Mounjaro - short term use

[navybean]

I know it’s been done to death but I’ve only just given it some thought for myself now. I don’t know much about it apart from all the risks that people talk about.

WeightCan it be used as a kick start? Could I use it for a couple of months only?

I know you may say the weight will pile back on but that’s a separate thing.

If you're eligible then yes sure you can start and then stop at any time, nobody will insist you continue longer than you want to.

Yes as a PP has said, if you qualify for it then of course you could start and then stop. In terms of a “kick start” bear in mind that not everyone responds to the initial 2.5mg dose, and some people don’t get much weight loss until they’ve moved up to the higher doses which would take longer than 8 weeks.

What's the point? Not being sarky, but why? If it doesn't work I understand not continuing but to plan to stop using something that works seems strange. Is it financial?

You'll barely get to the therapeutic dose in a couple of months.

I’ve just started and only have around 1.5st to lose. Hoping I’ll only be on Mounjaro 3-4 months or so.
I’m not sure how the maintenance will go but I was always healthy bmi until I had my 2nd child. Just need the help to lose the weight I gained and hopefully then I’ll go back to how I was

I’m in a similar situation to @IndieRocknRoll. Can I ask where you got it from please?

@ScrewedByFundingi shouldn’t phrased that better - I meant just generally for a short time because in relative terms I don’t have a lot to lose. Even 1 stone would be good enough for me

Are you obese?

Would you even fit the criteria for a prescription?

I’m interested in this too

It's really not designed for this.

I would also like to try weigh loss injections. I have 1-1.5 st to lose but I don’t qualify. I am active, healthy, eat well with discipline but at a maintenance level and not at a weight loss level. I could just do with something that helps me to turn off the food noise short term. It would benefit my health for sure, reverse the perimenopause belly and just give me a nudge back to where I have been all my life until I had a second DC in my early 40s and suddenly all the things I’d normally do to shift a few pounds have stopped working.

I have struggled with ‘food noise’ my whole life and I’ve had to learn to be very disciplined. I can’t imagine feeling free of that….and I know, I know, risks, not obese etc but it doesn’t stop me from thinking it would be a marvelous solution for say 8 weeks to reset my weight.

Why people would want to use this drug if they have such a small amount to lose I dont know. It is not a miracle without side effects.

Really? You can’t understand why someone who has struggled with their weight their whole life and despite feeling that they are constantly deprived remains overweight would want to use a drug which suddenly takes away the deprivation and hardship associated with weight loss?

Up until a year ago I managed to keep myself somewhere BMI 25 and 27 with a strict regime of yo-yo dieting. Then some horrible life circumstances and peri menopause struck and I gained more weight and suddenly I’m allowed this amazing drug which makes dieting easy. I’ve had no side effects and I can’t stand the thought of ever having to go back to those pre weight loss injection days. Try to have a little empathy - it’s not just people who are obese who struggle with food noise.

I used it 4.5 months and lost 3 stone. Never went higher than 5mg. The last month I dropped back to 2.5mg. Didn't need to lose any more really so I went cold turkey after that. Didn't want to be paying for it longer than I needed to!

I just think the possible side effects far outweigh a need to lose 1-1.5stone. This amazing drug that makes dieting easy is not without it's risks. It was never meant for people that struggle with a couple of stone to lose.

I have been many different weights in my life, and I certainly do empathise.

At the end of the day being overweight by 1-1.5 stone is not as detrimental to someone as being drastically obese. And this is why there are guidelines to weigh up risks versus benefits.

Would you even be prescribed it if you only have a very small amount to lose?

Sadly it would seem so.

As long as you are eligible & are truthful about your height/weight & therefore BMI - go for it!!
It may sound like a small amount to lose but you wouldn't regard it as small if it was a gain!
I had lost nearly 4 stone & been on SW maintenance for 5 years (still not quite within healthy bmi though) then made redundant followed by covid meant i lost focus & gained 2.5 stone.
I lost a stone with SW again then struggled for 18 months to get any further due to natural then surgical menopause at 48 yrs old. It was affecting my mental health as i could not get past the need to be extremely strict on portion sizing & carb limits which was not needed before menopause.
Mounjaro has been amazing, properly life saving for me. I am now 5 lb off my healthy bmi in 3 months of starting & fortunate enough to not have to go above 5mg dose. I happier with my size than I have been since my twenties!
I believe I can maintain with SW so should be good but not looking forward to the food noise coming back!

So, how do you stop the weight piling back on?? That’s what I keep reading -as soon as you stop taking it , you are back to square one. I feel like if I could get rid of my 1.5 st that is due to meno then I could maintain my normal/healthy/happy weight.

At @ohyesohyesoh I posted on the maintenance thread about this recently so I will get it and copy and paste - sorry for being lazy!

@ohyesohyesoh from the other thread..

I've been cold turkey now - over 18 weeks since I stopped taking Mounjaro. Stats:

Starting Weight (August 2024) 11st 7.8lb
Finish Weight (December 2024) 8st 11.6lb
Current Weight (April 2024) 8st 6.8lb

So I've actually lost weight since stopping. I am not counting calories but I am being mindful of moving more, and being conscious of what I eat. I do get hungry of course but I've not had this raging insatiable hunger that everyone said would happen. I'm finding the weight loss that I've achieved has given me great willpower to want to not regain. I weigh myself daily so I don't take my eye off the ball and that helps massively. If I see the scales move up, I'll have a few days of being extra healthy and it goes back down again before it becomes a bigger problem.

More importantly I've not gone back to my pre-Mounjaro eating habits which quite frankly were shocking and I'm surprised I wasn't bigger. There are things I choose not to eat now - like pasta, just makes me feel crap so not worth those carbs and calories, and pizza - which I used to love, could have eaten morning noon and night...I probably eat it once every few months as again it makes me feel bloated.

So far so good!

You’re only back to square 1 if you start eating more calories than you burn again when you stop taking MJ. I have maintained for nearly 7 months now, by tracking calories at maintenance level.

I ordered it from Zava. You have to supply photos and take a pic of yourself standing on the scales.

To those saying why bother if you only have 1.5st to lose, I’m 4ft 11 so although it’s probably not much weight to someone who is 5ft 6 or whatever, as a percentage of body weight it’s quite a bit for me. Carrying even an extra half a stone makes me look heavy.
Being short also makes it harder to shift. I have to drop to around 1000 calories a day to lose about half a pound a week. I found I could lose a couple of pounds then my motivation would disappear as I was hungry and miserable! Hoping the injections will help with the hunger.

I dont even know how you can miss this so badly.

People have tried for years to lose weight- its a massive business, weight watchers, slimming world, meal replacement diet, there's thousands of books, plans etc. And most of us have tried most of them. I know I have

Mounjaro is literally the only thing (being brutally honest) apart from forcing myself to throw up after meals. I've lost 2 and a half stone in about 7 months, slowly, steadily and its gone

That's why.

HTH

This. What’s the point? It will pile on again.
btw I didn’t move to the therapeutic dose until month 3.