Feeling really down about having to stop

[L4ura171986]

Hiya,
I’ve been on MJ since June and lost 13kg. Not loads but it’s helped in amazing ways not just relating to weight loss - better sleep, mood and reduced food noise. My BMI is 31, and I wanted to keep going but it’s too expensive. I have been on 5mg and think it’s not working at that dose for me. I have one 7.5mg pen left and was planning on click counting for 6mg, who CG will give me 6 weeks, the I’ll no longer be able to afford it. I have made good lifestyle changes and I am running (slowly) about 20km a week and training for a half marathon. Have started strength with resistance bands too. Feeling really blue as this is first time in 20 years that I have got a handle on my weight. I am 40. Was thinking about switching to wegovy but so many people saying it’s not worth it. Dunno why ive posted really but just feeling sad about ending my journey with MJ early. I simply cannot afford 7.5mg and even the increased price of 5mg was pushing it. 😢anyone else coming to the end due to money reasons?

Have you considered wegovy? I switched 5 weeks ago today, lost the remaining 3 lbs I needed to reach my goal of 9st bmi 22.7, this was in December with my birthday on the 19th too and Xmas work meals and parties etc I moved from 10mg straight to 1.7mg which gives me stronger suppression and satiety with zero side effects. I had a few side effects of significant hair loss, low energy, motivation and anxiety on mj. All of these were resolved on wegovy. Most importantly, I don't have any food noise or cravings, I stuck to a small deficit all this week incl 1274 cals on Xmas day, my maintenance is 1500. I'll probably drop down soon as it is quite strong for me but its so much cheaper than mj. I started at 44yr old 5ft 3' bmi 32.8 13st 1lbs prediabetic, high cholesterol, high BP, now all normal. Now doing exercise classes of body toning with dumbbells. I don't think I'd come off until after spring due to my health issues as I believe I have insulin resistance so have a higher risk of getting back to that weight and health conditions.
If you were on 5mg/7.5mg you could probably get away with 1mg easily which costs £105 from my pharmacy after standard discount Oushk. Worth trying to give yourself a chance.

I switched to Wegovy and have continued to lose, slowly, but it's still coming off. I've just ordered a 1.7mg pen. Give it a go. But they do say you neeed to be on it for a few months before you can make a decision as to whether it's working or not.

I was lucky with high suppression on it within 3hrs! Glad it's also working for you. I think the poor reviews are for those starting on lower doses and not doing more than a month or so.

This is what I think too.

Counting click's from higher dose pens makes Mounjaro more cost effective.

For example, taking 7.5mg per week from a 15mg pen, including the bonus dose, will make then pen last for 11 weeks. At £230 per pen, that works out as £20.91 per dose, or about £100 per month.

Answers to the main questions about this:

• I've had no issues buying with 3 month gap between pens. I swap suppliers for the cheapest each time. I get asked when I last jabbed. I truthfully answer with last Thursday. I do tell prescriber I take 15mg a week tho (because they don't agree taking off prescription). They ask for a picture of the prescription sticker on the box, which I send. Not been asked about the date on the prescription. If I was, I'd just say I had a contingency stock to use up.
• I keep the pen refrigerated throughout.
• I make sure I use the disinfectant wipes all over the seal and glass vial area before and after every jab, for extra hygiene. Plus strict personal hygiene with the jabs
• I use the normal pen tip jabs for the first 8 weeks from a pen. Then 0.3ml × 3 from the end of the pen using insulin syringes. There is always a tiny bit more then 0.3ml in the last jab.

I don't know where you found 15mg for £230 as most pharmacies charge over 300 for it. I was on it before price increase.
Most wouldn't allow a big gap in ordering, especially after the pharmacy inspections started with the new regulations for WLI.

Switch to Wegovny. It works fine for me.

https://monj.co.uk/discount-mounjaro-price-list/

4 companies with 15mg for under £230. And a whopping 46 companies with £15mg under £300.

The answer @Mysticmaiden is to always shop around.

And no issue with a 8-10 week purchase gap. It's usage gap that's the issue. The pharmacies just want conformation you haven't stopped jabbing weekly.

I do use monj and I checked it just after I posted. I haven't bought 15mg for 5 months, so wasn't upto date and only knew about that talk on estimated prices around the price rise debacle, but this wouldn't help OP as she has only gone upto 7.5mg.
Also the prices you quoted are discount price lists not regular prices so would have to switch everytime.
The usage gap is the issue here, how can you explain 1 pen in 10 weeks? It's off license use which pharmacies wouldn't condone, so I'm surprised you haven't been told to start at a lower dose when reordering elsewhere.
Plus not all companies are maintenance friendly so that's another concern when constantly switching. I've stayed with one, after using 3 others, that does maintenance plans and prescribes to lower bmis rather than cuts off at 23-25. For me I need to be under 23 to have a healthy bmi, also I have health conditions (or had pre massive weight loss) so wouldn't be rushing to come off wli, hence why wegovy is a good option for me esp with the zero side effects.

Not sure why you're being a Negative Nelly @Mysticmaiden? Especially when you have no direct experience. You're negative hypothetical expectations are different to actual experience, which I'm explaining to try to be helpful to the OP.

@L4ura171986 what you could do is go up a dose each pen, but instead if jabbing at the higher dose, stay jabbing at 7.5mg and so make the pen last longer and be more cost effective. As mentioned above, a 15mg pen works out at around £100 per month if you dose at 7.5mg ftom it. Taking 7.5mg ftom a 10mg pen works out at around £120-£130 per month I think.

There are over 60 pharmacies that are competitively priced on Monj, so changing supplier each new pen is not difficult. Plus, I've found some suppliers I've used once and left are sending me offers to return, so the offers are never hard to find.

I switch suppliers every purchase, its very easy (especially so now i only have to buy every 10 weeks). A new supplier won't know I always buying every 10 weeks though. They will just know that I last bought 10 weeks ago. I'll just say I bought my last pen ahead of needing it, but didn't start using the pen until 4 weeks ago. Lots of people keep a pen 'in hand' so nothing unusual about that.

@AmberLime I don’t think @Mysticmaiden is being negative, just questioning what/how you do it.
Now you’ve explained how/the process is the OP can see what to do and could easily make that choice.
However I think lots of people wouldn’t want to be bothered to switch every month, or use the meds for so much time beyond guidelines.
Also it does become more problematic once you reach target and have a BMI lower than 23 as not as many pharmacy’s will easily prescribe.
@L4ura171986 if it was me, I’d switch to Wegovy and buy a bigger pen and dose like AmberLime suggested above but stick to one supplier and just build up a stock of pens.

When the prices went up so much I had alot of negativity about getting the 15ml & using it for 10ml shots to ease the costs. It’s worked really well for me & if it means saving abit I’m willing to take the risk of using a pen for longer than the 30 days stored in fridge.

How about you don't insult me and undermine me?? Who exactly do you think you are. "I have no direct experience" 🤣 I love how you make up stuff about me.
Would be good if you didn't give OP advice that would leave them stuck up sh*t creek without a paddle having to find proof for fake pens that they had "just in hand". Most pharmacies won't accept this especially with the latest change in inspection guidelines.

@L4ura171986hi i moved to Wegovy and found that I was still really hungry its a lot cheaper but I reckon thats why

Hiya, thank you all for your replies - didn’t think the post would get this controversial - I think I will see if click counting 6mg from my last 7.5mg pen works and if so I will buy a 10mg pen and see how long it will last me. I am happy to refrigerate and keep pen longer.

@L4ura171986 DM'd you