September 25 starters thread2 - gliding into autumn

[outofofficeagain]

We go (vy) again …

Surely 2.5mg is 2.5mg, unless there's an issue with the doses in the actual pens?

People are saying the medicine in each pen is different.

So, 2.5mg from a 2.5mg pen is the basic strength, but 2.5mg from a 5mg is stronger and even stronger in 7.5mg and do forth. These comments are from people that don't support short dosing / stretching the use of pens.

I'm the same for feeling the cost of MJ is covered by not buying junk. DH never has takeaway without me and has been eating less snacky stuff too, so gotta be over the MJ cost!

The concentration of medicine in each dose will increase as the mg amount increases sure, but it doesn't make sense that it will affect the amount you get from taking half a dose.

If there is 5mg in 0.6ml, then there is 2.5mg in 0.3ml, unless something is seriously wrong with the pens and the solutions they contain.

It's the concentration that I'm talking about, not the amount.

So, the same amount (3.75mg) from a 5mg and 7.5mg pen isn't the same because the concentration is different.

I'm a bit confused about it.

@maz99 Yes, you’re quite right about the increase in concentration of the medication.

The Pens are not bigger in size, therefore, the concentration of the medicine is higher in the higher dosage pens.

How did you extract 3.5mg dose from the 5mg pen? Did you accurately count clicks or use a syringe?

Presumably you just need to use simple maths to work out how to extract a 2.5mg dose from a 5mg or a 7.5mg pen, or whatever dosage you’ve chosen.

When I used a syringe to extract the golden dose from the 2.5mg pen, I used a 1ml syringe and extracted 60 units after following the online advice. Therefore, if I want to extract 2.5mg from a 5mg pen, I’ll use a syringe to draw out 30 units of medicine because 2.5mg is half of 5mg.

Assuming my syringe is accurate enough, I could try to extract 15 units from a 7.5mg pen if I wanted to stick with a 2.5mg dose. The actual strength of the medicine will be the same as if I took a 60 unit dose from a 2.5mg pen.

I’m currently debating whether to go up to a 5mg pen next time but take a 3.5mg dose for at least 4 weeks.

Honestly, I’ve no idea at this point whether to increase or not and I’ll need to re-order soon. Aaargh!! 🤔😂

I should proof read my posts properly!
I meant to type 3.75mg dose not 3.5mg dose in my last post. 😩

I have to ration the popcorn as well as I also bought large bags! I have some little snack size plastic bags and I worked out that I can for 17g of popcorn in it using the scales. This works out at 70 calories but I call it 100 as it’s easier to add up! I now just fill the snack bag just once a day.

I am keeping a log of my daily calories but as I tend to round up the calories to an easy number to add in my head, usually up to 50 or 100. I know then that my daily amount is actually smaller than my food diary says which is fine.

The first time I took 3.75mg (5th jab), I took the GD from my 1st 2.5mg pen using a syringe and did 30 clicks to get 1.25mg on the 2nd (new) 2.5mg pen I had (I bought 2 at the start).

I had bought a 5mg pen in week 5 - so, for the 6th and today's jabs I have just used 30 clicks to get half doses from the 2.5mg & 5mg pens.

The concentration is 2.5mg in 0.6ml for a 2.5mg pen, or 5mg in 0.6ml for a 5ml pen. That's why you need to change the amount injected for the same dose of MJ (e.g., 0.6ml of 2.5mg pen or 0.3ml of 5mg pen both give you 2.5mg of the medicine).

For 3.75mg, you will need 0.3ml from a 7.5mg pen, because what you want it is half of the full dose from that pen. From a 5mg pen you would need to inject 0.45ml (3/4 of a dose), because you want 3/4 of 5mg. You can find charts that tell you how many clicks you need from each pen, but 3.75mg is 3.75mg whatever pen you get it from.

I am disappointed after my weigh in today, after 4 weeks on Mounjaro I lost just 2lb following a week of no loss. That’s a total of 7lb in 4 weeks.

I know that is OK really but I was losing that by dieting in the weeks before I started WLIs so am hoping that I would boost my weight loss when on the medication. At the moment I feel that I paying a lot of money but getting no return!

As I’ve already got my 5mg pen, I jab on a Friday, I will use it and then decide if I’m going to carry on. I have not felt any of the advantages people talk about here, like food suppression and not feeling hungry, as I think four months of dieting has already helped my body get used to having less calories.

My doctor is happy for me to aim for a 3 to 4 lb loss per week over the short term so I’m eating around 1200 calories a day even though my TDEE is 1450 calories.

And I have put up with diarrhoea after first two jabs and now constipation so my body is certainly feeling the effects of the Mounjaro!

Don’t be disheartened @IhateslugsI think this experience is quite common. The 2.5 is really just a warm up dose and I’m not sure does much. Hopefully the 5mg will be more noticeable.

I’m also thinking it will make me more likely to carry on rather than just get bored and think fuck it.

My motivation ( lose enough weight for 2 knee replacement surgeries prior to son’s wedding next May) is great enough not to give up dieting regardless of using Mounjaro! I need to see the consultant again at beginning of November in order to schedule the first surgery before Christmas with the second in February hopefully. I have private medical insurance so am not on NHS waiting list.

The consultant told me to reduce my BMI, that reduces at a much slower rate than my weight unfortunately, it’s down from 44 to 40 with a total weight loss of 28 lbs. I am basing my weight loss on the weight I was when I last saw the consultant three years ago and I know I put on loads since then as my diet the last couple of years has been awful - midnight feasting, scoffing giant sized packs of crisps in one go, lots of cake and biscuits etc!!!

Still, it’s a little encouraging to hear that some people don’t lose much on 2.5 dose, I’ve just used my new 5mg pen this morning so here’s hoping!

I really hope the higher dose works well for you @Ihateslugs! You've done well anyway, but like you say, it's frustrating not to get the benefits of the medication. 🤞

Have you got any hormonal / metabolic health conditions, such as PCOS, diabetes, menopause, insulin resistance?

Because any of those can cause slow weight loss.

I've weighed this morning before my 7th jab this evening.

SW: 12 st 9
CW: 10 st 11

Another 2lb down - 26lbs gone so far :)

Try not to be too disappointed. It’s definitely better to be 7lb down than 7lb up.

Are you tracking your actual calories out to ensure you are in a real calorie deficit?

Everything I have read suggests that to lose:

1lb per week you need to cut 3,500 calories from your weekly diet. So cutting 500 cals per day.

3lb per week you need to cut 10,500 calories per week/ 1,500 calories per day

4lb per week you need to cut 14,000 calories per week/2,000 calories per day.

You would have to be burning off 3.5k to 4K calories every single day!

Well done that’s amazing!

Boots have really pissed me off today. I bought from them despite being extortionately expensive because I thought they'd be more reliable and with various health issues I was nervous of buying from a company I don't know. The first pen was fine but I ordered the 5mg a week ago and still haven't go it. The online system says go to the store to find out whether they've got the prescription so I went today, had to queue for an hour, and the woman there told me they had no stock and didn't expect to get any for at least the next week! She said the online system keeps sending them prescriptions that they can't fill and there's no visibility back & forth - they have no idea online whether the order is going to be fulfilled or not. They were happy enough to take my £200 a week ago!

I phoned them up, on hold for half an hour, the online lady said she would have to phone the store to ask whether they had stock. I told her that was pointless, and obviously no one answered. She then told me she could switch it to delivery rather than store pickup - but would charge me an extra £3.99! I had no choice so I've gone with that rather than be left with no pen in time for my next jab, but it means I'll have to be at home for the delivery (which is Royal Mail who are very unreliable here, which is why I didn't choose that in the first place).

overall thoroughly annoyed and definitely wouldn't recommend Boots to anyone looking to switch!

Oh, that is not at all good, @namechange0998776554799000 .

Today is my jab and weigh-in day, so here is where I'm up to.

Start Weight: 211 lbs, BMI 34.1
1st Goal Weight: 190 lbs (10% bodyweight loss)
Current Weight: 198.4 lbs, BMI 32
Total loss: 12.6 lb

Mounjaro, 2.5
Week 1: -1.4 lb
Week 2: -4.4 lb
Week 3: - 2.6lb
Week 4: - 2.4lb

Week 5: - 1.8lb

This has been a nice week for scale and non scale victories. I've dropped below 200lb, I'm more than a stone down if you include my pre-Mounjaro weight loss, I started working with a personal trainer, and I had my first meal out since starting Mounjaro. I'm also really starting too feel and see the difference in myself. And I'm not sure whether it's the biotin or the collagen I've been taking, but my nails have gone all shiny

I found this list on the August 24 starters thread, and I like it. I'm currently down a whole bald eagle, which feels pretty impressive.

Elephant Penis 🐘
1 lb = a Gunea pig
1.5 lbs = a dozen Krispy Kreme donuts
2 lbs = a rack of baby back ribs
3 lbs = an average human brain
4 lbs = an ostrich egg
5 lbs – a Chihuahua
6 lbs = a human skin
7.5 = an average newborn
8 lbs = a human head
10 lbs = amount of chemical additives an American consumes every year
11 lbs = an average housecat
12 lbs = a Bald Eagle
15 lbs = 10 dozen large eggs
16 lbs = a sperm whales brain
20 lbs = a car tire
23 lbs = amount of pizza an Average American eats in a year
24 lbs – a 3 gallon tub of super premium ice cream
25 lbs = an average 2 year old
30 lbs = amount of cheese an average American eats in (1) year
33lbs – a cinder block
36 lbs a mid-size microwave
40 lbs = a 5 gallon bottle of water or an average human leg
44 lbs = an elephant’s heart
50 lbs – a small bale of hay
55lbs a 5000 BTU air conditioner
60 lbs = an elephant’s penis 🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘🐘
66 lbs – amount of fats and oils an average American eats in (1) year
70 lbs – an Irish Setter
77 lbs – a gold brick
80 lbs – the World’s Largest Ball of Tape
90 lbs – a new born calf
100 lbs = a 2 month old horse
111 lbs = amount of red meat an average American eats in (1) year
117 = an average fashion model and she’s 5’11”
118 lbs= the complete Encyclopedia Brittanica
120 lbs = amount of trash you throw away in a month
130 lbs = a newborn giraffe
138 lbs = amount of potatoes an average American eats in a year
140 lbs = amount of refined sugar an average American eats in a year
144 lbs = and average adult woman (and she’s 5’4”)
150 lbs – the complete Oxford English Dictionary
187 lbs – an average adult man
200 lbs – 2 Blood hounds
235 lbs = Arnold Schwarzenegger
300 lbs = an average football lineman
400 lbs – A Welsh pony

Great @UnimaginableWindBird

I've calculated that I am looking to lose the weight of the dog and one of the cats.

That's shocking they charged you a delivery fee even though it's entirely their fault! I'm afraid I would have argued that quite a lot. Maybe I'm getting older but I hate when big companies take the piss for the sake of a few pence. Hope you get sorted soon.

I don't know if they're cheaper, but I chose Asda for a similar reason (wanted a company I know) and they've been fine (so far).

@SoUncertain I did argue! But they wouldn't budge and I didn't want to be left without on jab day. I'm going to complain and maybe they'll refund it.

do Asda deliver or do you collect it? And if you're on 5mg, how much did you pay? Definitely planning to switch next month!

😅 I love that, nice and visual! Definitely explains why i'm able to breathe a bit better if i've lost a 2 year old from around my neck 😅