Has anyone had a horrible time on MJ?

[petitdonkey]

I’m on week three and it’s progressively getting worse- I’m currently on holiday with my family and can’t eat at all (yesterday I had two crackers and an apricot!!)

I responded immediately to my first ever dose and felt sick that day but it hasn’t previously been this bad. I don’t know if it’s possible I have some kind of bug as well as I’m getting cold sweats.

I just feel so silly that I’ve ruined our family holiday in my pursuit of losing some weight. Was just wondering if anyone out there had a bad time on it?

It's not silly to want to take action to lose weight and stop being obese, when there is a suitable medication available to help you do so. Sometimes medications have side effects that need managing, if this situation is a side effect of the Mounjaro.

I think you're possibly stuck in a viewpoint that sees losing weight as a vanity choice to do with appearance, rather than a medical choice to do with health.

You haven’t actually said what your weight is OP? Are you actually overweight?

If not then I’d just stop taking it. Is this really worth it ‘to lose a little bit of weight’?

You’d have to have been living under a rock to not know people have had significant symptoms related to MJ.

MIL was on it for ages and she was literally barely eating - maybe one fork full of any meal. It wasn’t the weight loss that made her look ill - she just looked grey. Thankfully we’ve convinced her to come off them. Cousin had to have her gallbladder removed.

The fact it’s used by many who don’t ‘need’ to be on it is astonishing - and yes I agree it has its use where there is significant obesity but unless you’re at this weight level, it’s not worth the risk

And just to add further here before anyone jumps down my neck - DP has an obese weight classification causing mobility issues and I am supporting his enquires to getting WLI for short term use

Thanks for that.
Work in a school and loads of kids were off with it whereas usually we don't have absence.

So you think OP has this same bug because a bug whipped around your school?
Do you know OP? Has she been in close contact with those children?

I think you must know yourself that this is very unlikely to be a stomach bug when you have no vomiting or diarrhoea and you have been feeling progressively worse since day 1 of MJ. My niece got so ill on MJ she was hospitalised and ive heard other horror stories through the grapevine so I think this sort of thing is common. I dont know how long it takes to get out of your system but I wouldn't carry on taking it and I hope you get to enjoy some of your holiday.

Yes I did, I tried it for 12 weeks but had violent diarrhoea for two days every week. I thought my body would get used to it but it didn’t so as I had to stop taking it before surgery, I stopped and never restarted.

Thank you again. My starting weight was 13st 6 which, at 5”4 made me obese. I really have tried to get my weight down and had hoped this would be a tool to help me get there. I can’t see myself trying it again (I have one dose left) but it certainly isn’t a ‘cheat’ or ‘easy’ option. I can feel judgement from some of the posters and I get it, I feel somehow really silly and guilty for ruining our family holiday but I also feel a bit sad that it hasn’t worked out for me.

I might, when I’m fully over this, try the pills- the feeling of not being hungry is so new to me, it’s really made me see how much I normally overeat and how much I link food (and wine!) with reward and comfort!

huge thanks for sharing your experience and advice- you know how lonely you feel when you’re ill!

I’ve taken on board the poster who said not to travel if there’s a chance it’s a bug so I’ve sent all the yp off to the beach and I’ve just resigned myself to being in bed here rather than bed at home!

@petitdonkey honestly I think it's really common that people get side effects like this on starting treatment. You're only 3 weeks in and if you want to, there are other options other than just stopping. You can leave longer between doses, you can take a half dose for example, or even a lower dose than that.

I think it's really far too early to decide it isn't working for you and that you need to stop. Clearly you can do whatever you feel is right for you, and maybe Wegovy injections or tablets might suit you better instead, good luck with whatever you choose to do.

Jesus who pissed on your cornflakes this morning?

Ah, you poor thing. I wasn’t great the first month and week three was particularly unpleasant. I’m still only on 3.3 mg 25 weeks in but I now do feel great, better than I have for a long time. I’d focus on fluids, stuff like flat full-fat coke with a pinch of salt if you can’t face electrolyte drinks. Rest as much as you can and wait it out. Do you use an app to monitor levels - by day 3 after a jab you start to see your levels decrease which can help a bit psychologically IME! My pharmacist suggested Enterosgel - it’s not cheap but you can buy it without prescription and although it looks awful it’s completely tasteless. It really helped with the gurgling tummy. Plus pepto bismol (which can make your poo black, so don’t panic) plus paracetamol for any aches and pains. Hope you feel better soon.

I get the mj shits regularly but its worth it to get rid of the food noise.

Why did you start it right before your holiday? That was daft. Not helpful I know but I wish people would read up on the possible side effects and understand that it builds up in your system so you might have felt ok with the first two jabs but now you’re on week 3 you have more that the 2.5mg in your system. When did you do your last jab op?

Absolutely- daft is polite! Jabbed on Friday, left on Saturday. Really silly move/ I had read up on it and talked to friends who have done it but the week 3 thing just didn’t stand out to me. I’m a teacher so it seemed sensible to do it in the holidays and not be ill at work!

thank you all though, I had the best nap of my life earlier and woke up feeling human! Had some fruit and bread and will go for dinner with the family and hopefully be able to eat something very plain.

thank you for the hand holding earlier!!

I didn't have a very good experience on it,but not because of side effects. It just didn't seem to suppress my appetite at all. When I got to 7.5 mg and had still only lost a couple of pounds,I went back to Ozempic,which DID work. After reading that Mounjaro was the 'king kong' of WLI I was hopeful that it would work wonders. I sometimes think I must be the only person that it doesn't work for!

@petitdonkey if your obesity is impacting your health and you couldn't resolve it without medication, you are doing the right thing. The only slightly silly thing was the timing just before a holiday, but don't kick yourself for that you couldn't have predicted it would be this bad. You've either been unfortunate with the medication or caught a bug. There are still options with the medication you can look at once you have recovered - such as lower dose e.g. 1/2 of 2.5mg can be trialled with click counting.

Hope you are feeling better soon.

Really hope it settles down soon op. I’ve been in a similar situation when I increased from 2.5 to 5mg. Dont rush up the doses. This is your journey so don’t feel obligated to increase the dose every 4 weeks. If you still want to stay on it I would do a half dose. So 30 clicks of the pen for a few weeks and see how you feel.

If you’ve not had any d&v I’d say it’s more like mj and not eating. I found if made myself eat the nausea eased up, even if I didn’t feel like it. Simple stuff, small amounts but quite regularly. I drank protein shakes if I couldn’t eat and that helped.

Thanks again, I think I’ve ruled out bug and accepted that this is the MJ. I started at the same time as two friends and they’ve had no nausea so I do think I seem to be having a very extreme reaction! I did feel sick within an hour of the first ever dose where one of my friends has said she felt nothing!

we just went out for dinner- I ordered a chicken salad and really picked at it (protein first!!) my tummy started rumbling and I came back to my first bout of MJ 💩!

it has made me really consider if I want to continue- yes I’ve let my weight get out of control but I can’t imagine being able to enjoy a lovely meal with my family or a glass or two of wine… I know DH will think I’m nuts if I do it again but I do like the idea of maybe doing a half dose- I won’t be going up any time soon!!

The digestive issues often settle down after the first few weeks, and I would certainly consider doing a half dose or something less than 2.5mg plus maybe leaving a longer gap before the next injection. You do seem to be very responsive to the medication.

I had similar to what you describe when going from 2.5 to 5mg, and similar but not as bad from 5 to 7.5mg, but it settled down and I have been taking it for 2 years now without any further instances like that.

That’s really good to know, thank you!

Some people have side effects, some people have mild, some people have none. Everyone though who tries it has their own reason for doing so and it really isn't up to you to judge who is more deserving or less deserving of doing so.

It's so tiresome to see on these boards the hyped up risk. Just because you know someone who had a bad experience doesn't mean that it's 'common' or is what the medical evidence shows. If someone is using it legitimately, ie prescribed by a clinician, not a Mumsnet jury who decides whether you're fat enough/you've tried hard enough, it, let's assume that the clinician knows best.

Yes. I had to give up after my third week. I couldn’t eat and I was so lethargic I struggled to get myself out of bed. It was awful.

@petitdonkey good to hear you're feeling a bit better, do speak to your provider about it and see if there's things you can try before deciding whether to stop or not.
I hear a lot of people say that wegovy is worse for side effects, but if you're someone who has a strong reaction generally, wegovy might be better. MJ works well because of the sense of fullness, so it's effective for people to lose, but if you respond strongly to the drug that might be too much. Though worth seeing if they advise about spacing out doses or similar to reduce the effect.

That sounds awful, especially as you can’t enjoy the food that you’ve paid for at the hotel.

I know someone who also had horrible side effects and had to stop taking glps.

My aunt is on a waiting list to have a rare progressive eye condition associated with WLIs investigated. I wouldn’t risk it after her experience (although am not obese).