Late April ‘25 starters - thread 4

[wlinewbie0425]

Hi everyone -time for thread 4 as we close in on 2 months on our journey!

@toobusytoclean it doesn’t sound like a gallbladder issue. Galllbladder pain is usually on the right hand side, just below the ribs. The pain can occasionally radiate to the centre or through your lower back. Could it be reflux?

That’s reassuring to read. I felt sick after injecting but wasn’t. I’ve never had reflux to know what that is but will google to see if it sounds like how I’ve been feeling. Have barely been able to eat anything as I have been eating really slowly, chewing thoroughly and so feeling full really quickly. So looking for the positives, I hopefully won’t have gained too much in my 5 days away

Have you tried Gaviscon. You will get it or another brand from any chemist.

Well done for all the losses and almost-theres…keep going and those next weight brackets will be ours 💪

Thanks @slightlysmallerPoisonIvy 😍

@toobusytoclean I have a gallstone and have had one attack (cleared with doctor before taking MJ, but am super-cautious with monitoring any discomfort). It’s exactly as GoGoGovy said…the pain is a dull ache on your right hand side at the top of your ribs when it’s inflamed (usually after eating too rich/too much food or drink) and then when it’s an attack, is a massively painful feeling that has you doing yoga poses you didn’t know existed to try and stretch out and burp to relieve it. Your temp may be raised, your wee dark, and your heart rate elevated, which are the signs I look out for (so monitor my heart rate/blood pressure every jab day). Hope that helps to decide if it sounds like your gallbladder or not x

Thanks @Coventree , the pain is definitely central, but the yoga moves to stretch out and burp ring a bell and my wee has been dark - but it’s really hot out here in Cyprus so that would explain that.
ill try some gaviscon tomorrow-thanks for the suggestion @Kbr22. If that helps then I’m putting my money on reflux. Unlikely to be eating and drinking to excess again any time soon.

Looking for a few words of wisdom from all you lovely lot please? I have just finished a pen and was about to start my next but there is a huge amount of liquid left in the pen, it looks like more than a full dose and bearing in mind this is supposedly an empty pen?
DH is convinced I missed a week but I absolutely haven’t…is this just a case of the pen being overfilled or an error in the production of it?
Many thanks for any thoughts, needless to say this isn’t massively helpful to my old friend health anxiety 🤦‍♀️

Hiya, the pens have more liquid than the 4 doses in them and mine do look like they have loads left after 4 doses. Best way to check if you are querying a missed full dose would be to see if it turns another full dose to ‘1’ or if it stops after a few clicks.

the remaining liquid in the pen after the four full doses is what some extract to use as a ‘Golden dose’ , but the pens are designed so that they can only be fully clicked to ‘1’ 4 times.

does that make sense? X

Thank you so much for this! I did think it might just be excess but I will try the click method to confirm!
just when I think I’m becoming an expert something appears to confuse me all over again 😹 xx

I was just wondering what support different suppliers offer.
I'm with SheMed and i do a weekly check in which includes a weigh in. And I have to scan the medication box each week.

Just intrigued!

Hello! Reporting back in as I promised to do a few weeks ago…..I was having major issues with constipation, sulphur burps etc and was about to go on holiday so I quit Mounjaro to see if I could maintain my healthy habits alone.
holiday was lovely, I definetly still had suppression/fear of gastric issues in the first week so was restrained in my eating then. Second week my habits definetly weren’t as good…..but I did keep up my gym visits and tried to make good choices.
Came back 7lbs heavier - which is on the face of it is not great, but I definetly wasn’t eating enough before I went. Have dropped 4lb of that since I returned a week ago.

Im absolutely finding it harder without Mounjaro, I’m so much more likely to eat an extra something or be unable to say no when offered. I’m hungrier too. The temptation to go back on at a low dose is in my head, but I really want to do it alone so going to try and keep food tracking, exercising and making good choices, and hopefully it works!
Ngl, the ability to poo normally every day and not be constantly stressed about my bowel movements is a major plus point though!

Hope you are all doing well, can see there are still some fantastic losses and NSVs going on xx

Are you doing the "test" clicks before each dose?

But yes there is always quite a significant amount left, hence the whole "golden dose" phenomenon.

Thank you! I have been doing the clicks I just think I haven’t looked as closely before and this last one was rather generously filled xx

@Merlin23…nothing! Just the pen and no other service 😁. Don’t feel like I’m missing out on anything though, and by taking advantage of discounts, I’ve got my next pen for £116 whereas I think you (obviously) pay more for those that offer a support service which ties you to them each month, but then you get that personal touch and check-ins. Depends what you need to work this work for you, I suppose.

Hi @Lidlbitofmonica, lovely to hear how you’ve been getting on without MJ. Sounds like a hefty dose of willpower is needed then, but well done for losing some of the holiday weight without the MJ crutch. Good luck for keeping going and I’m sure more of us will be joining you as we reach goal weights/money bites/etc. I’ve still got over 2st to go before I start thinking about maintenance and just hope I can keep on using first time buyer discounts to get deals 😬. Wishing you all the best x

@coventreeI like the stability of the check in. Also as we do a weigh in they monitor the weight loss and decide if it's the right time to change the dose.
I budgeted for the injection as tbe price stays the same. I think I would stress if I had to keep monitoring prices and change suppliers. Especially now my BMI is under 30.

Its good to hear about everyone's experiences with different suppliers.

@Merlin23 It's great that there are more supportive services for those who want or need that, I personally would hate to have someone else decide what dose I should be on. I use Weprescribe, they occasionally check in (I think twice in 4months) and ask how I'm doing or if I need help or advice on anything, the reorder form asks how much weight I've lost but there's no monitoring and I choose when to change dose, they are very responsive if I do have any questions.

@Lidlbitofmonica Thanks for the update, has your appetite and food noise returned to pre-mj levels or do you think it's worse than before? I've seen a few people say that it's come back worse than before they started and that is a bit worrying but I wonder if they just don't really remember how bad it was before and it feels much worse after months of quiet.

@Coventree it's helpful to know what to look out for, thanks!

@slightlysmallerPoisonIvy love the name change!
Hmmm it’s a hard one, the food noise probably is louder but I’m also more conscious of the noise if that makes sense?
If there’s nice things in the house I have less willpower to resist. But I also am trying to remember the lessons from MJ - eg white carbs are not my friend! I am eating about 200cal a day more than I was on MJ but I’m still within my calorie/exercise limit on Nutracheck each day.
Building the good habits on MJ is the key - I’m still eating same breakfast/lunch each day and focussing on protein.
i actuslly feel much heavier than before I went away even though it’s only about 2lb more, so I’m really trying to keep my motivation up as I have come a long way. Each day is a new day!

well done on all the fab losses and NSVs 😁
Hope everyone who is feeling offside gets better quickly.

another lb off at this mornings weigh in, although I had a sneaky weigh on sat morning and I was 3lbs down, wish I hadn't bothered looking as its annoyed me that I've reverted to my usual weekly lb loss... still, 23lbs down and my weight now starts with a 12 which I haven't seen for many years - hurrah!

I am 1lb away from the MFP goal I set, so starting to think about next goal, if I look at the healthy BMI calculator I would have to be between 8 stone 3lb and 11 stone, which seems ridiculous 😮 I am 5 ft 6 and 51 and was thinking 11 and a half would be a good target, but that would still have me at overweight with a BMI of 26 - be interested to see how have others set their target goal?

Well, I’ve been plodding on quietly and after a long time stuck at the same weight, I’m finally losing again. 35lb lost and I have moved from Very Obese to just Obese, so that’s a win. Blood tests this morning and seeing my nurse practitioner in a couple of weeks. Hoping to reduce other meds and go up to 7.5mg MJ. We’ll see!

@dozywelshbird regarding bmi, I think you need to go with what weight you feel comfortable with and can maintain, rather than what bmi you are.
I’m also 1lb of my first goal, which is my holiday goal. The next goal will be my life maintenance goal. It will only be a bmi of 24, but I’ve been that weight before and felt and looked good. I don’t think it’s realistic (for me) to ever have a bmi of 20.
The one measurement I will be keeping my on, is my waist size. I’ve been barrel shaped since the menopause and there are several studies that show that fat around the stomach is more dangerous than any other fat. Your waist measurement should be at least half of your height to be healthy.
https://www.nhs.uk/health-assessment-tools/calculate-your-waist-to-height-ratio

Decided to carry on and see how it went. Don't weigh in till tomorrow, but got on the scales today and I've lost 2lbs 😁.

Looks like I'm back on track.

@dozywelshbird

My healthy weight range for my height is between 100 and 127lbs. It seems insane to me. Although the lowest adult weight I've ever been was 7st 13lb (111lbs) and I stayed in that region for about 7 years. I was only a bit over 8st at my booking appointment with DC1. No dieting, no watching what I ate. I was just younger (late 20's) and very active.

I've set an ultimate goal weight for 9st / 126lbs but it feels incredibly unobtainable. I think I'll see how I feel at 10st / 140lbs.

My healthy range is 101lbs - 137lbs
I'm aiming for the top end and hoping to maintain at 140 to 147 which is what I was when I left school a very long time ago. I wouldn't be comfortable being much lower.

Some really interesting insights into BMI and ‘goal’ weights from people .

My ‘healthy weight range’ according to my BMI is between 7st 4lb and 9st 10lb… I mean!!! I have never been 7st 4lb as an adult, and even when I was a teenager /early 20’s and a size 8 I was never under 8stone something . It just doesn’t seem at all achievable to be anywhere near that for me. I’m short, but still!

At the moment I’m aiming for 10st as a stopping point to take stock and see how I’m feeling. I’m actually much more interested in how I fit and feel in my clothes, and being comfortably in to size 12’s feels like a dream right now.

Im also aware it needs to be maintained, and not sure I will maintain such a low weight when left to my own devices (not using MJ).

it makes me feel a bit deflated to think that weight range is considered normal/healthy , and I’m so far away from that still.

so I’m just trucking on and seeing where I get to ….

Looks like we are both the same height and aiming for the same end point!

It always surprises me how much of a difference height makes to the ranges. I’m taller so my ‘healthy’ range is 8stone 4 to 11stone 1. In my 20s I looked great at around 10 stone. Post kids I looked ‘normal’ and felt comfortable at 11 stone - but did get down to 10 stone 7 at one point, felt slim and great hence that is my goal as it gives me some wiggle room for maintenance. My only adult memory of being lower than that was my wedding. I went under 9.5 stone and looked good but kinda bony in my dress - lost most of my curves. I can’t imagine that would look good at all on my middle aged body so it’s not my goal. I am quite sure that if I went under 9stone I would look seriously unwell. we need to always remember BMI is a crude tool. If your goal is still in the ‘overweight’ category coming down from being significantly obese then don’t let the labels of BMI bother you.