Mounjaro- worth it?

[Rainboat]

Hi everyone! Hope everyone is having a great term break.
i’m thinking about starting Mounjaro but feeling a bit anxious. Could someone please let me know of the side effects that you had and how do you manage them? I already have a bit of constipation issue, so I’m just scared that I’ll make it worse.
also, what happens to all the fat on your body? Does it just hang loose when you loose the weight?
I’m 5ft 7in with BMI 33.

I lost 15kg, no loose skin and hardly any side effects

@Wowzelthank you, in how much time did you loose 15 kgs?

I’ve lost six stone from 14st to 8st. I do have some loose skin for sure.

early days the symptoms were quite hard going, nausea, diarrhoea, exhaustion, brain fog. Worse around the time of injection and then eased off over the week. Also terrible sulfur burps and sleep disturbances.

it got better and it was worth it.

Do it! 5.5st down so it's utterly life changing.

Side effects usually happen due to what you eat/drink so are avoidable. I've had feeling full early in a meal, completely going off sweet stuff and fizzy drinks as they just don't appeal, constipation, diarrhea and a few headaches. Nothing major.

I take psyllium husk daily and also have dried prunes for breakfast and no more constipation. The psyllium also helps when it goes the other way.

Fat is usually peed out I think, hence needing to drink water.

If you lose weight, then you lose the fat on your body. You might get some loose skin, but that depends on your age, genetics and any existing skin damage (sun/smoking etc), and can’t really be avoided if you’re susceptible to it.

Here’s a useful article about possible side effects:

https://onlinedoctor.asda.com/uk/mounjaro-side-effects.html

I’m just worried about the mommy pooch that I have, if that is going to just hang loose after the weight loss? 🙈

Is that enough of a worry that you would rather stay obese with the health risks that entails?

Yes ofcourse, the health risks are more I’m worried about.

Mounjaro won’t cause a droopy ‘mum pooch’ any more than weight loss from any other means will.

The issue is, do you want to lose weight?

Loose skin depends on your age and whether you’ve lost and gained weight before and how quick you loose and diet and exercise. Some people have no side effects and some bad or mild ones (I think the stats say around 15% or less suffer something). I suffered bad constipation unlike anything ever experienced in my life. I’m afraid all the drinking water, loads of fibre really didn’t work and I need to use stool softeners intermittently. Loads of threads around discussing how to deal with the various side effects if you are unlucky enough to get them. Most can be managed with trial and error and sometimes disappear as you get used to the meds. If you want to loose weight and as you are technically obese it’s probably a good idea for your health it is very effective and works for almost everyone.

I haven’t tried it but husband did as he had to lose weight quickly to get an operation done. He lost about 4.5 stone in 4 months. He had some dizziness and nausea but otherwise it was fine for him. No drooping/sagging skin. Biggest downside was the cost.

5.5 st down, yes I have loose skin, but I'm older, younger skin will snap back easier.
Constipation was horrendous at one point, I found tinned prunes helped, now my diet is very bland and repetitive but it doesn't bother me, I don't have any interest in food or alcohol at all, just eat at mealtimes because its the done thing to keep healthy. I've gone from obsessed with food to this, I still take it to maintain, tried titrating down and stopping but I couldn't.

Also, I forgot to mention- I have hypothyroidism for which I take medicine everyday. Is it still ok to start mounjaro?

I'm 5'3 and lost about 4.7 stone. I'm not perfectly toned but happily wear a bikini now and it's nothing like the pictures people put online of loose skin. I do moisturise daily and lost an average of 5lb a month so kept it steady.

When you apply for Mounjaro online with a pharmacy they will ask you about any pre existing conditions and medication. They will then advise whether you can take Mounjaro with that medication/condition.

What happens when you reach your goal weight? Do you still keep taking mounjaro?

Changed my life.

It's up to you but the evidence suggests you either need to keep on it or come off it slowly. I'm in maintenance and have been very slowly reducing my dose for the last 6 months. I'm seeing how low I can go and keep the weight off. I have a supplier who is happy to work with me while I do this and increase if needed as well as titrate down and space my doses out to 10 days.

I lost 8st in less than a year on Mounjaro. Very few side effects - slight headache the day of the jab for the first few weeks, and a bit of constipation when I moved up to 10mg. Fibre supplement sorted that out easily enough. Then I got gallstones, which may or may not have been caused by the MJ. I have family history of them and they’re common with weightloss, regardless of how you lose it. Had to stop the MJ last month however as a gallstone got stuck and I ended up in hospital with pancreatitis. Unlikely I’ll be able to go back on it again, which is frustrating as I still have a couple of stones to lose to get to my goal, and it’s incredibly difficult now that I’ve had to completely stop without being able to titre down etc.

Always best to ask these sorts of questions to qualified healthcare professionals and not take the word of random people online. If/when you order from a reputable pharmacy they will ask you these questions anyway, most write to your GP as well, so you’ll get your answer then.

Starting to cut down doses and hope to give up eventually. Worried about putting weight back on so may need to go on maintenance but not sure what this means. Longer time between injections or low doses? Getting below 2.5 means counting clicks etc I presume. I’m with Boots who have been a bit of a disappointment in terms of service so not sure what sort of support they would give re maintaining etc. Changing suppliers difficult if you are a healthy weight and always a pain. Bit of a ramble here but would love a bit of advice from anyone.
Would love to think I’ve now got healthy eating habits but been here before with a plethora of diets weight watchers, shakes you name it and the weight always went back on.

I was thinking of starting with Boots as well. Are they not good with the support?

Boots are very much more expensive than other suppliers and don’t actually offer anything extra for that premium price. They seem to rely on the fact they are a familiar high street name in order to over charge. No need imo to pay their inflated prices.

I am paying the basic but not the extra for coaching etc so can’t comment if that’s better. But I thought Boots given their reputation and high cost would be better. On first visit to collect asked if someone could give basic guidance and was told to read pamphlet. Asked about swabs and sold me hand wipes. Not texted for some orders but got for others. Didn’t have correct dosage when I went to collect although did sort quickly . Hardly ever have sharps boxes in store. All not major just niggeldy and expected more. Am told could get cheaper if shop around with little difference and probably better service.

There's no benefit to Boots over other pharmacies in my opinion, they all do the same thing.

See here for the price difference https://monj.co.uk/discount-mounjaro-price-list/

Boots is more than £50 more expensive than the current cheapest provider.

My only side effect has been constipation, it's been pretty bad I can't lie but manageable with lactulose and Senna.