Scared newbie , please can you answer my questions

[Alsjsoefi936392]

I am very fat! Ive tried every diet , cant maintain it. I binge eat when im stressed/sad. And I have mobility issues which stops me from exercising/keeps me quite sedentary. This is last chance saloon. Im 21 stones now and 5ft 4inch meaning my bmi has hit 50 which terrifies me . I am so scared to try mounjaro incase it makes me vomit . Ive also ended up in a & e before when doing a low calorie diet, pack of electrolytes had caused tachycardia and chest pain/Palpitations and had to be admitted on potassium drips etc . I want to avoid this at all costs.

1. Obviously you start on 2.5mg but can I stay on that dose? Im scared to go higher after hearing about the side effects
2. What vitamins should I take alongside mounjaro? I already have some electrolyte tablets and take folic acid as suffer from cramps

3.i hear people talk about different foods triggering vomiting/pain. Obviously I dont know what foods until I try but I am a very fussy eater. Partly why im fat as I hate healthy stuff, veg ,fish ,pulses etc. I eat very carbon heavy, think uk pub menu. If I eat smaller portions of what I currently eat to start off with will I still get weight loss?

I know i need to work on my relationship with food but that will take time.

Oh one important tip as someone has mentioned constipation: if your diet is as bad as mine was you may eat little fibre which can be an issue. I force myself to eat a Weetabix for breakfast every morning and it completely staves off the constipation. I really notice if I skip it. Figure out something you can eat that has a reasonable amount of fibre in it and make sure you incorporate it into your new diet. Much better than stocking up on things like fybogel/senna tablets etc and treating the constipation after the fact, which is what I did in the beginning.

I've lost 115lbs/8 stone on Mounjaro over 18 months.

The only time I've felt ill is when I've eaten fried food or processed carbs. My advice would be to avoid these & minimise UPF's

Once you are on a GLP1 avoiding processed carbs/fried foods/UPF's etc is very easy to do - you just need to be prepared and stocked with healthy foods you can eat.

I was just thinking this week that I have not eaten or even thought about "fish & chips" (for example) for over 18 months. We used to eat F&C maybe once a month pre MJ. I've eaten one slice of pizza in 18 months.

MJ will change your life OP, but you will need to change what you eat.

Can I ask what MJ does to alcohol consumption? Does it make you feel ill when you drink alcohol?

@GidgetGirl No it doesn't make you feel ill if you drink alcohol, that is not one of the listed side effects and there are no warnings that come with the medication that tell you not to drink whilst on it.

Anecdotally, some people find that it puts them off drinking alcohol, as in they are just not interested in it anymore. Certainly it can change your interest in and taste for different food and drink, which might include alcoholic ones.

I've been on it 10 months, and had minimal side effects, but never even come close to vomiting. I had a BMI of 34, and now it is 26. I want to lose about another 1.5 stone, which will get me nicely into the healthy BMI range. For the first time in about 15 years, this feels achievable.
Nobody can tell you what the side effects will be for you, but I can say I was scared before taking it, because side effects are all people seem to talk about! They were not nearly as bad as I feared - a bit of lightheadedness & nausea, the odd bout of diarrhoea (nothing too bad - mainly after eating something very fatty), feeling cold, feeling tired (on and off) and sleeping more with very vivid dreams at first.
I also had quite a carb-heavy diet, but I found that my appetite was suppressed almost completely the morning after injecting - it changed what I wanted to eat, and I could only manage small portions. It has completely cut my desire to binge. I was a massive binger before, now it just would not cross my mind.
It's changed my life - someone sent me a photo of myself from 2020 yesterday, and I can't believe the difference, I really can't. I've recently spent some time putting all my "fat" dresses away - they literally hang off me now.

I went off alcohol and had pretty nasty side effects after 2 thin slices of a takeaway vegetable pizza. It's very individual but as my calories are limited I try to make sure the food I do eat is good. Having said that, as long as you are reducing your calories to less than the ones you're using you'll lose weight and mj is a great support to do this

My main concern would be If you stay eating the foods that got you fat, albeit in smaller quantities, you will quickly put the weight back on afterwards eating those same foods in more generous portions.

Many of us with lots to lose have really changed what we eat - I've gone for Mediterrean diet variation of lean meat/chicken/fish, fruit and vegetables, Greek yoghurt & kefir and reduced by BMI from 41 to 23 without calorie counting or feeling ill. Its easy when I was supported by MJ.

Processed carbs call for more processed carbs - I can't get around that.

I've been on Mounjaro then Wagovy (thanks price increase) for a year. I've not felt sick once nor have I vomited. You do have to change your relationship with food though. You can't carry on eating what you have been just in smaller portions or you'll put any weight you've lost.
Eating clean will reduce the chances of vomiting. Tonight dc ordered pizza, I had a salad kebab. Before I would have had a whole pizza to myself. I have gone off alcohol. One drink now and I'm done.

I’ve always had wine most nights and on the higher doses just do not fancy alcohol at all! Another win!

You've had lots of helpful answers, OP, but to add one more:

1. Yes, you start at 2.5mg, but there is no actual requirement to move up and certainly not at any particular pace. I have been using MJ for 6 months and still don't yet take 7.5mg (I click count a smaller dose of 6.67mg because that works well for me). I don't want to go over 7.5mg at any point, partly due to cost but also because I like not being over-reliant on suppression because I don't want to be on the meds forever. Each to their own there though.
2. Again there is no "should," with regards to supplements. I personally take a multivitamin, but I did prior to MJ as I find it boosts my immune system (teacher, so catch everything going otherwise)! I also have collagen gummies, which some people think are a placebo but I notice a genuine difference to my level of hair loss without them.
3. In a word: yes. The physics of weight loss is and always has been making sure you use more energy than you consume. That said, you should consider trying to improve your eating habits purely to protect your own health.

Regarding certain foods causing side effects, I have not experienced this at all. I remain able to eat anything and everything I want. The only side effects I've experienced are some minor constipation - which has now settled - and the aforementioned hair loss. I have naturally very thick hair though, so this is liveable for me.

I don't know what I said wrong, I just answered the questions the OP had?!

@MoreIcedLattePlease it’s been automatically hidden which means there will be a word in your post that’s triggered the automatic filters. It will be reinstated when a human actually looks at it, no doubt. The words that trigger the automatic filter can be very innocuous when in a different context to what the filter thinks they might be related to.

I know, I'm just baffled as to what word it is/was?!

OP, I forgot to add - I agree with a previous poster that (if you can afford it) opting for a pharmacy that offers 'support' might be a good place to start for you. Places like Juniper, Numan and so on offer nutrition advice and such which might help you make the transition? (disclaimer - I am not endorsing any specific provider)

It was “g u m m i e s” that was picked up by the filter.

@MoreIcedLattePlease which collagen gummies do you recommend please?

Interestingly, I've never had any issues when eating fatty foods. My diet is intentionally low on carbohydrate, maybe that's why I have no issues when eating fatty foods?
What I do find is that when I've occasionally had say pasta or potato, then the next day I do get hunger pangs, which I never get usually.

I chose to inject on a Tuesday as I am often away for weekends - and as you have to refrigerate the injection, I wanted to pick a day when I'm least likely to be away.

You don't have to refrigerate the injection pen once you have started to use it, it can be kept at room temperature (>2°C and <30°C) for 30 days. You can continue to refrigerate it if you want to, but it's not a requirement.

(Unopened/unused pens do need to be refrigerated before use.)

They're only cheap ones - £5 for a tub of Marine Collagen ones from Home Bargains. I've run out as of Sunday and noticed the difference already. Maybe it's placebo but even if it is I'll take it!

I'm happy to read this as I can definitely afford to give them a try, thank you!

Why are people taking collagen?

@MrTiddlesTheCat I’m not, but people hope that it helps with skin elasticity and reducing loose skin. There’s no good evidence for that, but it’s just extra protein and essentially harmless if people want to take it. I’m vegetarian so wouldn’t be taking it even if it was proven to help with skin elasticity.