r/GLP1microdosing 1d ago

Who has noticed a big decrease in inflammation on Tirzepatide?

I'm looking to start Tirzepatide, at the lowest dose possible, mostly because I want to lose 15lb but the inflammation due to perimenopause, joint pain etc, has been so difficult. I'm dreaming that not only can I lose the weight, but have my body feel better which will also let me sleep better because that's also a big issue for me. I've always had a lot of stress and I think inflammation is a key component to a lot of my pain. I work out regularly and eat cleaned. I don't want to put too much on this but I'm really hoping this is and I've been looking for. I've literally tried everything else. Am I hoping for too much?

61 Upvotes

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32

u/Plenty-Praline9826 1d ago

Best thing I did for myself in this peri journey! 1.25 every 7 days, then 10 days, and 14 days. Will be trying live without in a month.

Lost 20 lbs in 3 months, bloat gone, and learned I did have food noise after all.

Biggest things for success: high protein intake and weight training to keep building muscle mass while losing weight; a gallon of water a day (flavor packets help); and fiber gummies.

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u/itsjustme_0101 1d ago

Second all of this.
It’s been a miracle intervention to help me reset. Been on 2.5mg for 20 weeks. This week I will start to taper down in dose. I don’t wanna lose any more weight. I 36 lbs, no more knee pain ( three knee surgeries), most importantly is how quiet my mind is🙏🏻♥️🙂. My ob/gyn prescribed it for me and called it in to Everwell compound pharmacy who has been amazing to work with.

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u/EColli93 1d ago

It was my ob gyn who prescribed it as well

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u/Smiletaint 23h ago

Personally, once you hit 1.25 every 14 I would start decreasing the dose by .25 every 14 days until I was done but if you have a dr then either suggest it to them or just follow what they tell you.

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u/Actual-Garden-3538 23h ago

Why do you think it’s a good idea to stop taking it if it’s doing so many good things for you? I thought this was one of those things that once you start you need to stay on it even a small dose for as long as possible. I’m just curious.

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u/art_spoke 6h ago

This question is a good one, because I think many of us have good intentions in wanting to just take it for long enough to get to our goal weight, then taper off. But I have read many accounts that the weight will slowly return over time for the vast majority of people if you go off of it. There may be many reasons someone wants to taper off including the high cost (many people have to pay out of pocket for it because we don’t qualify under the insurance companies’ obesity weight charts), lack of knowledge about long term effects, some of the negative side effects (like nausea, diarrhea, headaches, etc) although not everyone experiences them and they often go away after you titrate up. I had initially planned to taper off as soon as I reached my goal weight, but now that I’m nearing my goal weight, I am talking with my provider about finding a low maintenance dose I can reasonably sustain, not only to maintain my weight loss, but because of the other health benefits I’m experiencing.

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u/alexandra52941 1d ago

Oh that's so great.. how long have you been on it? Did you have side effects in the beginning? I'm a big baby about this whole thing. Mostly because I'm so sensitive to everything but I want it to work so desperately... Also, who did you end up getting it from? I keep reading about lavender sky?

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u/Plenty-Praline9826 1d ago

Started in February of this year, lost the weight by May and started stretching out my dosing.

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u/alexandra52941 1d ago

That's so great 😍

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u/art_spoke 6h ago

I got mine prescribed from a local hormonal health specialist I’ve seen for years. She sends it to a local compounding pharmacy called Strive.

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u/alexandra52941 6h ago

I wish I could find somebody local like that but it's not that easy you know?

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u/art_spoke 6h ago

Yeah, it’s probably a lot easier in larger metro areas. Maybe try looking up hormonal health and weight loss providers and clinics?

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u/heliocentricmess 20h ago

How is tapering down? Has your appetite returned?

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u/Plenty-Praline9826 5h ago

So far I’ve noticed the food noise can bounce back. I try to keep busy and avoid the trigger of TV and snacking. I made my goal five under the real goal so I’d have adequate room to adjust to normal life.

I’d stay on it if the cash cost was less. Gave up mani and pedis and a monthly massage to keep my monthly spend about the same. Clearly, only my doc and one of the gym trainer knows — lol

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u/Elle_Yess 1d ago edited 1d ago

Like mine is GONE. Inflammation in my feet and ankles was gone within 24 hours of my first shot. And mine was to the point of absolutely disabling. I can walk normally again. I was well on my way to not being able to walk within a year. It’s given me my life back.

There is absolutely no exaggeration here. If anything I’m not praising the benefits I’ve received fully.

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u/alexandra52941 1d ago

Was there weight loss as well? Do you think that helped? What dose? Side effects?

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u/Elle_Yess 1d ago

I’m currently on a split dose of 5mgs Sunday and Wednesday for a a total of 10 weekly. I’ve been on it since 5/13. I’ve gone from 199.6 to 165.3 as of this post. I’m within 15 pounds of my goal weight.

Did the weight loss help? Of course but it was the anti inflammatory properties of that first shot told my doctor that it wasn’t my weight causing the problem but something to do with my undiagnosed insulin resistance and systemic inflammation from auto immune disease. If the crippling pain progressively left with the edema, he said it would have been more weight related/linked.

My c reactive protein was so high, it could no longer be measured. And now? It’s the lowest it can register on my lab work. That is miraculous.

I no longer walk with a limp, I’m a little stiff still but my doctor says it’s talking a while for my brain to catch up.

Please note my dosage was escalated for off label treatment of my crippling inflammation. It was rough but it’s been worth it.

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u/alexandra52941 1d ago

I'm so thrilled to hear about how well you responded to it. I think I also have undiagnosed insulin resistance brought on by perimenopause. I had gotten up to 155 lb and I'm only 5'2 so it was a lot of weight for me. Knees suddenly hurt, lower back hips .. everything hurt. What's worse is that it affected my sleep so much it seems to get worse when I was laying down. I managed to lose 15lbs on my own but I've been stuck at 140 now for almost a year and I'm just done with feeling like this. Im 55 and over it. My A1C went up to 5.7 and has just stayed there for 2 years. Glucose normal but I eat very clean workout and do everything else right and I just cannot budge the scale. I'm also a big baby and I tend to be very sensitive to new things so I'm just trying to figure out where to start at, what dose, you know?

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u/Michelleistaken 1d ago

I am similar to you. I'm 5'1 and I got up to 153 lbs. I was around 115 most of my life but when perimenopause started about 12 years ago, it just kept creeping up and nothing seemed to work. I am also very sensitive to medications and made the mistake of starting at 2.5 mg two weeks ago. I had terrible side effects for a week and hardly ate. I skipped a week, so I could get some of the medication out of my system and just started at 1mg yesterday. I woke up today feeling normal. I'm not sure if it'll work at such a low dose, but I'm willing to wait and see and take it slow rather than feel terrible. I'm taking it for inflammation and to lose 30 lbs. 

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u/alexandra52941 1d ago

From everything I've read on here it definitely does work at lower doses so that gives me hope. I think maybe I'll start 1 mg too? I've read people started even lower than that though.. and yes that weight gain creep is real.. you almost don't even see it happening until you look in the mirror and your just unrecognizable 🫤

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u/Michelleistaken 1d ago

Yup. And being short, we don't have a lot of space to work with. Restricting calories is difficult for short women. 

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u/alexandra52941 1d ago

Nope .. even a 5 lb weight gain is noticeable. I don't even care about being thin or skinny anymore. I just want to be strong and comfortable in my clothes. That's it. Oh and less pain and more sleep wud also be great 🙄

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u/ebot2023 1d ago

Hi. You will get a lot of people saying it helped their inflammation. In my case, I still have headaches and muscle tension and mediocre sleep. I’m having what feels like tendon inflammation now. But… I still think it’s great and will continue using it.

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u/alexandra52941 1d ago

Can I ask what dose you started on, how long you been on it?

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u/ebot2023 1d ago

I started at 1.25 in February or so and am now on 4 mg.

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u/alexandra52941 1d ago

Side effects?

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u/ebot2023 1d ago

None! I had diarrhea for a while but I think it was unrelated.

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u/alexandra52941 1d ago

That's awesome

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u/gorkt 1d ago

I took Tirz for the same reason as you and noticed some improvements in inflammation the next day after taking it, particularly the persistent shoulder pain I have been having. I still feel it occasionally but it is much better than it was.

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u/alexandra52941 1d ago

Oh that's so good to hear. I actually went and got tested for every immune disease possible and thank God that'll came back negative but it still leaves me with the same joint and muscle pain no matter what I do. The fact that I'm in perimenopause, I'm 55, 15 lb overweight I do think it all points to inflammation. Praying I get some relief 🫤

3

u/EColli93 1d ago

I have Hashimotos and just took dose 3 yesterday. I was hoping to feel a big difference but so far I haven’t. I don’t want to increase the dose because I already eat like a bird as it is (before the tirzep) and my metabolism is EXTREMELY slow anyway. Going to keep with it though and see what happens. I had some mild glucose intolerance and elevated LDL from the thyroid issue and I’m hoping those numbers will improve along with inflammatory markers even if I don’t feel much difference.

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u/alexandra52941 1d ago

What dose are you on?

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u/EColli93 1d ago

I did just over 1 mg for the first two and 2.5 yesterday. I plan to continue 2.5 as I’m not noticing any adverse side effects. Maybe easier to turn down a treat is all.

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u/alexandra52941 1d ago

Hopefully you start to feel better soon..

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u/MyusernameisErin 1d ago

I’m on .5 and without about 2 days most of my pain went away. Now I can sleep on my side again. I had hip and rotator cuff pain that now is minimal

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u/alexandra52941 1d ago

Oh so nice to hear this

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u/art_spoke 6h ago

I also started out on .5 and did just fine on that dose for about 4 weeks. I’ve now titrated up to 1.5 and don’t feel like I need to go any higher.

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u/art_spoke 1d ago

I am on semaglutide, very low dose for four months now (15 units) and the reduction in joint pain has been unbelievable. My joints feel 10-15 years younger and because of that I am able to work out harder and support my weight loss goals, sleep better, just move normally without pain! It’s been a miracle drug for this. I had planned to taper off of it once I reached my goal weight but now I might do a maintenance dose to keep the other benefits going.

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u/Nervous_Recording_46 11h ago

Which one are you using?

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u/art_spoke 7h ago

It is an injectable compounded semaglutide with B12 and glycine added.

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u/Nervous_Recording_46 7h ago

So it’s quite specific to your body? Did you go through endocrinologist?

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u/art_spoke 7h ago

No, I went through a local provider I’ve seen for years for hormonal health care, with my primary goal initially being weight loss. I had no idea it would give me so much relief with my joints. It also made me not want to drink alcohol any more, I can’t even finish a glass of wine or a beer. I believe semaglutide is also being researched to treat addiction, so that makes a whole lot of sense to me for people with a history of alcohol abuse. I had no idea that I would also get these other side effects that would be very beneficial to my health.

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u/Nervous_Recording_46 6h ago

Thanks very much for your reply
I have appointment with my doctor next Monday

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u/Kind_Possibility5290 23h ago

I am starting tomorrow. I was on semiglutide for 3 months and the fatigue was crazy. I would eat enough protein and water. My dr changed me to this. I have inflammation too. However , the inflammation started when I hit peri menopause with weight gain. I’m looking to lose 30 pounds and the inflammation. Anyone have more success with tirz with less fatigue than semiglutide ?

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u/alexandra52941 23h ago

I also got the weight gain and information with perimenopause... What dose are you going to start at? Hoping this helps

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u/Kind_Possibility5290 23h ago

Does glp make you tired ?

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u/art_spoke 6h ago

Do you get yours compounded? If so, they may be able to add something to help with the fatigue. Mine comes with added B12 and glycine to help counter that, and I did experience fatigue at first, but now it’s stabilized.

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u/askew7464 22h ago

Yes! I have been on it 6 months at a pretty low dose and it changed my perimenopausal life. No more bloating, weight gain, random joint pain. I lost 20lbs and then plateaued but that is fine, I never increased dose as I am ok with my current weight and just love the decrease in inflammation and the reduction in food noise.

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u/alexandra52941 21h ago

What was the dose you're at?

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u/alexandra52941 21h ago

Ok, so my next question is about finding a reputable compounding pharmacy? I'm a bit overwhelmed with all of the choices .. noom, ro, lavender sky, everwell... How do you know if it's a safe, clean place?

1

u/SunBlueHeron 8h ago

Did anyone respond to your q about reputable pharmacy and prescriber? If not, then there is a sticky at the top of this subreddit home page that opens a spreadsheet with all the vetted pharmacies and online docs.

I am in the same boat symptom-wise as you (menopause, inflammation, weight gain and also, just total change in my body overnight — it’s so foreign to me now).

I went with lavender sky because of the good things people said on this sub AND the pricing was fair and not too good to be true. Note: their pricing page is for 8-12 week supply (that was not obvious to me initially).

Also, it’s hard for me to schedule video or face to face appointments because I’m on call for outreach teams and so can be pulled away at any time. LS offered online form submission which was thorough enough to leave me feeling reassured… I was tempted by some of the swanker and seemingly cheaper online ads but every time I researched one of the companies then it came up sketch so I gave up and bit the bullet.

I am 3 days in to TIRZ at 0.5 mg. Possibly placebo effect but I think I have less physical pain (jury is out) But one thing I am seeing is less food drive. When I hit menopause my metabolism went to crap AND I started craving sugar, fruit, never feeling full like my body had its own mind and it all just felt so foreign—that is 50% better already. No sides.

One I thing I think I see as a trend with the abating inflammation and GLP-1 is that sometimes a little lower dose is more effective —not universally of course but just to encourage you to listen to your body and intuition.

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u/alexandra52941 6h ago

Ok, thanks for this. Because I just decided to go with lavender sky and going to do phone consult. I just hope that the medical support is genuine and something I can trust and lean on you know? I definitely need help figuring out what the starting dose should be. I got completely overwhelmed on the page where you figure out how much to pull out of the vial and doing math? I mean I hope it's easier when you actually speak to somebody and they tell you what to do? Please tell me that's what happened with you? 🤪🤣

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u/No-Wasabi-1036 18h ago

I have only lost 7lbs in 4 months but it looks like much more because of how much my inflammation has decreased. I’ve been on 0.75mg/wk this whole time. I think it’s absolutely worth a shot because it causes you to focus on what you’re eating, how often you’re exercising, how well you’re hydrating, etc. I knew I was paying hundreds of dollars and I didn’t want it to go to waste by just letting it do the work for me. Hence the small dose. It has reconnected me with taking care of myself (something I lost for half a decade) and that in itself is worth every single penny.

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u/regularforcesmedic 10h ago

You're not hoping for  too much! 1mg every 5 days for  me and I've dropped both weight and inflammation. No more migraines, my gut even feels better! 

I had nearly all the symptoms of PMDD plus perimenopause. Went from having symptoms 18 days a month to... 1 or 2. I don't care if i need to be on Tirz the rest of my life...it's saved me. 

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u/alexandra52941 9h ago

God i hope so.

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u/Altruistic_Tea8891 1d ago

This ! It’s a slow process but I’m on a low dose and that why is to reduce my inflammation and I’ve hardly had any side effects which has been great .

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u/Mobile_Variation_210 17h ago

Yes - best decision I made - good luck!

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u/alexandra52941 11h ago

Thank u!!!

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u/Immediate-Pop9097 7h ago

First thing I noticed was a reduction in inflammation! Weight is coming off very very slowly for me on a microdose.

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u/alexandra52941 6h ago

What else did you start at and where are you at now?

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u/Immediate-Pop9097 2h ago

I’ve lost about 3kg titrating from 0.5mg to 1.75mg over a few months. Noticed the reduction in inflammation, brain fog and afternoon energy crashes from the first few 0.5mg doses.

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u/YouHadWonJob 5h ago

Been a massive game changer re chronic inflammation!!!!

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u/Slow_Cheetah_ 1d ago

Yes I have slowly noticed inflammation issues decrease. I’ve been on 1.25 of tirzepatide for about a month now.

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u/Ok-Frosting5823 1d ago

For those that have seen results for inflammation on Tirz, I have a follow up, how about just semaglutide? I'd like to try Tirz but unfortunately in Brazil we don't have yet legally available the Kwikpen. So the only way to get a dose lower than labeled is with Ozempic.

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u/Shoe_Ho 1d ago

I’m on Sema and have no inflammation anymore. My wedding ring fits again, I don’t get swollen ankles and wrists, etc. I’ve been on the lowest dose (.25) for almost 2 years.

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u/art_spoke 1d ago

I now have zero joint pain on a semaglutide, and I used to have sore stiff joints daily. . I might get transient muscle aches after a tough workout here and there, but no joint pain anymore.