Sudden side effect

[christa_channing]

I've been on Tirz for a year. I have not been very successful at losing weight, but I was maintaining the 20 lbs I had lost before starting. I was on 5mg for several months, then moved to 7.5 for several months and then 10 mg with no real side effects. Then, suddenly, I started getting diarrhea out of nowhere. Well, first it was Sulphur burps and then sudden diarrhea with very little warning. The first time it happened, It was 2 days after pinning my dose. The following week it happened again. By the third week, I decided it was my Tirz. I have tried taking half my dose twice a week, but that isn't helping. I have used batches from three different companies, so it isn't limited to that. I spoke with my Dr., who did not like that I was taking half twice a week and suggested I just lower my dose back to 7.5. However, this last dose (5mg because I was still taking the half dose twice a week) had me sick for three days. It is starting to effect my quality of life. I have been trying not to eat triggery foods, drinking water/liquid iv and taking medication (pepto or immodium). I am literally afraid to eat anything because I need to be able to go to work. I also have a 10 day trip coming up next month and I can't be like this then.

I have been researching and suggestions are to drop down gradually, but that isn't ideal either. Has anyone experienced this and found a solution? Every time I start with the burping, I know what is coming within a few hours. (I did look for this topic already being discussed, but the ones I found were pretty old.)

 

[byefatlicia]

I'm not a doctor. But it might be time to see a GI specialist. I think it's possible something else could be going on.
The thing that sticks out is, you are still having issues even after backing off your dose.

 

[BLASIUS]

Hi, I have a very similar problem but it happens using Reta.
The first time it happend was when I was moving from Tirze to Reta, I was using 5mg reta and 2mg Tirze, I decided to remove completely Tirze and continue with Reta. Even using Reta alone I had same side effect, so I decided to take 5mg reta but every 8 days. It looks that the side effects have been reduced a lot, even if occasionally they are back..
What I observed was that most of side effects raise 2 days after the injection.
In order to manage the side effect I started trying to understand which food triggers mainly the side effects. What I noticed is that there is no specific food that triggers those, but It depends on the habit of eating a certain food. In other words, if I am used to have breakfast for example with yogurt, and because the circunstances I have to eat something else (eg. a croissant with cream), I notice that in about one hour my stomach is starting to make itself felt, and most likely a few hours later I will have a bout of diarrhea.
So what I am doing in order to manage the side effect it to be very careful on what I eat, if it is something unusual, I eat just a very little amuont of that.
Additionally when I am under the side effect I use to drink some glasses of water with lemon juice (no sugar) and some electrolites. If the side effects are particularly significant, I avoid eating and I skip the meal.

 

[2dogs2cats]

I think @byefatlicia is on the nose with this one. Bloodwork and a consultation might be in order, especially if you're having any abdominal pain with these symptoms.

 

[christa_channing]

I think @byefatlicia is on the nose with this one. Bloodwork and a consultation might be in order, especially if you're having any abdominal pain with these symptoms.

I don't have any pain, thus the "no warning." I just had all my bloodwork done last week, and everything is normal.