Weight Loss Jabs

[Dave]

Wegovy is a GLP-1 agonist only, this causes the reduced appetite as a side effect. Mounjaro is a GLP-1 agonist and GIP, GIP also impacts appetite but also balances insulin better (insulin spiking is known to instigate fat storage and hunger.

One thing I would say for those worrying is the list price of a drug is rarely the price paid by distributors, they can negotiate discounts to the list price. It’s almost certainly going to increase in price but this is a PR exercise to please the orange dictator in America.

Eli Lilly know the private prescription market in the UK won’t tolerate a huge price increase as we are not an insurance based health economy (it’s complicated but in Australia or other countries with insurance based systems you would co-pay with your insurer for something like this so your out of pocket cost isn’t the full drug price). Small downside of our tax based universal healthcare system is new drugs like this take longer to come to widespread use, but before you rush to wanting insurance based healthcare overall your costs would go up massively).

 

[WillPS]

My provider, Second Nature, have now confirmed that September's supply at least will be the same price. They also seem to think the increase for lower dosages will not be too steep - lets see how that goes.

I've noticed a fairly big difference going from 2.5mg to 5. Looking forward to seeing what the scales have for me in a couple of weeks.

 

[s_g_k]

I started on Mounjaro on 27th December so I’ve just taken my 2nd dose. I was sceptical and thought long and hard about making the commitment to buying it, because it’s not cheap, and I’m also a bit of a worrier when it comes to buying meds privately.

But, I’m really quite surprised at how my appetite has been suppressed in such a short space of time. Within 2 days I was eating much smaller breakfasts and then going most of the day without anything other than a banana until dinner, and I’m finding I’m eating probably half of what I normally eat.

I am a person with a highly addictive personality - give me a glass of wine and I’ll want the bottle. Give me a slice of pizza and I’ll want the rest. But so far, Mounjaro has really suppressed my appetite. I just don’t feel the need to eat like I used to.

My only worry is that once I’m happy with my weight and come off the medication, I’ll pile on the pounds again. Hopefully I’ll be able to avoid this and control calorie consumption for good.

I’m 3lbs down after 7 days, so wish me luck folks and I’ll update you as I go on.

P.S - the motivation for me doing this is that earlier this year I was borderline unable to ride Spinball Whizzer, but I just about squeezed on. I now have an 8 month old daughter and in the years to come, I couldn’t bare being too large to take her on her first rides at Alton Towers just like my dad did with me back in the early 90s.

 

[WillPS]

Good luck @s_g_k .

I've plateau'd the last few few months but bumped my dose up now to 7.5mg and really feeling it.

Also ditched Second Nature and now I'm just getting it as cheaply and safely as I can. The "coaching" they provide feels a lot like talking to a very slow responding ChatGPT I decided, and it's not far short of £100 more than the cheapest available (even with Vitality's discount) so that is quite the premium to pay.

 

[s_g_k]

Good luck @s_g_k .

I've plateau'd the last few few months but bumped my dose up now to 7.5mg and really feeling it.

Also ditched Second Nature and now I'm just getting it as cheaply and safely as I can. The "coaching" they provide feels a lot like talking to a very slow responding ChatGPT I decided, and it's not far short of £100 more than the cheapest available (even with Vitality's discount) so that is quite the premium to pay.

Thanks! I went with Med Express and the support has been great so far. I’m only on the 2.5mg starter dose at the moment so will decide whether or not to increase it in a few weeks.

I’m very impressed so far though. I had a bit too much to drink on New Year’s Eve so I ordered a medium burger meal from McDonald’s the morning after, and I couldn’t even finish it. Before starting on Mounjaro I’d eat a large meal and another burger on the side. I know I shouldn’t have ordered it but it’s dry January now so those fast food cravings will go.

Is there anyone here who has come off the pen who can advise how they’ve managed to keep the weight off? It’s my biggest worry that it’ll be a short term waste of money.

 

[WillPS]

Thanks! I went with Med Express and the support has been great so far. I’m only on the 2.5mg starter dose at the moment so will decide whether or not to increase it in a few weeks.

I’m very impressed so far though. I had a bit too much to drink on New Year’s Eve so I ordered a medium burger meal from McDonald’s the morning after, and I couldn’t even finish it. Before starting on Mounjaro I’d eat a large meal and another burger on the side. I know I shouldn’t have ordered it but it’s dry January now so those fast food cravings will go.

Is there anyone here who has come off the pen who can advise how they’ve managed to keep the weight off? It’s my biggest worry that it’ll be a short term waste of money.

I haven't, I've got a good way to go yet. But the way I see it, if you can get to a zone you're happy with, keep an occasional eye on your weight, make changes if you can then if you need it you can come back on for a month or two to get back in the zone.

Weight falls off easiest when you start a new nutritional regime, so you'll probably find you can get back to a better place quite quickly.

 

[s_g_k]

I haven't, I've got a good way to go yet. But the way I see it, if you can get to a zone you're happy with, keep an occasional eye on your weight, make changes if you can then if you need it you can come back on for a month or two to get back in the zone.

Weight falls off easiest when you start a new nutritional regime, so you'll probably find you can get back to a better place quite quickly.

Thanks, that’s good advice.

The McDonald’s aside, I’ve now got a decent food routine planned for January. Eggs for breakfast and protein and veg for dinner.

Hopefully after I’ve lost what I want to lose I can maintain my weight without having to back to the pen. It’s a lot of money!

 

[WillPS]

Thanks, that’s good advice.

The McDonald’s aside, I’ve now got a decent food routine planned for January. Eggs for breakfast and protein and veg for dinner.

Hopefully after I’ve lost what I want to lose I can maintain my weight without having to back to the pen. It’s a lot of money!

It's spenny, very spenny. But £130 every now and then, as a fallback option, isn't world-ending.

And if you're anything like me you'll see the potential saving and work to make it happen, meaning you won't even need to spend it.

 

[s_g_k]

It's spenny, very spenny. But £130 every now and then, as a fallback option, isn't world-ending.

And if you're anything like me you'll see the potential saving and work to make it happen, meaning you won't even need to spend it.

That’s very true. I’d be disgusted to total up our monthly takeaway and top up shop bill. Eradicate that and Mounjaro more than pays for itself.

 

[s_g_k]

So, I’m now 3 weeks in and I’ve lost 10lbs, which I’m pretty amazed at. To minimise chances of weight gain when I come off Mounjaro, I’ve focused on exactly what I’m eating and have cut out all processed food and refined carbs - something I feel is key to ensuring I remain as close to my goal weight as possible after coming off the medication, otherwise it’s all just a massive waste of money. Breakfast consists of 2 poached eggs and a slice of buttered sourdough, lunch if I need it is either a banana or a cracker with some cheese, and dinner is protein heavy with veg to ensure I don’t lose too much muscle mass. Roast meats and roasted veg with a nice sauce for example. Basically, clean and simple single ingredient foods only.

The feeling of not wanting food is still strange, I can’t quite describe it. You don’t feel full but you don’t feel hungry either - it’s like you’re in a neutral state in between meals.

One aspect of this journey that I am quite annoyed at is the constant marketing emails from Med Express asking me to reorder in advance. Since my first order I had 4 marketing emails telling me it’s time for my next order when in fact it was only time for my next order yesterday. Even more surprisingly, after completing my second order yesterday I have already had an email prompting me to put another order in for the next step up dose, which I don’t know if I’ll need a step up dose yet and even if I did, I wouldn’t be due it until the 21st February, which they are well aware of.

The constant pushy sales tactic is borderline unethical in my opinion and it could cause a huge amount of trouble if people who suffer from food based mental health issues (anorexia for example) are given the opportunity to order in such quick succession when you don’t need to.

 

[WillPS]

Just tart around and get the medicine as cheaply as you can. Monj.co.uk is helpful for this.

Congrats on your loss dude, are you sticking at 0.25 or bumping to 0.5?

 

[s_g_k]

Just tart around and get the medicine as cheaply as you can. Monj.co.uk is helpful for this.

Congrats on your loss dude, are you sticking at 0.25 or bumping to 0.5?

Cheers! I did look elsewhere but everyone appears to be charging pretty much the same really.

I’m upping to 5mg as of next week after doing my research, but with the progress so far I currently expect to stick to 5mg without the need for going higher again, but we’ll see.

Being able to fit into clothes that I haven’t been able to in over a year is quite the motivation to carry on!

 

[WillPS]

Cheers! I did look elsewhere but everyone appears to be charging pretty much the same really.

I’m upping to 5mg as of next week after doing my research, but with the progress so far I currently expect to stick to 5mg without the need for going higher again, but we’ll see.

Presuming you're paying £193.94 for that 5mg, you can definitely save at least £30 by switching to the cheapest provider (currently Get Weightless at £160 or Fylde Clinic for £1 more): https://monj.co.uk/mounjaro-price-list-non-discounted-uk/

These are the 'regular' prices, the 'first order discount' prices go as low as £125 if you want to raid them.

It's not a sum of money I'd be leaving on the table if I was concerned about the overall cost!!

Be open minded about the dosage. I saw decent losses on 2 months at 2.5mg (the second was a mistake, but I still lost so) and then really good losses for 3 months at 5mg before a 2 month almost complete plateau. I'm doing really well again at 7.5mg.

 

[Jb85]

Has anyone tried Ortislat

 

[WillPS]

Xenical? I tried Alli years ago, it didn't really do much for me at all to be honest.

People I know who had more success with it ended up having to give up because it was messing up their bowel movements so much.

 

[Jb85]

Xenical? I tried Alli years ago, it didn't really do much for me at all to be honest.

People I know who had more success with it ended up having to give up because it was messing up their bowel movements so much.

I’m finding great weight loss but yes bowel movements are horrendous…..

I got to the stage with mounjaro where my loss plateaued and I actually starting gaining a little weight even on the highest dose….
Came off it when the costs went up determined to achieve a steady healthy weight via diet m. It worked until winter. Put a stone on in two months. Now nearly shed that on the tablets….

One things these have done more than the jabs is change my cravings. I no longer want chocolate, cakes, etc which I still had desire for on the jabs.

 

[WillPS]

I’m finding great weight loss but yes bowel movements are horrendous…..

I got to the stage with mounjaro where my loss plateaued and I actually starting gaining a little weight even on the highest dose….
Came off it when the costs went up determined to achieve a steady healthy weight via diet m. It worked until winter. Put a stone on in two months. Now nearly shed that on the tablets….

One things these have done more than the jabs is change my cravings. I no longer want chocolate, cakes, etc which I still had desire for on the jabs.

Congrats, that's really interesting.

I'm still with the Barriatric Surgery pathway on the NHS, although it's looking increasingly unlikely I will end up having the surgery as my BMI will no longer be high enough. I'm OK with that although I still think it's nuts that I've had to invest myself to get myself here, avoiding the cost and risk of invasive surgery. This patent cannot expire quickly enough!

I mention this because I'm having regular check ins with dietetic assistants there - and they've actually been super encouraging about how normal it is to gain weight seasonally. Think about it, how much of the population end December the same weight they start it, really? I would guess a seasonal gain of half a stone or so is pretty normal. If you lose significant weight 7 months of the year, plateau 3 and gain a little in 2 then overall you are probably looking at good, sustainable weight loss. The key is to doing as you have done, recognising the gain and putting in place changes to get back to where you want to be [heading for]. So kudos to you.

I'm on 7.5mg and really feeling it again. In hindsight I waited too long to bump up so I've bought 10mg for my next pen and I'll just short dose until I have a week where I don't feel much then go for a full 60.

 

[Jb85]

Congrats, that's really interesting.

I'm still with the Barriatric Surgery pathway on the NHS, although it's looking increasingly unlikely I will end up having the surgery as my BMI will no longer be high enough. I'm OK with that although I still think it's nuts that I've had to invest myself to get myself here, avoiding the cost and risk of invasive surgery. This patent cannot expire quickly enough!

I mention this because I'm having regular check ins with dietetic assistants there - and they've actually been super encouraging about how normal it is to gain weight seasonally. Think about it, how much of the population end December the same weight they start it, really? I would guess a seasonal gain of half a stone or so is pretty normal. If you lose significant weight 7 months of the year, plateau 3 and gain a little in 2 then overall you are probably looking at good, sustainable weight loss. The key is to doing as you have done, recognising the gain and putting in place changes to get back to where you want to be [heading for]. So kudos to you.

I'm on 7.5mg and really feeling it again. In hindsight I waited too long to bump up so I've bought 10mg for my next pen and I'll just short dose until I have a week where I don't feel much then go for a full 60.

Thanks mate.

Odd isn’t it - it would likely be cheaper to subsidise these injections than it would be for surgery as you have eluded too but equally by not doing so people are still buying them anyway. The nhs is on to a winner either way!

 

[rob666]

... and they've actually been super encouraging about how normal it is to gain weight seasonally. Think about it, how much of the population end December the same weight they start it, really? ...

As a gardener, it really makes a difference!
I lose at least a stone over the summer season, and put at least a stone on in the winter...sitting in front of the fire eating pies.
Summer early heat means lots of work, and the weight drops off with general healthy eating.
Clapped out hips and ankles means less work, more weight.

This year I have hit seventeen stone, so that means I must lose two by June.
I'm off the beer, and work is physical, so spring dieting is far easier than in the winter.

 

[WillPS]

As a gardener, it really makes a difference!
I lose at least a stone over the summer season, and put at least a stone on in the winter...sitting in front of the fire eating pies.
Summer early heat means lots of work, and the weight drops off with general healthy eating.
Clapped out hips and ankles means less work, more weight.

This year I have hit seventeen stone, so that means I must lose two by June.
I'm off the beer, and work is physical, so spring dieting is far easier than in the winter.

Absolutely. One of the reasons I detest New Years resolutions is January is a terrible month to try and make difficult changes in life. I've never had success starting a diet in January but have had far more success when starting in the spring or summer.

You also have the sharp contrast of attempting to go from feast to famine which is not great psychologically either. There's naff all light, the weather's nasty and it's a month where you need to just get through it really, take the wins where you can get them. February is not much better!