Mysimba Progress - an honest review

[StanleyOscar]

Hello!

I'm one of those people who can go on a diet, lose weight, but not keep it off! I also want to say that I am in no way affiliated with Mysimba, but wanted to share with you all my experience so far.

2 years ago at 18st 7lbs I joined up with SlimmingWorld for 12 weeks, that set my mind right and for the next 4 months (7 months total) I carried on by myself and lost a total of 78lbs. To be 12st 13lbs and size Medium was lifechanging. I honestly can't put into words how I felt, but it was heaven having spent 25 years around 18st, and tipped the scales at 18st 13lbs!

Fast forward to 2023 and yes, as I expected, I have put weight back on. I have gone from the 12st 13lbs to 16st 4lbs. This is devastating because it feels like the party is over, and although I didn't as yet put back on the full 78lbs, and more, those wonderful slimmer days are gone. However, I'm not one to give up, but having done many diets which work to 'lose' weight, I haven't found one yet which can keep the weight off. I need to re-educate my brain as I have a food addiction, I crave junk food.

In the past, my primary motivation when dieting is losing the pounds, I become obsessed, almost replacing my food addiction. That's why SlimmingWorld works so well for me, winning Slimmer of the week, month etc. However, when my weight levels out, and I stop losing the pounds, the motivation diminishes and bit by bit, the cravings come back, I slip into old habits...and the pounds go on. I've been there and back so many times.

Which brings me to 2 weeks ago when after a chance conversation with my father who has been an alcoholic most of his life, he mentioned he has been on Naltrexone for 6 months, not gone on a drinking binge, and it has transformed his thinking, and his life. For the first time in as long as he can remember, he is able to have a drink, and walk away with no cravings. It was then that he mentioned about various similar drugs for obesity, including Mysimba.

So, with that information I did a tonne of research, and ordered some online, did all the consultation etc and started on a 16 week course on Monday 18th September. Today I am on day 14, on three tablets a day and can reliably say that Mysimba is working well for me. I started at 16st 4lbs, and this morning I weighed in at 15st 9lbs, a loss of 9lbs in two weeks.

My cravings for junk food have vanished. Shopping is so different, food is food, and I have no interest in crisps, cakes, peanuts etc. There are bags of crisps in the house which my wife is tucking into, but I haven't touched them and have no desire to.

I hope to last the 16 weeks, and hopefully my brain will be re-educated, time will tell. Any thoughts, questions or experiences to share, please feel free, would love to hear from you all.

@Pherian 3lbs is a great start, well done!

Fortunately I am lucky to be at home 24/7 and don't need to work or else I think this would be a very tough journey.

Keep going, it does get easier.

Day 29 - 1 stone lost since starting Mysimba! Really chuffed, definitely starting to slim down and can feel those happy days returning. 6lbs more and I will be the lightest weight I've been this year.

Still have a dry mouth all the time, I guess Mysimba stops me producing silva. No cravings though, which is great.

On to the next stone!

Congratulations on a stone loss. I feel a bit odd the last couple days. I'm going #2 and it feels like the world is falling out of me considering I'm not eating a great deal. I'm tired although I'm sleeping really well through the night.

Breakfast is a usually crumpet with a smear of butter, a banana and a cup of coffee.
Lunch is a sandwich or a wrap with lettuce, tomatoes, bit of lean chicken or pork ( we made a roast port on Sunday). With some light mayo and a cup of peppermint tea.
Dinner tonight I had pasta with tomato and basil sauce and a coke zero.
I drink water, peppermint tea and coffee with skim milk through the day.

I did enjoy my roast dinner on Sunday but I ate very little of it. In fact half my plate was left and my husband ate the rest as an evening snack.

I don't weigh myself everyday but I will weigh myself on Friday.

I’m glad to hear this is working for you I thought about taking it after I stopped ozempic but I thought I would try it on my own first. I have a food addiction. 6 months or so of ozempic did help me with my brain thoughts about food to be honest.

Firstly I plan our what I am going to eat for that day. I will say to myself today I am going to eat fish, rice, fruit etc. Then I make myself think about how nice the food will be and how much I enjoy it. I don’t focus on ‘it will help me be thin’ I think about how nice salmon tastes (for instance). Leaving your meals up to chance or happenstance when you are hungry is the worst thing to do when you have issues with binging as you will always make a poor choice. I also have sacrificed a lot of my income to ‘nice’ food instead of trying to buy a meal for a few quid that’s not going to be a good healthy meal I might need to spend more for good food. I also tend to stick to things I know I will like and I’ve ended up eating a circle of the same kinds of foods every day. This makes me feel like I am in control of the food and it’s not in control of me. I don’t mind it being repetitive as I trust that it’s filling and tastes nice.

after 6 months of not eating pizza at all I had a small slice of domino’s recently and I realised that the whole slice just tasted the exact same, bland and nondescript tbh. I do still eat treat type items but I eat far smaller portions of them and if I have had a few too many crisps I will make sure my next meal is a good balanced healthy one.

I always always have food in my bag and car, fruit or healthy snack. I don’t let myself get crazy hungry.

You may never stop thinking about food as an addict but you can learn to control how you act around food. I think about food all the time still but I don’t reward myself with food after a bad day because I will ask myself ‘is this really going to make you feel better/good? Is this going to help you’ and the answer is no, food isn’t going to help me make a bad day any better, it won’t erase anything and it will give me a new problem - weight gain.

good luck

@Menora Oh wow! That is a really interesting story, a lot of it mirrors my life and how I have been. It's comforting to know that our minds can adjust, and one day I too can control my cravings.

So, been on the Mysimba drug for one calendar month now, and it has had it's ups and downs. Yesterday was a difficult day, felt nauseous most of the time, but better today.

Upshot is that I have lost another pound, so a total of 15lbs lost in a month, not bad!

It is mindfulness. Much of the time we eat on the go and without realising what we are doing. We eat whilst looking at a screen or doing something. That’s why it’s so easy to mainline a whole packet of crisps in one go. You need to learn to actually look at the food while you eat it and taste it and be aware of it. If you notice more things you will make better decisions as you aren’t on autopilot. It’s also relearning all the habits of managing stress. I will feel stressed now and go and walk around to shift off the stress and try to think positive thoughts but I never used to I would walk to the fridge or cupboard and still be stressed! Good luck

@Menora That's a really interesting point you make regarding us not looking at our food as we eat it, I am a classic example of that. Often I would sit at my PC and demolish a huge bag of crisps, and then want another one asap. I never really took much notice of how much I was eating, until I had run out of junk food and seen all the empty packets...then go out, restock and do it all again. It's a vicious circle and for the most part, I hate it. Eventually as the weight hits a certain critical level, and I just feel depressed at being overweight, I go on a crash diet, lose say 5-6 stone and wonder why I ever got overweight in the first place. Problem is that dieting means no junk food, which in my mind just enhances the desire to have it. When I finally snap, I just revert back to my old habits and put the weight back on. Dieting doesn't control the desire to crave junk food, it makes it worse. It's an addiction.

That's the beauty of Mysimba, it destroys any cravings, and hopefully in time my mind will adjust to what is considered a normal way to approach food.

@StanleyOscar are you still taking Mysimba? I'm on day 4 and so far, so good. No cravings for junk food or sweet food or cheese. I'm eating little and often, not counting calories but trying to follow a healthy low fat, low carb diet. I'd be interested to hear if people have longterm success with this treatment because it's pretty expensive.

@RubyBoozeDay Hello there! Interesting question...no I'm not on Mysimba anymore. It took a strange turn of events last week and as I said that I would give an honest review, here are my findings:

So, the first 4 weeks were brilliant, apart from the side effects, the overall effectiveness of Mysimba was great. I had no cravings, and lost over a stone...but then in week 5 it all went upside-down.

Firstly, I experienced just about every side effect including depression, constipation, dry mouth, headaches etc, but then they all dropped off one by one, which was great, but then I noticed that the benefits also dropped off. My appetite came back and I no longer felt the pills did anything at all even though I was on the max 4 tablets a day. All I was left with was the dry mouth, and even that went away eventually. It was as if my body had developed an intolerance to Mysimba, it literally had no effect whatsoever and I also noticed my weight increased by 7lbs in a week which was disheartening.

Fortunately I was just about to purchase the next batch of tablets for £99, I subsequently decided to save my pennies not continue. It's a real shame because I really thought this was the answer to my eating addiction, but it isn't. It may work for someone else, but I was surprised by how fast the effects wore off.

On the upside, the cravings don't appear to have come back, yet. Still not buying crisps, snacks etc. However, I will still eat ice-cream, chips etc if they are put in front of me. Overall, my portion control is much better as is the willpower when shopping. I hope that side of things stays the same, only time will tell.

That’s disheartening to read. Day 5 today, I bought a 2 month supply. It sounds like it works in the short term only though. I’ve read similar experiences with Ozempic and Saxenda where the ‘not hungry/not craving sweet things’ feelings come back after using the medication for a certain length of time.

I’m hoping it works long enough to make a good dent in my weight loss journey. Fingers crossed!

Did you get vivid dreams? I’m finding them quite disturbing.

@RubyBoozeDay Don't give up, and please don't get disheartened because it works differently for everyone. I got into using it because of the things I read about the effects of Naltrexone on alcoholics etc and hoped it would work for food addiction. I am sure there are many success stories, maybe?

It is a shame that in the long-term Mysimba, Ozempic, Saxenda and alike don't seem to last, and so we end up back at square one. I haven't felt the cravings come back in abundance, and I still exercise portion control, so I have taken away some positives from trying Mysimba. However, I do feel that there really isn't any better more effective solution to obesity than the basic healthy diet and regular exercise format. I lost almost 6st over 7 months a few years ago through Slimming World using a combination of willpower and basic calories in, calories out method. That said, it's of no help to anyone who has a food addiction, or else we wouldn't be in the situation that we are in. Food addiction is an uncontrollable desire to constantly eat calory rich foods and eventually leads to obesity, it isn't a lifestyle choice. It's a daily challenge and can be very depressing. Ultimately, we just have to try to maintain the highest level of discipline we can and take each day as it comes.

Stick at it and let us know how you are getting on. Remember, I am still 3 stone lighter than I was 2.5 years ago, and have kept the weight off, so I must be doing something right. Just need to lose the other 3 stone I've put back on and keep it off.

You will make a dent in your weight loss for sure, but prepare yourself for life without the benefits of Mysimba to ensure you don't put the weight back on. I did have a few vivid dreams, but they stopped after a few days. The worse side effect I had was the constant feeling of doom, and for that alone I am glad I am off the medication.

Oh I'm not giving up on Mysimba, I've paid for them, I will take the ones I've got as per regime. I'm only on one a day, I go onto two a day on Friday. I've searched for positive stories and the only ones I can find are American ones (it's called Contrave there) where people claim to have lost 80lbs + using it.

Good luck with you continuing weight loss. I've bought myself a fitness watch to track my activity and I'm finding that's a good incentive, to reach the daily targets I've set myself.

@RubyBoozeDay Glad to hear you are not giving it up and fingers crossed it works for you, and I am sure it will. Either way you will benefit!

Good idea on the fitness tracker. I've always had one strapped to my wrist and it works well. It keeps me on my feet most of the day, and when I realise I haven't done enough a day, I pop onto the treadmill to top up the steps before bedtime.

Hope you don't mind me asking, how are you getting on a few weeks later? I'm considering Mysimba.

I’ve stopped taking it because it gave me crippling abdominal pain. It didn’t curtail my appetite either. I’m going back to calorie counting and increasing exercise. I don’t know what component of the drug caused the pain but it was really bad.

The pain started when I went from 1 to 2 tablets daily.

I'm due to start my first week tomorrow morning and I'm really nervous about what side effects I get while my body adjusts. I know it's so case by case, but I'm scared I won't be able to push through it.
I only want to lose 15lbs max, and would be happy with only losing 10lbs.

Anyone have any advice for your first week or two?

I heard taking it the same time of day can help

@Jaymc30 How are you doing, how did the first week go?

Interestingly I took one pill on Monday and it had an immediate effect, so much so that this week I haven't had any cravings. May just be a coincidence but I'll take it.

Have had to cut back on any exercise due to awaiting surgery, but as soon as I am fixed, I will get back to dieting and fitness.

Hey! Aside from a random few hours with a dry mouth/throat I have had no side effects at all.

That said, I'm not sure it's really working for me? It's hard to tell! I haven't had any cravings for alcohol or snacks and have generally forgotten about mealtimes until my body has started feeling actual hunger. But it doesn't cross my mind between meals to nip into the kitchen to get anything, sometimes for 6 or 7 hours. It's also been really easy to stick to eating healthy meals and not be tempted by seconds/feeling like I have to finish my plate. So in that sense I guess it must be working??

I'm due to increase to 2 tablets tomorrow so I'll give you another update soon 🙂

In terms of results, I have lost 7lbs in 6 days without feeling hungry or doing any exercise. In fact, the weather has been so poor I've struggled to even reach a below average step-count. I'm hoping to enhance my Week 2 results by focussing more on movement and decreasing my portions slightly.

Good luck!!

I've had a chat with my GP and I'm going to start back on Mysimba after Christmas, but stick to one tablet per day and not increase it as per regime. GP thinks it was eating Zero Calorie noodles that caused my abdominal pain, not the medication.

Hiya wondering whether to try my simba and was hoping you would give an update on where you are with it now?

hi everyone, started mysimba 3 days ago and just started getting some symptoms. feeling a little jittery and anxious. Also didnt sleep great last night kept feeling like i was falling like in a dream everytime i nearly fell into a deep sleep it would jolt me awake. Still have a appetite but no were near what it was going hours before needing to eat then feeling full instantly. I initially only started taking mysimba to help drop a dress size for my holiday in 6 weeks but if i can cope with the symptoms i might do the 16 weeks and see how i get on. Has anyone else experienced any anxiety and jitters.

@princesspol Hello! In answer to your question, yes I experienced the same, all normal symptoms. I took Mysimba for about four weeks and then I noticed all the effects wore off, but some of the symptoms remained such as feeling anxious and like the world was falling apart. I stopped taking it and quickly everything got back to normal.

However…the junk food cravings never returned. I still eat crisps etc, but instead of say two large bags a day, I literally only eat one large, or small bag every 10 weeks or so, and I normally just get bored halfway through the bag and bin the rest. Same with takeaways. Used to have two or three a month, now that has been reduced to perhaps two a year?

Basically, I haven’t gone back to my bad habits since taking Mysimba last year.

This is interesting. I took Mysimba in spring and lost ten pounds in a month - bloody wonderful - but I was living in terror. I can’t even begin to describe the existential dread. I had to stop taking it. Now I’ve been on Mounjaro for over two months and I’ve lost a total of five more pounds. Whoop. I’m persevering but I keep looking back to the Mysimba and wondering if I should go back to it; frankly, for the difference in cost as well as the difference in effectiveness. Now we’re all getting more familiar with these drugs it’s clear that we all respond very differently. I guess I would describe myself as a super responder to Mysimba. The online GP who prescribed it was happy for me to use it again but, like @RubyBoozeDay , said I would only need one pill and maybe not even every day. This made sense to me as I felt total relief from food noise and hunger as soon as I took one pill. Has anyone moved from Mj to Mysimba, who could give me the benefit of their experience?

Can you get Mysimba on presciption?