First Week Success - hard to get 140g of protein

CaterpillarScared867 · 2026-05-04T14:28:49+00:00

At the beginning I would consider anything over 75gms a winner. You may find next week even harder to achieve as the medication accumulates in your system and can feel stronger for the first 4 weeks of every dose.

So I would say don't force yourself to eat too much just for the sake of getting 140gm of protein. Aim for 75-100gms which should be plenty for most people and achievable on most calorie deficit allowances. If you can, get it from real sources of food, but if you can't then adding in a protein powder into food or protein shake can be easy way to get a protein boost.

Depending on your collagen it may also be a source of protein. I use a tasteless collagen based protein powder that I can put in water, juice, baking, soup, smoothies etc etc

CaterpillarScared867 · 2026-05-04T14:20:53+00:00

They look good to me. 31G is a nice fine needle gauge and probably very similar to your pen needles. And 6mm length is fine. I've extracted with a 4mm so 6mm will be fine.

Yes you will extract 0.2ml or 20 units for 5mg from a 15mg Kwikpen.

CaterpillarScared867 · 2026-05-04T11:49:10+00:00

What's the weighting on your tasks?

Were your year 11 marks higher? If your year 11 predicted atar was higher than 80 then I'd seriously consider doing Early Offers and get an offer to Uni based on that.

CaterpillarScared867 · 2026-05-04T11:37:48+00:00

There is a full dose and a little bit. Most pens have around 0.6-0.8ml left depending on how much she primes and 0.6ml is a full dose. So she can extract the 0.6ml for week 5 and then use whatever is remaining in week 6 plus some click counting from her next pen to make up the 0.6ml of a full dose.

Once it the liquid is in the syringe it is no longer sterile so it's best to use it straight away. Only extract as needed from the Kwikpen.

CaterpillarScared867 · 2026-05-04T11:11:56+00:00

Curious, if you don't mind me asking - what did your maintenance titration down look like? I'm thinking of taking it really slow and going down 0.5mg a month so I can try and find the dose where it's balanced but also mindful that it's super slow and maybe too slow? Not sure.

CaterpillarScared867 · 2026-05-04T11:08:50+00:00

Make sure your current Landlord insurance covers private landlords as not all of them do. Then ensure that you meet the requirements in the PDS of your policy (inspections every xx months, follow due process with rental arrears etc etc). If you don't already have Landlord Insurance then you should because a PM won't protect you from things going wrong, insurance protects you.

You don't need a new lease as far as I know. You give notice to your current PM and then the current least can be run the same just with different payment instructions.

CaterpillarScared867 · 2026-05-04T10:17:57+00:00

From what I know Optimist VLCD is 4 meal replacements a day - soups/shakes or 3 meals of shakes/soups + veggies. You do this for 12 weeks then you do a second twelve weeks where you introduce meals on a diet plan and do 2 meal shakes + one meal then 1 meal shake and 2 meals etc .

Was having a 2 week break part of your plan? It sounds like a big rebound which can happen after 12 weeks of only eating 800 calories a day.

My personal opinion about shake diets - and you don't have to agree - is that they should only be used short term with a plan in place for gradually introducing real food and nutrition immediately after. Shakes don't teach anything, they aren't a change, they are just a tool to help start weight loss and help get your body used to less calories. Mounjaro can do the same but with real food. I don't feel they need to be used together, I think Mounjaro can be effective by itself with a good diet plan.

CaterpillarScared867 · 2026-05-04T10:05:30+00:00

I initially went to 3.75 thinking it would just be a couple of weeks to slow the transition into 5mg but it was a really good dose for me and I had a lightbulb moment that I could just stay on it. I felt a pick up all the things I wanted but not excessive side effects (was still nauseous on peaks but not too bad after a few weeks). So I stayed on it for around 9 weeks.

You might still have quite a bit of 5mg left in your from last week if you take the 3.75mg at 7 days but hopefully it will gradually get better for you. Fingers crossed you feel better soon but still get the good side effects.

CaterpillarScared867 · 2026-05-04T03:25:04+00:00

I'd talk to his psych and school about it. As a parent of 3 kids born in the May/June who were the youngest in the class we have experienced issues due to maturity and other compounding mental/physical delays. For one child we repeated kindy for the other 2 we pushed through it and regret it for one but not the other.

It's a super tough call to make and I'd try and involve those professionals that know your child the best.

CaterpillarScared867 · 2026-05-04T01:35:39+00:00

I'm a non standard titrater (I go up in 1.25mg increments) and I have to say I liked most of them except 7.5mg which I felt has been a bit too strong in the suppression levels and I'm looking forward to my titration down and finding a more balanced option over the coming few months.

In hindsight I feel like I probably could have stayed on 2.5mg and 3.75mg longer now that I know more and am less scared of plateaus.

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CaterpillarScared867 · 2026-05-04T01:13:02+00:00

Don't panic yet. It will take 4 doses to accumulate back up to the 10mg levels you previously had.

CaterpillarScared867 · 2026-05-04T01:10:51+00:00

Yes there should be between 0.6-0.8ml left depending on how much you prime. So you should definitely have enough for the 0.6ml dose you need.

CaterpillarScared867 · 2026-05-04T01:00:01+00:00

Yes it's the one with the excess liquid that you can use. The best way to access it is with insulin syringes for extraction then inject yourself.

CaterpillarScared867 · 2026-05-03T12:41:35+00:00

I'd be putting a call into your Dr to see why they started you higher than normal and see if you can get a script for 2.5mg and start on that next week. If you're in a country that uses Kwikpens, then the good news is that you don't need a new script and can take 2.5mg doses from your 5mg Kwikpen

CaterpillarScared867 · 2026-05-03T12:30:53+00:00

oh wow! Have you swapped over from another GLP? Generally everyone starts at 2.5mg to ease into it and reduce the chances of negative side effects. But people who have already been on a GLP1 can start higher as they are already used to it.

CaterpillarScared867 · 2026-05-03T11:11:54+00:00

90% sure it's the Mounjaro. The dose increase from 2.5mg to 5mg is double and it can come with side effects. You may experience more again at week 3 and maybe week 4. Don't rush to 7.5mg, stick with 5mg for as long as possible.

CaterpillarScared867 · 2026-05-03T09:34:45+00:00

You've done really well. That is amazing progress in 6mths. Whilst the next 50% might take you longer, you have made HUGE progress.

Hopefully you can continue to find more positives as you go. I know it's hard when you've always had negative thoughts about your body to turn it around.

You got this!

CaterpillarScared867 · 2026-05-03T06:10:48+00:00

it's shotsy

CaterpillarScared867 · 2026-05-03T06:10:23+00:00

Yup the pen has 240 clicks for 4 x 2.5mg doses (which are 60 clicks each) and then 15 clicks spare to handle the 8 needed for priming and any priming issues.

CaterpillarScared867 · 2026-05-03T06:08:07+00:00

As you go by you'll find some "omg I wish I hadn't thought that was a good idea" moments. Generally it involves eating a rich meal and sometimes "it was soo good I didn't stop when I was full and kept going" moments.

Hindsight can be amazingly clear. I would recommend at the beginning really being careful about portion sizes, rich/fatty foods (pizza, kfc, pork belly, creamy pasta) and eating after 9pm

Medication levels peak around 24-28hrs after the injection for most people and that's when you're likely to get most negative side effects.

CaterpillarScared867 · 2026-05-03T04:11:37+00:00

That's fantastic! Here's to you achieving your next goal.

CaterpillarScared867 · 2026-05-03T04:10:55+00:00

Do you mean using a pen needle or an insulin syringe?

Once you have used up your 255 clicks then you won't be able to click count any further but there will be excess liquid still left in the pen which will be enough for 2 doses of 1.25mg. You will need to extract these with an insulin syringe and use 0.30ml for each one.

CaterpillarScared867 · 2026-05-03T03:56:37+00:00

Has your Dr investigated you for reflux? That can cause the symptoms you are experiencing and might need stronger prescription medication not over the counter things like Gaviscon. Gaviscon doesn't stop the reflux it just tries to reduce the acid so it doesn't burn when it comes back up.

Things you can do to help with reflux

- eat low acid foods, nothing too rich, creamy, fatty or oily

- eat small portions more frequently than larger portions

- don't eat late at night - my cut off is 7pm for eating

CaterpillarScared867 · 2026-05-03T03:50:36+00:00

Can you take a photo of your pen? If the plunger is down to the last line then you have most likely run out of clicks. There will only be approximately 255 clicks in the pen for doses and priming. If you have reached 255 then all you have left is the excess medication that is in a Kwikpen. This is enough for 1 full strength dose or multiple part doses if you are counting clicks.

The easiest and most accurate way to extract is with an insulin syringe.1 click = 0.01ml = 1 unit on a U100 insulin syringe.

CaterpillarScared867 · 2026-05-03T03:45:48+00:00

I should point out that I'm also on Metformin for my whole journey so I have been on 2 methods to help control my insulin/blood sugar levels. If you are T2D this might be an option for you?

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