FRIGHTENED OF WEIGHT LOSS INJECTONS

[VimtoPrincess]

I have a BMI of 40 and I have to do something about my weight but I find it difficult to lose weight post menopause and just cant get my head in the right space. I've decided to try Mounjaro through Medexpress but I only think about all the side effects. I am not affraid of injecting, I've done that through two pregnancies. Please help with any advice to make this journey easier.

I find it really hard to understand how someone can live every day with the horrible effects of being obese and be too scared of a bit of nausea to try a medication that will literally make them healthy. Sorry to sound irritable, but I am. The vast vast majority of people get extremely mild side effects for a few weeks at most. Then we get slim. If you'd rather not risk that, stay as you are, but it's a strange decision.

Please give it a try. It will transform your life. Within weeks, you will look and feel healthier. WLI are a remarkable way to reduce your appetite and quell food noise, making it easier to make healthy choices. You may experience a bit of nausea and maybe some heartburn, but that's nothing compared to the serious health issues facing you in the future if you don't reduce your BMI.

My BMI was 50 before Mounjaro and I had no immediate “horrible effects” of being morbidly obese, other than hating how I looked and not being particularly keen on activity. Other than that, I managed my day to day life without issue. When I was at BMI 40 it was also easier to move around. I was otherwise fit and well. Of course I was building up long terms risks to my health but nothing concrete was happening day to day in my life that was horrible. So I can see why it feels like starting a prescription medication is a big step and that it could change how you feel day to day.

What pushed me to start was the emotional side, how unhappy I was and how out of control I felt around my weight. As soon as I started Mounjaro I felt like for once I was in control and that I might actually manage to get to a healthy weight. I had some nausea but that’s not ever been anything that’s ever bothered me. I had a couple of instances of upset stomach but that soon settled. Then after that it’s been fine for many months now.

I’m more worried about acute pancreatitis and gallstones than the nausea. Mine’s sitting in the fridge, hoping to do it on Monday and I’m going for a meal tomorrow.

If you are obese, female and particularly if you’re in your forties and have been pregnant then you’re already at higher risk of gallstones. Reducing your weight will overall reduce your risk of gallstones and pancreatitis.

Nobody can tell you that you categorically won't get any side effects. All we can do is share our own experience. I got mild gastric side effects on a few occasions (literally 3 that I can remember) all in the early days, and when I moved up a dose from 2.5 to 5. All easily handled with loperimide (ie immodium) and pepto bismol (magic for sulphur burps).

I'm in my mid 50s and I lost 6.5 stone in a year, I'm now maintaining since March. It's been transformational. My BMI was over 37 when I started, it's now around 23. Size 22 down to size 12-14 (I'm tall and broad shouldered so I've never, even in my slim teens/20s, been below a 12).

Just go for it and see what happens.

that can happen with any weight loss method

We normalise what it feels like when we are obese and forget what it feels like to be normal. You acknowledge that you felt better at BMI 40 than you had at 50. No idea what your BMI is now but you can't tell me you don't/didn't have chub rub, get out of breath walking up hills and stairs, sweaty crevasses, clothes digging in to body, sore knees, sore joints when leaning or getting up and down etc....being obese is genuinely unpleasant, which you may not realise until you're not any more.

Yes they both can but acute pancreatitis can also be a reaction from your first jab before you’ve started losing weight, it’s more that I’m worried about as diet can help prevent the other type.

@RoseField1 I think you’ve recognised what I’m getting at, which is that it’s just your life and you’re used to it. Nothing you’ve described there is a horrible effect, certainly not an urgent medical issue. So that’s why I can understand why someone whose BMI is 40 might be trepidatious of starting a prescription medication that comes with a list of side effects ranging from mild to severe. And of course, that’s not a reason to avoid starting Mounjaro.

Ive lost all the weight now 5 stone and havent had one single side effect.

I’ve not read that anywhere? The best way to be cautious of pancreatitis is to not jump up the jabs too fast, take the weight loss steady.

Yes, planning on staying on the lowest for 2 months. I only have about 3 stone to lose but finding it impossible due to my massive appetite that’s really kicked in during perimenopause.

Put it in perspective.

firstly they start you on a low dose. Almost everyone experiences no side effects. You just don’t feel hungry. Look in the fridge and think ‘nah’.

But even if you did it wears off after a week! Surely you have had worser stomach flus.

This is not like a permanent surgical change you are making. Just give it a week at a time. You can stop any time you want

Well done you must feel amazing x

You might get all the bad side effects . You might get none.. everyone is different.
Ive had some constipation once I reached 7.5mg an felt freezing cold all winter.. all stuff I could deal with and didnt badly effect my life at all.. apart from my heating bill..

Go for it and see how you feel.

8 stine down here.. bmi 36 to bmi 21.5 . 8 stone gone.

Nobody’s making you do it OP. But if it’s side effects you’re worried about I hate to inform you but the side effects of obesity are much worse - increased risk of cancer, heart disease, diabetes and all morbidity among others.

You mentioned injecting during pregnancy- did you have gestational diabetes? If so, this massively predisposes you to T2 diabetes. Mounjaro helps with blood sugar control (which is why it was primarily developed as a diabetes drug and the weight loss effects were secondary). T2 diabetes is reversible with weight loss, so this would doubly benefit you. Take it slow, take all the advice about water, protein, exercise etc - but give it a go

If you do decide to take WLI Op, join the thread on here for the month you begin. People do suffer different side effects and at different times. I found it my August 24 thread to be so supportive and informative..

I’ve been on it 12 months, nearly 5 stone down, never gone above 2.5mg as I was losing weight consistently at a slowish rate which I wanted to avoid any rapid weight loss side effects.
Lots of brilliant benefits but my most recent is how much easier I’m finding the heatwave!
It’s not without risk but the risk of serious side effects from jab 1 must be very low

Gave me massive panic attacks about three days after first and only injection. Will never touch the stuff again.

You don’t have to take it!

I’m so glad I did, odd bit of constipation here and there, some hair loss, have felt very cold all winter but all of these things are nothing compared to how I lived when I was 7 stone heavier, aches and pains, niggles all over my body, huffing and puffing when just doing basic things like walking up stairs, chub rub in the summer, wore the biggest darkest clothes to hide my body, joint pain, the list is never ending.

Take it, don’t take it, I presume you have it because you wanted to try it. So either try it or don’t, you’ll never know if you don’t try but you’ll definitely not get any side effects of the jab if you don’t take it.

Well, you’ve done the first hurdle, you’re nearly there.

Think logically, you are very likely to be unaffected. And IF you are then you’ve got 5-days to a week of feeling a bit nauseous with a bit of a runny tummy, at the very worst.

You can handle that, you’ve birthed two children!

Well done for making the leap and sorting yourself out, for you and your kids.

It’s the life threatening pancreatitis side effect that puts me off.

@nocoolnamesleft pancreatitis is a very rare side effect, at a rate of less than 0.5% of patients from the clinical trials. There was a study done in a UK hospital looking at admission across 12 months and there were only 4 cases, 3 with other significant risk factors and all cases were mild and didn’t require serious treatment. There were no cases of chronic pancreatitis. Obesity is a risk factor for pancreatitis so losing the weight using Mounjaro will result in an overall lower risk of developing it.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12707267/