Mounjaro… where to start?

[wheretostart4567]

A bit of background: I’m 5ft 5, 18.5 stone and 30 years old. I have always been obese bar 3 ish years towards the end of uni when I got myself to a healthy weight. I sustained this until I fell pregnant with my daughter at 23, and since then have put on a whopping 8 stone.

I have decided I want to try mounjaro but it’s so overwhelming. I’ve seen someone recommending a website to compare the costs of different providers, but I haven’t heard of loads of them and that puts me off. I looked at Asda but it’s looking like it will be a week for them for them to review the application and I want to start as soon as possible.

Where do I start? Which provider? Do I need to just order a 2.5mg as Asda offer a bundle of 2.5, 5 and 7.5 all in one go? Is there actually much difference price wise?

https://monj.co.uk/

That’s the comparison website. It’s really comprehensive.

I’s just start simple. Pick a provider and get one pen. Everyone starts on 2.5ml.

I went with MedExpress. Easy form to fill out. You will need to take a picture of yourself in something like light coloured leggings and tight t shirt and submit that. I got approved the same day and had my pen two days later. Best of luck!

I’d recommend Medexpress or Farmaci - both have turned my orders round fast - order in a Monday, parcel arrives on Wednesday. they will also do next day delivery if you want to start quickly.

Medexpress have been extremely expensive lately so I switched to Farmaci. There is a huge cost difference between brands so I would suggest shooing around. The comparison site shows Trustpilot ratings as well as costs - so I use that as a guide as well as price

I dont think I’d buy a pack of 3 pens in one go . There’s a risk you don’t get on with the drug, or choose to stay on a low dose longer than 4 weeks if you are losing well at that level. So I would just buy the 1 pen to start, see how it goes and then make a decision at week 3 or 4 on what dosage you want to use for the next 4 weeks and buy your next pen accordingly.

Good luck with your weight loss!

I wouldn’t go for a bundle - I never moved up from 2.5mg so the other 2 pens would have been wasted. You really need to know how you manage on it before making dose decisions

If I was starting now I would go with Swift Doctor but Bolt the been very good and so I am being loyal. Think about long term issues like maintenance and whether they will be a bit human and talk to you if you want to do that. See how you get on with the lowest dose - bundles are better value but as the previous post says you don’t know if you will need to go up. Don’t get caught up with discount codes or paying over the odds for a name. I haven’t heard good things about Boots and I didn’t think much of them.

I use both of these too!

All the ones on the Monj website will be GPhC registered pharmacies and so they will be regulated and inspected. I have used Asda, Zava (who actually fulfil Asda’s orders), Pharmacy2U (who do my NHS prescriptions), WePrescribe and now Swift. No problems with any of them, and I moved to keep costs down by getting new customer discounts.

Swift were as quick as their name suggests, and are a pretty decent price.

I've just gone with asda. I ordered on Sunday afternoon, then uploaded my photos straight away. The order was approved by their Dr today and will be available to collect at my local asda pharmacy tomorrow. It was quicker than I expected (the estimate when I ordered said my order should be reviewed in 4-6 working days, then allow time for delivery). The actual order/submitting photos etc was easier than I expected, I just had to enter my weight and height and then upload a photo of the scales with my feet visible on them, a side photo of me and one from the photo. No ID needed or anything else.

I've just gone for the one 2.5 pen to start. I was tempted by the bundle but have heard some people stick on the starting dose for longer than a month so thought I would see how I get on with this one.

@NeedSleepNow I’m still on 2.5 13 weeks later :)

Was that a decision to manage side effects or were you getting consistent results at 2.5 and so stick at that dose? I'm picking up my first pen tomorrow from the pharmacy and am a bit worried about possible side effects!

Personally I chose a pharmacy that was slightly more expensive but gave loads of help and support for my first month so that I had back up if I got lots of side effects. In my case Voy. (I also looked at Juniper and nearly went with MedExpress until I saw lots of disgruntled customers on their Facebook page waiting for delayed orders). I really like Voy - they have coaches you talk to, a fab AI coach that can answer anything and a tool that analyses your meals from a photo. But it’s too expensive to stay with for long. The Care Pharmacy is also really helpful and cheaper.
Once you know what you’re doing and feel comfortable dealing with side effects etc you’ll find lots of cheaper options.

I've also started on Voy as I thought the extra support would be worthwhile while I got into using the pen and improving my diet. I've found the app great. I was about to cancel to save money when I moved up to 5mg bit they offered a disco stay so I'm doing another month then will probably shop around.
It depends how much support you think you might need really, I felt the extra £20 for Voy over some of the others was worth it as I started out and I don't regret that at all

I know you asked someone else but I have also stayed on 2.5mg. I’m 8 months in now and over 6 stone lost. I remained on 2.5mg because it worked. I haven’t had any side effects at all. It isn’t as effective as it was at the start, thankfully. It was really brutal to begin with as I do not like the suppression or struggling to eat. Now I have a really good balance of hunger, appetite and absolute control. It works very well for me at 2.5mg.

@NeedSleepNow consistent results and still working suppression wise, but I can still manage to eat what I need so staying out for now! If it’s working for you carry on x

I’d also recommend finding one of the recent “starters” groups on here to give you more informal support. There’s usually a new one set up every few weeks. I’m one of the April gang and I’ve found it really helpful to have people at the same stage as me to check in with and to share experiences.

All of the pharmacies listed on monj.co.uk are GPhC registered even if you haven’t heard of them. I would suggest having a look at a few and considering what you want - cheapest price, a human to talk to, a gp led service, ability to collect, royal mail
or dpd delivery, ability to pick a delivery date, extra coaching support etc

My pharmacy is not the cheapest but is GP led, is reliable for next day delivery, has excellent customer service and is ethical in that they don’t use affiliates on social media to sell a prescription medication. These are things that are important to me but might not be a priority to others.

Personally, I would avoid the big high street names as they are outrageously expensive for no extra services. I wouldn’t use a subscription service that offers ‘support’ as I started out there and it was not worth the extra money!

I’ve moved around a few times in the year I’ve been on MJ as I realised what was important to me. You can change easily but there is a possibility this may become harder as new regulations are enforced more stringently.

Another alternative (and one my wary friend is going for!) is to use a local independent pharmacy where you have access to a pharmacist every month when you collect your prescription. Many are fairly reasonably priced too.

Do have a look on monj to get an idea about prices to compare though. Somebody was telling me they had paid £160 for a 2.5mg which was appalling!

Re buying several pens - don’t until you get going as you have no idea how you will respond so won’t know what you will need. I spent 20 weeks on 5mg for example!

I second the suggestion of joining your month starters’ group here. Mine from last June is still around and very helpful.

Good luck!

It's not comprehensive, it doesn't even mention Boots or Superdrug.

I'd rather pay more for a known name. I don't trust all these random providers.

@spoonbillstretford both Boots and Superdrug are on the Monj list, so I’m not sure why you’ve said they’re missing.

The other pharmacies are not “random” just because you haven’t heard of them. Fair enough if you don’t trust them, but other people will be able to see their GPhC registration, read their inspection reports, check their websites and realise they are all utterly normal pharmacies. Boots price for the starting dose (£219) is over twice as expensive as the cheaper pharmacies for no better service other than their “trusted” name.

I can't see them on the maintenance info page.

@spoonbillstretford They are on the discount list and the retail price list. They’re presumably not on the maintenance list because they haven’t responded with any details of their approach to maintenance. The OP is wanting to start WLI, not move to a maintenance supplier.