How do you cope when the suppression is too much?

[ahshggs78]

I seem to be quite sensitive to MJ and after a few weeks of slowing down decided to up my dose but only to 3.75mg due to side effects when I started.

I had a tricky weekend with nausea and headaches, but what I’m struggling with today is just how high the suppression still is despite being injection day + 6.

I need to do the food shop and I can’t been bear to think about food, never mind planning it for the family for the week. I don’t feel sick, I just don’t want food. I haven’t eaten anything yet today (not unusual for me). What’s frustrating is it’s stopping me from making healthy choices, on 2.5mg it suppressed me enough to take edge off cravings but I was still hungry and enjoyed my meals, and this enabled me to make good high protein and fibre choices. Because I’m so uninterested Im just going for snacks but not especially healthy ones and inevitably feeling rubbish.

Anyway, I will only try this for a few weeks and if it doesn’t improve will drop back down and accept a slower pace, but I’m just curious what you do when you feel like this. Do you just force yourself to eat something? Does that help or is it a means to an end because you know you have to eat?

I use online shopping and revert to a previous week's menu.

I'm really sensitive to MJ too, so I've gone up in increments of 10 clicks with a 5mg pen, only moving to the next level as needed. I'm now on the full 5mg and feeling it, so I'll do the above this week.

ETA: I do feel sick, so I'll stick to lattes (just milk and expresso) and protein shakes today.

@Plot30B thank you. I felt terribly sick day 2/3 post jab, today is just a general feeling of fullness, like I’ve just eaten a large meal. I haven’t actually eaten a meal since yesterday lunchtime!

What weight loss did you slow down to before you upped the dose?

I've been on MJ for 11 months now and I felt like this at the beginning - I think I was a super-responder too, as I just lost all interest in food and I can relate to feeling nauseous in the supermarket doing the food shop!

After many months on it, these symptoms have subsided. I can enjoy food more now and although the weight loss has slowed down since the initial surge, I think that's a good thing - don't want to lose it too fast. There are various risks to very rapid weight loss that I wanted to avoid.

When I didn't want to eat at the beginning, I would make or buy a salad, or soup. Or I would have some protein & veg - something quite bland, so it wouldn't make me feel nauseous. I also listened to my body a lot - although it was more "what can I bear to eat" rather than anything else, nothing too rich or oily. I definitely avoided all unhealthy snacks at this stage - anything fatty or sugary just made me feel worse. Drink lots of water too.

What are you counting as a slow down. This sounds too strong for you.

@UniChildQuestionsid been on it 10 weeks (with bonus doses) and was averaging 0.5lb a fortnight in the last 4 weeks.

A couple of things jump out of your post. Although the weight loss had slowed, you don’t say that you were finding that the suppression had reduced? Also, bluntly, if your loss over 4 weeks is 1lb total then you need to review what you’re eating.
I’m not saying this from a place of judgement - my loss last month had slowed right down too, and if I’m honest, the food noise was still relatively low but I could (and did) choose to eat bigger portions, a few treats, a couple of glasses of wine etc.
I have made a tiny increase to 2.75 this month, and being more aware of what I’m eating. The scales are rewarding me - slowly - but still I’ve lost a little over the last week in spite of Easter and meals out.

To answer the original question, when I felt I couldn’t eat at all, protein milkshakes were the only thing I could handle, and I knew that in a few days the levels in my system would reduce enough for me to start feeling human again. But it is important to try and eat, not eating just makes it all worse.
Best of luck, and maybe try a lower dose in a few days when you’re recovered.

@TreesOfGreen99 thank you, I wasn’t too worried about 1lb in 4 weeks because I keep hearing 2.5mg is a therapeutic dose so I thought I’d done well to stick at it for 10 weeks but it felt the right time to move up? Suppression was ok, it was taking the edge off snacking and the kind of dopamine seeking food behaviours, but that was certainly reducing more as time went on.

(But yes see your point I should be looking at calorie deficit more if I’m losing so little).

Did you lose much the first 6 weeks? It really is early days and sometimes it seems to go in fits and starts. So maybe 12lbs over the first 6 weeks then a slower few weeks and it picks up. If you're sensitive to it and the suppression is high you don't need a higher dose. I was advised to only go up when it properly stalls and when it settles after the initial weight loss a stall would be nothing for a.onth or half a pound a week for a couple of months.

I'm over a year in and lost a lot. However as weight loss usually isn't linear Ill have a week it will look like I've lost more and a few weeks of "nothing" then a few weeks of what looks like a pound a week. But I've been at the same dose for 7 months now and I'm glad I haven't reactively just upped the dose after a few weeks when I haven't needed to.

Everyone finds their own path, but you need to fuel your body and be able to eat enough and varied enough to nourish you. Full suppression is not ideal

5mg is the first therapeutic dose op.

@Firesidechatter so I’ve been told, but not really sure what that label means for me as I am getting SE, weightloss and plenty of suppression at 2.5 and 3.75! I don’t think I will need to go up to 5mg.

Just to say it was only the day I wrote this that I had that strong suppression. Interestingly I jabbed again the next day and have felt fine this week, no SE and just a comfortable amount of suppression.

It doesn’t really mean much on an individual level.

I think best to drop back to a lower dose and focus on eating at least 100g protein. Otherwise without good nutrition you will end up with muscle wastage which will show as weight loss but defeats most of the point of taking the jabs. How much weight were you losing each week on 2.5mg?