Shemed January Starters - Thread 4

[FatsiaJaponicaInTheGarden]

Hello everyone! I completely missed the other thread was full (haven't been too well this week) so I've started this one and will tag as many people as I can think of from recent pages. Do tag anyone else you think of that might miss the new thread!

I hope everyone is okay. It's been unsettling times hasn't it with all the news about the price increases and very little from Shemed as to what they are planning. I am hopeful that of all people we will be shielded the most due to being on the Study (fingers crossed).

I weighed in this morning and took second dose of the 10mg. I seemed to put on this morning but if I take the weight I've been most of this week...

I am exactly half way to my target! And I've lost 25% of my bodyweight!

10mg - so far no burps or nausea but I am wondering if this extreme tiredness is in part due to the drug. Was eating just as I was before the last couple of days but today don't want to eat so who knows!

I'll read up and tag people if I can.

ps @FatsiaJaponicaInTheGarden, have you actually looked at home much more to loose.
i’ve been saying 4 stone
I have calculated 80KG to aim (which is still overweight but I do not think I would look right at 74kg BMI 25 and don’t ever remember being that little)

so I have 24 kg to go. Done nearly 32 kg! I remember us talking about the half way point.

I’m aiming 3stone 10lbs! Wow that is so much less scary than 9stone I calculated in January!!!

@tinyemmy Pharmulous is the one I'm thinking about moving to as a permanent supplier. Im going to do anothwe one or two with Medino but whwreas medino was marginakky cheaoer for 10mg theyre now slightly more so when ive used a couole of 10%, vouchers ill move across! It does look really good for maintenance and ive read they'll do 6weekly even before that.

Pleass do shout how the call goes as id be interestes to know!

@Reginaphalangeeeee Its good you've got 9 weeks in hand niw after all the fuss with the pens! You're haooy using rhe the 5th dose arent you? ... As you can definirely get 10mg for under £50 if so.

Im still hoping once at target I can either cut down a bit or try wegovy. I comoletely assumed id be on it long term but has no idea Id have to worry avout cost this much 😳.

Wow 3 stone 10 sounds so mucb mode doable doesn't it!!!

Ill have a look at my stats...

SWJan 21st11 138.2 kg
(highest weight was 22st 10)
CW 15st13 101.2kg
Bmi 25 is 70.2kg or 11st1 (5ft6)

In my head i wanted to be slightly under so I could be 11 stone in light clothes if weighed at the Dr.

So still 5 stone to go. Im nearly at 6 stone loss so over halfway but still feels a very long way to go 😳. And still beyond most peoples starting points.

Id be just "overweight" and not obese at 84.3kg 13st 4.

So thats 2st9 /21kg away which sounds much more manageable actually 😁. I suspect at "overweight" Ill feel and look much better than i do now - and that 3 stone visibly make more difference than the first 3stone.

Wow a google has just shown i could access MJ as a brand new patient at bmi 27 (as asthmatic) which would be 11st13...

That's crackers relatively!

(And now going down a Google fu as a study in the summer showed glp1s to ve good for asthma due to inflammation.... I am terrified of colds as they lead to chest infections and i work with people rather from home so this is both exciting (my asthma has been fine all year!) and scary as another reason ill want to stay on meds.

I did only wathc half that black mirror wpisode and i have to stop my brain getting too anxious about the fact i might end up choosing between money and health.

I will check in after my maintenance call. I don't know how honest to be. Currently I've got a 5mg that I've been using 2.5mg out of. I think that will be frowned upon. I'm happy to buy 2.5 and jab that plus the golden dose but I have my Get a Drip pen probably arriving today and another in the fridge so it will be a few months before I need to buy a pen.

I've struggled to confirm if the inflammation benefits I've got are GLP-1 or GIP hence loath to move to wegovy. Its a small price to pay for health, but yes scarily close to black mirror!

You've done so well @FatsiaJaponicaInTheGarden just go after 7lbs at a time and you will be there in no time. Having lost so much already will make a huge difference to your life. Going by Renpho scales you've probably added a number of years to your life and you've already said that walking is so much easier which is adding to the health benefits

Wow @FatsiaJaponicaInTheGardenyou are storming ahead and lost much more than me now to be close to the 6 stone mark.

i think the last 3kg has been the point where everybody has started to notice my weight loss. And so, another 24kg will clearly impact a lot.

Like you I have an inflammatory condition affecting my breathing. When I first went on MJ I really really noticed a sudden improvement and reduction in symptoms. As time has gone on… it’s just become my new normal and although symptoms, it’s manageable. Autumn is always worse for me, the damp/mould trigger it. I have noticed that creep in but my worry is also coming of MJ, despite my weight loss I may struggle with those symptoms which will impact my mobility and exercise again.

yes I am using the 5th. My current Numan pens work out as £33 a week on that basis.
Working with a weekly cost feels better and more reasoned as I begin 5th doses (while we can). It puts in to perspective from the £25 SheMed pens.

I think you are amazing @FatsiaJaponicaInTheGarden
hooray to be over 1/2 way.
Do you ever remember weighing near 70kg?

I may ofcourse change my mind when I get to 80kg and decide I need to go further, but in the past I aimed too low and found the amount I needed to eat so little it was never going to last. Going lower to have a buffer also felt like I am setting myself up to fail. I want to stay strong so it will also be a balance of muscle ratio as I approach the 80’s.
As a teen I remember weighing myself at a gym. I was hurried to be 82kg. I went on ‘cabbage soup’ and got to 75ish quick. Everyone said how great I looked then in a blink of an eye eating ‘healthy food’ I was suddenly 85kg. And so my journey with weight gain began 😔

Gosh apologies I didn't look at spelling at all in the middle of the night. It obviously all made sense then! I'm exhausted today. And a bit overwhelmed with work -and the needing to increase work to afford this and also needing to increase my knowledge outside of work in order to do my work... I'm tired.

@tinyemmy Thanks - yes it's that strange place like halfway through a walk when you can see how far you've come... But also how far to go! It will be interesting to hear how the call went. Annecdotally on reddit googling it seems pharmacies are open to hearing about those who stockpile etc and plans with lower weight maintenance. I wonder if you could allude to "only wanting to order 8 weekly" or similar so you're not asking them for permission/to say anything they can't say but might say that's allowed? I think oushk was open to all sorts of different patterns for maintenance and had got the impression pharmulous was too but I don't know that.

@Reginaphalangeeeee Very close to 6stone! 10 seems to have given me some wooshes. I am shorter though so further to go...

My brief googled since not night-googling suggests it's all glp1s helping inflammation in asthma - the research isn't mounjaro specific. It seems (again research from.Chatgpt so not exactly reliable that its glp1 receptors in lungs and airway smooth cells that are affected. And reducing inflammation, less airway construction, increased oxidation and something to do with immune system. Is all really exciting). I'm currently hoping it would be okay to try wegovy for maintennance when I get there...

70kg.- not since having children. So 16 years of obesity and probably 10ish years morbidly obese. My happy weight was 10stone at uni and just after (ha wanted to lose weight then the fool that I am) but realistically I'm nearly 50 and will have sagging skin.

I think one of my motivations is to just "look normal" and that will be before I get to 70kg. In my head I think 14stone and I'll start feeling I'm getting there and 13stone would be not obese. That may be a good place to stop realistically

The under 70kg is really coming from years of going to the GP and being challenged about my weight or being disregarded due to weight etc and I so want to be a "healthy bmi". I've had health scares and just want to be healthy. I've started exercising and loving it mostly.

But I also realise bmi is outdated and I'm nearly 50.... I'm honestly so happy with how far I've come compared to what was someone visually struggling with weight - I think I'd just so love for it to not register as an issue anywhere (GPS included).

Id love surgery on the skin and will never afford that so know I need to make peace with what will be very big bingo wjngs (even if I develop muscle it won't be that much) and stomach/thigh overhangs.

It’s great to hear your reflections on possible weight targets. It really resonates with me.
Having breathing difficulties is awful when morbidly obese because even I began to believe it was because of my weight. It wasn’t, I needed surgery and that scared the hell out of me because I was told what an anaesthetic risk I was because of my weight.

I’ve been told to loose weight in blunt ways and round about subtle ways and my answer ended up being ‘I’m trying but my breathing stops me exercising’.
Well it did, but now I have lost weight, I know the weight did more!
i once refused to be weighed by a nurse because I said, I am trying to loose weight, I find it upsetting to weigh myself and I’m trying just focus on healthy eating. She told me it was irresponsible to not recognise and address my weight and it was policy they had a weight for me. I cried so much that day and asked never to see that nurse again, but also avoided the surgery even when I shouldn't have and needed them. It is dangerous shaming people!

I hear in your words you have felt the same judgement by GPs or healthcare workers.
Its horrid. I was told I was too heavy to access support post partum in a midwife and breast feeding unit. I understood being overweight (BMI over 35) why they wanted me to give birth under medical care, but post partum care, why?
I felt embarrassed being told no but outraged and brave for my baby so I challenged it. I even reminded them I had put on hardly any weight in pregnancy and had a straightforward birth and surely my post partum weight was less now. Nope, apparently the beds and chairs there didn’t take weight over 118Kgs and I was too close to that. I was so disappointed, I got there with my first born and it was so special there I felt Inlet my second baby down. A few days later a friend went to the unit, she showed me lovely pictures, both her and her husband sleeping together on the bed, their baby between them in a standard hospital bed and I thought, gosh, this will be my experience of healthcare now. Find an excuse to deny me access & blame my weight. It was nothing to do with the beds, they had another reason for not wanting obese me there.

so yes, I’m with you, let’s get to a weight where that can not be used against us again!!!

Normal sized would be great, I genuinely feel smaller now, I take up less space on chairs and my arms reach bits of me I couldn’t before. As I get smaller though, my silhouette is smaller but still a god dam awful shape/outline. Hoping the lower tum will one day stick out less in proportion to the rest of me, that is the point I will be happy, even if it is sagging.

Thanks for the info on GLP-1’s on airway tissues. I had read the same! Hope more research coming.

I know quite a few of us started around the same time. My first pen was prescribed on 19th January 2025 and I had my first injection on 20th January 2025. Am I right to think as it’s every 4 weeks I will get 13 pens during the 12 month programme so my last pen will be on 26th December and my final weigh in will be on 23rd January 2026? Trying to work out how many more pens I’ll have on the programme.

Good question and I am not sure of the answer. I think my first prescription 13th Jan.

I plan not to fill next questionnaire out but keep app live. Wondering if any deals become available with them but as don’t wasn’t Wegovy right now now and their MJ too expensive I think I’ll leave them hanging 🤷‍♀️

Meeting with pharmulous was a bit strange. They called me as they said their app wasn't working, they called a minute early which meant I had to quickly grab the call and end a work call which I wasn't impressed with. Although most would be impressed that they were early. I'm quite used to missing calls and never getting another one from other pharmacies.

I mentioned one month on one month off and they said it wasn't something they usually did but they seemed ok with it. They said to order when I've finished my pens, although I'm worried as that's about 4 months away!

I may buy early. I don't know!

Well, I took my first dose of Wegovy this morning. Slightly different pen and it injects much faster than the MJ. My final MJ week though and I lost 4lbs! It will be interesting to see how it goes, but, fingers crossed, no side effects so far. I’m currently also taking a GLP-1 supplement, perimenopause supplements and Vitamin B3 as my good cholesterol was too low on the last round of blood tests!

Good luck to everyone this week. Whichever pathway you’ve decided to follow, I hope it works for you!

Starting weight: 17st 2lbs - January 31st
Current weight: 10st 11lbs - September 12th

Total loss: 6st 5lbs

Good luck @Kaggi9. You have done so well! I think you may have lost to most of all people on here starting at the same time.

Pleased do keep us updated with how you are on Wegovy.
interested to know more about your supplements too.
My good Cholesterol also too low, did GP recommend Vit B3?

wishing you a smooth transition.

Thank you @Reginaphalangeeeee!

The GP didn’t recommend it, I did a bit of googling to find out what to do to increase it, and niacin, which is B3, can up alongside drinking alcohol (I laughed at that one) and increasing exercise. I figured I’d go for the easy option 🤣.

Morning! I'm struggling still with broken sleep but also now not being able to get back to sleep easily. I'm not sure how much is mounjaro and how much is just exhaustion/work but I guess they fuel each other...

@Reginaphalangeeeee I hear you ((((reginapjalangeeeee)))). It's so unfair how we've been treated for essentially a medical condition that we are now treating. Im both so happy how much easier being in the world (both literally physically and walking but also going places and not feeling the looks and judgement) is but also sad for all the years it's been hard. It's good you've read similar GLP - 1 info as mine was all from late night googling!!

I went on a first aid course yesterday and there was a bit where they talked about positioning someone morbidly obese and the effect of backfat on their position/airways. It literally would have been me if I'd done the course when I wa sidest offered it 6months ago. As it was noone looked at me, they weren't referencing me... It literally isn't me right now. The trainer was brilliant and matter of fact about it and not at all judgemental (well not openly at least!) and even when we did cpr referenced well built rugby players when talking about larger bodies.
Its strange to be there in a smaller body - almost like a movie where you're in someone else's body as I just experienced it all differently. Also it had been a requirement to be able to get on the floor.... Which I can now do with ease and was so consious of how far I'd come! I'm not super coherent (lack of sleep) but it really is different not being morbidly obese.

@Mazd323 Yes it should be 13 pens.. But just before the new prices were released I went back and forth with emails where I was told repeatedly it was "12 pens for 12 months" and eventually I gave up as they didn't have a,clue even when I explained that a year has 52 weeks. A pen lasts 4 weeks... I even asked for it to go to someone more senior but then I gave up! I really don't know what they will do.

@tinyemmy Ooh that's useful they're happy with one month on one month off but frustrating they caught you mid call! That probably answers my query I was going to post here as I was thinking of buying next pen up and taking current dose from it just to try and save a bit. I know most pharmacies seem fine with 5 weeks. Although having said that I'm not in maintenance.

Was it a long call? Did they want to do a plan or anytjing? Medino was all just online (although they said they could call)

@Kaggi9 Wow 6.5 stone yes I do think that's the most I've seen on our thread. You've done amazingly! And fantastic timing to go to wegovy. I hope it goes well this week.

It must feel so different being your new weight? I'm at just under 16stone now so sort of seeing your journey as my "part 2"! Does it feel very different to the January you???

Hope everyone has a good week this week :)

Oh I'm now not sure when to order another pen. It's tempting to do it now but if it's going to get harder to order after gaps and I need not to space them out too much I perhaps should wait!

@FatsiaJaponicaInTheGarden

If I’m honest it feels really weird. I’m wearing a size 10 quite comfortably now and I look in the mirror and still see myself as how I was before and can’t get my head around the fact that I’m not. Especially my tummy, which I’m still very conscious of.

I've lost 3st and a half. I'm also struggling with my new body and I'm unsure how to dress it. I've relied on baggy tops and trousers for a while and I'm not sure who I am without them or what I should wear instead. It's a strange time for definite.

Yesterday I tried on some skirts that i bought 4 years ago from Boden. I wasn't sure if they were too big or not and I needed to ask my daughter if I could still get away with these. She said no mom they are too big. They fell down at the waist and just hung at my hips. And i needed her reassurance to act on that even though I know. My waist is a 34 now and my hips a 38, but I cannot imagine going clothes shopping and picking things up in this size.

I am convinced they will be too small.
So I keep wearing my in between jeans I bought even though they are hanging off me.

I think I'm a size 12 but I darent go clothes shopping and prove myself right.

Thanks so much for posting this, it's really resonated with me but wasn't sure how to say until I read your words.

X

@Earthgirl3971 @Kaggi9 I'm having the same confusion. I pick up my size 12 jeans, look at them and think how small they are and how there’s no chance of them fitting me. I slip them on, prepping myself for my age old issue of not being able to pull them up but they slip on! How?

I bought some size 10 jeans from Sezanne earlier in the year as my ultimate goal. Whilst I can pull them both on with ease, there’s no way I can do them up yet. Time was that this was my every day - squeezing into too small clothes but getting sweaty, frustrated, and embarrassed about it. I showed DH and DD my squished into size 10 jeans with pride!

Oh how far we have come x

It's weird how our brains fool us - I put on jeans that I haven't been able to get more than one leg into for years and then still think I haven't changed much! I'm so impressed with everyone's progress.

I've had a bit of a Meh week, completely unrelated to SheMed. Fell off a horse on Thursday, nothing broken but I'm just really sore all over and keep waking up at night trapped in position and not able to roll over. It's also scuppered my exercise since then as I couldn't even bend over to put on socks for 2 days!

Weigh in day and another 2.3lb loss, so 5st 4.4lb in total. Part of me was hoping for a crap loss this week to make my decision on whether to switch to Wegovy easier, but Mounjaro just keeps on doing good things!

I totally get the clothes thing. I bought a pair of jodhpurs in January in a size 14, as my goal is to be light enough to ride again. Back in January, I couldn’t get them much past my knees, but I can now get them all the way on. They’re extremely snug and stretched to capacity, but they go on, however, I don’t see the difference when I look in the mirror at all. My stupidly expensive knee length leather boots, bought to fit my fat calves, have now got enough room in them to fit my forearm down, but I still feel like my legs are huge! It’s like my head hasn’t quite caught up with my body!

I'm definitely going to have to dig around in my cupboards to see if I can find some 'slimmer' jodhpurs - my current regular pair have about 3 inches of slack at the waistband. @JBJ

My big calves remain stubbornly large, but mainly when viewed from the front. The rest of me can cheerfully get into my old jeans, but the calves remain tight. I did buy some 'big calf' riding boots, but I was never happy with them, as they seemed to expect a big flare of fat at the top back of the calf, whereas mine are more like a cone shape (without the pointy, delicate ankle!)

Yes my calves are the same. I think I’m going to be going with short boots and half chaps when I’m finally at a point of being able to ride. Another 3st 3.1lb and I’ll finally be at the weight limit for my local RDA!

I've pretty much always been a half chap/short boots person due to having small feet (size 3) and 90% of boots in that size being designed for children. I don't do showing, so full length boots aren't mandatory.

I used to have a lovely pair of Mountain Horse long boots, back in my previous life when I had the horses. I don’t think I’ll ever be in a position to have my own again though, and I’m more interested in hacking nowadays!

Well it’s reassuring, but not good, to hear we’re all having the same insecurities and it’s not just me! I may not be a horse rider, but I have the same calf issue. I actually think they’re probably the chunkiest part of me now when I look at bits in proportion. I always thought it was going to be my thighs, but they’ve gone down now and my bum has disappeared. Anyone else feel the same?

Well done ! And gosh hooe you're okay. Falling off a horse never sounds good 😬.

Its so strange how the mind and body link isn't it. I also think it will be weird going "back" to a different size but in my case 15 years older so essentially as a different person. It's funny as I guess we all assume we'll be "happy if" with weight and it's not always quite what we expect. It's so helpful to read all your thoughts. I know when I get there I'll have loose skin/overhangs so wont be the "me" I remember before kids.

Are the "big" calves not muscle?

Horse riding is one of the things on my "end goal" list. I sya horse riding - I've paid for my duaghter to do a few of those 1hour trek type rides and always felt so sad I couldnt do it with her. Ive paid for a friend to go before which was so expensive. I know it will be a long way away as you need to not be overweight to ride for the horses sake but it's on the list as a distant goal. I also know I'll probably be terrified as I won't have a clue!! But I'm so keen to do it with my duaghter.

There's another goal I've wanted for the last 15 years of fitting on roller coasters but when I went to just paultons (and fitted - yay!) I realised I don't enjoy them like I did. I'm so sad I've missed a chunk of my kids growing up of being able to do things with them.

On the flip side we went to the next town to do shopping in the summer (I hate shopping). For my duaghter and I had the stamina to walk between and in shops with her. Years gone by I'd be sat outside the shops waiting for her and then looking at her favourites. Or having coffee stops. Or just doing one shop... So it's getting there!

I'm sulphur burping AGAIN today and I'm exhausted - it's mainly work stress but I'm actually wondering if I should go down to 9mg this week and see if it makes any difference. I love that my weight loss is losing again so its swings and roundabouts....