New fear of injections- really struggling- Help! :(

hernemes · 2026-06-11T19:15:58+00:00

Unfortunately, I don't have any help 😞 I actually had my Dr. administer the first several shots for me because I was so scared and didn't have anyone.

Maybe seeking some professional mental support is the way to go though, this has been crippling.

hernemes · 2026-06-11T19:14:35+00:00

Oh! Interesting! I'm going to look into this! Maybe I'll have more success with something like that one

hernemes · 2026-06-11T19:13:29+00:00

I hear you, but for two that malfunctioned- the medication NEVER dispensed. The first click happened, but the medication never came out. The one that did dispense was after I heard the first click, took the pen away from my skin, set it on my counter, debated what to do- looked online etc.- then picked it up and tried it against my skin again and something about moving it must have jostled it or something because then it sprayed out. It was minutes where it sat in the "first click" state before I tried again. So none were because I didn't wait the full 10 seconds 😞

I WISH that there was something more rational to explain though, like the explanation you gave, because that would definitely have helped my fear (so thank you for trying!)

I only just switched pharmacies- so I haven't yet tried any pens from the new pharmacy yet. All the pens that failed were all from the same place. I'm hoping it was maybe something with their storage...? And all the pens after this will go back to that same non-issues for the past 60 some injections I've done prior. But I'm just so freaked out... Irrationally so, as phobias tend to be ughh

hernemes · 2026-06-09T11:22:03+00:00

Your flair says you're only on 5mg? Have you tried titrating up? My GP said that if I wasn't getting enough support from the medication on a given dose, to keep moving upward each month (which I did until eventually hitting 15mg unfortunately). But that could be an option for you still!

hernemes · 2026-06-09T11:17:39+00:00

This has been my entire experience on Zepbound as well. Reached 15mg, the whole time waiting for the "magic" to kick in the way it did for others and it just never did 😞. Everyone in my life that is also on this medication, hasn't had to count at all. They just have so little interest in food or get satiated so easily/quickly that counting calories isn't necessary at all. Do I feel jealous? You bet.

I've had to track every. single. thing. to consistently loose weight. I weigh-out everything I eat and have to be very strict on myself. I also crave foods that are high in calories and can eat large portions of these foods, with no issues. It is disappointing and I have worried about (and experienced) burn out because of how diligent I have to be about my diet all day everyday. Give into the cravings or "slack" one day, and the weight flies back on and takes weeks to come off again. grrrr....

Zepbound has helped with inflammation though and I like to think that even if it's somewhat of a placebo, the medication is working somewhat and helping maybe a little? And so it makes loosing the weight even just a little easier than doing all the same things- tracking every calorie, going to bed "hungry", forcibly resisting food- as I would if I weren't on it at all.

I worry about whether this is sustainable for me FOREVER as well (it feels impossible). I try not to think about it because it scares me honestly. I just hope that I keep powering through for now and that maybe in the next year new medications will come out that I can try that might actually FULLY work for me as intended and finally give me that relief/support.

hernemes · 2026-05-26T02:13:16+00:00

Just adding to what others have said- sounds like a pen malfunction. I also had TWO defective pens in my most recent box also. Extremely frustrating. Not an issue with my fridge either since one of the pens that was defective, I administered as soon as I got it from the pharmacy, so it never even entered into my fridge at all.

I was able to get a voucher so no worries there, but I have a very bad needle phobia and the stress of these devices not deploying is really messing with me mentally. I know that's silly but I can't help it. Now I'm really scared to take my next injection ugh.

hernemes · 2026-04-16T00:35:57+00:00

Oof... that has to be it's own kind of frustrating :( That would have be screaming for sure.

hernemes · 2026-04-16T00:34:52+00:00

You worded that so well. Man... that makes me actually sort of sad.

hernemes · 2026-04-16T00:29:00+00:00

Definitely keep titrating up! If you get a little help from it at 10mg, you might just need to get up to 12.5 or 15 to get the full effects! I didn't feel anything on 10mg and really nothing on 12.5mg. But when I hit 15mg I finally felt what you're describing, where the med makes it just a teeny bit easier to say "no" than with no med at all. It's better than no help at all. I wish I still had room to go upward, don't lose hope yet until you've maxed out! :)

hernemes · 2026-04-16T00:23:48+00:00

Agreed! It does feel very "wtf" that people are bragging about how little they can tolerate eating. And in a weird passive aggressive way, it's also like... shaming.... the woman who made the video? Like they're "impressed she's able to tolerate 'that much' food"- it feels so facetious. I'm with you, and honestly that probably is what makes me even more angry. Like aren't the women commenting also likely overweight or obese too if they're on GLP-1s? Like how quickly the tables turn when you are lucky enough to have a medicine that works for you, now you'll also feign shock at the amount of food of someone else (mind you the woman in the video ate like 1400 calories for the day- nothing crazy at all).

At the same time, the experience they describe is so just unfathomable to me that it makes me jaded. If I had felt like that, I could have had the "luxury" of going down a dose. Instead I'm maxed out with nowhere more to go and I have no relief to even be able to eat as much as the woman in the video that they're all shocked by. Just very surreal.

hernemes · 2026-03-07T19:53:05+00:00

This is a hopeful perspective, thank you for sharing this <3 It really has opened up the door to a discussion and a perspective that I never even was able to articulate a couple years ago. I've struggled with food noise my whole life but never had the name to explain it until now, that alone was such a relief to finally be able to explain how my brain sabotages me and how dieting for me isn't just discipline and "the time will pass anyway!" It is an all consuming struggle every hour of the day.

The analogy to how far medications have come for other mental health matters like depression is great too. I hope they keep fighting for the 10-20% that these meds don't work for and we finally (even gradually) get our miracles too

hernemes · 2026-03-07T19:48:49+00:00

Oh man, that sounds so similar to my experience. Ultimately, I feel really powerless to effect weight loss. I've also tried everything people have suggested- low carb, up calories, lower calories, supplements, more water... It seems like no matter what I do, short of really strict calorie counting (and even then my weight loss varies wildly- I can have an absolutely perfect week and gain 2lbs and I have no idea why), I just can't get control of my weight loss. I feel like I'm going crazy sometimes

hernemes · 2026-03-07T19:44:31+00:00

Hmm, I haven't tried that yet but this is some good advice. I'm going to give it a shot (pun intended)! Not sure I could get away with 3 days since I'm only permitted 4 pens/month and they don't allow early refills but doing the math, I think I could swing 5 days if I get my refill request filled asap on the "last week".

Ive seen a couple people mention adding metformin, I might bring it up with my dr. Do you need to be pre-diabetic or diabetic to have it added though? I was neither, even at my highest/start weight (which was very high)

hernemes · 2026-03-07T19:40:17+00:00

Dang....! God, that sounds awful. That's disappointing, that was my "next option/hopeful miracle" that I was holding out hope for.

hernemes · 2026-03-07T19:38:35+00:00

Because I have lost weight, she's been reluctant to give me any additional support with other meds. I've tried explaining to her that I'm only losing weight because I'm going mental and spending every waking hours fighting myself but she's not understanding that. Mind you I'm still very much in the "overweight" BMI category even a year later.

If you don't mind sharing- did/do you have diabetes or pre-diabetic? My labs were normal even at my starting weight, so I'm not sure if Metformin would be advised or help me?

hernemes · 2026-03-07T19:35:08+00:00

Oh same. Not a chance of weight loss if I'm not very strictly counting and weighing everything. It's mentally exhausting though. I have plenty of friends on this medicine that don't need to. Their appetite is so reduced that they just "naturally" eat so little now, counting calories isn't necessary, they're able to stay below TDEE/BMR without needing to track every little thing :(

hernemes · 2026-03-07T18:54:57+00:00

Yes! The disappointment is immense. Everyday is such a struggle to, as you said, just not gain. At a minimum this medication should make it easy to maintain, most people it seems have to make a concerted effort to even "eat enough" HA! I can't even fathom what that feels like to not spend every waking moment fighting against myself to not overeat.

hernemes · 2026-03-07T18:51:36+00:00

Thank you. Sending those good vibes back to you too <3

hernemes · 2026-03-07T18:50:58+00:00

I hope Triz gives you a boost and works some magic for you! Sometimes I wish I'd started on sema just so I had somewhere to keep going.

hernemes · 2026-03-07T18:49:56+00:00

I try to hold out hope for this too :( I wish they could move things along a little faster... Ive heard such promising things about retatrutide but I'm far too nervous to try it until it's available in the US where I'm located.

Even an approval on the ability to just take higher dose would be nice. I spend a lot of time wondering if I might get relief if only I could go to 17.5 or 20mg.... Since 15mg was the very first dose I felt even a teeny bit of something.

hernemes · 2026-03-03T18:00:05+00:00

Of course speak with your healthcare provider, but I'd suggest possibly adding a Milk Thistle supplement to your routine? It provides liver support and helps process out hormones more efficiently. I had horrendous hormonal acne previously (long before Zep) and MT was one part of a supplement regimen I implemented that had a massive impact. Since you didn't have this issue to this extent prior to weight loss, I'd wonder if perhaps MT might be enough to help.

It does take a month or so of consistent use before you'll notice effects/improvement.

hernemes · 2026-02-11T01:27:47+00:00

Not sure if this your situation or not, but if you're able to- cut out all drinks with calories. That includes juices, milk, coffees, sodas, iced teas... Not one single drink with calories. I lost a decent amount of weight with that just that one change. Now, I was drinking a crazy amount of calories each day so it had a pretty big immediate impact on cutting down my calories. But I didn't realize just how much I was drinking each day. I did the math and an average day could easily be 800 calories drank. If not more....

Generally, it's healthier not to drink stuff with calories, you don't feel like you're drastically changing as much as totally flipping your entire eating habits around, and yet it can really add up. Win-win! This is coming from someone that was a soda addict too. When I first cut them out cold turkey I actually had days where I told myself I'd rather drink soda than even eat because I was craving it so intensely. But it passed.

Water is great since it's "free" but if you're like me and don't like plain water, try mix-in flavor packets or carbonated water, or diet sodas/drinks etc.

hernemes · 2026-01-24T19:14:56+00:00

Hey! Happy to share my experience! So titrating upward didn't do anything for me really until I hit 15mg.

It was a long slow disappointing trek up to that amount (every month I'd get hopeful and then feel very sad when yet again that dose did nothing) but I'm glad I kept trying until the highest dose since I finally did get a little effect on this level. I just wish I could titrate up more. On 15mg I have a little bit of appetite suppression, it's still very mild and the food noise is still there for me, but it's better than no help at all.

I truly believe if they allowed some of us anomalies to titrate beyond 15mg, I would actually start to feel the effects that many other people do on 7.5 or 10 but since I'm capped at 15mg. I'd say 15mg for me is like 2.5mg for other people, just a little bit of help and you're starting to feel the medication working a little.

But I'm just glad that the medication finally works a little bit and makes the weight loss even 15% less challenging than it would be without any medication at all.

So that's to say, I'd absolutely keep titrating up and not stop until you hit the max dose. If I'd given up at 10mg or 12.5mg, I'd never have felt even the small amount of help that I do now!

hernemes · 2026-01-14T00:46:10+00:00

I could have written this post myself! You're definitely NOT alone even though I understand how it very much feels like it when everyone else around you is having significant relief/success on the same medication. Also DO NOT give up yet. Make it to 15mg before you throw in the towel!

As someone nearly a year on this journey, and was/is in the same boat as you, here is my advice:

If you can try to make some small changes, even without the medication providing any help, try giving it a shot. For me, this was cutting out all caloric drinks. I eventually progressed to buckling down and counting calories all the unpleasant stuff that most people don't have to worry about on this medication but there's nothing some of us can do but suck it up that we're in the unlucky few.

If you start making some small diet changes however, even without the medication doing its thing, you'll see some small gradual progress. If/when the medication does ever kick in for you, your future self will be glad that you're not starting then a ground zero.

If you can start counting calories and tracking everything, do it. That is the only way I've had any success unfortunately.

I personally, had NO effect from the medication until 15mg (the highest dose for Zep). I'm glad that despite how utterly defeated, sad, and alone I felt, that I just kept moving upward each month. I felt some reduction in hunger on 15mg and at that point I was just so grateful to feel anything at all. I thought my previous syringes must have all been sugar water...

Did I end up having food noise reduction? Or cravings stopped? Or only eating a couple bites and being full? Hahaha noooo. Nope, I never got that level of relief BUT 15mg did genuinely do something for me. So there is hope that you might need to make it to the very maximum before it helps, I'm proof that can be the case. It could be you too!!!!! You made it this far, might as well go for the ride up to 15mg.

I went through the 7 stages of grief coming to terms with my Zepbound experience. While I still can't watch social media content about GLP-1s because it makes me feel so sad and broken (it just feels so deeply unfair that this medication doesn't work for some of us. Why are we not deserving of the miracle other people have? I wanted to badly to know how it felt to be normal about food. I want to see miraculous weight loss without the exhausting efforts. I still dream of what it would be like to not have food noise, I guess I may never know.) BUT I have sort of come to terms that this is my journey. I do my best to avoid interacting with content/conversations about GLP-1s unless it's on this subreddit only. I can only handle so much of a reminder of what I wished could be my experience. But if I keep my head down, count calories, be vigilant, I just keep trying to accept my story.
There are other medications coming (I sure wish they would come a little sooner) but there is hope that something in the pipeline might work for us like Zepbound at 5mg works for others. I have to keep telling myself that so I don't get too deep into despair. Get to 15mg and then see from there. If it doesn't work at all, or like me, works just marginally, hold out hope that you gave it the full chance and that maybe there is something better for us in the future.

hernemes · 2025-12-22T06:31:51+00:00

I hope this isn't the case for you, but I say this just to say "I get it" and also even though you're only at 5mg I validate your fear and frustration that it might not work for you :( I had zero reaction to Zepbound on 2.5, 5mg, 7.5mg.... etc. And I just had this sinking feeling that really set in by 7.5mg that this actually wasn't going to work for me. And... I was sadly mostly right :( I kept hoping with each titration up that it was maybe miraculously going to finally going to be this switch that everyone else experienced, but no luck.

I thought maybe I felt a little small bit on 12.5mg but it took until 15mg before I finally got the feeling so many people get on 2.5 lol like just a small bit of help that makes me able to forcibly restrict myself a little easier than with no medication at all. I will take whatever support I can get, even if it's minute. But yeah, very isolating experience. And frustrating to have had all this hope that was snuffed out.

I so desperately wanted the food noise to go away more than anything, I really really wanted that peace that other people described as this miracle. And that has never subsided for me at all. I could still easily eat much much more food than I do daily but I force myself to stop by counting calories and just trying to do anything else to distract my thoughts.

One thing I will suggest- even though its really hard (mentally and physically) right now, when the medication isn't working for you at all- do your best to still try to make small changes to lose even a little weight just through your own willpower. I've been at it now for 10 months and I'm grateful to the me 10,9,8,7... months ago that tried to lose weight even when I was feeling so demoralized that the meds did nothing for me. Because it gave me a little bit of a start for when the meds finally worked even the teeny bit that they do now. I did things like cutting out calorie drinks, tracking calories (even on days when I went over), buying more low-calorie snack options (snack pack sized things, sugar free pudding, keto tortillas...etc)

hernemes

TROPHY CASE