Mounjaro - 10 Stone or more to lose (Thread 3)

[TheFunkyDuckling]

Thought I'd kick start a new thread for this oh so supportive little group, as the last thread was reaching it's limit.

SW 20st 0lb BMI 47.2, size 26/28. 26/12/24
CW 16st 12lb BMI 39.9, size 22
Lost 3st 2lb, 44lbs, 19.7kg
Jab 22 - 2.5x4, 5.0x4, 7.5x4, 10.0x7, 12.5x1, 10.0x2

It really is all about the consistency isn’t it? I’ve had a (very) few weeks with 3lb losses, but mostly it’s 1 or 2 lbs a week, which doesn’t seem much, but after 5 months, its all added up.

Not long after I started, someone on one of the threads I was reading mentioned the Losertown app which predicts weight over time. I put in a goal of 10:06 (I reached it for a few days 20 years ago having done lighter life for almost a year, and then immediately bounced back up again - before that, in junior school). I was shocked and saddened when it said I’d reach goal at the end of March 2027 - I thought it would be next summer! I marked the dates for crossing each stone barrier in my diary and decided that I might as well carry on as there wasn’t a good alternative.

Last week I got into the 16s, bang on the date that the app had said. And March 2027 is now less than 2 years away! So I’ll KBO, because I want to be as healthy as possible in March 2027 and not crying again because I’m back at 20 stone.

It’s nothing to be ashamed of, using injections to help. Especially when you realise they switch off that desire to eat and binge and realise our problems are not down to greed, there’s more going on if one small amount of MJ can stop that.

I completely agree @Kay2000 - it can't be as simple as fat people are greedy and lazy and thin people aren't. Otherwise a drug would not help with the problem. It's a complicated subject but at least some of it is biological and medical, not based on personality and some people being weaker or stronger than others. Lots of people eat poorly - not everybody ends up in our position.

Sorry about what happened with your friend. It's hard for people to understand. I was out with a pal last week who I hadn't mentioned it to, and I wore baggy clothes as I didn't want to get into it. I'm not at all ashamed but I just didn't want to get into it. But she asked straight off if I was using WLI, so I told her - and she was so supportive, I was genuinely surprised! She's the kind of person who thinks others need to 'pull themselves together and get on with it', if you know what I mean. But she saw this as nothing but positive, which was unexpected and pleasant.

Another friend, who I'd expected to be supportive, basically looked at me like I'd grown an extra head and started to quiz me about whether I understood the health risks. Then went on to tell me about the horror stories of Instant Death etc. I ended up politely but firmly telling her to shut the F up, that I was an intelligent adult who had researched it, and that scare stories were not helpful and could be applied to any drug. She is a person who is not especially overweight (maybe a stone) but is on medication for diabetes and high BP - I felt like saying 'have you researched the health risks of those, or have you just accepted them because the medical profession says they're safe? Yes? Me too!' And by losing the weight, I hope to avoid taking even more drugs further down the line!

It's very difficult to predict how people will react, but I suspect it is going to be more and more common in the future, so I suppose people better get used to it!

Pen 5 now done for me - 20 weeks in to this year and it doesn't feel like it's been that long. An interesting four weeks since my last post - I've been swimming 3 times each week and bought a walking pad two weeks ago which I'm using every day - dare I say, I'm even looking forward to the exercise - unheard of for me previously!

Weigh in this morning at the end of pen 4:

SW: 136.6kg
GW: 62.6kg

Pen 1 (2.5mg): Down 10.1kg
Pen 2 (5mg): Down 6kg
Pen 3 (5mg): Down 5.1kg
Pen 4 (5mg): Down 4.8kg
Pen 5 (5mg): Down 4kg

CW: 106.6kg

Pen 6 started today - I've stayed on 5mg again - but was pondering a move up to 7.5mg for Pen 7 thinking I was getting disappointed by the slowing down. But really, I've lost on average 1.5kg a week which I think is fast enough - so I'm planning on sticking with 5mg but will see how the next few weeks go before making a final decision,

A challenging few weeks coming up - with a big party and two long weekends away happening - let's see how they go!

Since I now have the Happy Scale app (thanks again @Lobsterteapot!) my mood has really lifted! I love seeing the trend and that it’s only downward!

I feel energised. And I really need to start some more structured exercise.

@TragicMuse It’s fab isn’t it? I love pressing the “you’ve made progress” button. The other app that’s been invaluable is nutricheck which is well worth the £30 a year.

Oh I love nutracheck!! I spent ages recreating some of my old recipes that I still make!

Can someone explain the 'golden dose' to me please? I understand that's it's a bit of extra medication in each jab and that you need to buy extra syringes/needles to extract it... but how, exactly? And where can you buy the needles? And what type/size should I get?

You put the needle through the bung on the pen where you normally clean and attach the screw needle. 60units or 0.6mls is a full dose so you can either measure exactly that or measure whatever is left, some people do the latter as a build up to the next dose

If you Google search insulin syringe you ideally want one that goes up to 1ml or 100units and get it from a medical supplier not amazon. Some people like to order a screw syringe and 2 needles, one to draw up and one to inject. You'll figure out what you think works so I'd order the smallest quantity that you can.

So... I ordered my 2nd pen (5mg up from 2.5mg starter dose this time) thinking I'll defo need it by then... however now W2 on 2.5mg I'm getting longer lasting suppression than W1 and thinking maybe I should have ordered another 2.5mg oops...

So my question for the more experienced here is... if I do half doses from my 5mg pen will it last me twice as long?? Like are the pens Limited to 240 clicks or are they limited to 4 doses whatever size you may do??

Does that make sense?!

I have ALOT to lose so if I can manage on smaller doses for longer I want to try and do that...

@WafflingDreamer thanks, that really helps.

I had a takeaway for dinner tonight. Shish kebab, salad, no sauce, Turkish naan (I have never had any of this before). I had a few of DH's chips. I ate my fill but there was loads left. Loads of meat left to become dog treats (labrador, he can digest rusty nails).

Normally (pre MJ) I would have had fish & chips with a little bit of fish left for the dog.

Genuinely shocked at my change in tastes.

@Elle771 it’s the number of clicks, rather than the number of doses. So yes you can use it for more than 4 half doses, but you’ll run into the 30 day time limit for using an opened pen. You can fit 5 doses within 30 days, but more than that will obviously go over that. It’s up to you if you’re happy with that or not.

@silenceinside thank you that's good to know!!
I might be getting ahead of myself and really need 5mg when time comes but good to know I could at least get 5 doses 🥰

I had a NSV today, I went to a clothes shop and tried on some clothes and bought a new coat in a size 16. Doesn’t sound like a big deal but I haven’t been able to buy whatever I wanted straight off the rails for such a long time. I tried on an 18 which was ok, but thought I’d try the 16 just to see how far off I was from fitting in it. I was amazed when it went on perfectly and looked so much a better fit than the 18.

This is a good example of a suitable insulin syringe and needle.

Link

If you're using the extra MJ (the golden dose) always remember that 0.6ml of the medication is a full dose of whatever strength pen you've got.

I've always used it, and have discovered that there's 0.8ml of MJ left after the first four doses have been administered. So there's more than one full dose available.

As an example - I'm now on the 15mg pen. If I inject 0.6ml of the remaining medication, that's another 15mg dose.

The last bit of 0.2ml is equivalent to 5mg MJ.
I always use this, too.

I don't understand people who discard so much expensive medication.

Question aimed at experienced MJ-ers, and related to the golden dose queries that have been raised in the last few posts (thanks for asking my questions @Elle771!). So, using the golden dose is within the 30 days, but I am likely to have a lot more than that left as I've been using 2.5mg doses from a 5mg pen - I've been on 2.5 for 10 jabs and so far it's still working. BUT - if I carry on using the same pen, it will have gone over the 30 days. As a disclaimer in advance, I know that none of you are doctors etc, but what have you guys done, just in your own experience? I have a friend who is on a maintenance dose now and she injects only once a fortnight, and has done this for maybe six months now - so the pen actually lasts her 8 weeks (not sure how she works that with her supplier, maybe she has a fridge full!). When I asked about the 30 day limit, she said it didn't concern her, that the guideline was probably made with the expectation that people would push the boundary, and also that she has suffered no ill effects - she stressed that she checks the fluid each time.

I am a bit more of a 'rules' kind of person (and can also be a bit anxious about health things), so while I'm comfortable using the golden dose, am not 100% sure about extending the life of my pen past the 30 days. But on the other hand, I'll be throwing away half a pen, which feels almost criminal! In case you're wondering, the 5mg pens are the same price with my supplier, so I got that one in case the 2.5 stopped being as effective.

Just looking for personal accounts of what you've done. and I won't take it as a recommendation - I'm just very interested!

I have gone over the 30 days as am currently alternating 5mg and 2.5mg doses from a 5mg pen. I have had no ill effects but I am not advising anyone on this!

Oh I'm finding this week super tough definitely moving up to 12.5mg on Thursday. Doesnt help that the kids are off school so I'm not drinking enough and we are eating out more. I'm finding it so hard to resist the extra snacks and stuff, I weigh every day and my weight was definitely up 1lb this morning. I'm so hungry at the moment too.

I'm currently taking 6.25 from a 7.5 pen, so 6 doses across 35 days. I did 3 months on 5 and potentially could have stayed on it for longer, but just felt like it was becoming slightly less effective. Going up a bit under a full dose felt like the right decision for me and how I respond to mounjaro and 35 days didn't feel too risky.

I did 3.75mg out of a 5mg pen so it went over the 30days.

The real risks in my brain are how many times you puncture the rubber seal as every time you puncture it you risk introducing a contaminant and the stability of the medication. It can be stored in the fridge until it's expiry date as long as it hasn't been used.

I kept my open pen in the fridge as in my head this will help limit the growth of anything (obviously I have no scientific evidence of this I was just trying to minimise the risks) I also clean the rubber bung for 30 seconds with an alcohol wipe and let it dry for 30 seconds before attaching a needle.

There may well also be a tiny risk that eventually you will compromise the integrity of the rubber seal if you puncture it too many times.

Eventually I hope to be able to inject every other week or to inject 2.5mg out of a 5mg pen to save some money.

Thanks for your replies everyone, I think I may well stretch the shelf life a little - the risks seem minimal especially if you take storage/hygiene precautions, and it's not like it will last for years!

Personally I'd have no qualms about using the medication beyond the 30 days.

I'm not convinced that there are any inherent risks in doing so.

I do sometimes wonder if the manufacturers have pushed the 30 day rule to suit themselves. They must have realised that there are people who will buy a 10mg pen and use it to give themselves 10 x 5mg doses (not to mention the 0.2ml which will be left over).

I wouldn't be surprised if quite a lot of people are doing this. So obviously, Eli Lilley are losing out.

However - I'm willing to be persuaded by the manufacturers that there is a good reason why this is bad practice. So far, I have not been so persuaded.

Also, on the subject of using pens beyond 30 days - it is known that there are beauticians who are selling MJ to customers, at bargain prices.

This is clearly dangerous and unregulated territory, but I am sure that they're using the pens entirely to suit themselves, and without the supervision of a pharmacist or doctor.

Goodness knows how these pens are being used. Well beyond the 30 days, I'm sure.

Good point @TheBroonOneAndTheWhiteOne. We'll probably see some kind of boom in that, they'll become part of the offer from aestheticians and beauty clinics.