still spends 16 odd hours per day alcohol free, which apparently means that I don't even need to taper and I'm not in danger of withdrawal hurting my body.

I take SSRI's, and am NHS diagnosed ADHD as I'm quite severe in my behaviours. I'm not 'alcoholic' in the same way as others; I use it to quieten my brain from dopamine mining. I've previously used smoking (40 a day), pepsi max (10 cans a day), stealing, shopping, etc etc. It's just my latest obsession. It's hard being me 😂

Which is why I struggle with my weight. I can't have an ice cream- I have to have a box of 3. I can't have a biscuit- I have to have a pack, then go out and buy more. Everything is done to the extreme. Why am I telling you all this? Urgh.

Anyway. I want wegovy to work so badly.

Have you considered your SSRI as the culprit for your ADHD being severe? It’s more common than you would think.

Yup. But was put on them 16 years ago for PPD and left. Now when I taper and try to come off them, I'm fine for 6 weeks then bam, suicidal. Like, ready to jump. Which is also a known thing.

And ritalin makes my heart do funny things so that doesn't help either

I was misdiagnosed as bipolar as I was making some weird decisions with money, sexual relationships etc etc. But back then, girls from steady families with no trauma didn't have ADHD. I was being analysed from about the age of 6. I fucking HATE the amount of people that are diagnosing themselves now. My life has been like fucking swimming in treacle since I can remember, and nothing fucking helps!

I mean I have been diagnosed with both autism and adhd in the past few years. I’m not sure why that’s something you feel threatened or bothered by. I also had a deeply traumatic time.

Who said I was threatened? I presume you didn't diagnose yourself, which is what I actually said 🙄

Ok threatened was the wrong word, but you are certainly bothered. I would say you need to focus on yourself and leave the ‘my misery is worse than others so they are less deserving of diagnosis’ behind. I did try to offer you help on this thread but it raises my hackles when people start dismissing others because they have had it ‘worse’ - you don’t know anyone’s situation, so focus on yourself own. I would imagine your own mental health will certainly benefit from letting go of hating what others do.

Oh and you are right, I didn’t diagnose myself, nobody can. All they can do is ‘suspect’ which is the situation most people find themselves in during the period between seeking help and reaching diagnosis.

Seriously a bottle of wine a night is not good for your body and especially with mounjaro, as it causes further dehydration which can be really dangerous and puts you at risk of severe side effects like kidney issues, pancreatitis etc. Can't you give your liver and body a break by having an alcohol free night a week, or several a week? You will soon see the weight drop too. That is 600-700 calories just in alcohol a day that you're drinking and no nutrition whatsoever. I'm not surprised with the side effects you listed, it's probably down to the alcohol (sugar and carbs) and dehydration. Mounjaro and other WLIs makes us more sensitive to alcohol because it slows down gastric emptying so it will absorb in blood even higher than usual. Constipation is due to dehydration and so are the rest of the symptoms- dizzy, slow heart rate, faint etc. I'd recommend drinking lots of water.