Maintenance - are you staying on wli?

[Elliebird2]

I’ve reached where I want to be, I’d ideally like to lose a couple more pounds but I’m also happy where I am at a healthy BMI. I’d like to stay on for a bit longer and maintain then slowly taper off, I’m on 5mg.
getting a lot of grief from family who know I’m on it as they think I should be coming off now I’m at goal.
I was under the impression it’s beneficial to maintain for a while then slowly taper off. I’d like to be in maintenance for a good few months before tapering down then eventually coming off. Is anyone else doing similar?

Hi, I’m in the same situation as you but still on 2.5mg. I’m tempted to move across to a maintenance supportive supplier and look to order maybe once or twice a year to help me maintain. I’d be interested to hear what others are doing. I’m also thinking next month I’ll stick with 2.5mg every fortnight to help me taper off

I’m planning to stay on it as long as possible. I have found this medication life changing and see no reason to stop. That said, I don’t know how I will feel when I get into the healthy weight range so I might end up extending time between doses and the idea of stopping altogether isn’t a no, it’s just not where o see things going from where I am now.

I’ve very slowly tapered down from 5mg in May to 2mg now for the last 3 weeks. Was doing well maintaining within a 1-2kg margin on 2.5mg for about 15 weeks but now want to build more muscle back and I know I’ll need to eat more calories to do that. I don’t see why I would need to come off unless I continued to lose to an unhealthy weight. I’ve not suffered from side effects, so for me there’s only benefits at this very low dose.
The only person who thinks I need to come off them is my PT, but he’s not fully read up on the long term benefits and thinks they’re a short term medication.

I’m on it long term my blood tests show I’m healthier than I have been in decades and the drugs carry so many health benefits.

I got up to a max 10 and was on it for several months to hit goal, 6 and a half stone lost. Maintaining now for about 10 months on 5mg, which I titrated down to, my weight is very stable, up or down 2 lbs really.

I can eat whatever I chose but find it very easy to cut back the next day, so social events holidays etc, even a two week all inclusive I gained 4lbs, and was back to normal weight 2 weeks later. I can drink with ease, but as I’m so hydrated I don’t get hangovers and only drink when socialising , the bottle of win at home habit is a distant memory,

i eat clean and healthy and i work out most days, my lifestyle is very healthy now and you can see it in my skin and body.

I know that no matter how hard I try I can’t keep this up for ever without the help of the medication, obesity is a relapse disease, nearly everyone regains their original weight within 5 years and I simply don’t want to live my life feeling deprived, struggling, and then regain at some point and have to redo this journey it is so so unhealthy, plus as said I want the other health benefits of the drugs, heart, liver, kidney, reduced cancers etc,

so it’s an educated decision I’ve made and my gp supports long term use.

I will stay on for as long as I can afford it.

I feel so much better on it for both mental health and physical health because it has reduced my inflammation which was part of two of my medical conditions.

It is the best thing I have ever done for my health.

Although I would like to lose a bit more weight (bmi 26) I am not that bothered.

I really like feeling in control after a lifetime of being held hostage by food.

I have been maintaining since November after losing over five stone last year. BMI is 20 now.

I take 7.5mg each week to maintain, a lot more than I thought I would need! I tried going lower but the hunger came back strongly so 7.5 it is.

My consultant endocrinologist recommended I stay on the medication long term.

Only you can decide op on how to manage maintenance, and that’s a number of factors.

can you afford to stay on.
how do you feel on the meds
based on prior behaviour can you maintain, maintaining is critical for health, yo yoing is really unhealthy
how will you mentally cope with maintaning without, will you struggle etc
how is your health on the drugs,
how is your diet, how healthy did you lose the weight,
whay is your body composition, have you been prioritising muscle?

this last one is very important, well they all are, but when I hit goal I went into a body recomp phase, even though I had been working out and eating my protein throughout. I upped my cals slowly each week to hit maintainance, but much of that was protein, and will my work outs, I dropped two points in body fat and stayed the same weight, so gained muscle. I then basically went into maintenance.

so for me it was stage 1, lose weight, protect muscle at all costs and lose fat. Stage 2, body recomp, reach ideal body fat and muscle for my age and frame, stage 3, maintain this position, for me that means long term use of the drugs.

for others they know they can maintain, and do so, others try to but go back on the meds as they can’t, others can’t afford it so have to come off, and it is obviously better to try to maintain from a healthy weight than be at an obese one ie before you went on the drugs.

it is also thought that new habits need to be maintained for 2 years before they become actual habits, so how embedded is your new life style?

all things to think through, but don’t be put under pressure to come off. Not unless your family is subsidising you.

I'm maintaining, on 5mg. Although to be honest I never went above 5 in the year I've been on it.
But I have adjusted my eating/exercising etc. I have no plans to come off just yet, although I may go back down to 2.5 in the next few months.

Just to add, it's got bugger all to do with your family, their opinions shouldn't make any difference to choices you make about your health and medications you take. It's none of their business.

It may have something to do with her family if it has a financial implication on them, for example her family have to forego things as she pays for this. It really depends on what she means by family and if she herself earns the money and pays for them without impact to her immediate family. If that’s the case then I agree with you. If it’s not, then yes her family get a say.

Really weird take. My family have been nothing but supportive and absolutely happy to ‘forego’ things to support me with my health.

Did you mis read. All I said was they had a say. What on earth is odd about that? A say can be yes and it can be no.

I take your point, I suppose I was just looking at it from my perspective, as in I pay for it myself and the only person that has had to forgo anything in order to afford them is me.

Me too, it doesn’t impact our family finances at all, but I’m aware that’s not the case for many others. The op isn’t clear who her family is in this situation. Is it her husband or her parents. If it’s her husband for example and he’s paying towards it by say going without or covering more home expenses then he has a say, it it’s her mum dad or sister, it’s fuck all to do with them.

no one is paying for it just me, my family just don’t like me being on it full stop and think I have a problem and that I’m “addicted” if I stay on, I wish I never told them.

I can afford to stay on, I do worry about long term impact.
im going to the gym 3 times a week prioritising strength training as want to avoid muscle loss, been going since I started last year and plan to continue as it’s doing my mental health wonders.
I feel good on 5mg. I do get watery stools tho esp if I eat dairy and it seems to be interfering with my contraceptive pill as keep getting breakthrough bleeding so seeing my GP about that.

im just feeling very confused on how to go about it, im very anxious in general, dont want to lose anymore but I have to be honest, i love not obsessing about food for the first time in my life. I would like to eventually come off though, I have an autoimmune disease and don’t want to take multiple medications

Then titrate down and do a few months on a low dose as you aim to come off. It’s very personal. Your family sound very ill informed.

Just tell them you’ve come off it then - it’s really none of their business.

Ive been on it over a year and plan to stay on it (currently have titrated down to 2.5mg and am maintaining well). DH is the only person who knows I’m on it and has been nothing but supportive.

I can’t imagine having a family who think they get to tell me what medication I should be taking for my own health!

Staying on, as there's no reason for me not to. Dipshit relatives wading in certainly wouldn't do it. And agree with pp, you can always just lie to them.

In terms of coming off it, your position sounds complex as you have side effects and other meds. Would your provider be able to speak to you about managing titration?

I came off at the start of August and maintaining by eating 2 meals a day lots of protein and exercise. I have put back on all the muscle I lost while on mounjaro and continued to lose fat. I titrated down on my last pen. It is possible to maintain without the injections but obviously easier with. I was just uneasy with the thought of relying on them forever and also the cost.