What happens if dose stops being effective?

[Perimenoanti]

So I need to decide whether im going up to 0.5 on wegovy. I have a lot of weight to lose. What happens if a dose will become ineffective? Am I likely to undo any progress or may I just not lose weight? I couldn't handle the former and the appetite that may come with it.

My doctor has kept me on each dose for 3-4 months before advancing to the next. I am at 1.7 now and I am not going to move again until I feel the need to move. This is the standard procedure for their practice group.

I was a bit frustrated about not running up to the maximum dose, but I now really see the benefits. I’ve consistently lost about a pound a week for a year with minimal side effects. It’s not the dramatic body change some people get, but it’s a good solid change and I don’t have saggy skin.

it has also given me time to really make dietary changes and incorporate healthy habits instead of it all being injection driven.

That's good. But what does it feel like if one stops working? Did you get the cravings and insane hunger pangs or did you just not eat little enough to keep loosing?

I moved up when the food noise came back. For me, it's the thing that makes the most difference being on the jabs and I struggle without it suppressed.
However, the longer I've been on it and the more I understand it, the more I wish I'd gone up more slowly.
When I started over a year ago, they were saying move up fairly steadily. I think generally the advice has changed now.
If I was starting now with what I know, I'd stay on a much lower dose for longer and not rush up.

You need to work with these medications. They (hopefully) make sustaining eating in a calorie deficit and better foods easier, but that is not passive, it is something you do, so you should notice when you can't do it any more.

How the meds do their part might be different for each person - some people get/want suppression, some just portion control, some the between blood sugar control quietens the food noise. When you change your diet to increase protein, fiber, water and minimise sugar, UPF etc, increase exercise, your body will respond to that along with the medication too.

If you find actively sticking to a calorie deficit is becoming unsustainable again for you, then look into increasing your dose.

Doses don't just suddenly become ineffective and send you into a spiral of uncontrolled hunger and overeating. You might find that it's a bit harder to stick to your calorie totals, or portion sizes if you aren't calorie counting. You may find that you are considering snacking between meals, or thinking about snacking more than the weeks before. If that means that you are eating a bit more each week and losing less weight or none at all, then that's when you'd consider moving up a dose.

If you are losing weight consistently and having a balance of suppression and appetite control then you could stay on the same dose. If you stay on a dose level and later realise you should have moved up, you aren't going to regain rapidly. You are likely to just have slower weight loss or plateau until you can move up a dose.

No shit Sherlock. Pardon for asking eh.

That's useful, thank you. On every diet change before I got uncontrollable hunger pangs after a few weeks. There would have been nothing I could eat to feel satisfied. It's good to know that it may not happen like that. It's what im most scared of. It honestly felt like im being controlled by a higher force.

That kind of hunger is what Wegovy and Mounjaro work to prevent, by mimicking the GLP1 hormone. The dose you're on will still be doing that, even if it starts to become less effective, so you won't suddenly drop off a cliff with it.

That's good to know I may have a bit of time. I might stay low for another month.

I only move up a dose of mj when I feel like it's not controlling my hunger enough plus not getting any side effects.
I am taking it quite slow

I was responding in good faith to be helpful. I’m sorry it came across differently to provoke that response. I’ll step away.

mostly, I just track my weight. I weigh myself every morning and take the seven day average as the measure for that day. I use the average because weight naturally fluctuates. I don’t want to get caught up in successes and failures that aren’t real.

I just built a little spreadsheet for my phone that does the math and keeps track. When I notice the average is staying flat consistently and I don’t have a good explanation like Christmas or a holiday, I know it’s time to adjust.

I’m on mounjaro but have felt the effectiveness of the most recent dose wear off. For me it’s felt like I’m having to use a lot more willpower to stick at a reasonable calories and I’m not eating in a huge calorie deficit. I’m not massively over eating but it doesn’t feel too much different to when I wasn’t on it and trying to diet. I just have a bit more willpower, maybe because of the money involved!!