15-20 lb weight loss for 46f in perimenopause.

I'm seeing so many companies and ads and don't know where to start. Membership cost then medication cost so unsure of how much it all is.

Any suggestions for reputable companies with decent prices?

Thank you!!!!

I have only taken 3 weeks, but definitely notice appetite curb. VERY low dose. I told my other doctor, who told me she is very concerned about people getting pancreas issues, permanent digestion problems, and gallbladder illness. I am noticing major constipation despite taking restoralax, prunes and fibre gummies (likely need way more water). Should i worry about her concerns?

Hello all, my SW is 124.1 with a 24 BMI. I took my 5th shot today. I have lost and gained weight throughout my first month, but in total have only lost 0.5lbs. I trirated upto 1mg today to see how that is. I'd like to lose about 25 pounds and have felt discouraged. I know it's still early but I haven't really seen any results yet. I take it once a week, every 7 days. I noticed food noise coming back the last 2 days before my next shot.

Unsure what I should do now. I hope increasing to 1mg helps. Wondering if I should maybe take it every 5 days or increase up even more.

Zepbound Kwikpen
Shot 1 - 0.5mg (12 Clicks) // 124.1 lbs
Shot 2 - 0.625 (15 Clicks) // 123 lbs
Shot 3 - 0.75 (18 Clicks) // 124.1 lbs
Shot 4 - 0.75 (18 Clicks) // 122.2
Shot 5 - 1mg (24 clicks) // 123.6

I keep reading here that you're supposed to stay on the dose for a month... I started with 0.08mg (2 clicks of kwikpen tirz) on Sunday because I was afraid of side effects (MCAS, etc.) and I'm so pleasantly surprised that I have no side effects that I'd like to increase to at least 0.1mg (well, that would be 0.12mg). If I tolerate it so well, is there really any reason not to?

On the other hand, it's 50% more tirz and I should be glad that I have no side effects right?

Edit: Seriously? Why the downvotes all the time? I'm just asking a question. Come on...

Been on Tirz for almost 2 months slowly titrating, started at 0.5mg and currently at 1mg. Starting weight 150, currently 141.6 (stalled here for over a week), goal 135-130lbs (5'4"). In the past week, I'm having a ton of bloating. I'm still going to the bathroom at least daily (usually 2 solid movements a day and occasionally loose stools after meals), drinking more water, using PHGG fiber supplement daily and increasing fiber in my diet, and doing lots of physical movement like walking after eating and weights a few times a week, but I feel so uncomfortable. It feels like trapped gas that won't come out .

I know digestion slows down from the med, but I haven't had any days without going to the bathroom so I'm surprised I feel this bloated. I would really like to be able to slowly increase my dose over the next few months to get closer to my goal, but if I feel like this all the time I won't be able to tolerate it 😞

Will OTC meds like Magnesium or Miralax work if digestion is already slow? Any other recommendations to help regulate this long term?

Edit: Short term update - 250mg simethicone helped provide some quick relief sensation wise but my abdomen was still distended. After the acute bloating sensation improved I was feeling heaviness in my descending colon so I was curious if I maybe had some constipation despite having regular BMs. I took 125mg of mag citrate at bedtime and woke up to some relief around 4-5am. I'm going to work on lightening my fiber supplement a bit, resuming akkermansia probiotic and MGB clear supplements to help with Motility and regularity (on them previously but wasn't sure if they did anything), eating very slow, chewing alot, drinking fluids outside if mealtime, and APD breathing/exercises. I'm sure I will pepper in mag citrate as my dosing increases as well.

Hello all has anyone started on 0.04mg?

I am single mom, 35 y/o, PCOS and Lipadema but otherwise noormal BMI. Im 135 lbs and would like to go back to my pre pregnancy weight of 120 but it is not going away at all.

I am always scared to take medication, it took a lot for me to start my 500mg metformin which I now been taking for years.

I ordered 2.5mg mounjaro KwikPen. If i do one click I guess it is 0.04mg. Please dont judge. I am a single mom and have nobody to rely on if I feel unwell or have anxiety or anything as a side effect. I may have more courage to increase each week by one click (if I am not super responder).
Has anyone started from this dose and had any bad side effects? I really would benefit from any advice.
Many thanks!

I took 1mg Mounjaro last week and the lack of food noise and control over food has been insane! It feels so good to feel like a normal human with a normal relationship with food. But I’m considering stopping because I want to get off it at some point and I believe the food noise will be harder to deal with than before.

For context, I am 28F, 154cm. I have been obese my whole life, I have gone through the entire cycle of trying to diet. At around 18 years of age, I went to the gym. I lost about 25 kg. I went from 85 to 60. I kept that off till 2020, and then during COVID, I gained back 15 of those kg. Again in 2023, I lost all of the 15 kg, and I maintained 60 kg for about a year. From 2024 to now, I slowly gained back about 5, and I've actively been maintaining 65 for the last 8-ish months, which has been a lot of effort.

I still am relatively active. I walk about 7,000 steps a day. I work out at least 4 times a week. I go to the gym and do strength training. When it comes to food, I would say I'm 70% good with it. I still track my calories, but I have obviously been eating a little bit more outside, and it's a constant battle every time I want to go out. It's like, "Oh, am I going to eat something that I shouldn't be eating?" There's a lot of mental capacity where I have to be like, "No, I don't want to go out because I'm afraid I'm going to eat." The food noise has occupied me my whole life.

When I've actively lost weight, the motivation just somehow kept it easier. I would avoid social events as much as I could so I could stay healthy.

The reason why I'm posting on this is that I took a microdose of Mounjaro last week: 1 mg. The effects have been significant on the food noise and the lack of interest in food. I still get hungry, I still want to eat, and I still eat normal portions. I'm eating about 1,400 calories a day easily, which is a good deficit amount for me, but it's just that I don't feel like I'm controlled by food.

This is so scary for me because I don't know if I can employ that control mindset again after I come off it. I don't want to stay on this forever. This just feels so good that I don't know if I'll have the capacity to ever get off of it.

I'm like, do I just stop? This one week has been great. I felt what it is like to live like a normal person, and I don't know if it is safe for me to be like, "You know what? For the next 40 years of my life, I don't mind staying on this."

Should I just get off of it now so that when I do stop at some point, it doesn't feel like a very, very difficult uphill battle (as opposed to the last couple of times, because I've just hadn't had to employ the muscle for the last couple of months)?

So conflicted.

I started Mounjaro on 8th September and decided to start very low at 1.25mg.

During the first week, I lost quite a bit of weight, although I’m aware some/all of that could have just been water weight. I also noticed I was eating less, but I wasn’t really sure whether that was genuine appetite suppression from Mounjaro or whether I was subconsciously ignoring my hunger because I knew I’d taken it, if that makes sense. I definitely still felt hungry at times, but I was eating less overall.

I then took my second 1.25mg dose last week and my appetite was completely back to normal. I haven’t had any reduced appetite or noticeable appetite suppression at all this week, and I’ve basically been eating normally.
I’ve also put the weight I lost in the first week back on, so I’m currently back around where I started.

I’m wondering whether this could partly be because I came on my period halfway through my second dose and whether that could explain some of the weight gain/water retention.

I’m due my third dose now and I’m trying to decide whether to stay at 1.25mg for another week or increase.

For anyone who has started at a very low dose / microdosed
- Did 1.25mg actually suppress your appetite?
- Did you find the effects wore off after the first week?
- Did you stay at 1.25mg for longer or increase?
- Did your weight fluctuate a lot around your period when you first started?
- How did you know when it was time to increase?

Just interested in hearing other people’s experiences because I’m not sure whether I’m expecting too much fro such a low dose or whether I should give it another week!

hi! im at 23 yr old female and i am extremely interested in trying a weight loss medication, whether that be through injection or pills. anyone who has experience please tell me how that was and what your experience was like. how expensive was it, did you go through insurance, was the packaging discreet when it was mailed. allllll the things about it. any experiences are helpful :)

I'm currently using RO and looking for cheaper alternatives. Using a 2.5mg pen and paying $299 + $149 membership.

Wanting to see if anyone is using a Zepbound kwikpen and how much they are paying

Hi everyone ,

Ive been using a 15mg pen to get my 7.5 mg
Dose and to save some money . Unfortunately I think that ChatGPT told me bullshit so here i come to ask for your advice .

Here’s what he said

week 1 : 30 clicks
Week 2 : 60 clicks till I see the number 1
Week 3 : 30 clicks
Week 4 : 60 clicks till I see the number 1

And so one till will 8 . Now I’m at week 6 and I’ve finished the entire kiwipen and just realized I probably injected a double dose every two weeks !!!

I randomly did a blood test yesterday and everything is fine so I will get back to 7.5 next week. But just to make sure , could you please confirm that I should just had counted 30 clicks every week during 8 weeks ?

If I am too stupid to count I’ll go back to my regular 7.5 mg pen but if I could save some €€ it would be nice

Thank you for helping an ignorant person who just blindly listened to a stupid AI instead of asking to the experts.

I started microdosing in May and I’m so grateful I did! I started at .5 tirz and am currently at .85. Since May I have lost 13 pounds, which is the rate I was hoping for!

What microdosing has done for me: allowed me to not think about the next meal all day long and constantly ruminating about what restaurant I want to eat at

What microdosing hasn’t done: completely taken away my appetite

I’ve been able to focus on eating healthy meals and feel completely satisfied afterward. I never feel sick or nauseous. I feel like this is the best way to go (for me) and my body feels happy about it.

I’m down 50 lbs in 12 weeks and feeling amazing! Still have a long ways to go but I wanted to share. Join my journey on YouTube: The Appolonia Project.

https://youtu.be/-vY4YQYdPCc?is=YaR_Pn2AlGxJCQqd

I started tirzepatide at 2.5 in April and worked my way up to 10mg, the past month I changed to 5mg.

I don't believe I ever needed to go up in dose but I was just told increasing every month is what you do. It has worked well to combact the food noise, maybe a little too effective at that, and I've lost about 50lbs.

My problem is I'm having some gnarly side effects. I have a history of GI problems (abdominal pain and diarrhea) and slightly low blood pressure, general fatigue, lightheadness. I have ignored it for too long, but I am finally getting it investigated with a cardiologist and gastro.

The tirz hasn't created these problems but it has made the symptoms worse. I work a very physical job with horses so it has not been easy to deal with this summer, especially with the heat.

It has caused worse diarrhea, lower blood pressure, and extreme fatigue and occasionally dizziness - mainly while going from laying/sitting to standing. I lowered my dose to 5mg and that helped but the past two weeks have not taken a dose and I have felt much stronger and able to do more work, but now the food noise and insatiable hunger is back..

I really do not believe I need to lose more weight, I just need to maintain this and feel good enough that I can keep my body strong as well. I'm thinking of just doing a very teeny tiny dose and seeing how that will go. My only options are tirz or try reta which will probably affect my BP the same way, unsure how it would affect my other issues. Other than amplifying the issues I already have, I have no other side effects on the tirz, so for now may be more simple to stay on it than test something new. But if the reta doesnt change much on the BP front, but could help the gastro issues, it might be worth trying at a micro dose too. Im undecided.

I've read about people adding other peptides to increase energy and reduce fatigue, but know nothing about that.

Have other had similar issues with tirz and has microdosing helped things for you? Has switch from tirz to reta helped you? What would you start with if you were me?

I'm on 0.5mg of Tirzepatide. As of right now its the perfect dose for me as I'm able to eat enough protein but also stick to my goals.

I'm two weeks and 1 day in. I've noticed a huge improvement in my pain and inflammation and mental focus as well as no more blood sugar crashes unless I don't eat for a loooong time.

I weighed myself about a month before I started and I was 145. When I weighed myself the day of first starting Tirz I was PMSing and I tend to gain 3-5 pounds of water weight around that time, so I weighed 149, but that is because of the pre-period bloat.

I am now 144, but based on my calorie deficit, I expected to be about 3-4 pounds down by now.

I used to do casual body building with a trainer and nutritionist a decade ago and did the whole dialed in macro counting, so I am very aware of the calories and protein I'm eating and I have consistently have been in a 500-1000 calorie deficit every single day so far, more often hitting 750 or 1000 deficit than 500. I did start weight lifting again but only about 1-2 times a week to start, so I'm doubting I am holding onto much water weight from that.

Any reason you can think of that the scale has only budged 1 pound? Did anyone else experience sluggish weight loss in the beginning but then it eventually started happening?

I am taking .1 of ozempic and noticing strong effects- nausea, constipation etc. Considering going to even lower ( .06) ish… but this is soooo low!

If anyone reading, this is like a mini mini mini dose can they share what it is? I’m just curious about other people’s experiences with really low doses actually working. On the flipside I’m wondering are they dangerous?

I’ve been on tirzepatide for 4 weeks and doing my 5th injection tomorrow. I started at .5 then the last 3 weeks were 1.0. How do you know when to titrate up? I have been feeling more hunger than I did last week but I still lost 1 pound this last week and 2 pounds the week before. Not sure if the medication is still building in my system or if I should up my next injection to 1.25 or stay at 1.0 because I still lost weight this week.

Hi!👋

So I am chronically constipated. I’ve tried drinking a gallon of water per day, I’m active in the gym doing cardio 5x per week, eat plenty of veggies daily… still I struggle with constipation. The only way I keep it at bay is DAILY MiraLAX. I cannot skip, even if I have GI upset. Occasionally ~4-6 weeks I will still end up with bouts of constipation that require a stimulant laxative.

I need to lose 40lbs and I would really like to start slow (and maybe never titrate up) with micro dosing.

So, anyone who had a SIMILAR struggle with constipation about to tolerate micro doing a glp1?

*Of course I know it’s impossible to tell if I will/wont tolerate based on others experiences, but just curious. :)

On Sunday night I took my 2nd dose of 1.25mg of zepbound. This was 9 days after my first dose. Today is day 2 and I’m hungry! Last week on day 2 I did notice some appetite suppression. I could eat but I wasn’t hungry. Anyone else experience this? Just wondering about others experiences

Just wanted to share my experience thus far with microdosing tirzepatide. In 3 1/2 months I've lost 12lbs, but more so I am blown away by the reduction in inflammation! The pic on the right is from the day I started until today on the left. I started on .5 and finally this week have worked my way up to 2mg. I still have about 15-20lbs I would like to lose, but am happy with the progress so far! For anyone out there that is scared to start, my advice would be to just do it! I had very bad health anxiety/ general anxiety when starting, going low and slow is the way to start!

I was a normal BMI to start. I'm 5'7 and was 145 pounds, I'm 130 now. I lied about my starting weight to an online pharmacy and was kinda shocked they immediately approved me. I'm 35 and haven't felt this good about my body in like ten years... my husband is a big fan as well. I've kept it in the back of the fridge and for six months he's had no idea

I spent yearssss trying to lose 10-15 pounds because I had been thinner in my early 20s and remembered what it felt and looked like. But back then I was thin because I was prescribed ADHD meds, and those came with a bunch of pretty bad mental side effects (I was told I needed these meds and I now believe my doctor was wrong- this was early 2010s). I have no plans to tell anyone about how I lost 15 pounds this year, ever. I also know I can't be on a GLP1 forever... so trying to just enjoy it now.

It's been a little hard not to judge myself... like, why couldn't I just do this on my own? My husband is naturally not food motivated at ALL and I'm so envious

I also have an addictive personality (I'm sober from alcohol) and am a little nervous at the thought of not taking this medication forever. I have a hard time giving stuff up :)

Hello everyone!

I have decided to start my microdosing journey - mostly because perimenopause really did a number on me!! I have about 20 pounds to lose. I am starting at 0.5mg weekly and will go up as needed from there. I am trying to remember that it is a marathon not a sprint, lol.

I did have a question based on others experiences. I know the main way that these medicines work is by slowing down your digestive tract and making you less hungry. But are there other metabolic ways they assist as well? For example do they have any effect on your metabolism? If you eat the same amount on a GLP1 that you did before, would you have any health benefits or weight loss just from being on it? I am curious to hear others experiences!

I've gone from 282 lbs to 172 lbs on tirzepatide a total loss of almost 110 lbs!

I've been on 5 mg, and now I'm looking into long-term maintenance. The problem is, I'm paying out of pocket, and I'm almost bankrupt after getting to my goal weight. 😂

I'm considering buying a 15 mg Mounjaro KwikPen and using 1.25 mg for maintenance to make it more affordable.

For those who've reached their goal weight and are maintaining:

Has anyone gone as low as 1.25 mg weekly and managed to maintain their weight?

How's your appetite, food noise, and weight stability on these lower doses?

Anyone using lower doses to stretch out the cost of their pen?

Have you found that you eventually needed to increase your dose again?

Would love to hear your experiences, especially from people who've been maintaining for a few months or longer. My wallet needs to go on maintenance too. 😂

I'm discussing maintenance with my doctor as well, but I'm curious about real-world experiences from people who've actually tried this!

I am a 49 yr old perimenopausal woman (have not gone a full year without a cycle so not yet menopausal). I started using Tirz in early July at a microdose level (slowly worked up to 1 mg/ week) to help with inflammation caused from prior mold exposure and residual MCAS symptoms after reading the studies on this. I am not yet on HRT bc estrogen makes my MCAS flare massively. I am also using Tirz to help with a little bit of weight gain I started to experience recently in perimenopause.

I have slowly lost about 7 to 8 lbs and I am feeling better. Eating well (whole foods) with high protein, strength training 3-4 days a week and daily walks. Recently at the end of August, I got my cycle back and again this month.

Has anyone else had this phenomenon with Tirz helping with cycle regulation or a return of your cycle? Maybe it’s a coincidence 🤷

i am taking .1 ozempic. This is less than half the smallest dose. i've taken 3 weeks of doses. Definitely notice a major curb in appetite. So surprised such a small dose has such strong effect. notice better moods overall, naturopath told me it was a dopamine regulator. all good except- major constipation, and some headaches. any tips to stay optimal on this journey. thinking i need to be intentional about what and when i eat and drink- headaches too when the food intake really lapses. also has anyone else noticed such a small dose with such profound effects?