Becca Jane St Clair

The past six months have been life changing. In September 2025, I was admitted to the hospital for an emergency abscess excision. While in hospital, they naturally, took blood and the results prior to the surgery indicated that my HBA1c was 103. This was BAD. Very VERY bad. But I had no idea that the Metformin was no longer working for me. The only thing I knew was that a few times per week, I would get sick shortly after taking the Metformin and I had no idea if I had actually managed to keep the medication in me or not. I hadn’t really made the correlation between the Metformin and the being sick, as I have a pretty rough stomach to begin with and food intolerances that creep up on me, so honestly being sick is just something I’ve got used to over the years as you never know when something I’m allergic or intolerant to will accidentally be in something, or if I don’t see the item in the ingredients the first two times. Well, apparently this was a sign that my body just was not tolerating Metformin.

As I mentioned in my first post about Mounjaro, I was dealing with a bad Hidradenitis Suppurativa flair in my groin near the surgery site (Still dealing with it almost a year later, but that’s for another post!). The wound care nurse I had been seeing put in a request for my GP to evaluate me and I was instantly told to make an appointment immediately. The appointment turned out to be with the diabetic nurse.

After discussing what was going on with the Metformin, and of course, my 103 result back in September, her recommended course of action was to start Mounjaro. I will admit, I was on the fence about it. All I really knew about it was that it was a diabetic drug FIRST, but then people discovered it helped with weight loss and it was expensive without a NHS prescription. So I was worried about going on Mounjaro more for the social stigma around it as well as availability if people were buying it up off prescription. But all of my questions were answered, my fears assuaged and I started my first dose in March.

I was on 2.5mg for one month, 5mg for one, 7.5 for two, and I’ve been on 10mg for the past two months and will remain on 10mg. Because….

My HBA1c was 42. After six months. After two, it had already lowered down to 65. 42 is “pre-diabetic” if you aren’t diagnosed with diabetes. Now, my history with T2 is actually interesting. I was diagnosed in March 2012 after having bloodwork done for unrelated reasons — however, I also have PCOS, which can cause insulin resistance as well. I was diagnosed with a glucose test that they no longer use and I was told about 10 years ago that if I had been tested for diabetes for the first time THEN, I wouldn’t have been diagnosed based on the numbers I had at the time. However, the diagnoses was there and I managed for many years just on Metformin, still not knowing for sure if I was actually diabetic or if it was just the PCOS. I had many years of my blood results being in the “non-diabetic” range after my diagnosis….until about five years ago when things started to go up and up. But 42 is actually lower than what my HBA1c was when I was originally diagnosed (it was 50)!

So I’ll be on Mounjaro for the foreseeable future. It’s working, and I honestly prefer the once a week jab to pills anyway, even though I am also on a pill (dapagliflozin)

So what symptoms have I been dealing with over the past six months? Initially, I had diarrhea and very bad Sulphur burps. The diarrhea lasted for the first couple months, and the burps lasted a bit longer. I experienced extreme coldness in April and May, but since then we’ve been in a heatwave in the UK so if I was feeling cool, it was actually a good thing! It will be interesting to see if I get extremely cold as we enter autumn and winter. The diarrhea calmed down in time for constipation to settle in. Initially, it got to the point where I was crying trying to use the toilet. Fortunately, this has been remedied by Lactulose. I have learned that I need to take it a few times per week in order to keep myself from getting constipated. I also have tried to increase my water intake and I eat dried prunes regularly. I also added Psyllium to my morning Weetabix or porridge…when I actually remember.

My eating habits have changed too. I have had fast food twice since March – both times were while travelling when it couldn’t be avoided. We had takeaway three or four times (twice while we had a guest for 5 weeks). Prior to starting Mounjaro? Fast food or takeaway was probably at least twice/month. If I was in town it wasn’t unknown for me to grab a burger. Now, I eat a sandwich at M&S or I get Subway if I’m in town.

I still eat out at pubs, but I pick carefully. Some pubs are great and will swap chips out for salad or even air fry the chips instead of deep frying. I generally stick to gammon or salmon as my food choices. Even when we were at Beamish, and there was the coal fired chippy, I stuck to my better choices and had a hot sandwich in the tea shop instead.

Cooking at home has improved, too. I monthly meal plan for my husband and I because his schedule means he is only home for meals 15 days out of most months, and it’s easier for me to plan those 15 days in one go and then I fill in with what I want to do for myself when he’s at work — and I’ve got better at actually cooking for myself when I’m alone, too. So many days when Tim was at work I would just eat a bowl of cereal, toast, etc. But now I actually cook food — and I make lots of leftovers.

My appetite has gone down to the point that some days I struggle to eat anything. Some mornings I can make my usual breakfast – 2 weetabix, (thawed) frozen berries, and greek yogurt and I’ll only eat 2/3 of it. Or I’ll make a sandwich for Lunch and leave a few bites behind. I have learned not to feel bad if I don’t finish the food on my plate and if it’s enough to save, I’ll save it for later. Sometimes I will pick at a plate for hours just as and when I feel the need to eat.

Sweets – particularly the tangy/sour ones – are still a weakness for me. I was never a big chocolate eater even before I was diagnosed 14 years ago so chocolate has never been an issue. I don’t use sugar in my tea, but I do enjoy a dollop of honey on occasion. I can still have this and eat the occasional handful of Nerd Clusters or Percy Pig Phizzy Tails.

As far as carbs go…I haven’t eliminated them. I did do low-carb after I was first diagnosed in 2012, and I did lose a bit of weight while doing it…but I also was miserable. Some people are fine going low carb and if it works for you – great! But I really like being able to occasionally have pasta and I like sandwiches. I did start making bread in the breadmachine again, which while not reducing carbs, does reduce the amount of sugar and other stuff that goes into commercial bread.

What other differences have I noticed? I’ve lost 4KG since starting and around 10 inches off my body overall. A friend of mine in May told me that my forearms looked thinner. He commented that he knew it was an odd thing to notice, but considering I have a tattoo on my forearm and I barely wear sleeves, it was something noticeable. I also noticed the other day that my thighs aren’t swishing against each other as badly when I walk and run. I went from wearing XL to L in some clothing — even down to M for a skirt from Primark! Some of my favourite dresses that were purchased as XXL are getting too big and I’m going to have to find a seamstress to pay to size them down at some point as the designs are no longer available.

Overall, I’m extremely happy with my journey so far. I’m thrilled my A1c is lowered, and I’m taking the weight loss as a bonus.

In terms of updating my blog…I’m not sure I will have much to say monthly, but I will keep everyone updated at least at the one year mark and possibly if I have any interim things related to Mounjaro to discuss.

You can read all my previous posts about Mounjaro here:https://www.blog.beccajanestclair.com/mounjaro-for-type-2/

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The contents of this post, including images are © Rebecca J Lockley and Tim Lockley unless otherwise stated and should not be reproduced without permission.

I have not received compensation from any companies mentioned in my post.

I am not a Doctor or Nurse and the information contained in this blog post is meant for information purposes only. Please consult your GP with any health related questions.

For full Copyright and Disclaimer, please read http://www.blog.beccajanestclair.com/copyright/

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Last month was my first trip away with my Mounjaro pen. I had been on weekend trips coming home before Monday (my shot day), but our annual road trip to Germany was the first time since starting on Mounjaro that I would need to take it with me.

First, I knew I needed a smaller sharps bin for travel. I found these in a three pack for £8.50. My original plan was to use one on this trip and then I would have one for our December trip. However, when we arrived back home, I discovered that I didn’t lock shut the sharps container on th last day and I could actually dump the needles (from Mounjaro and my glucose monitor) straight into my larger sharps bin out of the opening and re-use this on another trip! Probably not how they intended for you to use this, but it worked.

I also needed a way to keep the pen cool through travel as while it can survive at room temperature, I felt more comfortable keeping it between the recommended 2°C-8°C. We had around 18 hours of drive time, plus an overnight in a hotel. Fortunately, the hotel we stayed at the first night put my entire case directly into their fridge for me, but the case I bought claimed to keep things cold for “at least 48 hours” plus an additional 12 if I hadn’t had that option.

Of course, I had to test out the claims of the kit before we went away. I didn’t put my Mounjaro pen inside the kit during testing, but I did check the temperature frequently using the thermometer provided — which I also learned was touch sensitive so I had to be careful not to touch the bottom of the thermometer or it would start to rise!

The instructions state to freeze the blue container for no more than 8 hours, so I popped that into the freezer around 1400, and took it out at 2200, then I went to sleep.

I checked it 10 hours later, and the temperature was 2°C. At the 20 hour mark, it had risen to 3°C. It wasn’t until the 61st hour that it started to register a temperature over 8°C and after 78 hours, it had risen to 14°C. 14 is not ideal, but technically fine as like I said above, the pens CAN survive outside the fridge. But somewhere between 49 and 61 hours seemed to be the maximum, which was actually a little better than the 48 claimed!

The kit also comes with a white bottle you are told to fill with “ice cold water” to give yourself another 12 hours of “emergency cool”. Since I wasn’t entirely sure if I’d have access to ice, but we would have our regular cooler along, I filled the white bottle with tap water and put it in the fridge to cool it off while the blue bottle was being used. The claims on the listing are that it will “extend the cooling time for up to 12 hours”, but not that it would keep it below 8. (“up to 25°C”). I took the freezer bottle out when it was 14°C on the inside, and swapped over to the white tap water bottle.

After three and a half hours, the bottle was back down to 8°C, but by 10 hours it had risen back to 11°C. At the 12-hour mark, it was 13°C, which is still within their range and after 16 hours, it was back to 14°C, which again, is still under the 25°C claim.

The kit also comes with two fabric sleeves for the pens, though I’m not entirely sure why. I used one anyway. The bottle says it only holds 1 Mounjaro pen, but I experimented at home with my expired pen and new pen just to see and you can fit two pens in, though it will take small fingers and a bit of jiffling to get them out again. Fortunately, my hands are child sized!

The last item I picked up for the trip was an accidental purchase in that I hadn’t realised I was getting 60 of the buggers. I wanted a sticker to put on the outside of the cannister to indicate it was medical equipment, so I reccomend getting a smaller pack!

The canister came with a QR code sticker that you could also go onto the website to register the canister and add a small message so if you leave it behind somewhere, it can be returned to you if someone scans the QR code.

Now, the very last thing I took along was a letter from my GP explaining that I was on a medication that required needle therapy, and then I translated this into both French and German (and I will get it translated into Dutch for December) so if I was stopped and it was examined, I had permission to have needles. This wasn’t an issue travelling by car, but could be necessary if you are travelling by air where your items will go through security screening. Translating it might have been overkill, but I wanted to be covered for both our port of entry (France) and our final destination (Germany). I will add Dutch in December because Rotterdam is our usual port of entry when we use the ferry.

While we were in the car, I added the case to our cooler for an extra layer of refrigeration and I kept the white emergency bottle in the cooler as well. When we stopped for longer than a quick loo break, I took the case with me in my handbag so it wouldn’t heat up in the hot car. We were staying in apartments/houses for the duration of our trip except for the first night, but I contacted the hotel ahead of time and asked if they could put my medication in their fridge for me and it was no problem.

I highly recommend this case for travel and I feel confident that it will be fine for me if we are travelling on the overnight ferry in December without a fridge to store it in.

***
The contents of this post, including images are © Rebecca J Lockley and Tim Lockley unless otherwise stated and should not be reproduced without permission.

I have not received compensation from any companies mentioned in my post. This post contains affiliate Amazon links.

I am not a Doctor or Nurse and the information contained in this blog post is meant for information purposes only. Please consult your GP with any health related questions.

For full Copyright and Disclaimer, please read http://www.blog.beccajanestclair.com/copyright/

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Read about my Mounjaro journey: https://www.blog.beccajanestclair.com/mounjaro-for-type-2/

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A lot has happened in the past month, including bumping my dose up to 7.5mg and our Summer holiday to Germany!

We decided to move me up to 7.5mg one week before our holiday, but the pharmacy didn’t have 7.5 in stock, so I was given instructions on how to get 7.5 out of a 5mg pen and picked up the new pen later in the week. At the same time as all of this was starting, I developed a UTI. UTIs are common in diabetics, and honestly I feel pretty lucky that I didn’t get one until now! I started feeling a little off and having that burning while you’re peeing sensation on a Friday. I had some UTI testing strips in my medicine cabinet (I had purchased them a few months ago) and it tested positive on Saturday morning. Fortunately, the pharmacist can issue antibiotics and I received a 3-day supply. After the 3 days, I re-tested and it still came back positive, so after contacting my GP, I was issued with a full week of antibiotics to take with me to Germany.

Antibiotics cause constipation. Mounjaro, even though the initial doses can cause diarrhoea, also can cause constipation*. Yeah, you can see where this is going! The entire time we were away, I was feeling just awful. Still had a good time, but oh man. When I returned from our trip, the situation just got worse and I was physically crying while trying to go….so I was prescribed a light laxative. After about 3 days, it’s sorted me out.

I also was having the sulphur/egg burps again while away. I didn’t know if it was due to the increase in dose, or if it was being away and not eating my usual foods, but it was pretty awful. These burps are not ordinary burps as I’ve stated before…they hurt. They leave my stomach in agony and again, it’s just not a pleasant experience. Especially considering how much better I was doing the previous month, it really upset me that I felt like I was taking a step backwards. Now that I’ve been home for over a week, the burps have calmed down, so I can only assumne it had something to do with my diet while I was away. This does seem a bit odd though as we do self catering and I was careful about not over indulging and in a few instances I wasn’t even very hungry. In fact, over the entire two-week trip, we only drank 1 bottle of wine, 1 bottle of sparkling wine, and 2 bottles of spritzers between the two of us. So even my holiday drinking was curbed a bit!

I’ve settled into a routine with testing my blood in the morning. I have a set of plastic drawers on a shelving unit in the kitchen that I use for all my medical things and I keep my monitor in it. So every morning when I walk into the kitchen, I put on the kettle and then test my blood. I write it down in my diary an then later transfer all the information into my journal. I know I could probably use an app, but there are some things I still want to do old school. My numbers are still all over. Sometimes in the morning it will be as high as 8 or 9, other mornings it will be in the 6.5-8 range. Time of day doesn’t seem to affect it and neither does drinking alcohol the night before. However I did notice when I accidentally ate some dried fruit about a half hour before testing, my number was over 9, and then once I waited a few hours and restested it was back down to 6.5.

At my monthly appointment with Fiona, we decided I would stay on 7.5 for another month, then increase it up to 10. We’re hopeful that 10 will be the correct dose going forward. Surprisingly, Fiona said she doesn’t need to see me in another month, so I’ve scheduled an appointment with her in 2 months, where we will do another blood draw to see where my HBA1c is at.

We have added Dapagliflozin to my daily routine. This is a diabetic medication that will protect my kidneys and liver. The downside is it makes you pee a lot and you have to drink a lot of water while on it or you will risk dehydration (and then…constipation again).

Oh, and in case you’re wondering about travelling with the Mounjaro pen…I will have a review post up about the cool case I used at some point!

Weight wise, I have gone down another kg. My measurements didn’t seem to move, but again, this isn’t the focus so I’m not overly concerned, though it is nice to almost be into the next stone bracket down. If I want to get down to my previous lowest weight, I have about 25lbs until I’m back to that weight. I don’t have a goal weight in mind though as right now I just want to focus on my health and getting my numbers into normal ranges.

*I know this sounds really bizarre, but basically, the first doses of Mounjaro alter your hormones and the way you digest food, which can cause initial diarrhoea for the first few months as your body adjusts. Then, as your body adjusts and the Mounjaro does its job by slowing down your digestive system it can cause the constipation.

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The contents of this post, including images are © Rebecca J Lockley and Tim Lockley unless otherwise stated and should not be reproduced without permission.

I have not received compensation from any companies mentioned in my post.

I am not a Doctor or Nurse and the information contained in this blog post is meant for information purposes only. Please consult your GP with any health related questions.

For full Copyright and Disclaimer, please read http://www.blog.beccajanestclair.com/copyright/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blog.beccajanestclair
Twitter: https://twitter.com/annaonthemoon
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beccajanestclair
Blog: http://blog.beccajanestclair.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/beccajanestclair
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/annaonthemoon.bsky.social
Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/annaonthemoon79

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 Type 2 Diabetes Week 3
Mounjaro for Type 2 Diabetes Week 4
Mounjaro After One Month
Mounjaro for Type 2 Diabetes Week 5 / Week 1 5mg
Mounjaro for Type 2 Diabetes Week 6
Mounjaro for Type 2 Diabetes Weeks 7&8
Mounjaro for Type 2 Diabetes 2 Months On
Three Months of Mounjaro

I’ve now been on Mounjaro for three months and honestly, everything is going fantastic. I was on 5mg again this month, increasing to 7.5 for month 4. I barely have needed to write down any new or strange side effects, though I’m still experiencing things like diarrhoea and burping, though not to the extreme of needing anything other than a swing of Pepto.

At my appointment, we went over the results of the blood test, and even though it’s still high, it was a positive downward move by nearly 50%. So we’re happy with that, but we did decide to increase my dose to 7.5mg and then see where we’re at. Obviously, at any time I can go back down to a lower dose if I find the side effects too much to manage. I’m also going to be adding dapagliflozin after we get back from our holiday in June to see if that helps.

I also wanted to address some of the misconceptions around getting prescribed Mounjaro on the NHS for the treatment of Type 2 Diabetes. From the NHS:

In line with NICE technology appraisal (TA) 924, Tirzepatide is recommended as an option for treating type 2 Diabetes in adults, alongside diet and exercise, only if blood glucose is inadequately controlled and:

Triple therapy with metformin and two other oral antidiabetic drugs is ineffective, not tolerated, or contraindicated, and
The patient has a BMI of 35 kg/m² or more with specific psychological or other medical problems associated with obesity, or
The patient has a BMI of less than 35 kg/m², and:
Insulin therapy would have significant occupational implications, or
Weight loss would benefit other significant obesity-related complications.

And there also is no cap on the dosage. If you need to go up to 15mg to get your Diabetes under control, you will go up to 15mg. They won’t, however, increase your dose for the sake of weight loss if your blood sugar is controlled with a lower dose.

The guidelines for getting Mounjaro for weight loss on the NHS are as follows:

Have a body mass index (BMI) of 40 kg/m² or more (or 37.5 kg/m² for people from minority ethnic family backgrounds)
and

Have at least four of the following long-term conditions:

1. Type 2 diabetes
2. Hypertension (high blood pressure)
3. Dyslipidaemia
4. Established cardiovascular disease
5. Obstructive sleep apnoea

So you can see where the confusion has come from and where some people are misinformed. It’s also weird that T2 is one of the conditions for getting it for weight loss, but presumably, this is if your T2 is controlled with another drug and you didn’t need mounjaro for controlling it.

I had a long discussion with Fiona about this, because of what people had been telling me were the criteria and knowing I didn’t fit them. It turns out, they were telling me the criteria for using it for weight-loss and not T2. She assured me that I am eligible for it and there is no danger of me being told that I can no longer have it in the future. It will, however, always be my choice if I stay on mounjaro or try something else, but since Metformin stopped working and this is, I can’t see myself stopping.

The other new thing is that I am now testing my morning (fasting) blood glucose level. This is primarily to monitor how well the mounjaro is doing since I am currently not in danger of hypos. I forgot to ask Fiona how to use the monitor though, so I had to go in and see a different nurse the following day. She suggested I could test 4 times per day and keep a food diary to see what foods affected me, but it wasn’t required and considering my problems I had with Slimming World stemmed from all the tracking, I’m not going to do that unless Fiona tells me that I absolutely have to.

There also was no new weight loss this month, which is a little discouraging, but I’ve lost additional inches off my bust, belly, and hips. Fiona thinks the 7.5 will help with losing a bit of weight. Again, I’m not aiming to lose, but it would be a happy side-effect for sure.

Roll on month 4. I might not do weekly updates for 7.5, because I will be away for weeks 3 & 4, but I will make a four month post.

***

Sources Used:
Tirzepatide (Mounjaro®) for obesity: Information for patients from 1 April 2026

The contents of this post, including images are © Rebecca J Lockley and Tim Lockley unless otherwise stated and should not be reproduced without permission.

I have not received compensation from any companies mentioned in my post.

I am not a Doctor or Nurse and the information contained in this blog post is meant for information purposes only. Please consult your GP with any health related questions.

For full Copyright and Disclaimer, please read http://www.blog.beccajanestclair.com/copyright/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blog.beccajanestclair
Twitter: https://twitter.com/annaonthemoon
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beccajanestclair
Blog: http://blog.beccajanestclair.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/beccajanestclair
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/annaonthemoon.bsky.social
Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/annaonthemoon79

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 Type 2 Diabetes Week 3
Mounjaro for Type 2 Diabetes Week 4
Mounjaro After One Month
Mounjaro for Type 2 Diabetes Week 5 / Week 1 5mg
Mounjaro for Type 2 Diabetes Week 6
Mounjaro for Type 2 Diabetes Weeks 7&8
Mounjaro for Type 2 Diabetes 2 Months On

This second month on Mounjaro was also my first month on 5mg, and you can read about weeks 5-8 by following the links at the bottom of this post.

I’m definitely settling in to taking it. I have a bit of a system now where on a Monday I take it about a half hour before I go to bed so that if there’s anything side effect wise, it’s not interrupting my day.

Speaking of side effects – everything has improved. My digestive system seems to be around 85% on board with the new medication and while I’m still burping, they’re not nearly as foul. I mean, they’re still icky, but that first month they were clear the room foul! According to most of the documentation I’ve read, the burps can last as long as 5-6 months. So, I think it’s just a case of deal with it. I also didn’t need immodium at all this past month and I used pepto twice. The horrible cramp seems to have gone away – I only experienced in on weeks 1 & 2 with the 5mg, though weeks 3 & 4 I took preventative ibuprofen after the shot. At my appointment with Fiona, she suggested I try giving myself the shot further around my belly to prevent the odd sensation that had been going into my groin right after giving myself the shot.

The one side effect that is easiest to deal with and hasn’t gone away is feeling cold fairly constantly unless I’m having a hot flash. But this is easily countered with jumpers, thick socks, and blankets. The only times I seem to not be extremely cold is in bed, and my nights are still spent with the blanket on/blanket off issue that seems to plague most of my perimenopausal friends.

I had my bloods done after this month, and saw my results a few days later in the NHS app. YES, it’s still high. NO, I’m not concerned. Considering it was 103 when I was in hospital in September, I’ll take the current A1C number – 65. This was also only two months in instead of three, so it’s possible next month it will be even better. I’m staying on 5mg for month three, but then we are going to try going up to 7.5mg and see how I do with that. Obviously, the current goal is to find the dose that works to control my blood sugars and it will be whatever it needs to be. If I wind up needing max dose, well, then that’s because that’s what my body needs. We also did another finger prick test as I don’t do those daily and the result was 10, which is two hours after eating breakfast. Last month, it was 14. So again, I’ll take it.

I did not shift any weight this month, which doesn’t concern me as again, I’m looking at weight loss as a side effect, not a goal. I also increased my physical activity an have gone on 2 runs and 3 walks this month, which could have effected my weight. But interestingly, I have seen inches come off again. more off my hips than my belly, but I’ll take it. It’s HARD to get rid of the PCOS belly. Even at my lowest weight I still had the belly. Though in some fun clothing news I have gone down a size in terms of Halara!

I picked up a apair of XL Extra Petite jeans on Vinted last month and I noticed after just a few weeks that they were already feeling a little loose around my waist. It’s challenging finding Extra Petite, and they only seem to make the wide legged jeans in XP, but I found a pair in a size Large on Vinted and quickly scooped them up. They fit perfectly. Primark sizing is still all over the place and I actually purchased a skirt in a size 12 (elasticated waist) a few weeks back, but then I was in last week and tried on M, L, XL, and 2XL in multiple items and I seemed to fit a range of sizes. Ah, gotta love women’s fashion.

I won’t be making weekly Mounjaro posts unless there’s something to say. There’s no point in me posting a one liner of “Everything was fine.”, so I will be updating you all again in another month….

The contents of this post, including images are © Rebecca J Lockley and Tim Lockley unless otherwise stated and should not be reproduced without permission.

I have not received compensation from any companies mentioned in my post.

I am not a Doctor or Nurse and the information contained in this blog post is meant for information purposes only. Please consult your GP with any health related questions.

For full Copyright and Disclaimer, please read http://www.blog.beccajanestclair.com/copyright/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blog.beccajanestclair
Twitter: https://twitter.com/annaonthemoon
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beccajanestclair
Blog: http://blog.beccajanestclair.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/beccajanestclair
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/annaonthemoon.bsky.social
Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/annaonthemoon79

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 Type 2 Diabetes Week 3
Mounjaro for Type 2 Diabetes Week 4
Mounjaro After One Month
Mounjaro for Type 2 Diabetes Week 5 / Week 1 5mg
Mounjaro for Type 2 Diabetes Week 6
Mounjaro for Type 2 Diabetes Weeks 7&8

I’ve combined weeks 7 and 8 into one post (or weeks 3 & 4 on 5mg, depending on how you’re keeping track) because as you can see…I had nothing to report back on.

I took a preventative pain relief immediately after giving myself shot 7 and avoided having a bad cramp, and repeated the same for shot 8. I’m still burping up a storm – the horrible, eggy, nasty sounding, tasting, and smelling burps – but that’s really the worst thing I’ve dealt with these past two weeks!

I know this is a very short entry, but I didn’t want to leave it off or have you think I decided to stop blogging it.

Going forward, I’m going to only post monthly updates, unless I’m swapping over to a new dosage and think there’s anything worth reporting immediately.

I think my disclaimer is going to be longer than the entire blog post….

The contents of this post, including images are © Rebecca J Lockley and Tim Lockley unless otherwise stated and should not be reproduced without permission.

I have not received compensation from any companies mentioned in my post.

I am not a Doctor or Nurse and the information contained in this blog post is meant for information purposes only. Please consult your GP with any health related questions.

For full Copyright and Disclaimer, please read http://www.blog.beccajanestclair.com/copyright/

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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 Type 2 Diabetes Week 3
Mounjaro for Type 2 Diabetes Week 4
Mounjaro After One Month
Mounjaro for Type 2 Diabetes Week 5 / Week 1 5mg
Mounjaro for Type 2 Diabetes Week 6

This week we upped the dose to 5mg! Fiona warned me that the side effects might become worse and I could drop back down to 2.5 if I find I can’t handle things, but honestly? I’ve felt amazing this week with a few small exceptions, but I found nothing unmanageable.

On Monday, we played Traveller with our friends again and so I gave myself the shot fairly late in the evening and then went to bed…and I was glad I did because about 2 hours later I had the worst cramping I have felt in years. It was close to the PMS cramping I used to get when I was younger. I actually screamed and cried from the pain, and I actually have a fairly high tolerance for pain! I wound up taking some Nurofen Meltlets that I keep handy in the bedside table and jacked the bedwarmer up to the pre-heat setting. The pain eventually settled and I went to sleep.

Tuesday started with no appetite. I made myself my usual breakfast and ate barely half. I also started burping again. It was still the “rotten egg” flavour, but it wasn’t as strong as it had been in previous weeks, it was just annoying. I also had a hot flash while I was in town for an appointment and while that wasn’t related to the Mounjaro and had more to do with Perimenopause, I figured I’d include it anyway!

On Wednesday I just wrote “lightly queasy” and tried to explain the feeling to Tim, but I really couldn’t. It was just a generic unwell in the stomach feeling and made me not really want to eat a whole lot.

Unfortunately, Thursday around 2AM I woke up with such burning heartburn I honestly thought I was going to throw up stomach acid. I ran from the bedroom down the stairs into the bathroom without grabbing my phone to use as a torch on the steps or my slippers I was so in a rush to get there just in case. Fortunately, I wasn’t sick, and I finally opened up the box of Omeprazole that I was prescribed back when I started as a “just in case”. I also keep in stock those little cocktail sized cans of Ginger Ale, so I drank one of those and went back to bed. Fortunately, it didn’t take long for the medicine to kick in and I was able to get back to sleep.

Friday led to some constipation, but not bad enough to medicate myself. I just ate some dried prunes (which I now keep on hand!) and had some Weetabix and things were soon normal.

Saturday and Sunday were completely free of any symptoms other than an occasional burp. Perhaps I’m getting used to the medication, or perhaps it’s just that it starts to wear off by Saturday and Sunday! But yeah, I actually felt a lot better this week than I have in the previous four, so either I’m now used to Mounjaro, or my body just tolerates the 5mg better for some reason.

I’m still working on eating better. We haven’t resorted to takeaway or fast food in weeks, and even if cooking sometimes annoys me (I often hate cooking for myself if Tim is at work), I’ve been doing it. I haven’t really pulled out any new recipes yet, but it’s been fun rediscovering old favourites. We also got out the bread machine for it’s inaugural run, after replacing it several years ago when a shelf in the kitchen collapsed and broke the first one. We purchased a new one, but I just never used it. I finally made a box mix, but it was great to actually use it and I look forward to using it more.

***
The contents of this post, including images are © Rebecca J Lockley and Tim Lockley unless otherwise stated and should not be reproduced without permission.

There are Amazon Affiliate links within this post. I do receive a tiny commission if you purchase the items.

I have not received compensation from any companies mentioned in my post.

I am not a Doctor or Nurse and the information contained in this blog post is meant for information purposes only. Please consult your GP with any health related questions.

For full Copyright and Disclaimer, please read http://www.blog.beccajanestclair.com/copyright/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blog.beccajanestclair
Twitter: https://twitter.com/annaonthemoon
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beccajanestclair
Blog: http://blog.beccajanestclair.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/beccajanestclair

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
Mounjaro After One Month

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…)

***

The contents of this post, including images are © Rebecca J Lockley and Tim Lockley unless otherwise stated and should not be reproduced without permission.

I have not received compensation from any companies mentioned in my post. Some links may contain affiliate links.

I am not a Doctor or Nurse and the information contained in this blog post is meant for information purposes only. Please consult your GP with any health related questions.

For full Copyright and Disclaimer, please read http://www.blog.beccajanestclair.com/copyright/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blog.beccajanestclair
Twitter: https://twitter.com/annaonthemoon
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beccajanestclair
Blog: http://blog.beccajanestclair.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/beccajanestclair

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

Pic via Reddit

I wound up giving myself my shot a few hours later than I have been because we were playing Traveller (TTRPG) until around 2100. But I was able to give myself my shot and pretty much head straight to bed. I’m still feeling “funny” after I give myself the shot. I can’t really explain the sensation but it’s near where I give myself the injection and almost as if I can feel the medicine moving through me? I wish I had better words! My back also started to hurt later in bed, but I’m not sure that’s related to the Mounjaro and is more related to our bed being old and my body being old!

Tuesday’s journal entry simply reads “lots of poo”. I think every time I went to the loo, I had to go and I went to the loo a lot on Tuesday!

Wednesday was the worst day out of this week for me. I wound up going in my pants early in the morning (I’m still not sure if this is Mounjaro related or some kind of stomach issue with what I ate the night before). THe diarrhea got to the point I needed to take immodium, and I was having bad acid reflux. I’m not a stranger to acid, so the fact that I wrote down 8/10 indicates that it was pretty rough.

Thursday, I had more heartburn and a very weak stomach ache. Not to the point where it was full-on nausea, and not to the point of needing pepto…just a very dull, light stomach ache.

The surprise came for me on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday though.

I had ZERO side effects. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. Even risked it with an Indian takeaway in the hotel on Saturday night and I half expected to need to take something before we met up with our friends on Sunday, but I was surprisingly fine. Am I finally “used to” the Mounjaro? Of course, this is the end of my 4 weeks on 2.5, and I will start on 5mg later today, so we might be in for a whole new round of side effects! But I’ll keep tracking things in my journal, and still write up weekly posts – at least for this first month on 5mg (second month overall). My goal is to hopefully have no symptoms and only need to keep monthly updates, but we’ll see what happens.

***
The contents of this post, including images are © Rebecca J Lockley and Tim Lockley unless otherwise stated and should not be reproduced without permission.

I have not received compensation from any companies mentioned in my post.

I am not a Doctor or Nurse and the information contained in this blog post is meant for information purposes only. Please consult your GP with any health related questions.

For full Copyright and Disclaimer, please read http://www.blog.beccajanestclair.com/copyright/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blog.beccajanestclair
Twitter: https://twitter.com/annaonthemoon
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beccajanestclair
Blog: http://blog.beccajanestclair.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/beccajanestclair

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