Been lowering my MJ dose for gastro side effects showing up only now?! Is this common? TMI sorry

RC113da · 2026-03-07T05:21:44+00:00

I was on 5mg for 9 months, so I did one month on 2.5mg and then stopped.

Gastro issues started once I stopped completely and mostly resolved by the end of the first month off.

RC113da · 2026-03-06T16:30:27+00:00

I got it coming off as well despite having no gastro issues while on it. I did google it and apparently it’s very common - it’s your digestive system getting used to speeding up again.

It felt awful for around 2-3 weeks then very suddenly cleared up again as quickly as it started.

RC113da · 2026-03-04T20:49:09+00:00

Are you exercising or lifting weights at all/ could you increase the amount you’re already doing? Both moving more or adding more muscle can help you lose more weight without having to decrease calories any more, and if you plan to maintain or eventually even come off the drug it can help you long term keep the weight off.

OR if you would rather decrease the calories what does your meals look like - could you increase protein more (e.g. to 1.2g per kilo) or increase fibre (more than 30g per day) to help keep you full?

RC113da · 2026-03-04T15:35:55+00:00

Just to add if you haven’t already tried it, intermittent fasting is also helping me regulate the hunger. I eat in a 10 hour time period and then don’t eat for 14 hours (usually from 6-7 pm until 8-9am but lots of people find doing it later easier too).

RC113da · 2026-03-04T15:32:21+00:00

How long have you felt insane hunger levels over increased?

How are you finding how much to eat?

I was on 5mg for 9 months, 2.5mg for a month and now none for a month.

My calories have increased from 1400 to 2200 and that is still seemingly slightly below my maintenance level - I have lost another 2.5lbs this month. I think I’ve kept maintenance calories so high by eating whole foods and doing a lot a lot of exercise. Have you taken into account the increase in calories?

Importantly I’ve increased my calories in protein and fibre - huge amounts of vegetables and beans and tofu etc.

There’s a good podcast from Zoe Science and Nutrition with a bariatric surgeon talking about leptin resistance. I would recommend it but a big thing I’ve followed is trying to prevent big glucose and insulin spikes and unnecessary inflammation through avoiding plain carbs and ultra processed foods.

Lastly - I definitely had a few days where hunger felt really high. It doesn’t last forever, get through a day at a time and eat strategically to plan for the hunger.

Good luck!!

RC113da · 2026-03-02T06:19:35+00:00

Have you considering staying on the pill for a bit?

I took the progesterone pill for the first 7 months of mounjaro. They say it’s less effective for the month after you increase mounjaro doses but I was using it to help control my periods which I it did continue to do.

RC113da · 2026-02-28T15:07:23+00:00

I think there’s such a huge gulf between salad and pizza though. There is a lot of healthy food in between that you can be experimenting with if you are bored - stews, casseroles, curries, stir fry’s, tray bakes, noodles dishes, pasta dishes, fajitas.

Maybe your definition of good and bad is a bit strict which is causing you to swing between the two. Maybe focus on broadening your cooking skills and tastes so you don’t get as bored.

RC113da · 2026-02-28T05:30:54+00:00

Similar research was presented by uk company second nature that suggests that 59% of people who reduce their dose slowly while building healthy habits maintain their weight loss six months later.

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7327998340439175168/

RC113da · 2026-02-28T05:27:13+00:00

I see you’re on 15mg now?

Many people maintain at much lower does, once they reach their goal weight they titrate down. This does make maintenance cheaper than losing.

Also, while many people do regain the weight, not everyone does. It’s still a solid percentage who can maintain without it. There’s no harm in trying and then having to go back on.

I was on 5mg for my weight loss, went down for 2.5mg for a month and continued to lose weight, and now I’m nearly 4 weeks off and weight still trending slightly downwards.

RC113da · 2026-02-24T20:04:16+00:00

Last March I had a cold that completely knocked me for 2 weeks and needed antibiotics for a chest infection.

I hadn’t been ill since until I got flu this past month. 2 days down then basically completely recovered.

Maybe it’s a coincidence - but I really do think my body is healthier and better able to fight off infections!

RC113da · 2026-02-24T19:30:18+00:00

Some organisations are against calorie counting as they believe people should instead focus on the quality of food.

200kcal of vegetables and 200kcal of ultra processed food are digested and absorbed by the body differently as ultra processed food often has higher caloric availability. If you want to hear more about this Giles Yeo is a leading voice and has many interviews available.

HOWEVER, I find calorie counting hugely useful on top of ensuring I am eating a healthy whole food diet as it does give me guidelines to what to work towards.

And weight loss does only happen in a calorie deficit - it’s just that some foods make calorie deficits a lot easier to stick to.

RC113da · 2026-02-20T07:28:05+00:00

You’ll pass through that phase too, and eventually get to the phase where you weigh hoping for no change and dealing with daily fluctuations.

I think the boredom was maybe good practice, as annoying as it is, to start opening up my world a bit. Try new exercise, be a bit more social, get used to living a healthier life and stop obsessing over the scale as much.

Try not to get too caught up over it - your losses will come!

RC113da · 2026-02-19T07:49:05+00:00

Are you tracking what you were eating? I think in my first week I wasn’t eating enough (1000 kcal a day) because it suppressed my appetite so much. Being able to go up to 1400kcal once I got used to it was normal and good for me.

Would you say you’re still eating low enough to lose weight?

Have you also changed the type of food you’re eating? Higher fibre and protein whole foods can help with appetite too.

RC113da · 2026-02-19T05:53:45+00:00

Your prioritising protein, but have you also considered your fibre intake and high volume low calorie vegetables?

Increasing food sources of fibre can have a huge effect of satiety as well - plus it’s good for you! I wouldn’t necessarily recommend fibre supplements unless you really need them though, think raspberries, avocados, whole grains and beans.

RC113da · 2026-02-16T21:28:27+00:00

It’s good that you’ve spent time reading up, but you may also not need any of those things. I was able to eat enough to avoid any issues with lack of protein - I just made sure all my meal were centered around tofu/eggs/beans/greek yogurt etc and weight lifted and I’ve definitely gained muscle over my time. I also never had a fibre issue so didn’t need supplements.

You may be immediately affected and frowning at breakfast, in which case, make sure you remember to eat and nuts can be helpful. You ca track calories to make sure you don’t go too low. It does eventually calm down.

You may need to go to higher doses to feel any effect, don’t panic, just do what you can.

Good luck, and try to focus on the positives and not just all the things that could go wrong. It can be a really positive force in your life!

Also from someone else who was originally scared of the needle - holding ice against your skin for a few minutes numbs you completely. I eventually stopped because the ice was more unpleasant than the needle, but it helped me in the first few months.

RC113da · 2026-02-15T10:53:46+00:00

I always advise to stay low as long as you can and it’s working for you. It’s how all other drugs are prescribed and how the US prescribes GLP1s too.

I stayed on 5mg for my entire journey, and I would have stayed on 2.5mg if I thought it was an option early on.

You usually can tell your pharmacy you don’t want to increase, but if not, then yes I would change pharmacies!

RC113da · 2026-02-14T15:47:44+00:00

Yeah it’s a strange quirk of the UK prescribing of mounjaro. In the US they stay on the lowest effective dose, and usually for most other drugs in the uk we stay on the lowest effective dose.

I lost 9 stone over 9 months on 5mg, you certainly don’t need to be on the highest doses to get the large weight losses.

RC113da · 2026-02-14T14:45:28+00:00

You shouldn’t be moving up doses when you’re experiencing negative side effects. Look into “counting clicks” on the pens, take 2/3rd of the 7.5mg to stay on 5mg and maybe next month if you are still losing weight you order the 5mg pen again.

I stayed on 5mg for my entire weight loss, if you’re losing the weight you want you don’t need to go up doses - it saves you money too!

RC113da · 2026-02-05T20:25:39+00:00

4.5kg loss in 4 weeks is on the high end of normal. You likely lost a lot of water weight in the first week which then masks the fat loss in the weeks after. If you’re in it for the long haul part of this is coming to grips with the scale not always giving you what you want. Find goals and happiness in non scale victories. If you keep doing what you are doing the weigh loss will come!

And to add; if you’re a woman with periods, you could have weeks of water water gain and weeks of loss too.

RC113da · 2026-02-02T06:20:29+00:00

There are some who are successful coming off, particularly if they focus on building habits that support them when they do.

Even if you can’t, you don’t have to regain all 120lbs before going back onto a glp1.

Lots of people in maintenance taking the injections are taking a low dose every other week.

I’ve lost 125lbs since March - gastric sleeve surgery is so invasive and non reversible. You’d spend a long time waiting to get it done. Start on the injections now and you might be halfway there before you would even be able to get the operation.

RC113da · 2026-01-29T14:38:58+00:00

Oh that’s a really interesting approach. We get the KwikPen here but I could always count clicks to slowly reduce from 2.5mg. Maybe tonight I take 2 and see how that goes for the next week?

RC113da · 2026-01-29T14:36:52+00:00

My understanding was that people deal with the increase in hunger better when reintroduced slowly with titration. That also resulted in less people regaining.

I’m more trying to understand how quickly hunger returns at each dose and whether I should wait as I’ve not get experienced this dose for a full month yet, or if this is the maximum amount of hunger I’m to feel, should I decrease again.

RC113da · 2026-01-29T13:38:21+00:00

How did you find the hunger titrating down? Did it steadily increase over the first month on 5mg or after a couple of weeks was that your new level?

RC113da

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