Mounjaro October starters - Thread 8!

[HansHolbein]

Carry on losers!

I’m an existing customer (for 8 months) and signed up for the email alerts and I didn’t get a stock alert, and neither am I able to re-order.

Had an email from Superdrug finally. They have rejected my order after nearly 2 weeks of ‘pending’. Strangely, they didn’t say it was because of lack of stock, they said it was because my BMI is 28, so too low for them to prescribe. This is despite me sending them evidence of my prescriptions since last October, and my starting weight.

MM (my usually supplier) still showing no stock of anything for me, and so I’ve got nothing to jab with tomorrow. It’s really worrying.

Hello all, how is everyone?
SW 83kg 13st 1lbs bmi 32.4
CW 62.1kg 9st 11lbs bmi 24.2

I'm off work this week on annual leave so I decided to start exercising mainly HIIT body toning classes following 2 ladies on youtube, which is a more doable than all the lying down mat versions by Joe wicks that I did for months pre mj! I've done 3 sessions since Monday and on Wednesday was out shopping in a retail park so lots of walking.
I've increased my tracked calories from 1200 up to 1300, but that's good as on 15mg I was only managing 715 to 850 approx a day and I was exhausted and just layed about when I wasn't at work. Before 15mg i was only hitting 1100 max and 900 on weekend days off so that wasn't good either!
Yesterday I was peckish after my exercise, trying to increase protein, had a protein shake straight after, but I have tapered down to 12 this week with counting clicks and noticing the increased hunger and snack cravings, especially with exercise and hit 1450 cals!

I've gained from 61.5kg 9st 9.5lbs last week to 62.1kg this morning, I know its because of exercise and water retention and building muscle but its quite hard to see an increase when I'm consistently losing and on 15mg I lost 6lbs in a month, yes I barely ate but its a mind mess and part of me wants to stop exercising but I'm seeing the change in body shape, smaller waist and not so flat butt so I'll have to continue for now, plus it allows me to eat more and I feel better and I wasn't healthy at all on lower calories.

Any tips or stories from others with exercise and calories is appreciated!

So I've had the usual 're-order now' email from MedExpress. I was really pleased because I thought I might sneak an order in at the old price. It let me go all the way through the health checks etc and then popped a 2.5mg in my basket and took me to the checkout, without the option to change the dosage.
What's the point of that! My last order was a 15mg, so why would they think I might be interested in 2.5mg?
I know they don't currently have any stock, but for a moment there I thought they were trying to maintain the regular routine for existing customers, and would let me order and fulfill the order when they got stock.
It would have been better to either not send the reorder email at all, or send a 'we know it's time for you to re-order, but we don't have any stock (until next week when it will magically appear when the price goes up by 50%).
I know it's not MedExpresses' fault, I'm just venting that they got my hopes up and let me waste my time completing the ordering process.
Whilst I'm on a roll venting, I think it was very bad form of Eli Lilly to stop delivering supplies before the price rise - that's blatant profiteering.
I'm going to go and sit in a corner now, chuntering to myself

Hello everyone just checking in. I cannot believe it’s coming up to a year since we all first started.

I think I am in the maintenance phase now - nearly 4st down at just over 9st, 5ft 3, with a bmi of 22.9. Not lost anything since June and I am pretty wrinkly especially in my stomach which is a bit depressing. I think I don’t really want to lose much more. Have been strength training throughout so have at least managed to build muscle and not waste away.

I never went above 5mg as it worked nicely for me so I am going down to 2.5mg and see how that feels. Received a 5mg pen from Cloud at the old price last week and going to use half a dose from now on.

I think I will be on this long term as had childhood obesity but perhaps I can micro dose. It’s been wonderful to have a summer not sweating and feeling comfortable in my body.

I'm titrating down now and intend to be off MJ by the end of the year. Bit nervous, but I've been slim all my life until the last few years, so should be do-able. I'm finally back into my old clothes (well, most of them) and am over the moon. Would love to lose another few pounds but we'll see. Got a couple of pens left in the fridge so will carry on for now but if I can get back to maintaining my weight without MJ I'll be so pleased. I've been lucky with side effects but have been experiencing pretty bad fatigue, so should probably try to get off it if I can. Everyone's done so well and I'm so proud of us all!

@HappyNewt what a lovely post about the massage and treating yourself every month with something truly nurturing 💕

Morning all

Week 45

SW 17'10
CW 13'6

4 Pounds loss for me this week after yo-yoing with 3 pounds! So fingers crossed that has gone now!

Only 6 weeks of jabbing left for me, and I am definitely getting snack-ish towards the end of the week after jabbing, so it's going to be a hard slog to keep this weight off!

Good luck everyone!

Are you coming completely off? Have you considered wegovy if its the price of mounjaro affecting your decision to continue?

@DeltaAlphaDelta79 I’m not sure I could cope with the hard slog. I agree with @Histoscientist - is Wegovy an option for you? I’ll be in the same boat soon as I have my maintenance call booked for the 29th September. I’m going to stay on MJ and start titrating down after I’ve lost another half stone - which is taking forever! I can’t risk and am fearful of regaining (like all of us)!

@Histoscientist @Letshavetea1 I had already decided to stop before the price hikes, although I probably would have titrated down before stopping. I am near enough where I wanted to be and I never planned/wanted to be on it long term. I was originally thinking I would do 6 months to see how it went, and its been a year.

The price before the increases had some bearing on my decision as I could be spending the money elsewhere, and I am planning on using some of the money towards gym classes to try and keep me healthy as well as the weight off (hopefully).

As much as it has been good for me, I need a break. If the weight starts piling back on too much I might come back to it and try Wegovy.

Morning all
Still slogging away here, been on a bit of a plateau recently but lost 3lbs this week (I think the MJ decided it had better get it's finger out and justify the new exorbitant cost!).
Still chuntering to myself about price increases, Trump, life, the universe and everything.
But I think the most annoying thing is that MedExpress is spamming me with messages to reorder, but it won't actually let me place an order. This is doubly annoying because my scheduled reorder date was Friday, so I should have got another order in before the price increase - read the room MedExpress and turn the auto-messaging off until you're actually able to accept orders!
Anyway, rant over:

SW 20st 2lbs
CW 12st 10lbs

So just a pound shy of 71/2 stone loss. I really shouldn't be whinging should I?

Good luck! Hopefully the lessons you have learned will help you along your journey.
I'm tapering down from 15mg, now taken my first 10mg on saturday, it's still super strong for me which is very odd as it wore off, as did 12.5 which is why I kept going up! I'm wondering if this means my prediabetes has been resolved!

I'm at bmi 24.1, 9st 10lbs ideally want to get to 9st 7lbs but I've started exercising last week, so I originally gained with water weight and I'm expecting to go up with increased muscle mass. I will come off it completely too.
Though I don't think it will be easy to go back on a WLI with a lower bmi, unless I pay £15 a month to stay on Oushk books, but I don't want to do that! Just something to consider.

@Histoscientist If I can get under 13 stone I will be happy. I need to get to 12 stone 1 pound to be in healthy range for BMI, but that will be too slim for me, so I can live with sub 13 stone, and aim to have 13 st 8 pounds as my maximum I can live with that.

I had to take a peek at monj just to see the new prices....
I'm using the new pricing as motivation to keep working hard going forward.
I know that I am lucky to have been near to the end of my journey. Yes, I probably would have purchased one more pen to have helped me titrate down more slowly. But, I am super happy to be where I am today. Double the price I was paying today...and that is a really big motivator.

Wherever we got to we are lucky to have been able to benefit and to have been able to afford it. Onward with whichever path we choose.

Mine is to finish the final doses from the pen I had. Focus is on consistency - getting my exercise, hydration and nutrition right now and in the future, and accountability - weighing and tracking my weight weekly, and never returning to burying my head in the sand and ignoring the steady changes upward. And, I am definitely going to use my (old price) 'saving' though to the end of this year to treat myself to helpful/nice treatments/gym memberships/boosts that will help keep the positive effects that I experienced on MJ along side the weightloss.

I now owe it to myself to ensure that I remain a healthy weight and continue with the clean healthy habits I have established over the last year

Good luck everyone - thank you so much for all of your posts over the past (nearly) year!!

Wow you must be a lot taller than me! Good luck!
I'm 5ft 3 and had to get to 10st to be normal, but also with my ethnicity I'm strictly not considered normal bmi until I get to bmi 23 🙈 I'll try what I can to get to it but I'm 43 so it's not easy and then I'll lose all my curves! Toning workouts are working to make my butt curvier instead of flat and to snatch my waist lol

Sounds like a plan, always nice to focus on yourself and treat yourself regularly. Hope it works out for you x to be honest I'm going to come off it, I'm still cold and tired all the time even on 10mg down from 15, maybe it will sort itself out on lower doses but again it's been 11 months of dieting for me and I've tracked and been strict, barely eat out and don't drink and haven't even been away on holiday, so not gave myself any breaks and in getting tired of feeling like this now. Currently laid on sofa with a thick blanket over me on my time off work, I was planning on doing DIY painting my kitchen but just too tired right now.
I also don't think its good for me to stay on medication, unless life threatening, as I don't know the long term effects of tirzepatide, I know semaglutide has been used for decades for diabetes, but that's in the back of my mind at times. I've always been quite a staying natural kind of person and try not to use painkillers or any meds unless super necessary, so that keeps coming up for me.

I count myself lucky that I didn't get any particular side effects, thankfully.

I was cold initially and through winter, but that passed. But nothing else really. I certainly couldnt have stayed on MJ if the side effects made day to day stuff a problem and if the suppression had been too much, I would have worried about being under nourished.

I hope things settle down for you as you titrate down, it certainly sounds like you are made of tough stuff if you have kept going as long as you have when it's been so tough!!

Maybe more stubborn?? Lol I'm a very goal orientated person so won't stop until I get there, same with my career. Its not always a good thing though as I won't stop, even when I should. I'll keep going until I'm seriously ill/exhausted/given every bit of me that I can and collapse! Oh well, always tell myself it's only temporary.

Hi everyone! Thought I’d say hello, I started back in October at about 22stone, now I’m 13st11. I’m training for a half marathon and I’m so so happy with my loss. Bit of loose skin but not awful. I wouldn’t mind another stone off but I’m looking at titrating down (can’t afford it tbh!). I’m currently down to 7.5 and going okay.

Wonderful to hear about all the losses! Hopefully most of us have lost a good amount already so price rise will not bite as hard or for as long.

I had been using Oushk pharmacy until recently. I stayed loyal as I thought they were ethical and safety conscious. August and scramble for pens has really opened my eyes. I have ordered one pen at a time and never had the need to seek advice from them so far. However during August I wasn’t able to order as they were constantly out of stock. I was informed by an advisor this was mainly because they allowed people to buy three pens at a time and only changed policy very late. As a result of this some people stockpiled and others left with no medication for their next dose - of any strength. I asked for clinical advice on what to do but weeks later still waiting for a call back. What is really making me question ethics and bothering me is:

1. how can they supply three pens at one time without the monthly safety checks of whether it is still safe to supply? how does this meet the regulatory requirements?
2. their lack of responsiveness, once they have your money, to clinical queries. The prescriber is still responsible after the prescription has been issued. It’s not good enough to expect people to seek support from already busy GPs / NHS.
3. upon reaching maintenance, you have to pay a monthly maintenance fee should you need to go back on it. Surely this should be clinical need dependent and not whether you pay them an ‘insurance’ just in case. The fact that they have supplied for months / years should be sufficient. Either there is clinical need to supply or not based on guidelines. How do regulatory bodies view this position?

Rant over!! 🥺😨

That was one of my strong reasons for coming off and since I have; the niggling feeling on left side has ceased which really makes me wonder what was grumbling?!! I’m wondering how @recklessgran is? How are you?

I’ve put on a few pounds but can keep on top of it. Most of my weight gain is due to larger portions and too much dark chocolate!! I know I need to attend to both but it’s nothing that can’t be sorted and I’m really not feeling massive cravings or terribly hungry. Just need to be mindful of new habits !! I will always need to stay vigilant but then everyone does - no one is naturally slim (those ‘naturally slim’ people - watch what they eat!) or those that I know do!! I’m now less scared by a couple of pounds gain and beginning to feel that I’m now in control of what happens next. I love the positive posts from people about their plans and ideas for going forward - reading them is helping me keep positive and keep going. This is our new life. I love my healthy eating and won’t give that up. I’m not binging junk food or drinking alcohol like I was before and that’s a win - win. That negative cycle has been broken. Keep going everyone 🩷🙌

@SmartyPops who are you with now? I'm with Oushk. It seems the 3 pen rule was a long standing one that a lot who maintain on the same dose take advantage of. They stuck with that rule initially when the news broke but weren't expecting all the sales then changed it to two. They did send an email explaining all this recently, you can find it on the Circle community.
I have always had quick responses to clinical and general queries, once I emailed them 10.30pm and had received a response at 10.50pm! This was before the August 14 price rise explosion. I haven't emailed since but they did let us know that they had received 3000 emails in a day and were busy getting through them! They do say whatsapp is a better option so you might want to try that?
With your 3rd point about maintenance, I am at maintenance and I don't pay to stay on their books as I am on the taper plan. The £15 fee is only on the flexi plan and to be honest, if you didn't pay this, a lot of pharmacies would not prescribe a pen after a gap of 6-8 weeks and bmi under 30 so at least they give this option rather than going cold turkey and being cut off.

@EVK sounds like you are doing great. Has your energy increased and do you feel different other than hunger? It's great that you aren't bingeing on junk food or alcohol and those cravings haven't returned. The few pounds gain could just be water retention as mounjaro does dehydrate. Glad your niggle has gone! Did you go cold turkey or taper down? At least dark chocolate is a better option!
I've had some liquid berberine turn up which I will start using when I find hunger returning but at the moment I'm doing fine on 10.5mg, down from 15mg, and I'll stay on it another 4 weeks. Did some DIY for 2hrs today painting gloss in my kitchen 🙈 I'm knackered but not ravenous, I've only had 958 calories today. I'm also exercising too but eat more on those days around 1100-1250. So I think I'll keep coming down for now.
Hit 9st 9lbs today bmi 23.9, always great to get in a new bracket. Only 1lb to lose for a 3.5 stone loss and 2 pounds to my target of 9.5 stones!