Mounjaro October starters - Thread 8!

[HansHolbein]

Carry on losers!

Thank you @Fizzleawayyy1

I bought some liquid berberine to see if it helps control the appetite and blood sugars when I come off it. Mixed reviews some say it really works, some say not. I'll give it a try.

Hi all, sorry can’t do a detailed reply to everyone at the moment! I’ve celebrated my 70th birthday this week with family and friends and it’s been wonderful. Wieght has gone back up to 11 stone 4lb as a result! Never mind, I’m back on it now!
I’ve been trying to keep on top of the Mounjaro price hike information but haven’t had time to do a full search of where to source more pens. I’ve just received a 10 mg from Oushk and have ordered one more 10mg pen from them. I tried hard to change it to two pens but it wouldn’t let me! Grrrrr!
@Fizzleawayyy1 - thank you because you got me on a mission to search for more pens at as reasonable a price as possible. I’ve just ordered two pens from HealthExpress for a bundle price of £349 for a 7.5mg and 10mg pen.
The search continues to order at least another couple of pens. Do any of you have any experience of the Independent Pharmacy? I’ve got as far as checkout but can’t seem to change the date to a more convenient one and also I’m concerned as they give no information about how they pack the pens for delivery (ice etc).

I've only really looked at this thread and before I started MJ I checked out some of the earlier months starter threads....
This thread is super supportive...I had quite a shock when I checked out a couple of the threads about the price changes....wow there are some super fiesty posts out there, and worse!

Looks like I'll be titrating down from 10 using the 5mg pen I have using clicks to make it work..I was only potentially getting a 7.5mg to bridge the gap for a month, but it availability looks bit crazy, prices changing too.

Thanks everyone for the great thread....I hadn't realised that not all threads are the same!!

@HappyNewt That's why I cant read other threads. There are far to many twats out there and they wind me up. Most people wouldn't dare speaking to people like they do on here in real life!

@Letshavetea1 I haven't heard of Independent pharmacy. I think medicine market place has 10mg in for £135 still. I'm really hoping they have 15mg come back in stock before 1st sept otherwise I may get a 10mg from them.

Superdrug seem to be doing 15mg for £176 for new customers and Iv never used them but I normally pay £145 and paid £159 for a 15mg a few days ago so really annoying paying even a bit more (but yes I know its loads cheaper then Sept😂)

This is what I look on Mounjaro Discount Price List UK | Reduced Prices

Also I hope you have had a fab 70th Birthday!

Thanks for the Superdrug tip, @Fizzleawayyy1. I’ve just ordered from there. Fingers crossed they approve it.

if MM get any stock before sept I’ll try to place an order through them, which then gives me some wiggle room to see what happens with the prices elsewhere. If MM is the cheapest at £271, I won’t be buying MJ anymore. The information on wegovy is interesting, especially since they’re bringing out the higher dose.

Or maybe this is a sign for me to pull
my finger out and get on with losing weight faster. Despite being frustrated at the start, I’ve absolutely grown to love my slow and steady loss pattern. My average is 1lb a week since October, which has now added up to almost 3 stone loss. Steady has meant I’ve not suffered too badly with loose skin, and I’ve been able to go to the gym alongside to manage my muscle loss. And I’ve not had to face any awkward comments or questions because it’s been so gradual. I really thought I could hit a goal (although I haven’t actually got a goal) in a year or so, then stay on MJ for life as it’s brought so many positives I’d never imagined (food noise, feeling in control, freedom to not think about food every minute of the day).

But maybe I need to get a move on, lose as much as possible by November (fingers crossed I have 2 pens to cover Sept and Oct and into November with the bonus dose) and then call it a day. I’m still overweight, bmi is about 28, but I‘m not actually unhappy with how I look right now. I’m carrying on for the health benefits but would need to lose another 24lb to get into healthy BMI territory.

Interesting- I’ll have to look into that. Thanks for info. Good luck everyone with your pen purchases- it sure is a huge increase! Still can’t quite believe I threw my last two away!!! (One was half used🤣) But I did and I’m doing alright without - have lost 1lb this week (post holiday) just need to keep going now. Food noise etc. is actually fine but then this is end of week 3 without MJ - probably still some in my system.
I'm just really enjoying eating super healthy food and the idea of doing this myself now without the worry (which has always accompanied my journey) that I’m rolling the dice with my pancreas etc.! As I’ve often said before I’m just paranoid! But that can keep you up at night and stressed!! MJ has - as I’ve already affirmed been incredibly helpful for me
and I wouldn’t be where I am now without. The freedom I’ve felt as result of my weight loss is priceless and I had a holiday this year at 56, wearing a bikini and feeling great! Never once felt down about my size which I don’t think I’ve felt on a holiday for
more years than I can remember!!

Week 43
SW 17'10
CW 13'7

Morning all

The 3 pounds I put on last week has gone this week, but we have a 3 night mini cruise this weekend, so not it will find me again!

Just started last of my 15mg pen, with a 10mg in the fridge for when that runs out.

I won't be able to carry on with the new prices, and not sure I am going to switch to wegovy, so 10 weeks left of my MJ journey. Am hoping to get under 13 stone by then, and then will have to concentrate hard on maintaining with willpower alone!

Good luck everyone!

Crazy what has happened to the pricing already...outrageous profiteering all round it seems, marking up the pricing and cutting any discounts immediately (clearly on stock that is already being held).

If I had ordered, from my provider, the 7.5 last week it would have been £119 today it is £167...it is kind of no wonder that people have been bulk buying/stockpiling/advance purchasing...I didn't even realise that was possible as I have always gone month to month (I only somehow ended up with a spare 5mg after I heard about the extra dose thing and when I realised that I needed to go up rather than stay on the 5).

Anyway, it does make my decision for me - I'll be moving on to using the 5 I have to titrate down from the 10 I finish this week. The price increase itself doesn't make it completely unaffordable for one final pen, but I don't want the palaver of switching for one pen, ending up at the back of a long queue of orders, or supporting my providers profiteering and lack of any correspondence about what is going on to existing users..

Here's to life post mounjaro (AMJ), thankful for what it has helped me achieve...time for me to focus on maintaining or even losing a little more as my 4stone loss has seen me get to the very upper end of the healthy BMI zone...I feel great and want to ensure that I stay that way!

Good luck everyone whatever you choose or have to do at this point with the price changes...thank goodness we bit the bullet when we did!!

2lbs down this weekend, didn’t weigh in the previous weekend as was on holiday so it’s 2lbs over 2 weeks really.
SW 16st
CW 10st 7

SW 13st 1lbs bmi 32.4
CW 9st 9.5lbs bmi 24.0

Dear all, would be wonderful if we could carry on with some occasional updates after those of us stop MJ.
@EVK imagine the money you could have made on that full pen you threw! Could've sold it to a friend?

Well I've started tapering down to 12.5mg on friday, 15 was super strong for me and I could barely eat, but I don't feel any different with 12.5mg, still super full, even though I went up just over a month ago as it was wearing off! I do feel different - pmt and didn't reach for any snacks or excessive carbs..miracle!
So I'm hoping this means my prediabetes and insulin resistance has been reversed esp as the higher doses are too high for me now.
I am going to do a few doses of 12.5 then 10 from my 15 pen then I have 2 x 10mg pens on way, as the 15 and 12.5 were out of stock, but it's probably worked out right since I'm struggling to eat, managed a grand total of 1550 cals the whole weekend Saturday and Sunday, I used to eat more than this on one day pre MJ!
Lost 2lbs in 2 days, its ok for now but not because I'm barely eating.
I think I will try coming off completely with my remaining pens and see how I fare, though I've heard 2 friends say they gained a lot of weight when trying to come off and went straight back on..here's hoping!
I do like how kind and friendly our thread and group is, how lucky that we all came to start in the same month 😘

I'm feeling like a complete bag of shit, to be honest. This situation has floored me. I think it's the feeling that after 23 years, after all the pain, shame, inadequacy, loneliness, loathing, anger, desperation, confusion, frankly feeling like I would rather be dead than be consumed with shame over being fat and how I seem unable to manage it... something has 'cured' me and there is potential for it to be interrupted.

The sadness I have felt over the weekend, which is spilling over into today, I feel so bad about it. For all of us, for everyone. The people just starting, the people making great progress who are midway through their journey and will have to stop. People at maintenance who will have to stop. The cost is of course terrible, but it's the feeling of interruption that I am finding really hard to deal with.

I felt sick at the thought over the weekend that I could go back to being that person. I cannot go back there. MJ hasn't just given me the space to finally become a healthy weight, it's restored my menstrual cycle, something that hasn't ever done by itself even when I got down to healthy weight (through restrictive misery). How quiet my head is, no more crippling daily anxiety, being able to confront things head on instead of descending into a literal panic. I've never been wired properly - and now I am. I am free. I am so scared to be imprisoned again.

I know this is rather deep for a Monday afternoon, but I feel fearful. Not because I won't be able to afford it (which is a privilege and I recognise that and I apologise if I sound like a wanker for even bringing it up) but that who knows what will happen next? Who's going to kick off next? Would it ever get banned? Who's going to do something to ruin it? Stock issues? Delay issues? Smaller pharmacies that provide long term maintenance who won't be able to secure pricing enough to compete with larger pharamacies, who then shut down, where do I go? What fatphobic arsehole in power is going to make it difficult? Feeling like I would like to say a big FU to Pharma, but knowing that I can't, because then I go back to the prison.

I am catastrophising, but it is very hard not to. I am sure it will all calm down and we will all know where we stand soon enough... things usually work out, but fear for me is the worst feeling in the entire world. I hate it.

Another NSV for me. The month before starting MJ my blood pressure was so high that I had to have a 24 hour monitor put on and was being strongly advised to go on medication as my BP was dangerously high. I knew I was starting MJ so decided to hold off medication.

4 stone down and a check at the Dr today and my blood pressure is slightly raised (118/84) and they are happy that I do not need medication and happy tom monitor every six months or so. I am still a stone or so over where I should be, so slightly raised wasn't a shock and the nurse was not fussed at all.

But that is definitely the kick I need to keep the weight off, even tho I am planning to stop jabbing soon.

Oh @HansHolbein 😫

I’m not thinking too far ahead at the moment. What’s the point, the unknown can’t be rationalised or understood (that’s just how I look at it, it’s not a statement).

I can afford the price increase, I’ll be okay as long as they still continue to sell it.

I feel for anyone who is having to make the decision to stop based on the cost now. I feel so grateful that I started this last October because if I was coming to it now I’d probably look at the cost and think no thanks. Now I know it works for me and my body responds so well to it I’m more than happy to spend the money on it but it’s more of a gamble without being sure that it’s going to take effect. I feel sad for everyone who has now effectively been priced out. It’s really fucking shit.

I haven’t bulk bought, haven’t actually even bothered looking at the website since the news broke, will need to reorder in the next week or so and just hope there’s a pen in stock.

My body works properly for the first time in my adult life, I’ve also seen a monthly period which has never happened to me before. I know we both have PCOS and this has been absolutely life changing for me. I’ll just keep my head in the sand for a bit until this has all blown over I think.

@HansHolbein it is a worrying time for us all 💐, I have one 12.5mg, so five weeks with the golden dose and there is no stock at all with ASDA. I have stayed with them from the start and to be fair they are reserving the 5mg they have for existing customers.

I can also afford the increase, but it is making me very anxious not knowing if it will be available at all, this stuff really works and it is such a lifeline for those of us who need it.

@HansHolbein and everyone else who is feeling low the last few days, I hope you pick up soon. When it happened I thought, oh well I was tapering down in a day anyway, and I have 3 pens to do that, 1 already in fridge from last month, and 2 x 10mg on their way.

But now I think I might stay on a low dose for a while as I feel the same, I really don't want to go back to the way I was. I've noticed how differently people treat you when you are obese, how I didn't like to look in the mirror at myself, I purposefully avoided them especially when walking past them in a public toilet and my own house, how I hated trying clothes on in shops, how I blamed being single on my looks.
I went food shopping today and did really well with my shopping as I'm fully suppressed and I had a few thoughts, one of how much cheaper my food shop is and if even if a pen cost £200 that's 40 a week and I don't drink, smoke, eat out, and eat much less food which costs less when shopping. I spend £17.50 a day just to get to work and back and I don't have kids or a mortgage and worked very hard since I was 16, so I can afford the price rises and what else will i spend my money on, i wont go on holiday on my own and everyone has their families. Why keep it all in savings for a rainy day when I could easily drop dead one day and not touched my savings.
I'll drop as low dose as I can when tapering down and see how I get on.

Hi all, checking in after being away on holiday for a couple of weeks, hope you are all ok and not too disheartened about the price hike. Hopefully prices on the lower doses can be competitive for those that want to stay on low doses for as long as needed.

Luckily I hit my goal in July and was planning (via Oushk maintenance) to taper down. So have 1 pen already and 2 on the way and will come down off the slowly (have 3 doses left in current pen as well) so will take me to Christmas which was my plan to reduce and finish by then anyway.

Will try and read back a few and catch up on everyone’s progress.

SW 16 stone
CW 10.12
GW 11 stone

@HansHolbein - hold tight, you have been such a part of my journey- reading your regular updates and replying to us all. I don’t post much but am now so glad, like all of us we started back in October and are all well on our journeys to a healthier future.- I am sure that the current situation will stabilise and improve over the coming weeks- things may seem bleak now- but all is not lost. We are all in much healthier places now and once the shock of the last few days recedes we can work out a new way forward. Sending love and support 😘
SW: 17.10
CW: 12.9
GW: 11.10

@Missreginafalange same plan as myself, to finish by Christmas and I also have 3 pens.
Did you get very high with your dose?
I got to 15mg, did 12.5 on Saturday morning, still very strongly suppressed! Really surprised by this. So suppressed for last few months that I can't swallow vitamins and I'm exhausted, so I've bought some liquid multivitamin by Swedish nutra which I'll start taking this morning.

I completely forgot to mention the biggest reason I don't want to gain is because I was prediabetic at around 12St size 14 in sept 23. I didn't even think that was possible. I thought you had to much bigger to be prediabetic.
I've only known this since May when I changed GPs as they never told me.
I would be devastated if I got back there, my health was suffering with many symptoms including IBS, frequent respiratory infections, food intolerances, mood swings, pins and needles, aches and pain and reactive skin.
Well onwards and upwards everyone 👍

@DeltaAlphaDelta79 Wonderful NSV! Very pleased for you that you don't need the BP meds. Agree, really good motivation to keep going and keep the weight off.

@TheChosenTwo Thank you. I like your way of thinking. Sort of, it is what it is? Usually, well since being on MJ, I've been like that. I'm calming down a bit. I really am so pleased to see someone else with PCOS finally getting some relief from it. I used to think I was just broken.

SwiftDr didn't allow my 2 pens in the end, but are sending 1 pen. So that's good. I have one dose of 12.5 left. I have 1 10mg in the fridge and then 1 7.5 coming. To keep the costs down, I'm wondering if I could maintain long term on 5mg or even 2.5mg - but won't everyone else be thinking the same way, and then there will be stock issues of those doses... argh I need to stop overthinking! I'm not faffing about switching to Wegovy - I anticipate drama there.

I'll do the left over liquid and I'm considering stretching my doses out to 10 days (not recommending that to anyone), and will have to see how that goes. I keep telling myself that it will all work out in the end.

@Evenstar Thank you very much. That's exactly how I feel. It's not so much about the money (although if it went nuts, I would probably stop out of principle) it's the potential for moving the goalposts at short notice - or no notice! I hate the feeling of not knowing what is going to happen next. I've really tried to stop reading all the Reddit subs - I don't think they helped with all the panic. I read that one pharmacy got 7,000 orders. That's just crazy. The money involved in all of this is just... mind-blowing.

@Histoscientist Thank you. I do feel a little better today. Oh yes, the difference in treatment is stark. My personality hasn't changed at all so I find it unnerving that more doors are held open for me now and I seem to have more interactions with people. It makes me slightly distrustful. It has however made me reflect on myself and my own behaviour - do I treat people differently based on how they present? Why? Why not? What is the motivation there? It's early and I'm going to deep again!

I found 15mg very odd. Some days very strong suppression, others not to so much. Someone else had the same thing @Mincepieinthesky maybe? 12.5 is much better.

Oh my, talking of swallowing... I have exactly the same thing. I dread taking any tablets now!

Completely agree with you about the money - you can't take it with you and your health is worth everything. Good luck to you.

@Missreginafalange Hope you had a lovely holiday! Amazing loss!

@Crazydogmumma Thank you for your lovely message. This is a wonderful group, so supportive. You are so right, we just need to hold on. Stuff works out in the end... it usually does?! Maybe I need to get off the internet for a bit! Really impressive stats, well done. Sending love straight back!

What's everyone's plans today? I have some work to do. I'm also going to help the kids tidy their bedrooms... looks like a massive crack den squat in there. Socks everywhere... looks like a jumble sale. Awful. I hate mess so find it stressful having to walk past those hovels every day. They are very good kids but I am looking forward to them going back. Not long now. My husband and daughter are going to Vegas next week for a week (too hot for me) so will just be me and my son at home. Can't wait. House will be tidy and quiet!

Onward and upwards. Love to all.

@lickycat did they approve your order?

I'm still waiting to see if 2 of mine approve before ordering more! I think i will email today.

@HansHolbein Sorry you feel so down about it all. I dont think MJ will be going anywhere anytime soon, in fact I think it will only be a matter of time before there are pill versions and the new drugs they already have on trial in the US which is Retatrutide. That's supposed to be even better then MJ.
There may be stock issues at times but that's been the case since the start and delayed posting can be sorted by always having a back up pen in the fridge at home.
I am a very laid back person though, not much bothers me so this price increase hasn't bothered me too much, I just hate spending more money on something when Iv been paying half price for it, feels like day light robbery!! I can afford it at the new pieces but I wont pay it.
I will probably get MJ from a compounding place in the US when I run out here.

@DeltaAlphaDelta79 Well done on the blood pressure!!

@TheChosenTwo I am also so glad that I started last year when we all did! Its allowed us to get decent chunks off before this has happened.

@Evenstar If ASDA dont have stock, it is really easy to switch providers if you need too.

@Histoscientist Our food shop is loads cheaper too! I also have a friend that works in a farm fruit and veg type place and they give me loads of fruit and veg for free so its even lower because of that. My son is currently munching on a free nectarine.

@Missreginafalange I feel for me stopping around Christmas time would be too dangerous! Food around xmas is a huge thing for my husband so we always have a ton of nice stuff here. I need to be out of the danger month so Feb ha ha

@Histoscientist Hope the liquid vitamins go well! I take B12 but thats it at the moment. Glad the 12.5 is working better also. I do sometimes wonder if its the pens.
As in maybe some pens have been stored correctly and might of started degrading before they get to us so they dont work as well.

Went to a wedding last weekend and when I look at a before and after picture, I look so different yet its hard to see in real life!

Iv just picked a random horrible picture to compare. Jesus I was in so much denial before.

@Histoscientist so i am on 12.5 and am going to take 10mg on friday when i take my next dose. hoping to then slowly work my way back down the doses so i dont have to but any more pens 😬i never got to 15mg but to be honest i get quite high suppression on 12.5 still after 3 pens!

@HansHolbein thanks it was so nice to go and wear a bikini and clothes that i felt confident in for a change! sorry you've been feeling a little low at the moment, this journey certainly does bring its ups and downs doesn't it, also stepping away for a day or two can do wonders for our mental health if that's what you feel you need.

@Fizzleawayyy1 eeeee i didnt think about the food aspect of Christmas, may have to get one more pen to see me through to January as well!!

I know other peoples Decembers and Christmases may not involve as much food as mine but I feel its such a dangerous month to come off it, Going it alone will be new and BAM nice food everywhere!😂

I'm sure my home made Cauliflower cheese is enough to make me put on a stone with one portion😅😂