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?

If you are dinking a lot of water, not eating, and are in environmental heat your mineral salts (magnesium. potassium, sodium etc) will be out of balance.

This is not good for you and can lead to dizziness, naseau, fatigue and so on.

You can get little sachets of salts in most pharmacies abroad but it would also be advisable to dump the breads/crackers and get a little protein and veg into you.

I’m curious what condition is it and what’s the link between WLI ?

It’s called non-arteritic anterior ischaemic optic neuropathy (NAION) and she can’t get life insurance because she’s on a waiting list for further investigation.

Actually a quick google has shown that what your aunt may have is an incredibly rare ‘eye stroke’ caused by fluctuating blood pressure that affects the blood flow to the eye, scientists hypothesise tgst this could be linked to the higher doses of the drug.

Looks like diabetic meds can do the same but because people go up the WLI doses very quickly in some cases it can trigger this response. Interesting

Yes, she was thoroughly tested for stroke during several days staying in hospital on the specialist stroke unit and all clear but is now on this waiting list.

OP, it’s really common for people to react strongly to MJ. It’s totally up to you what you do next. If you do want to continue, I’ve heard of people taking half doses, or dosing every 10 days instead of every week, or sometimes just sticking on 2.5mg for at least another month (or more) while their body adjusts. At least with those options you save money compared to moving up the doses! (I was on it for a year - started at BMI 32 and stopped at BMI 24. Now trying to maintain.)

Usually, your body adjusts and you start to want food/drink etc again, so don’t panic and think you’ll never enjoy food or a cocktail with your family ever again!

Op, sorry not sure if this has been pointed out or if I've missed it, but bear in mind - WLI meds are designed to build up in your system gradually, most people don't notice a significant effect right away. Which makes sense as to why you might have a stronger side effect at week 3 compared to week 1.

Obviously it's your call what to do next, but do seek advice from the prescriber so you can make an informed decision, not least to reduce the chances of any more side effects!

@petitdonkey I had savage food suppression when I started MJ and would not have wanted to be on holiday - so I feel for you. Food absolutely repulsed me and I had to force myself to ingest calories. Fortunately, I was at home and had picked a week where I worked from home. I used protein shakes and sipped them really slowly pretty much all day to ensure I was getting some calorie intake and a reasonable amount of protein.

I had to extend the injections to every 8 or 9 days for the first pen, just so that by day 4/5 onwards, I did want to eat a bit of food. I did 5 months on the lowest dose and lost all the weight I wanted to. Gradually, as the months went by the food suppression was less extreme and whilst it definitely reduced my appetite, the repulsion passed and I could eat more normally.

If you can hear lots of gurgling going on, is it worth trying a Rennie or Gaviscon. Reflux is a fairly common side effect.

Thanks yes that’s what I was reading on google. That’s so unfortunate for her as it’s incredibly rare.

Thanks all - @KaterinaLater im so sorry to hear about your aunt.

some really good advice here which is what u was hoping for when i first posted. I think ill wait until at least the ten day mark before dosing again and then will only do half (i think someone said thats 30 clicks)
@MargoLivebetter i am hoping I can follow the plan you did. DH and DD have made clear they think im nuts to continue after the week I’ve had but a bit of me is hoping I’m through the worst! When I’m home I’ll have a lot more control over what I’m eating so can get a better handle on protein.

Don’t give up yet. I felt like I’d been hit by a sledgehammer on my first dose. I left it about 10 days, then did a quarter dose because I was so nervous, but that was fine. I’ve since built up to the full dose over 4 months which is incredibly slowly. BUT, I’ve still lost 2 stone (Had 3.5 to lose).

If you’re a super responder, you’ll still lose at very low doses, but it will be cheaper. PM me if you’ve any more questions.

When I say built up to the full dose over 4 months, I mean the full lowest dose of 2.5mg.

Tirzepatide does not appear unusually dangerous compared with many everyday long-term medicines. In major obesity trials, the proportion experiencing a “serious adverse event” was about 5–7% over 72 weeks, but importantly it was essentially the same in the placebo group:

MJ is a valuable new medication to fight obesity and the balance between the very rare serious side effects and the very high chance of life altering and life ending side effects of obesity make it a logical choice for improving health outcomes.

How you feeling now OP? As you've seen from friends and other experiences on here, everyone seems to have their own reaction and their own journey on these WLI. I started last weekend and while side effects not been as rough as yours, I have had similar musings about whether or not to continue. The advice on here about waiting a bit longer for next dose and maybe half dosing is useful I think. I noticed you referring to ruining your family's holiday and their views on you continuing. I would feel exactly the same. However, I'm also aware that I have prioritised my family for past 15 years and while I wouldn't have it any other way, there has been an impact on how I've looked after myself. The division of labour has been far from equal in my house and I tend to put other people's needs before my own. So now that I've started MJ, I see it as my journey. I've not told anyone yet. I've been really tired this first week on MJ and feeling a bit bad about that from DC point of view as they're on school holidays. But it's time for me to sort my health out and start feeling better so I'm giving this a try. Hasn't heard about week 3 being rough or the concept of being a super responder so thanks for the useful thread and good luck.

Yeah don’t give up op. There’s thousands of us that have had similar experiences with MJ symptoms as our bodies get used to the medication. I’ve had three episodes just like you’ve described over the last two years on it, each time it’s been as I’ve increased the doses and it’s built up in my system. But I’ve lost nearly 7 stones now and it’s been life changing for me.

Oh and I forgot to mention that I’m still only on 8.5mg. We don’t all need to be on the higher dose for it to work.

Thanks for the check in @Y0gamummy - I feel so much better!
timeline was:
Friday night jab (after eating and wine- bad idea, won’t repeat!)
Saturday night started feeling unwell
sunday/monday worst days, tuesday started feeling a bit better. Yesterday I actually enjoyed my food albeit very small portions. I’m looking forward to going home on Saturday and being in control of what I eat.

i think I will wait until Monday to jab making it ten days and I think I’ll do as suggested and do half on Monday and the other half on Thursday or Friday and see how that makes me feel.

@susiedaisy1912 - that’s really useful to know. I can’t ever imagine upping the doses at this point but you never know!!

im glad I told my children but only because they are older so very observant- my decreased alcohol consumption would be enough to draw comment!!!

I agree that I want to prioritise my health and, for whatever reason, I have just been unable to get a handle on it and stop stuffing my face! I haven’t been on the scales this week but my face has slimmed quite dramatically and I like what I see.

i thought I had done my research on this drug but it’s certainly no ‘easy option’ and I definitely messed up the timing of my holiday but I am now feeling very positive. My goal was to lose 3k stone- that would make me a size 12ish and 10stone 6- I’m not aiming to be a size 8, I just want to feel lighter and more energised which, bizarrely considering how dramatically ill I felt, I am starting to already!

I had a lot of nausea, and I mean a lot, in the beginning and I just pushed through it. I'm not saying this to minimise how you're feeling but I felt sick as a dog on some days but actually felt better once I'd managed to get some food in.

It kicked in straight away on 2.5mg. I've been on 5mg for 4 months and I've just ordered my first 7.5mg for when this pen runs out. It was a struggle going from 2.5mg to 5mg, but I'm well used to 5mg and have very little nausea now, some days it's there a little bit, but much more manageable.

For me the weight loss has been worth the struggle.

This is simply not true. What sort of horrific times have all the people you know been having?

Just to clarify.. you took less than 2.5mg for four months and lost weight?

i think I will wait until Monday to jab making it ten days and I think I’ll do as suggested and do half on Monday and the other half on Thursday or Friday and see how that makes me feel.

The medication concentration builds up in your body over 4 weeks before levelling off, and the half life of the medication is 5 days. The dosing schedule has been decided around this and for ease of treatment compliance. If you start injecting off schedule it changes how the medication is building in your system which can leave you unsure which dose is causing any positive or negative effects.

When you are new to the medication and initiating treatment I would recommend keeping it as a weekly dose over 4 weeks to assess effects then review next step.

My optometrist told me that link has been disproven.