Thread 2 - BMI under 27 - Off Label/less to lose

[Beachforever]

New thread from:

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/weight-loss-injections/5509897-bmi-under-27-off-labelless-to-lose

I’m trying my first syringe on my next dose, I’ve got over 10mg sat in broken pens that wouldn’t click further, I could only get 8mm needles, hope it’s as easy as it sounds…

@kljdslhs877 oh do let us know how you get on! I’m considering using the “gold dose” in my 2.5mg pen as I don’t want to open a new pen before I go on holiday to just have it sitting at home in the fridge for a fortnight.

Thank you all for your welcome and your tips on injecting. Im starting 2 weeks x 0.5mg and the next two weeks 1mg. Has anyone had any SE on these doses? Im hoping I dont need to go higher than 1mg. I only have about 12lb to lose....peri belly! Is it conceivable i will be able to come off it at some point, or will I need to stay on for maintenance? My diet is clean and I eat v healthily (I fast and do TRE) and do at least an hour of exercise a day.

@Kernowgirl183 i started off on the same. Then moved to 1.5mg for second month. Then a couple of weeks at 2mg.

I had lost about 12lbs by the 6 week point I think.

No SE at all. Suppression very strong to start with to the point I struggled to eat anything at all. This has an impact on my energy levels so had to stop high intensity cardio for a while.

I hit my GW (7kg loss) by about week 8 and have been reducing my dose ever since. I have decided to stay on a micro-dose indefinitely because of all the other benefits. Reduced inflammation and no peri symptoms being the main ones.

I’m doing my first month on 1mg, and then will probably go to 1.5 and 2mg next month. No SE apart from two minor eps of diarrhoea. Suppresion was good for me! Kicked in properly after 2 days.

Has anyone taken their medication on holiday with them? I will have two doses left of my next pen when I go away for two weeks so want to take it with me. Just wondering about going through security and needles and all that! I've read the Wegovy FAQs about traveling on Voy but not sure if there are other things to consider or if people needed to have a copy of their prescription etc

I’m currently 67.3kg down from 74.6 when I started three months ago. I did a month of .25 and two of .5 - I’m now at the end of my three month subscription and faced with deciding whether I get an extra month to take me towards 65kg or go it alone.

I admit I’m really nervous about what will happen when I come off it.

Does anyone know whether Swift Dr accept you if there’s a few weeks gap between your last prescription? I’m thinking of giving it a few weeks on my own to see how I go before buying a final month.

My Healand syringes arrived 30 mins ago and I've administered my first dose of 0.5mg (V V easy). Can't believe I was worrying about it all day. Not expecting much this week but I only have around a 13lb to get back to where I was pre peri menopause hitting. Starting weight 56.7kg (I'm 5ft 1 which equates to a BMI of 23.6, but I'm much more concerned with my waist circumference which has gone up considerably in the last 12 months). I'd like to get back to a BMI of 21, which had held steady my whole adult life...until last year (despite my relatively good diet and lots of exercise).

In case it helps anyone else Swift Dr has said they can take people after a break of up to 8 weeks since last jab.

@Kernowgirl183 how have you been prescribed it with a totally healthy bmi?

Healand are a specialist clinic who will offer microdosing. They purchase the drugs and put them into individual syringe doses, and it's part of an overall weight loss or maintenance service. It's expensive though.

Right, I’ve been mindful about eating less and I’m losing again. Think I was inadvertently eating at a tiny deficit/maintenance.

The jab is definitely helping me as I’m able to tolerate a bit of hunger better than usual but it’s interesting the contrast between how effortless the first 8 weeks felt. Probably because I’m staying on the lowest dose.

After a static month I’ve finally shifted 1.5lb. Technically at goal weight now, BMI 21.6, 20lb down since Jan, but going to stay on 3.75mg for another month and hoping to lose a few more lbs.

I had hoped to maintain on 1.25mg but I’ve been pretty static on 2.5mg, so I may buy 5mg pens and microdose 2.5 for now, that’ll only cost £10 more a month anyway.

Same @OnTheTop I was thinking about it and realised it's not so much that the effects are wearing off, I think I've got used to feeling a bit more full than before and I've carried on eating typical meals anyway (had this revelation when I'd bought a boots meal deal at work yesterday!)
Back to making salads and snacking on fruit, or reminding myself to stop when I'm full rather than finish whats on my plate if eating out! I'm also still on the lowest dose (wegovy) 7 weeks in.

Congrats on your weight loss @kljdslhs877

Also, I only had mild SE from the start like a bit of nausea if I didn’t eat regularly but now I have zero. It’s interesting how things change over the weeks.

Well done @kljdslhs877

I daren't count it as a loss in case it's fluctuations, but I'm 59.7kg two days in a row, after hovering between 60-61kg throughout June. Greek yoghurt and fruit for breakfast, trying to keep focused! Good luck everyone!

Little update from me... I injected my first dose yesterday afternoon as soon as it arrived (0.5mg). For dinner I had a roasted vegetable and halloumi salad and felt really full afterwards, which definitely isn't my usual experience after a salad. Normally I'd be sitting on my hands to stop myself picking at food afterwards! I'm quite surprised I'm getting such good appetite suppression on such a low dose.
In terms of side effects, I woke up with a really dry mouth this morning (although that could be unrelated), so I'm having some electrolytes. Otherwise I've felt absolutely fine. I walked the dogs for an hour at 6am and then did my usual 30-minute swim after the school run.

So far I'm feeling really positive, and I can't recommend Healand highly enough.
I know I'll probably get some stick because my BMI was under 25, but when you've been fit and healthy your whole life, watched what you eat, and then suddenly put on weight — almost all around your middle — because of perimenopause, it's incredibly frustrating. Mine was confirmed with blood tests, and I'm now on HRT, which has also been a lifesaver. I was just desperate to feel like myself again.

The syringes from Healand are expensive. I paid £190 for a month's supply (2 × 0.5mg and 2 × 1mg), but I wasn't able to access it any other way.

I'm really interested to hear how people with a BMI under 25 are getting hold of pens and microdosing. How are you purchasing them?

@Kernowgirl183 probably not the answer you want to hear, but I've seen a few people post on other threads who are borderline saying they lied about their height, so their BMI calculation was a bit higher. They check your scale weight but I guess height is harder to gauge, if it's an inch or two.

Saying that, I'm not up to speed with MJ doses but wegovy for me with Voy (one of the few who would prescribe at BMI 26) was £90 for the first month at the starter dose of 0.25mg but £159 a time I think for the second and third month for 0.5mg, which is still a low dose. So perhaps Healand aren't as different as I thought given MJ costs more anyway (though I imagine could be for higher doses)

I understand where you're coming from too, this thread is a safe space! I don't know if I'm in peri or not yet, but I'd crept up 4-5kg in the last 5 years, but that was 3 inches on my waist and less than an inch anywhere else, which didn't feel very healthy. I had a similar feeling of being satisfied from a meal that usually would leave me trying not to snack later on.

Healand are definitely more expensive for higher doses - I think doses over 2.5mg you pay more. £190 isn't sustainable for me long term (eldest is at Uni and we are paying her accommodation fee's, as well as our own mortgage!), but I'm giving it 3 months, by which time I hope to have lost what I have put on over the last year. Then we will have to play it by ear!

@Kernowgirl183 I've got one more month on voy (also signed up for 3 months), and I'm considering switching to Swift Dr for maintenance or to continue gradual weight loss, it's likely I'll be middle of a healthy BMI at that point.
From what I understand they wouldn't have accepted me as a new patient but they are likely to as a switch, if I can show proof of my prescription (and a healthy weight, they understandably won't let you go below a certain BMI). Swift Dr when I last checked could do 0.5mg wegovy for £99 and would allow up to 8 weeks between pens, which could be pretty affordable if I split the doses.
Obviously it depends where you end up, and what you're happy with, but just so you're aware there could be more options for you that don't require you to remortgage your house!

It is amazing how much of an effect it can have at such a small dose isn’t it? I found the same, I was blown away. Maybe if you’re a lower weight to begin with, you need a lower dose, like with other meds? That’s just my theory anyway!

You won’t get any stick for starting with a normal BMI on this thread, don’t worry! Middle age weight gain is so hard to lose. Especially if you’re short or quite slim naturally. It’s hard to cut 500 calories from an already low TDEE.

You can get kwikpens from Healand. I was offered them after 2 months but they don’t want you to count clicks. But they are more expensive than anywhere else. I registered with a different online clinic after 2 months with Healand once I was comfortable with the medication. I added a couple of kilos, knocked a few inches off my height, sent a very unflattering photo and got a pen.

ETA: waking up with a very dry mouth is normal on MJ. You get used to it. Make sure you drink plenty during the day.

Quoting this because beachforever is kind of my oracle on here. You deffo won’t get stick here - my bmi was 25.6 but because I’m tall it doesn’t look like that. Interestingly, I’ve lost just under 2kgs and family are starting to notice!

I love Healand. Spenny, but very helpful and easy. I think I’m going to do one more month of 2weeks 1.5 and weeks 2mg and then transfer.

beachforever, who did you find easiest to transfer to? ☺️

It is so hard to eat in this weather 😫 between the appetite suppression and heat I just don’t want to cook, but my teen boys’ appetites don’t appear to be at all diminished so I have to 😫😫

Teenagers + perimenopause is a tough combination. I'm at that stage too.

Jab 2 done. My appetite has gone back up a bit in the last day or two but not to complete normal.

I've been weighing in around 65kg since the weekend, which is the right direction compared to the last couple of months. I'm also in my heavier phase of the month. This has been the week of my cycle when I crave carbs most and I haven't had that nearly as much as usual, which is great. That's been a big layer of me sruggling to get a realistic deficit in the last couple of years.

Weighed myself today - 4lb off in a week!

Doing jab 2 this evening. I have found today and yesterday harder as the appetite has returned and I’ve needed to exercise will power…