Becca Jane St Clair

I’ve been on Mounjaro (2.5mg) for one month, and just started the 5mg. Even though I was keepnig weekly records and blogging weekly, I wanted to do a monthly check-in as well as there are some things you notice more after a full month.

First, I wish I had kept a food diary alongside the first month side effects. It might have helped me to identify patterns and what foods were problematic. It also would have helped me to discover if I have any deficiencies in terms of eating balanced meals…and I KNOW I have some because I can go through an entire day and not eat any fruit and sometimes the only vegetable I will have eaten was potatoes or tomatoes in pasta sauce. Not deliberate, just how my meals sometimes went. I did try to start my day off with frozen mixed berries thawed out with either Weetabix or porridge, but I also ate Kellogg’s High Protein Bites a few mornings if I felt like something chocolate.

Eating out was hard. I had the warning from Fiona (my diabetic nurse) of “don’t eat chinese food or greasy foods” and the horror stories from friends that eating overly greasy food would cause diarrhea and vomiting. This past month Tim and I had plans on three out of the four weekends – two involving overnights (one in Leeds, one in Cambridge). It was easy on the first day of the weekend trips to at least make sure I ate decently at breakfast before we left and I would do a pack-up lunch for us both. Dinners could have been troublesome, except that we lucked out and stayed next to a Toby Carvery in Leeds so I was able to have a roast dinner with veg (avoided the cheese topped veg!). In Cambridge, we ordered from the Indian restaurant we really like and I was fully prepared to have to deal with any aftermath, but I also deliberately ordered Tandoori style chicken – which is dry roasted and comes with salad – and shared a saag paneer with Tim.

Did I want to pop into McDonald’s when I was in town for an appointment and grab some nuggets or a burger? Sure. But did I? No. If I was hungry in town, I either went to Subway and had a salad or I ate at the local bagel shop and had a bagel sandwich. It was important to me to not subject myself to the outcome of greasy food. I’m not saying I was a regular eater of fast food, but it sometimes was a convenient option that is now only to be used in an emergency — like if we have been travelling all day and the only place open at our destination is a 24hr McDonald’s.

I learned about portions. Which, I know sounds crazy as an almost 47-yr-old, but hear me out — I never measured out my food. I just put food on my plate and ate it. But I learned this past month that I don’t need as much food as I thought I did — even a salad, which I love, can be too big if I keep piling the bowl high with veg. I even only drank half (250ml) of a can of Cider! But I’m learning, and that’s the important part.

I had my monthly check-up with Fiona on Monday and before I went in, I took some measurements again. I measured around my belly, my hips, and under my breasts. I lost 3.5 inches overall in the past month as a pleasant surprise. And another unexpected side effect is I lost 5lbs. Like I said from the beginning, I’m not on Mounjaro for the weight loss, but if it happens it’ll be a nice little bonus. I just want my blood sugars under control…even though I never knew they were out of control.

Speaking with Fiona, I was chalking some of the side effects to perimenopause instead of my diabetes like being extra tired, needing to pee more frequently, and having a dry mouth. However, we have decided to check my hormone levels next month when I have my blood work done just to see where I’m at in terms of perimenopause in case I do need support there.

We upped my dose to 5mg now. The current plan is to stay on 5mg for at least 2 months (assuming I can handle the side effects) and then see where we’re at. I might need to go higher, I might not. Someone left me a comment on my Week 1 blog and stated that the NHS doesn’t prescribe above 5mg. I asked Fiona about it and she said that wasn’t true, that you can go all the way up to 15mg if needed, so it might vary from trust to trust. At any rate, I’m hoping I handle 5mg. Fiona said the side effects might increase, and if I find it intolerable, she can drop me back down to 2.5. But I’m going to give it a go. We also checked my blood just with the glucose monitor, which I don’t do at home, and Fiona was pleased with the number, but it still has a bit to come down.

I will continue to post weekly updates at least each time I change dosage for the first month, and then always a monthly update at least while I’m having monthly appointments with Fiona. Once things settle down, these posts will likely only be every three months. (Though I probably need to buy a scale if I’m not seeing Fiona monthly…)

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Previous Posts about Mounjaro:
Mounjaro for Type 2 Diabetes
Mounjaro for Type 2 Diabetes Week One
Mounjaro for Type 2 Diabetes Week 2
Mounjaro For Tyep 2 Diabetes Week 3
Mounjaro for Thpe 2 Diabetes Week 4