Spooked by MJ ‘side effects’ stories. Are there good stories too?

[FizzyLemonSwizel]

I’m going to start MJ next week but was just reading some of the posts on horrendous side effects. Sorry for everyone who’s had such a rough time!

Does anyone have done good stories, e.g mild to no side effects? Or something that passed pretty quickly as your body adjusted? I think I need to read some positive things before I’m tempted to jack it in!

I’ve been taking it since September and no real side effects other than a bit of constipation if I don’t take a fibre supplement, and one instance of feeling quite sick after a weekend away eating junk food and drinking too much wine. Everyone is different, but for me I only wish I had started sooner.

I’m 6 wks in. Side effects are minimal. Occasional very mild nausea but used to get that with intermittent fasting - it goes away when I eat. Feeling cold - normal for me when I diet. Constipation- also normal for me when I diet - kiwi fruit and porridge sorts me out. I am maybe a little bit more tired than usual but I’ve got a lot going on so might just be coincidence. I am losing weight without fighting the urge to binge which is absolutely worth these minor inconveniences and I’ve never felt well in a calorie deficit so I can’t really blame WLI for any of this!

Nothing except constipation (managed with fibre gummies). Not a single sulphur burp and I can still eat everything without an issue, I just want a lot less of it. I think I might get cold more, but I’ve lost my inbuilt coat, so there’s that.

Slow responder though - average of 1lb a week and have just gone up to 12.5 as 10 just wasn’t working.

Ah these are great to read, thank you!

Zero side effects here, but I'm staying on the starting 2.5 dose, eating a good amount (1200-1400 cal) and losing 1-2 pounds a week.

No side effects beyond a bit of constipation (sorted by over-the-counter meds) and cold feet at night.
Started at end of October and nearly at goal. The difference in my appearance and ability to exercise is amazing.

I've just done 12 weeks on MJ so on week 13 now, no major side effects

Can eat anything with no effect on my gut
No sulphur burps
No vomiting
No new aches or pains
No hair loss
No constipation

However I eat well and around 1500 calories, I aim for 1.5g of protein per kg of my weight, I eat carbs and chocolate regularly. There's people who have dropped to 600-800 cals, chasing total suppression, that's not for me.

The loss of food noise has been life changing for me, I feel like a normal person and am no longer controlled by food. I can enjoy a meal rather than gorging on a portion 5x the size and being hungry again an hour later. I can eat a biscuit rather than the whole packet.

I did go through a few weeks where I was constantly full, struggled to eat well and the weight fell off. Again, not for me as it's a miserable existence, I reduced my dose and things improved.

I did feel exhausted at first and even took naps during the day, this is getting better and I'm now sleeping really well and doing more exercise.

As for the cold thing, yep!!!! Freezing at times so very grateful the weather has improved!

ETA - outwith the few weeks I lost a LOT of weight, I seem to be a 1lb a week person which to me is amazing though seems to be a big disappointment to most :(.

I was on it last year from March to December up to the max dose with no significant side effects. I felt colder than normal and went off alcohol but nothing else. I also felt less anxious. I had one minor stomach upset but I think that was coincidence. I lost 3 stone. I put on 5lb in 3 months since stopping, most of it over Christmas.

I restarted in March to lose additional weight (about 2 stone to get a normal BMI) and I am now on 7.5 and feel fine. I will probably stick to this dose for a while.

It’s not magic you have to watch your diet and not binge or overeat on junk. It’s basically an appetite suppressant and you should try and train yourself to eat less and healthily while using it.

Im 7/ 8.weeks in now wth only mild side effects and my only regret is that I didn't start sooner!

Main side effect has been being cold alot of the time. Plus nausea for 4 days when I went up a dose but no vomiting etc and I've gone up another dose now and no nausea.

I've lost 12 pounds in 7/8 weeks!

I have lost three stone in four months and am now just two pounds away from being a healthy BMI.

No vomiting
No sulphur burps
No hair loss

Occasional slight nausea
Constipation in first six weeks
Diarrhoea twice in four months
Some fatigue and headache when increasing dosage.

The only persistent symptom for me is that I am freezing cold!!!

18 wks in on 10mg. So far no negative side effects - apart from the odd constipation.

My blood pressure has drop by 30mmHg which means I don't need blood pressue tablets.

The lack of food noise has been amazing.

My food taste has changed - I now crave salads, seeds and nuts. The thought of chips and roast potatoes make me gag (I loved chips pre MJ).

Fitness has improved.

Skin looks better due to healthy diet.

On meals out family is on winner - as they get to clean up my plate (LOL).

At the begining there a few headaches and fatigue but once I increased water/fluid intake to 2-3litres a day. It went.

My only side effects were feeling cold (which, actually, is good, as I am perimenopausal and was going through a period of always feeling extremely hot and sweaty) and occasional constipation (if I don't remind myself to drink enough water). That's it.
I thought I was done with weight loss at 60 lbs down - that brought me to my wedding day weight, which was the lowest I had ever been in my adult life (and I got to the wedding by basically starving and over-exercising). But, since moving to maintenance, I have lost a further 15 lbs. I think I really am done now.

I've not really had any side effects, certainly no gastro ones. I sometimes feel cold and often have a dry mouth. But I was often too hot before, and rubbish at remembering to drink, so these are helpful for me.

I think a lot of people with side effects are those automatically increasing the dose each month and/or eating food/drink that is likely to trigger symptoms (greasy, high fat, processed foods). Many also seem to expect high appetite suppression so chase this by continually moving up the doses. I still feel hungry at meal times, and more so if I exercise more than usual, but this is normal! I am using MJ to support healthy lifestyle changes, and I think most people taking this approach don't get significant symptoms. There will be rare exceptions of course.

I've now taken 13 doses, and still on 3.75mg. I also eat really clean, making pretty much everything from scratch and avoid ultra processed foods. The only ready made food I eat is cereal (Weetabix, protein granola) and bagels.

Lost 4 and a half stone since September, put my T2 diabetes into remission and reduced from size 22/24 to 12/14.

No side effects beyond feeling the cold more but that’s possibly linked to reduced padding/insulation now. I would say that I didn’t increase dose according to schedule, I stay on a dose till it stops working, so I was on 5mg for 20 weeks.

Forgot to say the good stuff, not just the absence of side effects. I have lost about 14kg in 12 weeks. I am deliberately trying not to lose more than 1kg a week to avoid risks of rapid weight loss and loose skin

Ooh, did you have to wait til you stopped losing weight for the hair loss to stop? That's the only side effect I've had and honestly I think it's worth it (so far - my hair is thinner but still there, if it all disappeared entirely then I'd be a bit less pleased), but wondering if I keep losing - as I've got a couple of stone to go - if it'll keep falling out, or whether it's just the hair cycle and it'll ease off!

My side effects haven't been great but over time I have accepted that quite a few of the issues were related to drinking - I don't think alcohol and these drugs mix at all, hence why they're being studied for a potential role in addiction treatment.

Tbh the positives of losing (so far) almost 19kg have been so huge that I would put up with the side effects anyway. But if I don't drink they are absolutely minimal.

I've gone completely off of alcohol, which depending who you are, can bea positive or a negative. I miss it, I used to love wine, now, boak at it more often than not 🤢

I'm also always cold, it'd drives me mad, I have to wear a jumper and trousers to bed. Before I was always sweaty and melting though, so I can't complain too much.
I've lost over 4 stone and today I'm in a small size 12 dress and feeling great in it. The biggest thing for me is, I put something on and it looks fine, nice even, whereas before I would agonise about what to wear to things and then still look like a potato 😄

I started on Thursday evening.
for the first 20 hours or so I had some nausea but not severe. What I did have was quite a lot of reflux.

Both are now easing but someone’s recommendation to use gaviscon was a life saver as it really suppressed it until it started to ease.

So I can’t promise no symptoms but I can offer reassurance that for me, they started to ease fairly quickly.

If they reappear with my second dose then at least I have the gaviscon already at hand to make it much better until they ease again (hopefully).

Oh I’m so looking forward to NOT looking like a potato. I’ve got 3-4 stone to lose (I’ll see how I feel when I get to 3 stone) and I just rotate through endless baggy shirts and dresses. I hate coming home and the Ring doorbell sends me an alert of me walking up the drive looking like a spud. 😂

Last time I was at a reasonable weight, I looked good and I felt it too. Such a great feeling!! I’m away next week for a work conference but plan to order by the end of the week so I can start ASAP.

I didn’t want to start this week in case the side effects were severe and meant I couldn’t take part in my conference. This thread has reassured me though.

Very little side effects here. I’m coming to the end of week 18, still on 5mg, I’ve lost 17kg and am v near target weight. On high suppression days I’m also very thirsty so drink plenty of water. First few weeks I also found I was waking a couple of times a night to go to the loo. Now it’s only once a night.

I too was v worried about side effects - so I ate very clean for first couple of months. Nothing fried, nothing spicy, nothing creamy. Lots of poached chicken, baked fish and fresh veg/salad, stayed low carb too. Barely any oil in salad dressing. No refined sugars. Snacked only on fruit. I was absolutely fine, no gastric effects at all. Started to slowly reintroduce spice (chilli oil, fresh chillies), butter for scrambling eggs, liberal with olive oil, the occasional slice of homemade cake or flapjack. Again no side effects.

If I eat a high fat content meal eg smoked mackerel, I’ll feel really full. If I’ve not eaten for a while and begin to feel nauseous I’ll make an effort to get something healthy down me.

While on MJ I’ve been on holiday, eaten in plenty of restaurants…chosen the healthier but not always the salad option. Partly because I’m still trying to avoid side effects, but also because I don’t really fancy eating anything fried, creamy or too heavy.

I’ve also massively increased my weekly exercise and feel really good that my body is lighter but also stronger. I can walk without tiring out. Stairs are so much easier. Starting MJ is a really good time to introduce new habits as your brain is being re-wired around food you can set new pathways down for exercise, new hobbies, and tackle other things you’ve been procrastinating on.

I’ve been on MJ since August last year and apart from the odd headache for a few days (usually after I’ve upped my dosage), or feeling a bit sicky I’ve been fine.

I was on it and lost 3 stone.
no side effects at all.

Been on it a year.
Have lost over 8.5 stones.
A little bit of morning nausea and cold hands and feet are the only side effects.
After 30 years of yo yo dieting this is a game changer. Good luck. Hope it works well for you.

I'm on 12.5mg 7 months in and all fine