Lost nearly half my body weight and ive maintained for nearly 6 months

[LolaLouise]

Hi all

I started mounjaro at 99kg and finished at 52kg which puts my BMI at 21. My HBA1C has gone from high 40s to 28.

I was quite unlucky with side effects - they were debilitating at times. I powered through them and became successful. Some however, have left me with permanent issues but on balance its a small price to pay for overall health

Ive changed many things. I was an iced coffee addict, now i limit myself to one a day. I hate drinking water but have found a low calorie flavoured water i can drink. I go to the gym 5 mornings per week. I have to chose to actively engage with every meal. I cant eat infront of the tv mindlessly anymore. I have to pay attention, eat slowly, and the second i start to feel full remove the food.

Its hard going to without MJ, everything is a choice, i have internal battles every day, at every meal, and every drink, every morning in the gym. Its never, ever easy. It goes against what i want and what my brain tells me. Food noise still exists, the hunger still exists. I have to actively decide to ignore it.

i wanted to post purely to share my journey, but also, to offer real honest advice to people. None of my journey was easy, not taking it, not side effects, not the permanent physical problems i have, not maintaining. It’s been hard - but i figured some people may want the open honest answers to their questions.

Thank you OP and others for sharing. I'm on MJ 2.5m for second month and developed pain in kidney. Had urine and blood tests done which came all clear. So not disgnosed with stones..
Pain is now almost gone after 2 week but I've stopped taking MJ In that time.
Curly12345 can you please advise how are your stones gone? Did you pass them? How did doctor confirm it's stones, blood test or ultrasound?

I want to start MJ again as only lost 1.5st so far and have at least 3 more to go..

Would i do the jabs? Absolutely.

Would i increase as fast as i did and suck up the side effects just to be thin? No. Id research better. Take my time. Make sure i could eat a sensible amount of calories. Stay on low doses longer to reduce the side effects. Id exercise alongside to keep muscle mass and reduce the chances of the nerve damage.

MJ is an incredible tool, used correctly. I was blinded by the speed i lost at and “addicted” to the “omg you look so thin” comments

Yes. Lots of people come off.

Can it be addictive. My mum was on them for years until the doctor started to wein her off. The doctor sent her to CBT therapy it didn't work. The problem was my dad's behaviour

Oh i do enjoy the gym. Sometimes getting myself up is a battle but its worth it when im there.

i have treats too, just not as often. I had the most amazing ice cream i think ive ever had yesterday - but i had one scoop instead of 3. I treat myself in other ways too. A massage, getting my nails done etc which i never did before.

i think so many of us have that battle with food noise and yo yo ing. I would “forget” id started the next faddy diet for so many years and sigh and tell myself id start again the following monday. But the monday never happened.

maintenance without the jabs though is possible for someone with that kind of wiring, it is hard though, esp to start with. Im hoping over time it becomes my new normal and it get less hard

Well done OP!! It is hard to maintain but you seem to have found the key. My view on MJ is that it adjusts your hunger and satiety levels to that of a naturally skinny person. I'm sure we all know skinny people who maintain their weight without effort and don't feel deprived or restricted. I've lost 3 stones, another 1.5 to go. Im on 12.5mg and feel like I have a view on food as a skinny person does. I start to eat, feeling hungry and after probably half the meal (a skinny persons portion) I start to lose interest, quickly followed by feeling like I really don't want anymore. Gone are the days when I would gorge on things, restrict what I shouldn't have etc. I know there are some thin people who seem to eat a lot but if you really look at what they are eating overall it is either no snacking or extremely active. I'm hoping I can survive the price increase!!

No question, just wanted to say a huge well done ❤️ You’ve done an amazing job to lose so much weight.

I also used MJ for 9 months to lose 4 stone. It’s hard listening to people telling you that you were “cheating” when it’s not just a magic wand for all. I also suffered from some very horrible side effects but I powered through.

I’ve been off the injections for a year now and every day is a huge battle to ignore my constant hunger pangs and cravings. I go to the gym 4 times a week, long walks every day, have to watch every bite that I eat. I have kept the weight off but it is hard! And made especially hard by people telling you that you took the easy way out (when it was anything but easy) and that you will pile on the weight as soon as you stop the medication (I haven’t).

So solidarity from me xx

Your loss is amazing , well done with that !
im sorry to hear about the inspect the other ailments are causing.
Ive lost 3 stone I was similar to your starting weight , sorry I just cannot do kg lol
i found I didn’t go higher than 10mg because 10 made me feel so unwell.
i felt like u was hit by a truck energy wise , i was so drained every day so I dropped back down and currently at 7.5 but I think I’m going to go back to 5mg as I feel this is no different to me than 5 was and of course I’m hoping it will be a bit cheaper too

Well done to you too!! Youve done amazing!

I think the conversations about life after MJ are so important. Even those planning to stay on it, you cant stay on the higher doses, titration has to happen. But they could end up where i did where the lower doses have little to no effect. I fully sat in the camp of “ill be taking it for life” until i learned that wasn’t going to happen as the lower maintenance doses just didnt do anything for me.

The only way to diagnose them really is via a scan (usually CT scan or ultrasound but ultrasound is less accurate)
i was diagnosed when I had flank pain that became unbearable. I started to feel ill a few days before with tiredness, exhaustion etc.
went to a&e as the pain was that bad. They did a CT and bloods and found 3 stones.
my kidney function wasn’t good so they wanted to put a stent in then operate a few weeks after to blast the stones and replace the stent then they wanted the stent to be removed a few weeks after that.
I said no. I am a solo mum to what was a 4 month old at the time. I researched and found they could do a less invasive procedure where they blast it using a laser while you’re awake and there would be no stent involved.
did this and it sorted it out. Had to take some real convincing for them to do it though.

just something to consider with stones, the pain can come and go as they move so I would still go and get yourself checked out properly just in case.

To second this. I had what i thought was a uti, took antibiotics and it went. Two weeks later i thought i had another, got antibiotics but 3 days later i was in agony, the kidney pain was intense, took my breath away, holding on to things to stay upright. Worst pain ive ever experienced. I was about to take myself to the hospital but passed the stone at home, i was able to retrieve it (i know) and the pain went almost immediately. I managed to get an out of hours gp appointment instead, where they confirmed my retrieved object was a stone. Ive had a ct to check for more but not had the results back yet. But im seconding the pain can pass and there be a stone still. My bloods were all normal too.

Its interesting you mentioned problems with your nerve with your leg getting worse after losing the fat padding. I've lost nearly two stone in weight now with mounjaro and my knee pain has got worse since losing the fat around my knees.

It’s the worst pain isn’t it? I had recently had a c section and I would have 100 of those over a kidney stone lol

can I ask something? I never actually got to pass my stones “normally” because they blasted them into dust then I passed them like that. It hurt still for a week or so while the grains were coming out.
I’ve heard on some of the stone groups online that people think the flank pain is much worse than the actual stone passing. almost as if the main comes from the movement from kidney to bladder but once in the bladder, it’s not so bad.
what was your experience?

OP what an amazing woman you are. Thank you for sharing your experience. I've lost a stone and a half without weight loss injections and it's tough, but the confidence boost is addictive. I still have a way to go, but I think I can do it. I'm borrowing your rice meal - sounds delicious!

I hope in time the health issues you have improve.

i had the flank pain the entire time, no pain else where, a weird sensation when i passed it which was how i knew i had passed something, but the pain never moved from my kidneys. The pain went almost entirely away after 15 minutes or so, a dull ache for the next day or two. But its very strange how the pain doesnt travel with the stone, it just in the kidney

That’s really interesting. I wonder if it’s the urine backing up (mine was blocked and my kidney was swollen which is why they wanted to operate quickly)

Well done for priorising your health. Great effort.

Potentially. I had the urge to go but only passing a few mls uti like symptoms for the days leading up to the stone passing so that makes sense why the pain is really localised in the kidney.

im praying my ct comes back clear as the thought of passing one again is genuinely terrifying lol

I will put on here that if anyone has a very bad upper tummy ache, it’s important to go to A&E - it’s rare but pancreatic issues are definitely coming up in our local hospitals.

I really hope you get the all clear.
did they offer to analyse the stone you caught? Apparently you can change your diet to try and prevent more depending on what they’re made of.

I’m so terrified of getting more. The first thing I did when it was over was take out Bupa because I never want to go through that with the nhs again, I felt so out of control

I left the stone with the out of hours GP i saw to be analysed but i have no idea if ill ever hear back from that or not

OP just wow you have done amazingly well and I hope despite the side effects you feel better for it. I’m the exact same size as you are now and I eat the exact same diet, except I have overnight oats for breakfast. I’ve always been this weight, but as I’ve aged I’ve had to reduce my portion of carbs maintain it. I do have treats but I have small ones and not too often. I like the sound of your sticky rice tuna salad - I’m going to try it.

I’ve maintained for 4 months now. 10mg of MJ is my maintenance dose. It used to be my losing dose but it’s not possible for me to lose more weight. My calories are now 1100 and I can effectively maintain on that.

now working on building strength and healthy bones.

52kgs is not a healthy weight unless you are 4ft or smaller.

Thank you. I had GDM during pregnancy and went on a low carb diet. I lost weight but my neck looked horrible because of it. It makes me nervous about mounjaro but you seem happy so perhaps I will try it afterall.