[Misc] Weight loss jabs - Mounjaro, Wegovy etc.

I realise these drugs stop hunger, but do they stop GREED?

As I have absolutely no problem eating if I'm not hungry.

Commander said:

I realise these drugs stop hunger, but do they stop GREED?

As I have absolutely no problem eating if I'm not hungry.

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No. But thats exactly the point.

Will power is still required if you want to lose weight. Some say the drugs help with 'food noise' which may well help with addressing greed (as you put it) although thats not my experience so far.

Although I've had some success losing a bit of weight with Mounjaro, I am in no doubt that this will taper off if I don't get my act together around snacking and exercise, and that is the only way the weight is going to stay off when I come off the jabs in the future.

I've been on Ozempic for about a year, prescribed for diabetes rather than weight loss. I do notice that I eat less at mealtimes but it doesn't do much to stop craving the treats between meals. You still need willpower. As it happens, I lost 50lbs by willpower alone before starting the injections, now I'm just maintaining a decent weight. My blood sugar levels, however, are back to normal, so there is that.

Any updates? @Professor Plum etc

ChickenDipper said:

Any updates? @Professor Plum etc

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TL;DR- Mounjaro won’t work for everyone but it’s mostly a pretty remarkable drug I reckon. Most of the time. I’d recommend it for people who have had long-term struggles with weight and alcohol, but please do your own research.

I originally wrote a very long answer to this but decided to just be brief for the moment, but am happy to answer any questions if I can. An important caveat though is that Mounjaro affects different people in different ways. A small percentage (around 10-20%) apparently don’t get any benefit at all.

I’ve been taking it for about 10 weeks now. Like everyone else I started on the lowest dose of 2.5mg and am currently on 5mg. Doses go up in 2.5mg increments to 15mg, which is the maximum currently allowed. If you want to stay on the same dose for more than a month, that’s fine.

I’ve been a bit surprised with my slow rate of weight loss. I'm about 212 pounds now and was 227 when I started so I’ve lost just over a stone. This is slow compared with many people, including some who have been in contact with me privately here on NSC, and elsewhere. It’s not at all uncommon to read on social media messages from people who have lost 20 or 30lbs in the first month. Note I didn’t say I was disappointed by my slow rate. I'm fine with it. Between a pound or two a week is a good healthy rate IMO and more likely to be sustainable over the long term. Sudden large losses can cause health problems for a minority.

Side effects, again, vary a lot between people and between doses. My main problem has been constipation (fairly easily treatable). Other people have the opposite problem. Or nausea. I’ve been lucky on that front. In the first couple of weeks I didn’t sleep very well, and one morning I had stomach pain (which may have had nothing to do with Mounjaro) but that’s about it.

What does it do? Again, I speak only about my experience. YMMV. The most striking benefit for me is that it’s removed all desire for alcohol and snacks. I can understand some people saying but they enjoy drinking and scoffing crisps and chocolate and having late night cheese and biscuits, or ice cream, whatever. If you do, fine. If you do, and don’t find it causes weight or health issues, then even better. You’re lucky -- or probably just young. For most of us, especially from middle age onwards, booze and snacking is what piles on the weight and creates other health problems (including mental health).

To be liberated from booze has been fantastic. I don’t feel any abhorrence towards alcohol, and I can happily eat out or go to the pub without feeling I’m missing out. Many people report this benefit from Mounjaro, to the point where it’s now being trialled with alcoholics. Research is also showing positive results with drug addicts and others with obsessive behaviours like gambling. This to me is the under-discussed real benefit. There are all sorts of other beneficial side effects being linked all the time, including lower blood pressure, improved nocturnal breathing for sleep apnea sufferers, and more.

Oh dear, this has turned into a longer answer again so I’ll stop here. Please ask anything you want. Also, there's a ton of social media stuff. I’d avoid Facebook groups but the Reddit groups r/Mounjarouk and r/mounjaro are worth browsing.

I should have added, its main effect is to not remove appetite, but to help activate the GLP-1 hormone which regulates feelings of satiety. People with weight issues typically don’t produce GLP-1 in the same way as most people making it hard to self-regulate eating behaviours. So I feel hunger in the usual way but my portions have magically got smaller. Unfortunately I damaged my Achilles in November which has prevented me doing as much exercise as I’d like but I should be able to get back to strenuous walking later this month which I’m sure will help.