Help, not tolerating 5ml mounjaro

[BeckyBloom]

So I didn’t really have much suppression on 2.5 and the only side effects were eggy burps… however 5ml has given me full D&V. I injected on Sunday morning and am currently wearing an incontinence nappy. Help!

You poor thing sounds horrendous- hopefully within 24 hours your body calms down. Take lots of electrolytes.

Maybe next time try 3mg and see how you go

* obviously I’m not a doctor

Thank you! How do you when to stop pushing ? sorry I’ve only ever taken the full dose.

@BeckyBloom You don't stop pushing when actually injecting, instead when you prep the injection you don't turn to the full 1 position for a full dose. Eg for 3mg from a 5mg you only want to turn it for 36 clicks, rather than the 60 it takes to turn to the standard 1 position. Does that make sense?

Oh right of course that makes perfect sense. Is that what everyone is doing with bad side effects?

The first thing that I would do is not inject on the next injection day if you are still having such bad symptoms by then. It's ok to delay by a day or two. Then, yes, also do a reduced dose, back to 2.5mg or somewhere between 2.5 and 5mg if you prefer.

Also would suggest using OTC treatments for D&V, keep hydrated and take electrolytes if necessary. Have you been able to eat anything at all?

I had a bread roll and a tiny amount of cheese yesterday. I’ve had some Imodium which I bought with the giant nappies this morning!

I do less clicks so a needle lasts longer - you will need to buy insulin needles for the remaining liquid ( and or golden dose) I can’t afford every month but I find 2.5mg not strong enough and 5 means I don’t want to eat at all!!!

I was a ‘super responder’ and could never get to 5 as side effects were too strong. I tried for two weeks and it was miserable. I lost all 5.5 stone on 2 and 3.75 dosage. Some people are just a lot more sensitive to it. You could persevere but given how dramatic your side effects sound, I would titrate up slowly and only if needed.

Please contact your prescriber and ask for their advice - they will have seen this before and will be able to help you.

In your shoes, I’d reduce the dose and only go up slowly in increments of 0.5mg as the double 2.5mg dose is clearly too strong for you.

60 clicks of any pen is the full dose so in a 5mg pen, it’s 5mg.

12 clicks from a 5mg pen = 1mg.
6 clicks = 0.5mg.

I currently take 3.5mg from a 5mg pen so that’s 42 clicks.

A lot struggle as it’s the only time the dose doubles

On the plus side - once you are through this next 48 hours - if you stay at 5mg or less it's going to be cheaper in the long run!

I had a nasty time going from 2.5 to 5 - Pepto bismol liquid and peppermint oil capsules saved me, plus electrolytes and so, so much water. Was a bit ill the day after the 2nd 5mg jab and since then it's been fine. I've stuck with 5 ever since though.

Thanks for all your responses. Doesn’t a pen only last 4 weeks once opened though? So if using less, it will last longer?

Also, I’m surprised I’m having these effects as I didn’t get much suppression at 2.5.

The medicine builds up in your system so after 4 weeks on 2.5, when you moved to 5mg, it was more like 5.5mg in your system 12 hours after injecting and almost 6.9mg if you inject 5mg again next week.

I use the plotter website as it’s an excellent visual tool to help understand how it works.

https://glp1plotter.com

Also, lots of us micro dose using click counting (I take 3.5mg from a 5mg pen counting 42 clicks) and the pen is kept in the fridge. I’m careful to wipe the red bung between uses but it is open much longer than 4 weeks. However, the guidelines say 4 weeks so it’s up to you if you want to risk it.

Thank you that’s so useful

Also very useful. Click calculator by Fatoldclimber who has a vlog on YouTube.

www.vrgrowth.co.uk/mounjaro-clicks

Yes the pen should be open 30 days only HOWEVER it's an informed risk many of us choose to take for various reasons. I take 5 out of a 10 pen so my pen is open much longer. I am very careful with my hygiene and keep it in the fridge. it's worth it for the money saved.

It wasn’t immediate on the 5.0mg dose for me. It was after 4 weeks. I stayed on the same dose for another pen to see if I’d get used to it but never did. Someone advised me to go to 7.5mg which I did and have been much happier since

Pepto-bismol is more effective than Immodium - it will neutralise the sulphur burps, stop diarrhoea and prevent vomiting.

Using nappies sounds a bit concerning. I've had bad gastro effects from MJ, but could make it to the toilet - are you being continuously ill? If the diarrhoea is that uncontrollable, it sounds worrying. Do you have rehydration salts? You could be at risk of dehydration and becoming quite badly ill.

That sounds really concerning if you’re incontinent, I wonder if it’s something else, could you have norovirus?

Hi no just what I ate went straight through me.

Might not be the drug, I think we all have a tendency to think everything is due to it, but had you not been on it, you’d think you’d some form of stomach flu, food poisoning, noro etc,

Honestly, requiring an incontinence nappy is very extreme. I have had diarrhoea on MJ but that means staying close to the bathroom. I think to have it so badly that you can't manage to get there in time qualifies as a severe reaction. If it was me, I wouldn’t continue taking the medication - I wouldn't take something that put me in nappies, it must be so unpleasant I can't imagine, and well out of the bounds of a normal gastro side effect. You should talk to your provider @BeckyBloom and possibly consider that MJ isn't for you. I hope you feel better soon.