Anyone else found that Mounjaro isn't really working for them?

[ThumbTowers]

After high hopes, I am really disappointed. Have been injecting 2.5mg for 4 weeks and now taken my second dose of 5mg. So on my 6th week altogether and have lost 2lbs. Basically nothing! I am so sad reading all of these stories about people losing a stone a month etc. And I know you need to control what you eat etc at the same time. But surely I can conclude that this just isn't a drug that's going to work for me?? I am not sure whether to bother moving up to 7.5mg to see if that makes a difference or just give up now....

Very odd you didn’t loose on Ozempic but are on Wygovy. They’re exactly the same drug Semaglutide.

Ive lost 6.5 stone and not tracked a single calorie. Its overwhelming, a chore, too much to commit to around my life. I make better choices, i "watch what i eat" and have been very successful. You dont have to count calories, it can help you understand food better, but if you have that knowledge already - which a lot of us do from year and years of fad diets, it isnt essential.

It is the same drug (semaglutide) but Wegovy is a higher dose - I wonder if some people need a higher dose for it to be effective?

I’m insulin resistant so always lose weight slowly, I’ve been in mounjaro for 10 months & have lost 4 stone, stick with it, you’ll get there.

I was a slow loser on it, one of my earlier weeks I even put on! It’s all down to your calories though. Everything that mounjaro does is simply supposed to make it easier to be in a calorie deficit. The slow digestion keeps you fuller for longer, stabilising your blood sugar help with craving/binging it won’t work without a calorie deficit which is what a lot of people don’t seem to realise.

You are on 5mg!!! You may not have any effect until 15mg! You work up the doses until you find what works! For me it took until 15mg so it’s madness to write it off at 5mg! It’s not a miracle drug!

It’s 6 months from the maximum dose of 15mg. The lower doses are just building up to the maximum dose.

You DO need to count your calories if you aren’t losing though. A lot of people find the suppression is strong enough that they’re eating so little that they don’t need to count and lose. This clearly isn’t happening with OP though, so she needs to start tracking and see what she’s actually consuming

Hey op,

I have been on MJ since Feb 24 and have seen a lot of people on mumsnet MJ journeys. What I have noticed is that people that are diabetic on MJ just tend to lose slower than people that aren't diabetic.

Like someone else said, it could be to do with insulin levels and maybe your blood sugar needs to get under control before the weight loss truly starts. I think, expect it to be slower for you unfortunately. But hopefully as you go up the doses you may find it starts working better.

I don't agree it's about what you eat, because most people lose weight quickly when starting MJ regardless of how much they eat. Most find they can't eat too many calories anyway.

Good luck op

The first time I used it I lost just over a stone across the 2.5mg and 5mg course but then I was really poorly on the 7.5mg, I kept pushing through but I lost nothing (and really should have given how poorly I was - won’t go into details as will be TMI lol)

tried it again and lost 9lb in total and did just the first 8 week course but I see all the people losing SO much weight and I don’t get why it didn’t work for me and the side affects just weren’t worth it anymore. Have been dieting with it so would have expected a bigger loss. I wonder if for some it doesn’t work as well as for others!?

I lost weight extremely slowly compared to others even on the highest dose and nearly gave up a few times. If you read the literature it says 15 per cent of people don’t lose weight. It didn’t surpress my appetite except I found when I woke up I wasn’t that hungry so didn’t really eat till 12pm so a kind of fast from 7pm the night before. My weight loss was 1lb every 1 to 2 weeks and then every now and then I’d lose 2lb in a week. I don’t have diabetes and only got accepted due to significant knee problems. As I was paying so much for it it made me really think about what I was eating so I have changed my eating habits a lot.

I should have said I had no side effects at all so that made the slow weight loss easier to contend with

@ThumbTowers @Labyrinthian I had absolutely zero suppression until I started 7.5 mg. No side effects, no appetite change at all. I was so disheartened.
7.5 made a massive difference, my appetite completely changed, no cravings, no thinking about food all the time. Easy to eat a smaller meal and stop.
I also took advice from people on here as I wasn't eating enough protein or drinking enough water.
So my advice is keep upping the dose until you feel it working. We are all different.

And I totally understand what you are saying about the calorie counting. We have all done this to death. Why else put our hopes on mj!?
There are always people who lose faster /massive amounts - I saw those at slimming world etc. but their bodies work differently from ours. We need extra help. Good luck 🤞🏽

I think the people who lose the most are eating very little, so massive calorie deficit, but don’t feel hungry. So if you’re prepared to eat very little and exercise you will lose the weight

I tried it at 2.5mg and didn't lose anything, I was also really disappointed after hearing all about it from friends. I was more disappointed to read all the drink loads of water and calorie deficit advice as that can be done without paying £150!
It did change my appetite and I was eating a lot less but not losing anything...I didn't buy anymore doses and have lost 5lb since stopping.

my mum found the same, she has since bought some patches for about £5 and lost more than she did with MJ.

Which anyone who is on the drug is propbably already aware of given they have resorted to using it, and maybe already finds that difficult, nigh on impossible even. It just isnt that simple and anyone who has battled with their weight knows this. Telling someone who is using weight loss injection to just count calories is not helpful. Yes, you have to be aware of what you are eating, but again, we all know that.

If simple will power and calorie counting worked for everyone, we wouldnt be resorting to injuections. And its very unsympathetic to the OP's situation to suggest thats the answer to all, as id be willing to bet thats already been attempted.

Op, stick with the jabs, go through the doses as advised, dont speed them up, stick with the journey, the likihood is it will work for you at a higher dose, maybe more slowly that you see online, but chances are it will work. In the mean times, just do the best you can.

This is interesting. Would this then mean we don’t know the possible negative effects of staying on 2.5?

I simply cannot eat on 2.5 and have taken it on and off for over a year now. Only once have I gone up to 7.5 and I was very ill on it.

I’ve had great success not a stone a month but consistent 1-2 lb a week losses.

im T2 diabetic too and prescribed it as insulin and metformin weren’t bringing my sugars down enough and MJ has actually allowed me to drop the insulin and metformin completely and my levels are now in the normal non-diabetic range.

The main thing I’ve found is I need to restrict carbs still and 2lts water a day is essential. The MJ works by increasing how much insulin you produce and how sensitive you are to it, it also slows your digestion.

you need high protein, fat and fibre foods, low carb and to keep your calories in a deficit but only by about 500 below TDEE not super duper starvation low.

The MJ has made it so that I can stick to this diet, I’m not starving hungry and craving carbs all the time chasing that sugar boost and what I do eat is processed properly so it isn’t converted to fat.

I’m on 7.5 and just finished week 16 - I’ve lost 38lbs so far. It has been a rollercoaster so far, mostly a steady 2lbs a week but for 3 weeks (on my 2nd 5mg pen) I lost naff all and then suddenly dropped 4lbs the next week. My mum is T2 and has been on it for 10 weeks and lost 50lbs (🙄🤣).

it isn’t a magic bullet, it won’t make you lose weight all by itself (despite what the sensationalist stories would have you believe) you really do have to change your eating and exercise habits. I stick to a 1400 calorie controlled diet and track everything I eat on Nutracheck (amazing app that I wish I tried years ago!), weighing my portions and being careful - I’m still doing the work, but the jab helps to curb the cravings and be fuller for longer. It’s a tool to help us stick to the good habits. My mum is using Nutracheck too and doing really well.

I highly recommend trying calorie counting and weighing food, drink 2-3 litres of water a day, aim to get in your 10k steps as a minimum amount of exercise and try to eat slower so that the full signals get to your brain before you have over done it.

you have got this!

7.5mg was where the change happened for me. Nothing happened at 2.5 and 5mg but it’s really started on 7.5.

There is a fair bit of information here that could be dangerous to a diabetic who needs to ensure control over levels (unlike non-diabetics). It is worth discussing this with a medical professional, OP, to work out a plan to safely do this whilst managing your diabetes.

It's all well and good to hear the stories of others, but you have a very different position and need to protect your health.

I’m a slow loser. I’ve been on mounjaro since September and lost 1st 7. However, this is much more than I’ve ever lost dieting for the last 6 years. I believe my body just doesn’t like losing weight and I’m in for the long game to lose the other 1.5 stone I need to.
Also, I feel that lots of people use this drug alongside crash dieting mentality. I’ve made sustainable life style choices and it’s given me space to lose weight whilst also thinking about how to make permanent healthy changes. I’ve taken on board the advice to eat lots of protein and strength train to build and maintain muscle, which in the long term will serve me well to keep the weight off. I know it’s expensive but if you crash diet on this, the same weight gain will happen again when you come off it. You’re not learning or changing anything. Good luck with your journey.

In some ways slow progress is better because if you drop a stone a month you are going to have some serious loose skin issues. The slower you drop the better your body can adjust.

I've only been on MJ a couple of weeks and it's been an utter revelation..

On the downside, my body is resistant to losing weight, I eat a healthy diet , low carb and cooked from scratch but my portion sizes were too big.

MJ even at 2.5 works perfectly for me, I only start to feel empty/hungry on day 4 or 5, and I am able to maintain the discipline until jab day. I also feel satiated with a very small amount of food. However I have only lost 5lbs and that was in the early days, which was probably water weight, and I have plateaud since. This is the way every diet goes for me and in the past it has made me demotivated to be deprived/hungry and get nothing for it weeks on end, so I always fall off the wagon.

This is where the benefit of the drug comes in. I can't fall off the wagon because I am scared of causing horrible side effects. The massive one for me though, is I had a dopamine-seeking 'reward' craving. I don't crave alcohol, in fact I increasing don't enjoy the effects, but I drank way too much wine because I 'needed' a reward at the end of a working day or at the weekend. If it wasn't wine it would be chocolate. They say it's not even about the consumption of the reward, it's the anticipation that gives the dopamine effect. Since my first jab the need for 'treats' or rewards just completely instantly disappeared. I walk past the chilled white wine in the supermarket and I am totally unmoved. Previously, a sunny day meant a nicely chilled wine, a weekend wasn't a weekend without booze.

Ditto the yummy emergency bar of chocolate that's been in the fridge for 2 weeks. I don't need it.

On top of that, my mind is much calmer, my anxiety has greatly lessened. I have ADHD and the effects of that have been dampened.

This is all on a low non-therapeutic dose.

So while the weightloss is disappointing, the benefits like the mental calmness and the behavioural changes in terms of eating small portions and stopping before I am full, not needing that dopamine hit from unnecessary calories are amazing.

I'm going to stop weighing myself and carry on.

OP have you seen any of these benefits? Have you adjusted your eating habits? The drug won't melt fat away, it's only a tool to remove the feeling of deprivation and remove the need for willpower and allow you to adjust your habits.

This is why it really irritates me when ignorant people talk about it being a quick fix or cheating. It's really nothing of the sort..

@RelishingGrpSupport i found your post so helpful. I suppose the summary of what you are saying is you have to commit

Come and join us on the weight loss injection boards. There’s one for people who started in late April, and a lot of very different experiences so far.