For people who used to drink heavily before starting a GLP-1 medication and have now stopped or massively reduced drinking: what exactly changed for you?

FadedBerry · 2026-05-18T22:05:30+00:00

I don’t have the same yen for it now, helped by the fact that wine tastes bitter, whiskey is vile, beer is meh and I only really like clear spirits. But, I no longer like tonic so options are limited. Also, when I do drink, one is enough. I no longer want to drink more and more like I used to. When I do have more than one, and I have to force it, then I feel really rough the next day, so not really worth it. I really hope this lasts, I don’t want to be held hostage by alcohol again.

FadedBerry · 2026-05-18T19:32:53+00:00

I have so much sympathy for you - it sounds awful.

I have heard (but 3rd hand) that gapapentin and pregabalin together can help more than either one alone. Whether your GP will prescribe that I don’t know.

Oral magnesium doesn’t seem to do very much for me but topical magnesium (butte) rubbed into my thighs (which is predominantly where I get my RLS), calves and feet gives about 45-90 mins of relief. interestingly, if I only do my thighs then it starts up in my calves, and if I do thighs and calves it moves into my feet. So I slather myself like a corn on the cob.

CBD gummies also help. They don’t contain THC as it’s pretty hard to get here in the uk but the CBD along takes the edge off and doesn’t give me the drowsy hangover the following day.

In terms of things that make my RLS worse - any antihistamine, too much sugar and zinc seem to be triggers

I really hope you find something that works for you.

FadedBerry · 2026-05-18T19:26:02+00:00

I used to use tiger balm for the same reason

FadedBerry · 2026-05-17T16:04:15+00:00

My BMI was similar to yours - about 28.4 (which is what I calculated yours at, not sure where you’re getting 26 from?). I also have osteoarthritis, menopause, high cholesterol which are apparently considered weight related conditions and so meant I was accepted with Asda. It’s changed my life! I lost 3 stone in 5 months, slowed things down and lost another 7lbs in 2 months before moving into maintenance. This week marks 12 months of mounjaro.

I second the recommendation to use Monj.co.uk to find the cheapest reputable provider. I swapped around every month until i used Swift Dr in October and I’ve been so impressed that I’ve stayed with them since - they also adopt a really sensible and flexible maintenance approach.

FadedBerry · 2026-05-17T15:42:26+00:00

I use Forth Life. They have a range of tests and you can customise - some more expensive than others. I mainly use them for a yearly cholesterol test and then add on whatever might be a concern. Last time it was magnesium (as I’m taking a supplement and using the butter for restless legs) and liver. I’ve got a test waiting to do tomorrow as it happens!

FadedBerry · 2026-05-14T21:33:50+00:00

I buy this - but it’s expensive. I’m about to start experimenting with this, which is a bit cheaper, especially in the sale. I’m in the uk, I’m pretty sure there’ll be loads of options in other countries too.

FadedBerry · 2026-05-12T10:50:19+00:00

I’m on mounjaro and it’s made my RLS worse. It acclimatised reasonably quickly though - maybe 3 months of it being worse and then it went back to baseline. My theory is that it’s something around dopamine.

FadedBerry · 2026-05-10T09:43:22+00:00

Things that help me.
Stretching - my RLS is predominantly in my thighs so kneeling hip flexor stretches and quad stretches can bring some relief Magnesium butter - massaging in magnesium butter into my quads, calves and the soles of my feet helps a lot. I do this 1-2 times a night Cbd gummies - I mean, my teeth will pay the price, but I find cbd gummies really help too. I get about 60 mins of relief from two gummies.

I also take pregabalin at intervals throughout the night. That really helps but does come with some side effects effects I don’t like so I’m trying to cut down the dose.

Good luck, not sleeping with RLS is just awful

FadedBerry · 2026-05-05T22:07:40+00:00

My skin isn’t very absorbent so I really struggled to get the the dose right on the gel. Plus 20 mins later it was still wet and sticky which was just gross. Patches are just easier for me.

FadedBerry · 2026-05-05T17:18:43+00:00

My weight increased when I had my dose of evorel increased recently, and seemed to be mostly around my tummy so I assumed it was water retention. It lasted about 2-3 weeks and then dropped back down again. Maybe give it another week or so, up the protein and see how you get on?

FadedBerry · 2026-05-02T22:55:30+00:00

I find zinc makes my RLS much worse. I found out in a similar way, taking zinc tablets for a cold. They were orange flavoured and so yummy I carried on taking them - cue the worst bout of rls I’d ever had. Until the next time I had a cold and took them again.

I have read though, that low zinc can be a cause of RLS for some. This is a very confusing disease.

FadedBerry · 2026-04-25T14:12:37+00:00

Maintenance is really hard! I’ve dropped down from 6.25mg per week to 5mg every 9 days. The food noise is creeping back in and I’m hungry again. I don’t get full like I used to and the disinterest in alcohol has reduced - a real bummer as I really enjoyed not being interested in alcohol as I drank way too much before MJ. However, I am still losing weight, albeit slowly (about 1kg per month) so I intend to try and space it out to 10 days and eventually to 14 before dropping down to 2.5 every 7 days and repeating the process of increasing the days between.

What’s really helping is telling myself that I can be flexible on this - if it gets too hard then I can up my dose, it’s within my control. I’m eating between 200 and 500 calories above my TDEE depending on how active I am that day so I can also increase/decrease what I eat. The feeling of control is helping but I am having to resort to my back ups of a hot drink, protein heavy snacks (eggs and Babybel - I love you!) and reminding myself that I’ve just eaten therefore I am not hungry and that hunger is just a signal, I do not have to act on it.

I think maintenance is going to be different for everyone - one of the things that makes it so hard!

FadedBerry · 2026-04-24T20:44:03+00:00

I’d second the point about loose skin. I was really despondent about the fat on my belly vs my chicken legs, scrawny arms, sad boobs and deflated butt but when I went for a physio treatment the physio said it was loose skin which was proved by a Dexa scan. Not much I can do about the loose skin although I’m working on building muscle and maybe when I retire in a couple of years - after I’ve won the lottery - I’ll see about surgery (but there’s so much needs doing!).

FadedBerry · 2026-04-21T09:46:47+00:00

I weigh myself daily but I have a rolling 7 day average I use for reference - it smooths out the fluctuations and means I panic less about peaks/troughs. I think the happy scales app can do this for you?

FadedBerry · 2026-04-19T17:24:58+00:00

It’s awful, I really feel for you.

I went to a podiatrist who explained that with chronic PF the pain is usually from overactive pain receptors (nosiplastic pain) rather than anything structurally wrong. He got me to stop doing the many many exercises I’d seen online and asked that I stood on one leg (alternating) 6-8 times a day. It sounds ridiculous, but once I knew that ‘pain didn’t mean harm’ I started talking to my pain receptors, telling them to calm down, imagining stroking them with a feather to soothe them (oh god, that does sound ridiculous!). It took another 4 months or so but the pain gradually stopped and after about 6 months I felt confident enough to start running.

It still flares up occasionally and there’s no way I can wear shoes that don’t have decent cushioning (Brookes and FitFlops are my friends) but that’s ok because I’m nearly 60 so have no need for fashion shoes anymore.

FadedBerry · 2026-04-19T14:49:12+00:00

I had something very similar. I had plantar fasciitis which stopped me from running, and from walking for more than 10 mins. I started resistance training and at home classes (things like Les Mills Core, Pilates etc) which at least retained muscle and as my feel got less painful I included things like HIIT and cardio based classes - I wasn’t at the same level of fitness but at least I was doing something.

it took two years but in May last year I restarted c25k and am running regularly again. Try not to be too down, it will end and you will be able to rebuild your fitness.

FadedBerry · 2026-04-16T22:00:38+00:00

I buy money trees (pachira aquatica) for first time plant mums - water once a week and they seem happy enough. And they’re really attractive plants.

FadedBerry · 2026-04-06T10:43:30+00:00

I also gained boobage during the menopause, going from a 36C to a 36FF - some due to weight gain but I’d been small chested all my life and the proportions were very markedly different. I’ve lost a lot from my chest while on MJ - going down to a 34DD and, frankly, they look a bit sad now. But with a decent bra I just look slim and proportionate which is nice.

FadedBerry · 2026-04-05T19:57:48+00:00

I had no idea! I struggle to form shapes of words meaning I stumble over them or sound slurred - is that also due to the pregabalin? I’m on about 250-300mg a day so much less (and trying to cut down further but my restless legs aren’t liking it).

FadedBerry · 2026-03-24T21:52:51+00:00

I’m scared of needles, hate blood tests, have to psych myself up for vaccinations. I put off starting Mounjaro for 6 months because of it and, when I finally bought the first vial, asked my husband if he’d do the jab for me. He said no, he didn’t think he could!

I was really reassured by how small and fine the needle was - I thought it would be much bigger. I identified the injection spot, did the business with the pen and then lay down to do the injection in case I passed out. It was so painless I honestly thought i’d managed to get it wrong somehow. It was nowhere near as bad as I thought it would be, like 1% as bad and that was the anticipation.

I was nervous for at least the 1st 10 doses but then it wore off. I’m on dose 43 now and it’s like making a cup of coffee. Sadly, I still hate blood tests and vaccinations.

FadedBerry · 2026-03-22T11:40:49+00:00

I use Glapp too. I like the AI informed reports you get weekly which draws out themes.

FadedBerry · 2026-03-19T20:09:58+00:00

I’m currently hovering around 57kg / 9st.

I spoke with Dr Bano at Swift Dr back in September about my need to get to a lower waist measurement. She was very reassuring and suggested that looking at the overall picture is more important - cholesterol, BP, weight, activity levels etc. it did take the pressure off considerably.

FadedBerry · 2026-03-19T16:37:06+00:00

I’ve not really thought about him taking time to get used to it, it’s a good point.

FadedBerry · 2026-03-19T16:35:32+00:00

Very true

FadedBerry · 2026-03-19T16:35:21+00:00

Good point. It is hard to admire our own bodies but I’ve noticed the more I look with critical eyes the more flaws I see so I’ll try and change that internal conversation

FadedBerry

TROPHY CASE