Crazy first week

[smallbrainchud]

tl;dr: reta/2mg/6 days/-8.7lbs

I knew the reta would work well given trials and all that, but man, I took my first dose 4/3 @ 229lbs and today I woke up @ 220.3lbs. It hasn't even been a week yet.
The appetite suppression is truly unbelievable too.

I've had a few side effects though, some sucked more than others.

I went to take a nap after pinning myself in in the lower right part of my stomach for the first time and woke up a few hours later with a 100ish!! heart rate. I felt pretty miserable for a few hours. I was also very cold? My mouth was crazy dry too. My skin around my triceps was very tender and uncomfortable with any touch. That subsided 2-3 days later for the most part.

I decided to pin early today, though in the lower left part of my stomach. I feel the appetite suppression giving out and my cravings increasing, so I'll be taking reta every 6 days. Hoping to continue updating this thread every week with progress. I'll post pictures of before/after once I've reached my goal weight of 170. I will say that my face looks and feels less bloated, which makes me really happy.

My sleep has been unaffected after the first experience where I woke up. Dreams are normal.

 

[Zephy]

Curious to know if your HR potentially increased because you took too much (for your body)?

 

[retarequired]

I also had an increased HR when starting reta, for me it went away after a week or two despite increasing dose every week (I have previous experience with GLP1's and figured it'd be fine to titrate up a bit quicker).

The tricep skin though..... I decided to increase from 2 mg/3 days (approx. 4.5 mg/week) to 2.5 mg/3 days (approx. 6 mg/week), and holy shit the sensitivity was bad. I didn't get the hurting part like many people seem to, just extreme sensitivity of the skin on the back of my upper arms. Had to go back down because of it.

Happy you're seeing results already! Hopefully your sides will go away. Remember to stay hydrated!

 

[Pinforge]

Not surprised with anything you said, first week and at 2 mg.

 

[smallbrainchud]

Curious to know if your HR potentially increased because you took too much (for your body)?

My HR has been normal after the initial spike. I imagine it'll spike again within a few hours if history repeats itself lol

I also had an increased HR when starting reta, for me it went away after a week or two despite increasing dose every week (I have previous experience with GLP1's and figured it'd be fine to titrate up a bit quicker).

The tricep skin though..... I decided to increase from 2 mg/3 days (approx. 4.5 mg/week) to 2.5 mg/3 days (approx. 6 mg/week), and holy shit the sensitivity was bad. I didn't get the hurting part like many people seem to, just extreme sensitivity of the skin on the back of my upper arms. Had to go back down because of it.

Happy you're seeing results already! Hopefully your sides will go away. Remember to stay hydrated!

Thankfully my HR issue was just the first day of reta, but it is pretty crazy to go from sleeping to 100. Upping it to 2x a week is bold. I won't be going higher than 1x a week @ 2mg just cause of the skin sensitivity stuff (and needles are scary) lol. Are you back to 2mg twice a week?

Thanks! I truly wasn't expecting 8lbs in 6 days. I can't imagine my body will sustain this kind of rapid loss for long either.

Not surprised with anything you said, first week and at 2 mg.

2mg is the clinical starting dose, so I tried to align with that. I considered 4mg briefly (also clinical starting dose). Glad I opted to start at the lower end.

 

[smallbrainchud]

tl;dr: -9.1lbs on day 7 to 219.9lbs

Weekly update. I currently weigh 219.9lbs, so I've lost 9.1lbs in total the first week of retatrutide. I'm taking weekly pictures too. I'm already noticing a significant difference in my appearance, particularly my face. I absolutely feel weigh less bloated and gross. I'm sure a good amount of this may be water weight. I take my electrolytes and drink water often.

I will say though... I woke up this morning and my throat felt like it had a lump in it. After drinking a bunch of water, it went away, so I imagine my throat got really dry while I slept and became sore. I also woke up sweating A LOT, despite the fact that my room is about 60-62°f.

I also changed my mind and started dosing 2mg every 6 days. I felt the hunger creeping in. Skin feels slightly over-sensitive to the touch of my shirt, so that's a little unpleasant. Not significant, but annoying.

 

[professorpeppy]

Congratulations on your loss! It is magic 🙂

I recommend pinning before bed to avoid all that crap with HR / pain / other negative side effects, they hit me like a train an hourish after I pin. I take sleeping pills so ill just take my reta and tirz at the same time. Obviously you're starting out so dont do this while assessing tolerance or if you change dose, always stay up and have a trusted friend know what you are doing. Just to consider when you are continuing in the future, in a better routine.

Stay safe and enjoy the ride.

 

[smallbrainchud]

tl;dr: -4.7lbs on day 14 to 215.2lbs

I decided to up my dose to 4mg and take reta one day early, so 5 days after the last 2mg dose.

The only side effects I'm experiencing are the sensitive skin and occasional dry mouth. No sleep issues, no heart rate issues, no throat issues. I had stalled at 218lbs for a couple of days. After switching to 4mg, the weight loss really started picking up again. I was 216.1lbs yesterday and woke up to 215.2lbs today. I'll be sticking it out with 4mg until that slows down too.

Overall, I'm 13.8lbs down since starting 14 days ago.

 

[garlicbread]

tl;dr: -4.7lbs on day 14 to 215.2lbs

I decided to up my dose to 4mg and take reta one day early, so 5 days after the last 2mg dose.

The only side effects I'm experiencing are the sensitive skin and occasional dry mouth. No sleep issues, no heart rate issues, no throat issues. I had stalled at 218lbs for a couple of days. After switching to 4mg, the weight loss really started picking up again. I was 216.1lbs yesterday and woke up to 215.2lbs today. I'll be sticking it out with 4mg until that slows down too.

Overall, I'm 13.8lbs down since starting 14 days ago.

This is very much the same as me, but i started at 2.5mg.

Just finished my 3rd week and it was hell, bloated and constant uhhh runs.
I'm trying to workout what is making me bloated, but i'm holding off my 4th pin until everything settles down there.

Otherwise yeah sensitive skin, only really annoying my my legs when wearing pants, but showers feel amazing!

 

[VegetableIce]

Increased heartrate is normal but having it running 100 bpm, hours after pinning not. The cold and unpleasant feeling also is not normal. It could be your starting dose, but it could be also contamination of the peptide.

 

[smallbrainchud]

Increased heartrate is normal but having it running 100 bpm, hours after pinning not. The cold and unpleasant feeling also is not normal. It could be your starting dose, but it could be also contamination of the peptide.

I finished the rest of the vial without any issues, so I'm just assuming it was due to it being my first time taking reta. Even after moving to 4mg, I haven't had similar side effects that I had within the first few hours of the first dose. At this point, the only thing I experience is sensitive skin and the occasional dry mouth.

It definitely did feel really weird experiencing all those side effects from the start, though. I'm glad my body adjusted.

 

[domin8brix]

Congratulations on your loss! It is magic 🙂

I recommend pinning before bed to avoid all that crap with HR / pain / other negative side effects, they hit me like a train an hourish after I pin. I take sleeping pills so ill just take my reta and tirz at the same time. Obviously you're starting out so dont do this while assessing tolerance or if you change dose, always stay up and have a trusted friend know what you are doing. Just to consider when you are continuing in the future, in a better routine.

Stay safe and enjoy the ride.


10–12 mg Tirz + 5 mg Reta weekly (+ Cagri if I feel like it)

When you do your Reta/Tirz stack, do you do simultaneously or do you space out over several days? What's your dose if I can ask? And when you include Cagri, how much and when do you include that?

 

[professorpeppy]

When you do your Reta/Tirz stack, do you do simultaneously or do you space out over several days? What's your dose if I can ask? And when you include Cagri, how much and when do you include that?

Of course!

I do 6-7mg reta (very recently bumped up my dose, looking to get to theraputic doeses), and around 15-16mg tirz once a week. same day, sunday, before bed usually. bumped up my doses and its working really well, weight is dropping again, combined with gym and IF.

0.5mg cagri when I do it. not sure on my verdict yet..

 

[domin8brix]

Of course!

I do 6-7mg reta (very recently bumped up my dose, looking to get to theraputic doeses), and around 15-16mg tirz once a week. same day, sunday, before bed usually. bumped up my doses and its working really well, weight is dropping again, combined with gym and IF.

0.5mg cagri when I do it. not sure on my verdict yet..

I am due for Tirz tonight, I am tempted to do a lower Tirz and smaller Reta than I did the other day and see how that does. I may regret that though if it hits like the 1mg of Reta did the other day. Full weekend of games for the niblings, probably not the best bathrooms to frequent LOL!

I am really battling with getting the cagri, but I will absolutely start that at like .1 or something REALLY tiny.

 

[smallbrainchud]

1 month update - From 4/3 to 5/3, I've gone from 229lbs to 208lbs. Outside of dry mouth and sensitive skin, I'm not seeing any other side effects. I'll be back next month for another update.
Here is my dosing schedule.

• 2mg 4/03 - right
• 2mg 4/09 - left
• 4mg 4/14 - right
• 4mg 4/19 - left
• 4mg 4/24 - right
• 6mg 4/29 - left
• 6mg 5/04 - right

 

[smallbrainchud]

2 month update - From 5/3 to 6/3, I've gone from 208lbs to 192lbs. My only remaining side effects are feeling cold when going to sleep & occasionally sensitive skin. I hit a few plateaus this month as well.

Month 1: -21lbs
Month 2: -16lbs
Total: -37lbs

Currently taking 8mg every 5 days.

 

[BigRed1]

How are you liking the every 5 day schedule. I've been thinking about doing the same as I feel a noticeable drop off in the last 2 days before my next dose.

 

[smallbrainchud]

How are you liking the every 5 day schedule. I've been thinking about doing the same as I feel a noticeable drop off in the last 2 days before my next dose.

I think every 5 days is perfect. When I originally went for 7 days, I realized my appetite was starting to get intense around the end of day 5 and start of day 6. My body has adapted to the side effects really well so far too. It used to be excruciating having VERY sensitive skin at the start. I just powered through the lows and now I'm in a very happy spot.

 

[zkprv]

tl;dr: reta/2mg/6 days/-8.7lbs

I knew the reta would work well given trials and all that, but man, I took my first dose 4/3 @ 229lbs and today I woke up @ 220.3lbs. It hasn't even been a week yet.
The appetite suppression is truly unbelievable too.

I've had a few side effects though, some sucked more than others.

I went to take a nap after pinning myself in in the lower right part of my stomach for the first time and woke up a few hours later with a 100ish!! heart rate. I felt pretty miserable for a few hours. I was also very cold? My mouth was crazy dry too. My skin around my triceps was very tender and uncomfortable with any touch. That subsided 2-3 days later for the most part.

I decided to pin early today, though in the lower left part of my stomach. I feel the appetite suppression giving out and my cravings increasing, so I'll be taking reta every 6 days. Hoping to continue updating this thread every week with progress. I'll post pictures of before/after once I've reached my goal weight of 170. I will say that my face looks and feels less bloated, which makes me really happy.

My sleep has been unaffected after the first experience where I woke up. Dreams are normal.

Awesome progress! Dropping almost 9 lbs in under a week is impressive, and that appetite suppression on reta is no joke. It somewhat matches my own numbers on Trz

Just a friendly heads-up though — your body can only mobilize and burn a limited amount of fat per day, even in a big deficit. The best-known data comes from a 2005 theoretical paper by Seymour Alpert that originally put it at ~31 kcal per lb of body fat/day.

If you starve yourself beyond what your fat stores can support, the extra deficit doesn’t burn more fat — it mostly comes from breaking down muscle instead. That can lead to losing lean mass, slower metabolism, more fatigue, and worse long-term results.

At ~220 lbs right now, it might be worth roughly calculating your sustainable deficit so you can keep pushing hard without burning through muscle. If you ask any of the well-known AI bots on the internet that question, they can easily draw up a table for you.

 

[smallbrainchud]

Awesome progress! Dropping almost 9 lbs in under a week is impressive, and that appetite suppression on reta is no joke. It somewhat matches my own numbers on Trz

Just a friendly heads-up though — your body can only mobilize and burn a limited amount of fat per day, even in a big deficit. The best-known data comes from a 2005 theoretical paper by Seymour Alpert that originally put it at ~31 kcal per lb of body fat/day.

If you starve yourself beyond what your fat stores can support, the extra deficit doesn’t burn more fat — it mostly comes from breaking down muscle instead. That can lead to losing lean mass, slower metabolism, more fatigue, and worse long-term results.

At ~220 lbs right now, it might be worth roughly calculating your sustainable deficit so you can keep pushing hard without burning through muscle. If you ask any of the well-known AI bots on the internet that question, they can easily draw up a table for you.

what's up with this AI slop response?

 

[lessthanhalf]

I was going to suggest split dosing for the skin sensitivity issue, but yours does not seem to have gotten worse with dose increases, mine is totally stable over several months and definitely worse with tiny dose increases.

You are losing 2kg per week. 37lbs over 8 weeks. or 16.8kg , even allowing for 2 to 4 kg of water weight 13-15kg in 8 weeks is still very quick especially as you are not severely over weight. I guess if you feel ok and not exhausted and wrecked it is working, but a very high calorie deficit per day for your weight, I assume you are both pretty active and not eating a lot of calories. 14 kg fat over 8 weeks is 1.75kg/w at 7700kcal / kg is a deficit of 1925 kcal/day, probably not quite that high as some will be muscle and non muscle lean mass with less calories per kilo than fat but still.

 

[smallbrainchud]

I was going to suggest split dosing for the skin sensitivity issue, but yours does not seem to have gotten worse with dose increases, mine is totally stable over several months and definitely worse with tiny dose increases.

You are losing 2kg per week. 37lbs over 8 weeks. or 16.8kg , even allowing for 2 to 4 kg of water weight 13-15kg in 8 weeks is still very quick especially as you are not severely over weight. I guess if you feel ok and not exhausted and wrecked it is working, but a very high calorie deficit per day for your weight, I assume you are both pretty active and not eating a lot of calories. 14 kg fat over 8 weeks is 1.75kg/w at 7700kcal / kg is a deficit of 1925 kcal/day, probably not quite that high as some will be muscle and non muscle lean mass with less calories per kilo than fat but still.

Thankfully the skin sensitivity issues went down by a lot. When I just started taking 4mg, it was very hard to tolerate. Now at 8mg, it really only shows up when I'm cold and even then, it's very minor.

I feel pretty great tbh. I don't have any fatigue or sleep issues. I don't live an active lifestyle either. My job involves sitting at a desk, then when I get home, I sit at another desk lol. I still eat fast food and drink plenty of flavoured energy drinks, so I'm not exactly starving myself or limiting myself in regards to what I consume. I also expect to lose muscle, but I'm okay with it.

I'll post a new thread with progress pictures next month, when I feel a little more satisfied with my appearance. I am hoping/expecting to be in the 170~ range (77kg - 81kg) by that point.

Edit: This was me 9 months into lifting, so if nothing else, I'm kind of excited to start hitting the gym again and rebuild whatever muscle I lose once I hit my goal weight of 170lbs.

https://www.reddit.com/r/GYM/comments/1i7y7z6/120lbs_dumbbell_bench

View: https://www.reddit.com/r/GYM/comments/1i7y7z6/120lbs_dumbbell_bench/

 

[lessthanhalf]

It is amazing how much energy expenditure can vary and how inaccurate the standard ways of calculating it are. Going on what you are saying you have to be eating at least 1500kcal a day or more, plus at least a 1500kcal/day deficit based on the rate of weight loss, so over 3000 kcal/day despite not being severely obese or very active. After losing a lot of weight I need to eat 1600-1800kcal/day or less just to not gain weight.

 

[smallbrainchud]

It is amazing how much energy expenditure can vary and how inaccurate the standard ways of calculating it are. Going on what you are saying you have to be eating at least 1500kcal a day or more, plus at least a 1500kcal/day deficit based on the rate of weight loss, so over 3000 kcal/day despite not being severely obese or very active. After losing a lot of weight I need to eat 1600-1800kcal/day or less just to not gain weight.

I completely agree. I haven't tried to make any sense of it; I'm just happy to see the scale drop. I didn't think the rapid weight loss would continue after the initial water depletion at the start of my reta journey, but I suppose that's why it's a miracle drug. I was stuck at 202lbs for about 5 days before the scale started dropping again, which I thought was pretty weird.

Given how quickly I progressed at the gym and passed my peers, despite having a very "inefficient" workout plan, I always figured it just summed down to genetics. Seeing my body react to reta so well has reinforced that view for me.

1500 calories/day is what I used to do when I needed to lose weight from 190's to 170's. I'd honestly feel starved at 1600-1800/day, if not for reta.

 

[zkprv]

what's up with this AI slop response?

Not AI. what makes you think that? Posted something to remember -- I have friends that ran into 'drop as many calories as per day' -- they got health problems after. My point was about the limited amount of calories that can be absorbed from fat per day irrespective of what the deficit is.