Advice/help please

[illsendansostotheworld]

Am coming to end of week 3 on 2.5mg of Mounjaro and all good so far - have lost 13lbs which l am delighted with.
Next dose has arrived and l was advised by supplier to go up a dose so although l don't want to peak too early as 2.5mg is working, l was also worried if in week 6 l needed more l wouldn't have it .
Is it safe to do half a dose while the 2.5mg is working as they told me no it isn't but everyone seems to do it?

Is it a 5mg pen or 2.5mg?

You can count half the clicks and do a half dose of the 5mg pen if you want to stay on 2.5mg, just remember not to leave it too long before ordering your next pen.

You could do 30 clicks and get 2.5 from a 5mg pen for the next two weeks then see if you want to go up to 5.

Yes you can. I’ve done it all the way through because I’m a bit sensitive to the effects of MJ, good and bad. I don’t think a pharmacy will recommend it though. You need to decide your tolerance for risk. Personally when it comes to medication I want the minimum effective dose.

It's a 5mg pen - l still have a week left on 2.5mg then they said l should go up to accelerate weight loss when l said can l do half a dose the pharmacist said no

The pharmacy is never going to say it’s ok to do a half dose as it’s not how you’re supposed to use the pen or the medication. But it’s no more or less safe than doing a normal injection from the pen. I suppose there’s a risk that you don’t work out how to do a half dose correctly and inject a bit more or less than you meant to.

I’ve lost 40lbs on 2.5 in 6 months. I’d stay on the lower dose if you’re losing a that fast.

Well no; they’re not going to recommend that as people will spend far less overall on pens.
I know lots do it though. I’ve not done it myself, just went up the doses monthly (I repeated 7.5 and 10 for a couple) and sat at 15mg for about 8 months and now back down to 12.5.

Does the pharmacy know that you’ve lost 13 lbs in 3 weeks? I’m very surprised they’d suggest accelerating your weight loss when you are already losing at a rate very much higher than the 1-2lbs a week that they should be recommending. I think I’d want them to clarify that for me, as it seems like bad advice.

I agree with @SilenceInside - the worst side effects seem to hit people who lose too fast.

Yes they know - l got weighed there and she that is average for the first month but it will plateau if l don't go up a dose. I just didn't want to get another 2.5mg pen only for the food noise to return then be back at square one if l couldn't get another lot.
Also l was eating everything in sight the week up to taking tue first jab so l reckon half if that was only recently put on if that makes sense

That’s a bit, odd. 13lbs in 3 weeks is definitely not the average for the first month! I wonder why she thinks that. There’s also no reason why anyone should say that you can’t have another prescription? Is there a reason you’re worried about that?

No l just think they would find it weird if l went back to 2.5mg next time after going up to a 5.g pen. Although the scales say 13lbs loss, l couldn't say where l have lost it from as l don't feel like l have so must be a lot of water too

I lost pretty much all my weight on the smallest dose. I would definitely go for half dose from the new pen in your case.

Any decent pharmacy should allow you to move down, stay the same or move up depending on how you feel in response to the medication. The online pharmacies will allow you to select the dose down, the same dose or the next one up each time your order your next prescription.

Anyway, if you have a 5mg pen you can choose to do what you want, either a half dose or an interim dose like 3.75mg. You can also change to an online pharmacy if the high street one doesn’t suit you. (Assuming you’re in England/Wales/Scotland - think available suppliers are different in NI?).

If 2.5mg is working for you, don’t let anyone persuade you to move up.

Do you have a lot to lose? 13lbs in 3 weeks is a lot if you don’t. I had 5 stone to lose but lost 6lbs in my first month.

I have 3.5 - 4 stone to lose. But l did eat shit loads before my first jab so not sure my original weight was totally accurate as l piled on a bit the week before!

The pharmacist is wrong.
Stick with the lowest effective dose.

If 2.5 is working and it is - a bit too well even - I’d stay on 2.5 for another month or two. Actually I’d stay on it for as long as I was losing.

What you say to the pharmacist is that you had too many side effects on 5mg and dropped down again. Although the business model is obviously get you hooked and get you moving up the dosage and hence the price point there are safeguards built in and they can’t tell you to suck up intolerable side effects.

You don’t really need to even try 5mg yet, just tell her you did and it produced nausea/low mood/ constipation, whatever floats your boat.

PS remember the nastiest side effects are seen as a result of too rapid a weight loss - hair loss, muscle loss important stuff.

I was the same!

I lost 21lb in my first fortnight.
I started off with a BMI of over 50 though.

It has slowed right down, of course.

I've been on it for 27 months and I've lost 9st 11lb.

I'm losing half a pound a week now and I'm almost at my goal.

@TheBroonOneAndTheWhiteOne I love reading stories like yours! I've lost almost a stone since I started last month but have 6 more to go.

My partner's lost nearly 4 stone on 2.5mg. it's quite irresponsible of your pharmacist to suggest you go up - you're losing very quickly. Much better to keep it as low as you can while it's still effective.

I did 15 weeks on 2.5
17 weeks on 3.75
rhis will be my 11th week on 5mg

ive lost nearly 5 ½ stone since late June 25

I did 9 months on 2.5 and lost 5 stone, have recently moved up to 5 from 3 to 3.75 between November and March. Currently lost 6 stone 9lb with 19lb to target.

With your current loss, I would stay on 2.5

I agree with others in that your pharmacist’s advice seems irresponsible and I’m saying that as someone who lost 3 stones in 3 months going up a dose each month.
i did lose a lot of hair about 6 months in but didn’t suffer any other side effects, no nausea or sickness in general, no awful
sulphur burps or fatigue. I use an online pharmacy though and didn’t speak to anyone in person. I started at 16st and lost very quickly because I just stuck to 2 meals a day and previously I had been having 2 meals a day and continuously snacking all day alongside it - stands to reason that if you cut out an excess of 1500 calories a day (roughly but it was probably more!) you’ll drop lbs very quickly.
I’ve strength trained and kept very active throughout though and recommend it highly. I’m now very toned and am maintaining my weight.