Mounjaro less than 2.5mg

[mefornow]

I’ve used Mounjaro to lose a lot of weight last year but after about 7 months off it the weight started creeping back on again. I’ve restarted but feel like 2.5mg is too much for me. Does anyone know about getting a lower dose from anywhere? I know how to ‘count clicks’ to do a smaller dose but don’t want to keep paying for full pens when half of it will end up wasted… want to find a way to do a smaller dose to get a handle on it before tapering down and coming back off it again

There is no lower dose pen available. I have heard of some London private clinics where they extract the medication into syringes for so called “micro dosing”, but that’s going to be more expensive than just buying a 2.5mg pen yourself.

You can use the pen past the 30 day usage limit, it’s up to you if you decide to do that and if you’re happy you know what the risks are of that and how to mitigate them (keep pen in fridge, scrupulous hygiene).

2.r is half a dose wirh no therapeutic benefit, so they don’t make anything smaller.

As @SilenceInside said, count the clicks and be scrupulous - I’m currently doing this with a 5mg pen with no ill effects.
Alternatively , a longer gap between injections - maybe try 9 days first and adjust as needed?

Clearly does have therapeutic benefit for the OP!

But lots of people find 2.5mg is quite strong, especially at first. I wish there was a lower dose available easily, as I think I would have been fine on less. (Currently not on it for medical reasons.)

The whole '5mg is the lowest therapeutic dose and you have to go to a dose every month' plan has been swiftly disproved by all the people who've lost stones on 2.5mg.

Yep, I have lots 8 stone on it!

I will say though, it’s far less effective than it was in the early days, so maybe worth just taking the 2.5mg and waiting for the balance to arrive naturally. I can easily eat 3 decent meals a day, snack of if I really want to etc. I don’t, although i did overeat for most of December but have managed to pull it back. I east around 1600 calories and am losing about half a pound a week now which is perfect for the last 2/3 stone to come off nice and slowly.

Just take 1.25 for as long as you feel safe taking it from a pen. Make an informed risk- I use a pen for 8 weeks.

It’s just that 2.5mg does not produce significant weight loss, as in statistically significant, on average across the people who were in the clinical trials. So pharmacies will expect you or suggest to you to move to 5mg in order to have a better chance to see some significant weight loss. That’s all it is. And 10mg showed more weight loss and 15mg higher again, which is why pharmacies will suggest you move up.

But individuals will vary massively and clearly lots of people will lose plenty of weight on 2.5mg or even 1.25mg. Which is why the guidelines also say a minimum of 4 weeks on each dose not a maximum, and that you can stay on a dose or even move down again if you need to.

So can I ask then… for those that have already done this… how long have you used a pen for and what are the risks to be aware of?

The risks from partial dosing are mainly human error. So always check twice before injecting you are taking the intended dose and consider the 4 weeks at the same dose instructions for any dose to level off so you can judge its effect.

The risks for using the medication beyond the inuse period are unknown and care should be taken using anecdotal evidence when no one knows the full context. It all comes down to your attitude to risk as only you will bear any consequences.

I've been on mounjaro for 7 months and have only just gone up to 2.5mg.

Did the first 2 months on 1.25mg, then 1.875mg since then.

I just made the pens last 6 weeks each.

I was reading yesterday that there are people going as long as 12 weeks and a few 16 weeks with pens and Drs happy to supply for this. I have the contact details of a prescriber locally who will do this. But on such a low dose I've been working my way through discount codes on mounj. So have just ordered a 5mg pen for £120.

If you are going to extend the life of a pen you need to understand why it might be a problem.

Meticulous aseptic technique, cleaning the pen tip before every use. Also possibly worth only doing one golden dose even if that leaves something in the pen to discard, as drawing up from the pen is when you are most likely to contaminated the content.

Also, there is no data on peptide degradation to say that the drug you take at week 12 is the same strength as week 1. Store it in the fridge at all times (back of the fridge not the door).

I've lost 21% of my weight (22kg) on 1.25mg/1.875mg which i'd say it's pretty significant. I'm 5"7 so not a petite outlayer either.

I've had super strong supression and sugar aversion on these doses. I'm only increasing now as I've had increasing food noise since getting a mirena coil inserted in December as part of my HRT.

I think you misunderstood what the poster wrote about statistical insignificance in trials.

I understand what she said. But this is factually my personal experience. I lost 21% on less than 2.5mg.

I've been taking a smaller dose from my 5 mg pen for several months without issues. I keep the pen in the fridge between uses and use hand sanitiser or an alcohol swab.

Most pens last 6/7 weeks but the longest I used one pen for was 9 weeks. I had to use a syringe throughout for that one too as it was faulty .

You do have to keep on top of ordering as most prescribers expect an order every few weeks. Some won't represcribe if you're not taking the medication as directed. I understand the maintenance pharmacies are more likely to let you have longer between orders and the mounjaro price comparison website is worth reviewing.

I had great supression on 2.5 mg and stayed on it for ages.