BMI under 27 - Off Label/less to lose

[ritala]

I am mid 40’s and just can’t lose the weight like I used to. I’m fed up of losing and gaming the same two pounds. I’m about a stone and a half more than my happy weight (where I would be approx bmi 23).

I have tried to find a thread for people who have been approved ‘off label’ Wegovy or Mounjaro with less to lose but couldn’t find one, so thought I’d start here. I have a BMI higher than 25 but less than 27 with a couple extra health conditions. Hoping to start after Easter. I’d like to stay with a very low dose if possible. Half a pound a week loss would be good for me. I really want to avoided side effects.

Anyone who is in a similar boat and wants to share experiences or ask questions, please join! X

I've been reading through this thread and I feel as if i could have also written so many of these posts. I had my last baby at 39 and lost all the baby weight with slimming world (almost 2 stone) and kept it off until about half way through the pandemic when I think perimenopause kicked in! I've been on HRT for almost 2 years now and it has made a huge difference to my anxiety and insomnia but I have been losing and regaining the same 5 pounds now for over a year. It's really getting me down. For me - I don't have a huge issue with constantly thinking about food, but I do seem to crave sweet things from tiredness and I do snack some days. I had a really good week this week and I gained a pound. I also do 7k-10k+ steps a day, including running 2-3 times a week and the rest from long walks. I just feel like something is off with my metabolism as nothing is working the way it used to. My BMI is 27 and I've just been accepted by Voy from the forms. It's taken me 6 months to get to this point (took me 2 years to convince myself to get on HRT). I psychologically find being on medication to be quite hard but someone else who posted about birth control on here really made me think! What I can't now decided is Wegovy or Mounjaro. So I'm stuck staring at the screen at the moment! Thanks for starting this thread!

I had my consultation this morning and was approved, there's a bit of me thinking WTF have I done, but I'm reminding myself it's temporary and I've spent money on worse things!
I decided to only sign up for three months in the end, it's a bit more expensive but I figure I don't know how I'll react to them.

Fwiw my video call was maybe a bit more involved than others have had - I had to step on the scales but also show myself in a full length mirror front and side and lift my (thin) jumper up, which was a little embarrassing, not sure what they were expecting to see...

Im going to delay taking my first dose because I'm going on holiday very shortly and don't want to be explaining it to anyone at airports, but I have a few days off at home when I'm back so I thought that would be a good time to start.

Hey all. I took my 2nd dose of 2.5mg MJ on Saturday and jeez the suppression hit almost immediately with this dose. First jab went fine, no side effects and mild suppression but felt fine and if anything I felt a bit disappointed as it didn’t feel like it had much effect.

The second dose however has been totally different. Took it in the morning, hosted a bday party for my daughter in the evening all the fun picky party foods and could hardly eat a thing, then yesterday didn’t fancy eating anything at all. Made myself have some Greek yoghurt and fruit and a protein shake and a small amount of chicken and veg but it was a struggle. Woke up this morning with zero desire for food, and now building myself up to have some yoghurt in a bit.

Lost 2kgs first week, really want to go slow and steady on the loss but it’s so weird having zero desire for food.

From what I read MJ does tend to be faster as it works on several appetite hormones compared to wegovy, so if it doesn't settle you could always switch further down the line. Hope you're feeling ok on it.

Well I just did my first Wegovy injection, feels like nothing!

Reporting back on my switch to Dr Swift as promised. It was SO easy, no video call, no GP details needed, I just filled out a form, and it was approved within minutes. Already dispatched.

I had to provide a photograph of my last box of MJ, some ID, and I had to do a video proving my current BMI (by showing myself full length, saying the date and then standing on scales). My BMI is firmly in the healthy range now.

The form doesn’t ask any questions around how long you’ve been on it or what your starting weight was.

So basically very easy to switch, and it’s save me about £70 a month!

That is excellent. I was signing up to Voy for 6 months but switched to 3 and glad I did now. I do think maybe I'll lose what I want to in 3 anyway but if not I can switch. Thanks for reporting back.

On W v. MJ. I was originally going with MJ because it's 'better' in that it contains 2 hormones and tends to be more effective .

I did some reading and decided to go with W because less likely to have side effects (annecdotally and since fewer ingredients) and loss on MJ tends to be rapid with more appetite suppression so since I only want to lose a little I thought W would be more slow and steady.

These are just my thoughts from some reading. I am not very knowledgeable!

Part of the reason I'm hesitant with this is I don't think I'm that large, I always think my scales must be wrong.

Just looking at pics from a recent holiday, nope, I am obviously quite overweight and going in the wrong direction despite doing everything right so this is a sensible thing to do.

Hello, I was approved for wegovy and my order’s been shipped eek. I took the pictures today and holy f… I gained 15kg, never been so heavy. I hope jab calms down my evening bingeing as I am emotional eater. Gonna use this time to reframe my mind.

Could you link please? There are two providers with swift in their name. I’m with Numan so massively over paying but I am bmi 26 so scared to switch and don’t don’t want to use a provider that will tell my GP

Sorry it’s SwiftDoctor not Dr Swift lol https://swift-doctor.com/?srsltid=AfmBOorUt4i9uNlg4azkyBVjRLsr_05wiqZB0l-D6IlcnHoK2ZCY7mOZ

@NinthBestOption I could have written that post myself 😂

I find there's a small window for me between healthy weight + overweight (I'm short and don't carry weight well) so although the scale isn't that different, it's still not ok. I'm hoping though that I see the benefit the other side, ie I don't have to lose a lot to get a healthier waistline and look a bit better!

Wegovy price comparison site here for anyone switching. Voy aren't terrible tbh but you could switch every month to keep it around £80

igovy.co.uk/wegovy-price-comparison-uk/

Ok please can I join?

I am very short, bmi 27 and am planning on first injection of mounjaro this evening!

Really scared of side effects and it’s taken me ages to actually get to this point.

Like so many of you I’ve previously lost weight easily but age is now against me. I’ve also been through some traumatic life stuff and am definitely stuck in a comfort eating pattern which I’m really hoping the injections will help.

Ive gone with Med Express. I had to have a video call but it was literally 2 minutes and really only asked my name. They do say they inform your gp - why are people against this? I thought all providers did this and am now worried if I made the right choice.

worried I won’t sleep tonight.

@hellobaby24 i haven't opted for them to tell my GP but no major reason - I don't have a relationship with my GP, literally never see anyone apart from a phone review with an asthma nurse once a year - so I'd rather tell them if I need to in person. Honestly I'm just a bit embarrassed about needing them (my own issue entirely, as a formerly 'naturally skinny' person, wondering what happened!)

@hellobaby24- please don’t worry about the injection tonight, it’s such a thin needle and does not hurt. Honestly, it’s the thought of it that’s worse!

I am very anxious and was literally talking to myself as I was doing it. I think it helped! I was shaking afterwards because it’s so alien to inject ourselves. I really don’t like needles either. But it’s over very quickly! If I can do it, anyone can. Watch a YouTube video if that helps. It helped me. It felt like there was a professional there with me (I know I sound er tragic and weird!)

The Shotsy app is really good for tracking how you are feeling and you can also see how much of the mediation is in you on any given day, so you can predict when you’re likely to feel the most suppression.

This is my fav video. I like her voice and she demos it on an orange 🍊 so you can see what to do.

An update from me… so I did my microdose on Saturday because last week I had such a strong reaction to Wegovy (could barely eat on two days and barely slept as well). I did a 1/4 of the usual starter dose. My sleep has been good, touch wood, but the food suppression has definitely reduced. I am toying with the idea of injecting again either tomorrow or Weds (same amount) and then do 1/2 of the starter dose next time 😬 very unsure.

The Shotsy app says I only have 0.15 in me and honestly today I didn’t really feel any food suppression. I will say that I didn’t feel hungry at all today. It seems to be working but obviously not as much as last week when I had 0.25.

Glad you are feeling a bit better @ritala. I feel a bit more suppression after my second dose yesterday I think, but it is still only really not feeling hungry rather than feeling like I can't eat at all. For example today I had a pretty light lunch and three hours later I was still feeling full, which is unusual for me. Maybe that's enough, if you feel better and just aren't very hungry?

Thank you so much for starting this thread. I’m in my mid-40s and, like a lot of you, really struggling to shift any weight. I’ve been trying to lose about a stone for the past six years, but it’s been very up and down for various reasons - mostly emotional eating and bingeing.

I had a hysterectomy 7 months ago and am now on HRT, and I’ve developed a bit of a tyre round my middle. I’m also quite short, so feeling really dumpy at the moment.
I found this thread last week and fast forward to today and i’ve just been approved by Voy for Wegovy with a BMI of 26. Can I ask when people tend to inject? I’ve got an all-day work event on Monday, so I’m thinking Thursday night (assuming it arrives by then), in the hope that any worst side effects have passed by then?

I think that's wise, it's supposed to take a day or 2 to kick in but why risk it?

My pen should arrive on Thursday, I'll do it then.

I'm a bit worried about whether it'll work tbh. I don't eat because I'm hungry, I fast and am used to ignoring hunger anyway. I eat because I'm happy/sad/bored/stressed/tired etc, etc. So if it just makes me feel full it won't work, my job is so stressful.

However I think I'm also very susceptible to placebo effects, and what could be stronger than actually injecting a drug?

Ah well, we shall see. I don't know what I'll do if it doesn't work.

My jab has arrived and I dare
not inject incase it makes me vomit 🙈

I’m working from home all week but out on Saturday so if I was going to struggle is now/tomorrow a good time to start?

I took my first dose around 11am today and I’ve had no side effects so far.

I’d say I’ve had what I’d call a ‘good’ day for me - not going hard on calorie restriction but making healthy choices.

Not sure I’ve noticed any appetite suppression or reduction in food noise yet but didn’t expect to this early anyway. For me it’s whether I can turn one good day into series of good days, because normally I just can’t sustain it and fall off the wagon pretty rapidly.