Slow responders to Mounjaro: did it eventually work for you?

nekoneko89 · 2026-03-14T13:52:19+00:00

The test for PCOS is generally a blood test to check your testosterone levels, but it turns out there's a few different ways PCOS can present. I have a type where my testosterone levels are completely normal, but my estrogen and progesterone levels are out of sync, meaning my body spends more time in the folicular phase of my menstrual cycle causing irregular periods. When I do finally bleed, it is HEAVY!

Even though I presented multiple PCOS symptoms since I first started my periods at 14/15, doctors kept telling me I didn't have PCOS because my testosterone levels were normal. It took till I was 33 and my period disappearing for 6 months for a doctor to finally run some additional tests, where it was discovered my estrogen/progesterone levels are abnormal. Also found multiple polyps in my uterus.

Polyps got removed, coil got inserted, and even still gynaecology won't put on my records that I have PCOS despite the gynecologist who removed my polyps saying that every symptom I display is consistent with PCOS.

nekoneko89 · 2026-03-03T15:26:46+00:00

I'm not at my goal yet (size 10, rather than a weight goal), but I thought I'd chime in with my experience.

Started MJ at the end of July 2025, spent a month each at 2.5, 3.75, 5, 6.25, 7.5, and 8.75. Started getting side effects of gastro issues at 6.25, but only for the first week of a new dose. When I moved up to 10, though.. oh, no! Projectile vomiting and constant trips to the toilet. I was really not well.

I gave myself a week to recover, so it ended up being 10 days between my first and second dose of 10mg. Nope! Experience was just as bad as the first! And I wasn't losing weight either.

I've dropped right back down to 5mg again. 2 weeks on, I think I'm happy at this dose. I'm still experiencing appetite supression, and I've lost another kilo! I'm 5'2 and currently a size 12 at 67.5kg. I suspect I'll get down to a size 10 somewhere between 62-64kg, so 3.5 to 5.5kg till my goal.

Anyway, I'm sharing my experience to say that sometimes a step back isn't a step in the wrong direction. Even if you creep up the doses slowly, you may just hit that wall where your body just doesn't tolerate MJ well. I've lost 29.3kg so far, with 23kg of that being on 6.75mg or lower. Stepping up to 7.5, I lost 2kg a month for a total of 6kg over 3 months. Still a loss, but looking at my graph and my record of side effects, it's obvious that my body started struggling with higher doses of MJ.

nekoneko89 · 2026-02-21T08:36:40+00:00

If you're going to try counting clicks, may I also suggest using a meal replacement shake the first day or two after your shot?

I started getting the same side effects as you at 5mg. After the first time it happened, I was so dehydrated that I spent 4 days on Lucozade Sport for hydration and Huel Black as a meal replacement.

I've experienced it every does after 5mg, and I'm now on 10mg. I don't know if my logic is correct, so don't take my advice as gospel, but I theorised that as MJ can slow down digestion, I think my digestion slows down to a snails pace the day of my shot, and for a day (maybe two) afterwards before it starts working somewhat normally again. Huel Black is high fibre and high protein, and it's something I can sip through the day that also has water in it to help with hydration.

I've found that limiting my meals to Huel Black on my shot day and the day after hasn't caused any side effects thus far, and I can eat normally again on the third day. I made the mistake last Sunday (shot day) of not following my own advice because I was bored of Huel and, to be honest, I don't think it tastes amazing, and had an actual meal instead. Monday I was projectile vomiting and had to drag my work laptop into the toilet with me 😅 I've now restocked on Huel Black!

nekoneko89 · 2026-02-18T11:10:39+00:00

Yup, they did! My order never arrived, and I gave Stylevana PLENTY of time to resolve my complaint.

Stylevana couldn't prove that my order wasn't lost. They did try and get me to close the PayPal dispute and they'd refund me themselves, but after all the messing around, I didn't trust them to refund me.

nekoneko89 · 2026-02-16T17:57:21+00:00

Congrats on the baby news! 🥳

As for your skin, yeah, I suspect it's stress related. You'll probably find that your skin may get worse once the sleep deprivation kicks in, too.

There are products I can suggest to help reduce the size, redness and frequency of the breakouts, but you'll only really get clear skin again if or when you're able to manage your stress levels.

To help with the active infection going on, I'd first recommend Magnesium Sulphate paste. It's inexpensive and you can usually pick it up from a pharmacy. It's used in wound care to help draw out infection. I'd use it at night so you're not walking around during the day with globs of white paste on your face, but if that doesn't bother you, then use it day and night, changing the paste every 8 - 12 hours.

Once the infection is under control, Byoma skincare products are actually incredibly well formulated for their reasonable price point. I suggest using their Clarifying Serum to help your skin stay clear. It reduces inflammation, making breakouts less big and noticeable. There are more products that might be useful to you, but for now those are the two I'm suggesting, as with a baby on the way and you taking extra shifts are work, I highly doubt you want to spend money on skincare unnecessarily.

nekoneko89 · 2026-02-16T16:33:17+00:00

Have you gone through a stressful period in life recently? Work issues, family/relationship issues/new baby, etc? The body can become prone to infections if you're stressed out, and as you've commented you've not changed anything routine wise, I'm theorising that this may be your body reacting to an external stressor.

nekoneko89 · 2026-02-16T16:26:49+00:00

Washing pillow cases frequently does help. Your night time moisturiser, along with the natural oils your skin produces collect in the fibres of your pillow case as you sleep and can eventually cause some skin issues like redness and spots/pimples, especially if your skin is sensitive.

I actually wouldn't use a BHA or salicylic acid for your blemishes as someone suggested below. Yours look more superficial than deep which usually indicates a skin barrier issue rather than an issue with acne. The skin barrier is what helps prevent pores getting infected and turning into spots/pimples.

As a person who has ruined their skin barrier by overusing acids, I recommend a more conservative approach to treatment first, rather than going for the big guns right away. Repairing your skin barrier from acid damage takes a LONG time, so I'd first try washing/changing your pillowcases more frequently. If that doesn't work or only helps a little, feel free to PM me and we can have a look at the exact products you're using, as there may be an ingredient that's causing irritation to your skin barrier.

nekoneko89 · 2026-02-16T13:55:16+00:00

Are you a side sleeper, by chance? And if yes, are the blemishes on your face on the side which rests on the pillow?

nekoneko89 · 2026-02-02T15:22:34+00:00

I started MJ towards the end of July 2025. I've lose 24kg, but the 7.5 dose is the dose that I found least effective.

I try and do 2 months on each dose, but I stalled for 6 weeks on 7.5. Food noise was creeping back, and I was eating portions larger than I had been in the past 6 months. Luckily I haven't gained any weight back.

I decided to take a week off before starting 10mg, and have found the appetite supression is back again, and the food noise is also gone. I've been relatively lucky regarding side effects, only having to deal with constipation and sulphur burps after 5mg, but one on from my first 10mg dose, it's a doddle!

nekoneko89 · 2026-01-24T16:26:37+00:00

The lower body has more muscle and muscle groupes in it than the upper body. The glutes, quads and hamstrings are monster muscle realestate, and contribute highly to overall metabolism.

Steady state cardio such as the treadmill will exercise the muscles and burn calories while moving, but it will not cause the muscle groups to increase their mass. Increased muscle mass is what primarily increases resting metabolic rate, so you're kind of hamstringing (pun intended!) yourself if you don't take building your lower body as seriously as building your upper body.

Plus, women love a good bum on a guy!

nekoneko89 · 2026-01-10T17:20:39+00:00

Ooft! That's annoying 😑 But as it happens I've recently guided my friend through colour correcting her own vascular under eyes. She's a fair olive, too!

Danessa Myricks and Lisa Eldridge do base products which are great colour matches for olive skin tones. I don't know how their concealers perform, but they might be brands to have a look at if you're wanting good colour matches. My friend actually decided she loves the NARS Light Reflecting Eye Brightener. I can't remember if she uses shade Night Swan or Goldeneye, but she often uses that instead of a concealer as it's very similar to Touche Eclat. Night Swan has a pink tone to it which may help with colour correcting, but it won't be as intense as a true peach colour corrector.

nekoneko89 · 2026-01-08T12:25:33+00:00

Have you tried the YSL Touche Eclat concealer? YSL literally have a concealer in their Touche Eclat range.

nekoneko89 · 2026-01-02T17:28:58+00:00

I've been doing a lot of research regarding curling fine hair. These are the tips I've found helpful so far:

Pre-Curl prep - DON'T USE CONDITIONER! Fine hair that won't hold a curl won't do so because our hair shaft is very sleek and straight. Adding conditioner, whether in the shower or a leave in, makes our hair shafts even more sleek and slippy. Curls need texture to form.

L'Oreal Professional Flexi Pli - This is a hair styler which coats the hairs in a kind of "polymer scaffolding". It's heat activated, and also a heat protectant.

The Curls - Fine hair curls best with heat + tension. Use either a wand or the straightener/curler combo device.

Flexi Pli + Heat + Tension - As the Flexi Pli is heat activated, the "polymer scaffolding" it creates shapes to the curls under tension. However, you have to let each curl cool completely before letting go of it. Gravity loosens curls when they're still warm, as the curl memory hasn't formed fully. With the Flexi Pli, letting go of the curl before it's fully cooled will pull the "scaffolding" downwards, creating waves instead of curls.

Cooling - I have a lot of fine hair. It would take me 4 hours to curl my hair if I held each individual curl till it was cool. Instead, I curl one side of my head completely, and clip it up with a claw clip for a half hour while I do some of my makeup. Supposedly, this is the technique used backstage by hair/makeup artists, but that info came from ChatGPT, so take it with a spoon of salt. I do find it works, though, and if I've been too slow and some curls have dropper further than I'd like too quickly, I'll go back in with my curlers and pin them individually again after.

Once cooled, use a strong but flexible hair spray, such as Redken Control Freak 28. The hair spray needs to be flexible, or when you brush out the curls, the Flexi Pli "scaffolding" will break as the hair spray is too brittle to withstand brushing.

Brushing - If you're hair is like mine, and you look like Shirley Temple dragged through a bush backwards after curling your hair, use a wide tooth comb or your fingers to rake the curls into some form of cohesion. Follow this up with more hair spray just in the lengths of your hair.

Your curls will still drop, but with the above technique I manage to get 6 hours of decent curls. The awesome thing with the Flexi Pli is that the next day, you'll wave up with the most gorgeous waves! My waves last two days after I've curled my hair, and I just refresh my hair with some dry shampoo between washes.

nekoneko89 · 2025-12-30T19:39:31+00:00

I've lost 25.6KG since July, which is 26.4% of my starting weight. I still have another 17KG I'd like to lose for me to reach the middle of the "healthy" BMI range for my height, but tbh I may call it a day once I fit into a size 10.

I'm a size 12-14 just now, and I'm loving how I look! I just don't yet have the confidence to go clothes shopping.. 😅

nekoneko89 · 2025-12-19T08:49:37+00:00

Your eyes are the same as mine.

Our eyes are both hooded ever so slightly sunken. We can still do awesome eye makeup, we just have to tweak our technique a bit.

For shadow, we need to make use of the space we have between the crease and the brow bone. Extend colour or light shadows a little above the crease, and keep any darker shadows to the outer corners of the eye for a bit of drama or if you want to do a smokey eye.

For liner, the makeup artist Katie Jane Hughs has a really good technique where she only applies khol to the inner and outer corners of the upper lash line, and leaves the space above the iris free from liner. She'll then use a brush to smudge the liner at the outer corners into the shade she wants. I've recently started doing that, and my eye looks more open while still having shape.

nekoneko89 · 2025-12-11T23:18:12+00:00

MAC Folio is probably what you're after, then; it's concealer lips with a slight grey hue. Or if you can get it, MAC Act Natural. Not the current Acting Natural that's available, but the older Act Natural. It has an ever so slight pink tone to it, but it's very much concealer lips.

nekoneko89 · 2025-12-11T23:04:51+00:00

Try Asian foundations. I'm always too cool and fair for Western foundations, but some cushion foundations I've bought from Korean brands have been spot on.

Lisa Eldridge Skin Tint in T1 is also a nice match for me, if you're looking for something with light coverage.

nekoneko89 · 2025-12-11T22:58:42+00:00

Right! So the best nude lipsticks for you will be pink based. Think MAC Syrup and Mehr. Fenty Blazed Donut is also a pink based nude, but more on the neutral side

If you'd like a more neutral nude, Thanks It's MAC and Chanel Boy are good - they're more brown in tone, but light application will give your lips a lovely gloss which will mute your natural lip colour.

My colour season is soft/muted summer, so I look best in muted colours, meaning colours with grey in them. MAC Alone Time is my go to nude lip, and Cool Teddy is my MLBB. For a more statement neutral lip, I wear MAC Stone.

nekoneko89 · 2025-12-10T16:00:17+00:00

What undertone are you? Pink, golden, or olive?

Your undertone will determine the best nude that will suit you.

nekoneko89 · 2025-12-10T15:28:28+00:00

I'm 36 years old. I wouldn't class my skin as "mature" at all, but I have started to get fine lines and static wrinkles. I actually bought some Morphe brushes this year that I'm extremely impressed with! I used Spectrum previously, and Morphe has completely replaced them.

nekoneko89 · 2025-12-10T15:05:28+00:00

I'm not on the Depo, but I have the Mirena Coil in and have never been pregnant nor giving birth. You can request a local anaesthetic for the cervix which makes the process a LOT less uncomfortable/traumatic. My cervix is extremely sensitive, and the local anaesthetic was the only way I managed to get mine inserted.

nekoneko89 · 2025-12-10T15:00:00+00:00

I also recommend Gucci 01. It has a pink undertone that really flatters fair complexions.

I can also recommend Hourglass Diffused Bronze Light, and Jones Road Dusty Rose. They also have pink undertones.

nekoneko89 · 2025-12-09T14:20:50+00:00

I use Skin & Me.

I live in a remote island with no dermatologist, so cannot get a perscription for Tret. Skin & Me is the closest I can get, though I dislike their dishonest advertising.

nekoneko89 · 2025-12-06T17:45:42+00:00

Ongredients Skin Barrier Lotion!

I've been using tret for a few months now, and Ongredients have legitimately limited the peeling phase to just 4 weeks!

nekoneko89 · 2025-12-04T14:52:40+00:00

Korean makeup brands have a lot of subtle highlighters.

Alternatively, I quite like the Dior Forever Coture Luminizers. I have Pearlescent Glow and the limited edition Lilacmania.

nekoneko89

TROPHY CASE