There won’t be enough sitting members to need to call ahead to book a table for the whole party.
Thanks! Didn’t think of that.
Interesting. Is this why if I have a migraine, eating really seems to help? Sadly, my migraines have not gone away with Metformin.
What is your a1c doing?
Migraines are complicated beasts.
When I had them I had an early warning and oddly coffee, dark chocolate and panadol early would make them disappear.
Wait too long tho and in for a rough ride.
If I had to guess I’m thinking the Lira flattens the bloodsugar peaks and troughs. I can still get into I’m hungry mode but it is faint and not demanding…and never a headache.
When I started back in Feb 2024, it was 6.2. It’s 5.4 now. I never had a sharp spike; it just gradually crept up.
QFT. Even Imitrex has to be taken during that “warning period.” The only thing that worked after that was narcotics – which I want to avoid.
I am surprised I never updated this thread. Last July, my endocrinologist prescribed Mounjaro for me, and the cost is completely covered, including FedEx delivery for the refrigerated drug. I presume it is because of multiple factors besides obesity: pre-diabetic, asthma, high cholesterol and blood pressure, sleep apnea, maybe others.
I started on the lowest dose, as is usual, which is 2.5 mg per weekly injection. I did that for about 12 weeks and tolerated it well. I lost something like a pound a week, and then they moved me to the second level dose, 5 mg. I’ve been on that since November, and just finished the first 12 weeks. Weight loss has been at or slightly under that same pace.
Unfortunately, last weekend I had almost 24 hours of severely upset stomach, accompanied by two different episodes of fairly thorough vomiting (separated by about 20 hours). Now my doctor is taking me off completely until my next appointment, which is in 4 weeks, because she is worried about pancreatitis and/or gallstones. After the blood labs that go with that appointment, she may put me back on the lower dose and see how it goes. If anything happens again, she will send me for imaging (they didn’t say yet what kind).
I’m kind of bummed. I have a goal of 35 more pounds, which I think is doable given enough time. I especially don’t want to put back on the weight that I have already lost, but I know what my unsuppressed appetite is like, and that will be very difficult. Of course, I’m glad the doctor is being cautious.
Thanks for the update. Sorry the news is as poor as it is. Best of luck getting to a good resolution.
Yeah, side effects are for other people. Anyway, so far it’s only potentially serious, so I remain hopeful.
If it is any encouragement I lost 45lb without drugs (in about 7 months). I subscribed to Noom which did help though I am sure there are other programs just as good.
I did do a bit more exercise but the main this was I switched from high calorie dense food to low density food mostly vegitables (filling my self up with things like carrots, cabbage and cucumber), while having relatively small portions of things like lean meat (mostly chicken, pork and fish) and potatoes / rice. I pretty much stopped eating things like cake while I lost weight.
I had been doing things without really realising it, snacking while watch TV, and drinking huge quantities of fresh fruit juice (a couple of pints a day) thinking it was healthy.
I reached my target weight almost exactly 12 month ago and have maintained my weight during that time. I weight myself regularly and as long as my weight isn’t creeping above target do have occasional treats of high density food. Large amounts of veg on my dinner plate is still a thing.
All the best I hope you can get to your target weight with or without Mounjaro.
@Roderick_Femm Have you considered the oral Wegovy pill? It is still expensive, but significantly cheaper than the injected version. At Costco it can be had for $150-$300/mo out of pocket. Not sure if you’ll tolerate it any better than Mounjaro, but might be something to ask your doctor about.
I just started a couple days ago and found your thread. Thought I’d mention it.
Thanks, I’m aware of it.
I’ve been having such bad reactions to Mounjaro lately (another one yesterday) that I’m just about done with any of this class of medicines. Weight loss is just not worth feeling this sick.
That sounds miserable. I’m sorry. You’re right, it shouldn’t be like that 
That sucks, sorry to hear it. I’m on Zepbound, as are a few other folks I know. My major side effect to date has been having to buy all new clothes., But I know people that have been extremely tired and/or nauseous and maybe worse. It’s strange to me how it affects people so differently.
OH come on… You want everything for free, don’t you?
And I bet you a 100 bucks you have not had a job in years
/s
I’m a bit late (almost a year!) to this thread, but I can empathize: after having bariatric surgery in late 2021 and regaining most of the weight in the ensuing years, in mid-December my primary care physician (PCP) agreed to start me on a GLP-1 and prescribed Mounjaro – because I’m also a type 2 diabetic, and my A1C has been creeping up along with my weight despite taking Metformin. (My bariatric center was willing to go down that road, but their medical division is slammed and I would have had to wait months for an appointment; they told me that I could probably get it through my PCP much faster.) I did the first month at the starter dose of 2.5 mg and increased to 5 mg for the next month, and I just took my fourth 7.5 mg dose yesterday; that’s as high as I’ll go. I’ve lost 20 pounds, but the side effects are no joke! 
I’m only eating 1 small meal a day, so I’m almost definitely not getting the nutrition that I should, and I’ve never been able to drink as much as I’m supposed to: I was warned that this medication requires even more hydration, and I’m paying the price for not being able to meet that mark. My next blood draw is this Friday and I go back to the bariatric center next week (I don’t see my PCP again for another month), so I’ll see what my labs and the nurse practitioner say. 
If my nutrition is actually not so bad and my labs are good I can live with the severely reduced appetite – frankly, that part is what I’d hoped for – but if the GI side effects don’t settle down after a little more time I could see stopping this medication. Even though I know it will mean regaining the weight again. One way or another, I’m going to be on weight-related medication for the rest of my life: I’m just hoping to help control the diabetes, rather than simply treating it.
Does it lose effectiveness at the lower doses? Like what would happen if you stayed on 2.5mg?
You need to titre for the correct dose. For example, I started Ozempic for T1D at .25mg and increased to .5mg after 4 weeks. The low dose had no clinical effect, but it is easier on your body to start gradually as it reduces side effects.
I lost 14lbs on the .5mg dose and my A1C dropped from 7 to 5.5, so my doctor said to leave it there and I’ve maintained everything for 2+ years.
The same drugs used for weight loss have higher starting and maintenance doses.
It would be going back to the lower dose. I spent 20 weeks on 2.5 mg and 12 weeks on 5 mg. The 2.5 mg dose had some effect, not as much as the 5 mg dose has had at controlling my appetite.
I’m only 3 days into my first week without anything (i.e. 10 days since last dose), the medicine is still in my system and will be for at least another week, and I can feel my appetite returning, so far only sporadically. It’s another 2 weeks before I see my doctor. and at this point I’m not sure if I would go back on it at 2.5 mg even if the doctor said it was okay. It would probably be better than nothing, even if it was just not putting back on the 30 pounds I have lost so far since I started the medicine.
That’s what my PCP told me about the 2.5 mg dose of Mounjaro: that it wouldn’t really have an effect, but would serve to introduce the drug to my system and my dosage would increase after four weeks. It might have been psychosomatic, but I didn’t notice any appetite difference until I started the 5 mg dose. I’m frankly kind of amazed that Roderick Femm stayed at 2.5 mg for 20 weeks…BUT, I know that everyone is different!
As far as my side effects go, I started noticing them at the 5 mg dose; so, for me, going backwards wouldn’t make any difference except to lessen the appetite control. That will also vary by person, though.
It was working, starting out at about a pound a week (average), and then it slowed down a little, and the doctor decided it was time to move up a dose. My doctor did not say anything about the starter dose being just to get acclimatized, so to speak, so maybe its effectiveness right from the start was partly a placebo effect.