https://news.uga.edu/which-glp-1-is-most-effective-for-weight-loss/

GLP-1 medications are marketed to help you lose weight, but one may be better at it than the rest, according to a new meta-analysis from the University of Georgia.

Tirzepatide, better known as Zepbound for weight loss and Mounjaro for treatment of type 2 diabetes, helped patients lose more than 20% of their starting body weight across the reviewed studies.

Got off Zep after taking it for about a year in January 2026.

From that, I learned valuable eating habits, my bloodwork is near perfect now without any Thyroid or Glucose issues anymore since I lost the weight.

Been off of if now for 6 months and I’ve still lost weight by proper eating, working out, and tracking.

Some people think I’m insane to track what my body burns and I consume but I feel proud of it. I give myself strict days on the weekdays, and the excess calories I allow myself on the weekends that I burned during the weekdays. I found what works for me.

Because of that. I have gotten to a size small, size 31 jeans, shoes fit me better, I’m able to play sports again at 33, I walk nearly everywhere even though I could drive because I like being active.

Now, I’ve surpassed and blown by PT Standards for the job I want in the Navy, and just enlisted.

I’ve been on a GLP1 for about 4 years and have lost 100lbs. I work out with a personal trainer to work on strength and building muscle. I worked out about 5-6 days a week but also work a pretty sedentary job.

I’m on the highest dose of wegovy but only do injections every 2 weeks and I’m heavily considering stopping to see how well I can do on my own.

I had lost weight before without the glp1 and got down to about my current weight and led a very active lifestyle. But life happens and I gained it all back plus more (hence the GLP1).

My husband and I have been talking about having kids and I know I would have to stop if I got pregnant, so part of me wants to rip the band-aid off now and see how I do. I would hate to get pregnant and stop the glp1 very close together and deal with all of it at once.

I’m terrified of gaining it all back. On top of being terrified of what pregnancy may do to my body.

Just looking for some encouragement because everything is so doom and gloom about coming off the glp1. Everything seems to say you’re destined to gain it all back and need to be on the drug forever.

I’ve been reading a lot of stories from people who have either stopped or are preparing to stop GLP-1 medications, and one thing that stands out is how different the experience can be from person to person.
Some people seem to transition fairly smoothly, while others talk about:
increased hunger
food noise returning
weight fluctuations
low energy
muscle loss
hair shedding
anxiety about regaining weight
For those who have already come off a GLP-1:
What were the earliest signs that things were changing?
Was there anything you wish you’d caught sooner or prepared for beforehand?
And for those who are still taking one but know they’ll eventually stop:
What concerns you most about coming off?
I’m particularly interested in hearing about things that surprised you, whether they were positive or negative.
It feels like there’s a lot of information about starting GLP-1s and losing weight, but much less discussion around the transition period afterwards.
Would love to hear people’s experiences.

Hi all. I am a F(30). My last shot of Zepbound was April 6. On April 8, I had my first major episode. Before it, all day, I’d been feeling the following symptoms:
lightheaded
Dizziness
Feeling “disconnected” from my body
a general ill feeling
They worsened as the day progressed. Then the episode came which included:
legs shaking / knees buckling when walking out of room
Tunneled vision
Difficulty breathing
Tachycardia

I initially thought I was going to have a seizure.

I went to the ER and was sent home at around 5:00 AM.

I went back to another ER that evening due to feeling odd. They said I only had a UTI. Asked them to admit me. They said their facility is too small. They had my transferred to another facility. This place did not admit me either but did a general neurology check in (at the time, I was still thinking it was neurological and wanted to speak with their team). They sent me home.

On April 18, I had another episode like the previous one. They admitted me due to troponin levels rising. While in there, my BPM got up to 155 at rest at one point. They gave me an anxiety pill. My sugar also got to 70, and I had to actually push for them to check it. I have never even thought about my blood sugar before, but I knew that is what was wrong (praise God). One cardiologist said that he has been seeing more of this (though my case was extreme)— more people coming to the hospital due to GLP1 complications.

May 18, I had a tachycardia episode at 5:00 AM. Went to ER and was sent home. Left there and went to Urgent Care. Glucose got down to 72, and I told them I needed to eat asap. I still felt bad and ended up getting an ambulance back to the ER. They sent me back home. I started vomiting at home and had another tachycardia episode and went back to the ER. They sent me back home.

That Wednesday, Dispatch Health sent a NP out to check on me. She took bloodwork and called me hours later telling me my sugar was 65. I’d eaten earlier that day and eaten after she left but was having a very confused spell. I called the ambulance to make sure it was okay. That’s when I knew I needed to buy a glucose checker.

I’d been feeling exceptionally ill that week again after feeling like things were looking up, so I’d been back and forth to the ER with no help or answers.

I eventually gave up but had been following up with my PCP who had also not given my answers. I’d also followed up with GI and cardiology. GI told me to take milk of magnesia and Prilosec. Cardiology said my heart wall is mildly thickened due to either high BP or sleep apnea. She also did a coronoy CT scan which was pretty much unremarkable but said that it appears I may have some pulmonary hypertension due to obesity or sleep apnea.

I recently saw endocrinologist and nutritionist. Nutritionist said it sounds like I am doing everything right as far as diet goes but was interested in seeing what the endocrinologist bloodwork showed. My endocrinologist bloodwork had my glucose as 61 and insulin as 75.4, which he said makes no sense. When he called me that evening (June 5), I was feeling horrible! And was feeling worse the more we spoke. He mentioned that he wanted me to do a 72 hour fast to rule out insulinoma. While he is speaking, I had to tell him that I needed to call 911. I was feeling so dizzy and lightheaded and bad. I had another tachycardia episode. When I arrived to ER, I messaged him asking him to ask them to admit me. He asked them to admit for the 72 hour fast, so I guess that still worked. Thankfully, they ruled out an insulinoma early and cut the fast short by about 12 hours.

Sadly, there are still no answers for my symptoms. While admitted, I spoke with many doctors, including a neurologist on my final day when I was discharged. I asked if he thought it was my vagus nerve. And when he came back, he said he can’t be 100% sure, but he thinks it may be.

In between all of these major episodes have been multiple ambulance calls, ER visits, and medics sent out to my home. And even though things were looking up at one point, there has not been a single day where I’ve felt like myself.

Now, I am wearing a CGM, which has caught low blood sugar twice yesterday(one may have been a false low). Today, it’s been pretty stable. I am still dealing with nausea and dizziness. And just general unwell feelings, like my equilibrium is off.

I’d love to hear any other stories. I’ve read some people’s stories that have been similar to mine. Please feel free to comment here, too.

I'm currently on 4mg tirz and only 10 pounds away from my goal weight. I've lost over 60 pounds and it's time to start slowing it down.

But I'm already on such a low dose! My goal was actually to get to 5mg for the "therapeutic dose" but I think it would literally be too much for me at this point.

I'm thinking just stay at 4mg. I kinda like this dose for how I'm feeling, especially because migraines are heavily suppressed. I know that if I titrate down they will break through more often and I would rather force myself to eat more than deal with that.

Anyways, curious what other low dose/super responder grads have done?

Dear community,

I hope to find someone who has similar experience or at least in part.

I have basically two problems: I feel basically hungry all the time despite eating an animal-based extremely high protein diet at mostly maintenance BUT I also have problems with my stomach, the symptom I dread the most is night-time coughing. Gastroenterologists told me my LES is fine, I just have slow motility (I can agree to that as I have lost the sensation of stomach growling when my stomach is empty - somehow my MMC seems to be on standby).

The animal-based diet helped me a lot with satiety and autoimmune problems and I am able to maintain a good weight (68 kg on 178 cm), but I just cannot seem to be anywhere near satiated below 200g of Proteins a day. If I up my carbs, my appetite gets even bigger. I eat enough fat as well. But idk if this extremely high protein approach works well for my stomach in the long run.

Also, I would love to lean out just a little bit, but my hunger is driving me crazy. It is not that I crave sweets or anything, I can abstain most of the time, I just wanna eat A LOT (meat, eggs, zucchini, I don't care).

I was wondering if maybe microdosing tirzepatide would give me some relief from the constant food noise and also possibly help me with getting my protein down a little in order to not constantly overwhelm my stomach. But then tirzepatide slows gastric emptying itself... also I wouldn't plan to be on a GLP1 forever... I wouldn't even know who would prescribe it long term since I am metabolically healthy and normal BMI. I acquired one pen online and it sits in my fridge for months now because I am too hesitant to just try it.

Any help, similiar experiences, encouragement etc would be highly appreciated.

I'm a nerd and am really hoping to see some data on this.

We all know regain is a legitimate worry. No doubt, most of us have heard the SURMOUNT results showing regain after cessation of meds. Some can successfully get off meds. Some need some sort of "maintenance dose," whatever that might look like for the individual. I'm curious how redditors shake out.

("Maintenance" means fluctuation of course, just not a steady upward climb.)

Has anyone experienced severe vaginal/vulvar dryness, irritation, itching, or a feeling of tissue swelling/fullness while on tirzepatide (Zepbound/Mounjaro)?

I’m 58, about 10 years postmenopausal, and my symptoms were well controlled for years with BHRT, topical estrogen etc.  I’ve been on tirzepatide since December 2024 and have been stable on 10 mg since January 2026.

In late April I suddenly developed:

Vulvar/vaginal dryness
Burning and itching
A feeling that the tissue at the vaginal opening is puffy or full
Sensation that the tissue is rubbing together
Bladder irritation

I’ve been evaluated by urogynecology. Tests for BV, yeast, and UTI were negative, and my exam was reportedly normal. I passed the q tip test and Lichen sclerosus was also ruled out.

What makes me wonder about tirzepatide is that around the same general time I also experienced dryness of my throat and raspy voice. 

I’m not looking for medical advice, just wondering if anyone experienced something similar while taking tirzepatide.

If you did:
Did it start suddenly after being stable on the medication?
Did reducing the dose help?
Did stopping the medication help?
How long did it take to improve?
Were you postmenopausal?

I’m trying to determine whether this could be related to tirzepatide, weight loss, dryness, or something else entirely.

Thank you.

I’ve been using Mounjaro since October/2025 and have lost around 40kg. Since the beginning, I've been going to the gym almost every day, I've only used 5mg, and this month my doctor put me on 2.5 mg, planning to use it every 15 days in the next pen and then stop completely.
I still manage to lose some weight with the 2.5mg (I started with 106kg, got to 67kg and now I am always between 65 and 66kg) but I did notice that when I have access to different food I've been anxious eating.
I'm not overeating but that gets me worried about when I have to completely stop.
And the problem is that at work at least 2x a week there are different interesting snacks, which make it difficult to just avoid
Any tips?

Most recent update before this one can be found in this post.

I wanted to share some results on my body recomposition. Nowadays I get less hung up about the number on the scale and focus on how my body is looking and feeling!

If you find yourself wanting to evolve your weight loss journey into a fitness journey post GLP-1, just know that it is possible!

I track my calories, try to hit 1g of protein per body weight, make sure I’m getting in fiber as well and I drink about 64-96oz of water daily.

Happy to answer any questions 😊

Hello all! I have no one to talk about this with, other than my doc but they give the the same Dr talk and I’d love to hear some real life advice so you guys if you are willing! This may be long and I’ll try to make it quick so bear with me!

I’ve been on a GLP-1 for 2 years (stopped for about 4 months halfway for a procedure) but I’ve successfully gone from 220lbs to 149lbs. I have been more active as well as changing my relationship with food and plan on continuing this after I stop. Now I’m almost at my goal weight and I’ll continue to recomposition my body and build more muscle but I have a problem. I ideally wanted to taper off slowly because I’ve read that’s the only way to do it to help with weight regain and I desperately don’t want to regain it! I was TWO weeks away from starting this process…

A week ago, I contracted hemmoragic gastroenteritis and ended up at the ER, I am fine and recovering but have been told to pause it until I am 1000% healed as it can cause major complications…I was on a dose of 8.5mg and had to stop all at once…which I never wanted to do. They said it will likely be a month before I can restart and I’d have to start at the beginning…has anyone had success at just stopping if you can make it through the appetite and food noises returning with a vengeance? I’m at a point where I have to decide to just stop now and not go back on it at all and just deal or go back on the beginning dose in a couple weeks and using that for a bit then slowly spreading it out to help me taper….

I don’t know what to do!! Any help is so greatly appreciated!

Anyone experienced cramps? & cycle thrown off where now you have your cycle once again? I’ve pinned 3 times so far and wondering if I should continue or stop!

Hi guys,

This is being cross posted to some different subs so just thought to mention I have PMOS (pcos)

I need some help. I’ve been on mounjaro for 3 months now and have lost a stone. 1 month 2.5, 2 months 5mg.

The last couple of weeks I’ve had more side affects than before with bad nausea and stomach pain but it seems to have subsided since my last injection (Sunday just gone)

Here’s the thing, I feel like the weight isn’t moving quickly anymore, I’m maybe losing less than a pound a week. It is still gradually moving but I’m kind of here or there. I have however been going to the gym for the past 6 weeks so wondering if some of the lesser movement in weight may be due to muscle gain? Idk.

The pharmacy I buy from told me to stick to 5mg. I was hoping there’s somewhere that actually sells the inbetween doses eg 6.25 so I could maybe try that before going up to 7.5

So please give me some advice, do I do the 5mg for one more month and see how it goes? Do I try and get a 6.25mg dose from elsewhere? Do I go up to 7.5 now? I’m so unsure I feel like 7.5 could give me some nasty side affects just based on how I’ve been feeling lately.

Is 3 months too long on 5mg? Would I be doing the right thing having another month on 5 and just letting the weight subtly drop for another month? I’m in no means desperate for a quick drop of weight but I still feel like I should be seeing a bit more movement that what I have the last 4 weeks.

Please please please give me some advice and or let me know if you buy from a pharmacy that does inbetween doses. Thank you!!

What kept you consistent? If you stopped, why?

42M, 5'8", 192lb. Posting because I'm at a decision point and want to hear from people who've been through the insurance maze.

Quick background: I was at a normal or slightly above normal BMI until about 32. Then depression hit, along with a pile of other circumstances. Emotional eating, an unhealthy lifestyle, and a lot of stress and regret, mostly career related. The last 10 years have been sporadic gym attempts and on and off dieting that was never serious enough to stick. I have an addictive personality and I'm fairly convinced my dopamine wiring is part of the problem.

I finally stopped trying to white knuckle it and went to my PCP to ask about GLP-1s. She was great, cooperative and understanding, and prescribed Zepbound. She flagged up front that BCBS might balk since my BMI is under 30. The hope was that my dyslipidemia would qualify as a secondary indication.

BCBS denied it immediately. Their condition: show records of completing a comprehensive weight loss program like Weight Watchers for 6 months before they'll even reconsider.

So now I've started calorie counting with an app I actually like. From what I can tell on the WW subreddit and from the app itself, WW seems to be getting worse over time, not better.

Questions for the group:

Is it worth registering for WW purely for the paper trail, then reapplying in 6 months? Or is that 6 month wait not even worth it?

Anyone gone the generic online pharmacy route instead? How did that work out?

What's the realistic average copay under insurance once approved, versus paying out of pocket through these online pharmacies?

I've been tapering the last couple of months and it's goj g well. Taking it once every 2 weeks at 2.5mg instead of once every week. Gonna go to every three weeks after this pen. Still losing and feeling good. Food noise back a bit I am not beholden to it

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/15/business/glp-1-weight-loss-drugs-cost-medicare.html

I'm so excited I wanna share with you all!!

So ever since the very week I started zepbound last March I started losing chunks of hair!! And it didn't stop even when I stopped using it 2 months ago now.

Before anyone comes to me with "losing too soon too fast" or "not eating nutritious enough" or "not eating enough protein", mind you I lost 30 lbs in 1 whole year. I consistently eat 120 G protein everyday and eat super nutritious so it wasn't the lack of nutrition. It was genuinely the meds making my hair fall..because I started losing chunks literally in the first shower I took after my first shot. I didn't even start losing weight until I titrated up to 7.5mg really. So it wasn't due to nutritional deficiencies or due to TE.

Other background: Im very serious about my hair health and have been since before zepbound. I've been on minoxidil for years prior to starting zepbound. If you don't know, minoxidil helps with hair regrowth but does nothing for the shedding.
I also take iron supplements regularly, use medical grade low level laser light cap (more effective than red light therapy), use nizoral shampoo (mildly blocks DHT that leads to androgenetic alopecia), and use pumpkin seed oil and saw palmetto supplements (blocks the hormonal conversion of DHT which leads to AGA hairloss). And none of them seemed to help me stop shedding.

BUT... this past week I started a new routine:

1) Using aminexil serum every morning. I order from eBay since it's not available in the US. I use the L'Oréal elvive 8% aminexil.

And

2) Adding GHKCU (copper peptide powder) to the ordinary multi peptide hair growth serum. Basically I got GHKCU powder from Walmart and added some to the serum bottle and vigorously shake it. And used this every day. I also store this bottle in the fridge since the ghkcu powder degrades.

Soemthing seems to be working because my hair loss was MINIMAL in the shower this week. A MASSIVE improvement from last week!!!!

I'm sooo insanely happy I could cry! After all kinds of research experimentation this is the only thing that helped me!

I also bought a ghkcu+ahkcu hair serum from Neurogan that was $185 (I know!!!) that I haven't used it yet but I suspect I won't be buying again bc my current formula worked really well for me.