Personal experience with Tirzepatide (Mounjaro)
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Anonymous
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Since this seems to be a hot topic I thought I would share my first hand experience with being on Mounjaro. My perspective is of someone who what clinically obese, not someone who had vanity pounds to lose.
I started tirzepatide in July and have lost nearly 60 pounds since then. Started at 235 with a BMI of 34. Now my BMI is 25 which is still technically overweight but I am happy with where I am and I've stopped taking it. This drug is extremely helpful but is not a miracle. The laws of biochemistry are still intact. You lose weight because of a calorie deficit. You can not be eating fast food every day and drinking high sugar beverages and drop pounds. Tirzepatide makes you feel fuller faster. Gets you to a place where your appetite is satisfied with one helping rather than going back for seconds. I no longer craved salty chips or chocolate. I could still have a glass of wine but I didn't want to have multiple glasses of wine. The weight-loss results from tirzepatide are similar to gastric bypass for morbidly obese patients. Side effects - I had mild nausea, was very thirsty, and drank a ton of water and had the "sulfur-burbs" on the starting dose (2.5 mg). These subsided after a few weeks. Going up in dose didn't bother me. At the end I was at 10 mg. Others have experienced more significant side effects so YMMV. There is a huge difference between someone who wants to lose 10 or so pounds and someone who needs to lose 50-200+ pounds. I've lost 20 pounds before. It's easy to get your mind around. Just eat healthier and move around a more. Four months later, I would hit my goal and move on. When I faced needing to lose 50 pounds, I just couldn't do it. It was too overwhelming. You can say I was weak but it is what it is. Losing this much weight allows me to be more active. Not having knee and back pain, makes exercising palatable. I will never (and have never) been rail thin. I will never be an athlete. It just isn't in my DNA and I don't enjoy it. I don't get the high off of running like some people do. I will do it because I know I need to but it isn't something I look forward to. For those folks who say that people who take this drug are weak and should just use their will power, suck it. Do you really believe that morbidly obese people haven't tried diet and exercise to lose weight? How many of you are on anti-depressants or anti-anxiety medications? How many of your kids take ADHD meds? Those are conditions that can be treated without medication. When you get those diagnosis, doctors recommend lifestyle changes and therapy. For some people, that works, but for some people therapy and coping mechanisms aren't enough so they take the next step and found medicines that can help. Worried about side effects of the drugs, sure but the side effects of carrying around 60 extra pounds for years at a time are pretty severe. Obesity is a medical condition, not a moral failing. For those of you who are going to ask how I got there...life happened. I gained 60 pounds over 8 years. I had a third baby in my 40s, post postpartum depression, my metabolism slowed, new job that was more sedentary, pandemic, juggling multiple kids with a high stress job, etc, etc. Can other people deal with all of those things without gaining weight, sure. Could I have dealt with these things by lifestyle choices? Probably. Does this make me a bad person? Once I got there, the mountain I had to climb was too hard to get my mind around so I just gave up. Everyone should be happy if only 10% of the people on these drugs are able to maintain weight-loss. Obesity is a huge cost to our society and anything that can reduce that should be used. For those who are contemplating taking these medications, I'm happy to answer any questions but I'm not going to get into a back and forth with people who judge people, especially if they haven't walked a mile in their shoes. |
Anonymous
| Thanks for sharing - what drove the dosage increase for you? |
Anonymous
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Congrats OP! I’m also on Mounjaro - I started at 270 and I’m at 240 now after 3 months. I plan to stay on this for a full year if possible!
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Anonymous
| My question is why Mounjaro and not Wegovy? Did you choose or your doctor and why? (Am seeing my doctor later this week and am curious) |
Anonymous
Not OP, but for me my health insurance doesn't cover weight loss medication and I don't have T2 diabetes. MJ used to offer a savings card that brought the price down to $25. That card is no longer available. |
Anonymous
OP here - This is exactly why I did MJ. I am currently talking to my doctor about moving to Wegovy because it is covered by my insurance. I would guess that once MJ gets FDA approval for weight-loss that it will be covered. I think that MJ has been shown to have greater efficacy but it isn't approved for weight loss so getting insurance coverage is very difficult unless you have type 2 diabetes. Both are around $1000 a month if you pay out of pocket. With regard to doses, I think the default is to go up 2.5 mg a month until you reach 12.5 or 15. I stayed on 7.5 and 10 mg for 2 months each because I was getting good results. When the weight-loss slowed, I went to the higher dose. |
Anonymous
| Thank you for sharing OP. |
Anonymous
| Nice work, OP!! I hope you feel proud of yourself because that’s quite an accomplishment. |
Anonymous
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NP here and I too am on mounjaro. I had pre diabetes and sleep apnea. I started at 270 as well, and 3 months later at 240. I would like to lose weight a little faster, but it just isn’t happening. I now lose at most a pound a week. I eat around 1500 calories and go to the gym a little, but soooo slow. I am at a 5.0 dosage, doing each dosage for 2 months. I will go to 7.5 next time. I had some indigestion first week and couldn’t eat much, lost a lot that week. But no side effects since then other than less appetite. Towards the end of the week the appetitive creeps back.
I am not approaching this as a diet as I eat what a normal weight person should eat and I have treats regularly. One cookie. Not 10. Lots of veggies. I have some insulin resistance, but I had really bad, sneaky eating habits. So, I am changing those habits. I see a dietician and a therapist to help me understand why I would go and find reasons to do errands each day so I could get a big fast food meal. When I started I needed to lose 100 lbs to be healthier. I have a ways to go but I sure feel better. |
Anonymous
OP here - Congratulations! And 10 pounds a month is a LOT! Don't discount how well you are doing. Most programs, like WW, set a goal of 5 pounds a month so don't get discouraged. |
Anonymous
Why does everyone keep saying this? The card is right here on the manufacturers website. It's good until 12/31/23. https://www.mounjaro.com/savings-resources |
Anonymous
Meant to highlight, "That card is no longer available." It's still available. |
Anonymous
Savings card might be available but the terms have changed and the vast majority of pharmacies are not accepting it unless you have a Type 2 diabetes diagnosis. I don't understand it all but I was able to use the coupon for several months without and issue and this month wasn't able to get it filled anymore. |
Anonymous
It’s still available yes but with updated terms and conditions. It means that some people who were covered before are no longer able to get their medication and that for others the price is now too high to pay OOP. |
Anonymous
| I started taking Mounjaro before Thanksgiving and have lost 10 pounds thus far. The medicine really reduces my appetite; it's almost scary at times. I literally can go a couple of hours without eating, and when I do eat it is half the amount I usually ate. I am pleased with the drug thus far. My only concern is once I reach my goal weight. Will I have to take a maintenance dose and for how long? I don't want to stay on this medicine forever. |