Excited to start Retatrutide from the UK! My plan + What's your pro-tips?

[idaniels]

Hi everyone.

First of all this forum has been great to read through. Thank you for the info 🙂

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About me: I'm a 30M, PhD student from the UK. I currently weigh 14st 4lb (200lb / 90kg) or thereabouts. I've maintained this weight for about 2 years which I am quite proud of, as I used to weigh around 16st 6lb (230lb / 104.33kg). This was mostly down to cutting out eating awful food and massively reducing my drinking. I also previously did some stupid and unhealthy things to lose weight which both sucked and was not worth it (DNP). I basically gained the weight back before losing weight correctly lol.

That in mind, I am autistic and have ADHD which I can't exactly get rid of. I don't like making excuses for myself as to why I'm not fit, but since I've recently turned 30 I should maybe put in the work now to make my future life easier. I'm quite agoraphobic, but recently I've found a new friendly gym and a new apartment I'm moving in September, so I want to slowly ease into a healthier lifestyle in a sensible way. It's not a race, which took me an embarrassing amount of time to realise. I also have quite severe hypermobility issues, which although is a cool party trick, makes walking/moving a literal pain at times. Have been in a weird cycle of not excersizing as much as I should because it hurts my bones, which can be solved by losing weight and excersizing, but it hurts my bones which prevents me from excersizing, which can be reduced via excersizing, which.... You get the point.

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THE PLAN: I've read a lot of information about glp's via this forum and Reddit, and I think using them alongside more focus on diet and exercise will hopefully give me a routine that not only I can stick to, but also something I actually want to stick to. I've just ordered 10mg x 10 vials of Reta, so when they arrive i'm gunna do the following:

CW: 14st 4lb (200lb / 90kg)
GW: 10st 10lb (150lb / 68kg)

Week 0 (before): Reduce sugar intake and finish crappy stuff at home, buy some decent food. I will also make sure I've got all my equipment and I've "practiced" what to do.
Week 1: Start 1mg of Reta, eat "as usual" but listen to my body to see what it wants
Week 2: Depending on how I feel, up to 2mg. I would like to stick as closely to the clinical trial data as possible for my own reference. Start light home excersize (VR games count, right?)
Week 3-5: Stay at 2mg. Move into new apt.
Week 6-9: Up to 4mg (if again everything is ok). Additionally, start going to the gym and work on cardio. Get a feel for the equipment and overall see what routine works for me. Have a slight look into supplements that can help (no other Peptides) such as creatine, electrolytes and so on. I will aim to go at least 3x a week for an undisclosed amount of time. Again, slowly does it.
Week 10+: Hopefully by then I will have got a routine and can play by ear! By then I want to start properly training with weights, but we'll see.

Time frame wise, not sure. I don't want to set a hard goal, but I think overall "sometime in 2026" is good to aim for. I also plan on visiting my best friend who moved to the states sometime in the spring. I'm not telling anyone I am doing this, so surprising him with a bunch of weight loss would be really funny. Tbh "doing it because funny" is kinda my main motivation lol.

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QUESTIONS!: I have a few Qs that are UK specific and some which is just overall guidance I'd like to ask. I've done my homework, but I just wanna make super sure of myself.

1) What is a side effect I absolutely cannot ignore as just my body "adjusting"? I understand to expect nausea and a more enthusiastic bowel, but what sides would cause for an immediate doctor/hospital visit that aren't immediately obvious and people don't talk about?

2) UK: Where's the best place to get sharps and/or BAC water? I know of a few sources (including Amazon), but considering I'm going to be injecting stuff into my body I'd like to be certain all is well.

3) UK: I am maybe looking into using an injector pen, mostly for easier storage and travel purposes. Can you recommend any particular shops online which sells them and decent brands? I am OK with using needles to start with, but the less ways I could potentially screw up an injection the better.

4) If I miss a dose (say 5mg) for whatever reason due to traveling / delays, will I be in any particular health risk? I've read conflicting reports. Some say it's fine and to take it when you can, others say it can be a health risk. I've also read that restarting back on the same dose after a short delay (like 14 days since the last injection) can cause issues. So say I miss a dose after a week, should I titrate up again?

5) What is something you wish you knew when you first started Reta/GLPs?

6) Any other pro-tips?

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That's it I think! Sorry for the wall of text, but i just wanna make super sure if everything. Again, thanks for all the help this forum has provided 🙂

 

[slowsixstang]

Hi! Fellow ADHDer here! A few tips you may find helpful. Note that I take Tirz which is a similar compound but not the same.
-Reta is known to increase resting heart rate in some people, that can be unpleasant for people who take stimulant medication. Not a huge deal, but something to be aware of.
-Playing it slow is wise, as these substances take up to a month to accumulate in the body. Wouldn't hurt to stay at 1mg for a couple weeks before titrating up, but it's your body so choose accordingly.

Now to your questions:

1. Some things that may be anxiety-inducing but normal (I'm a very anxious person):
-Increased acid reflux, which can present as chest pain in some people. If you know your body, you should be able to differentiate the two. Obviously see a doctor if you think something is wrong.
-A lump in the throat can also occur due to acid reflux. Knowing that "globus sensation" can ease anxiety where some people might see that as thyroid swelling. I have GERD so both of these feelings are familiar to me.
Things I would not disregard are extreme gut pain as this can be symptomatic of gastritis or pancreatitis. Not bloating pain, but extreme, doubled over, throwing up type of pain. Also, lots of vomiting to the point you can't keep anything down is not normal.

2. I'm in the US, but Amazon has been my source for injection supplies. As long as you specify sterile supplies, you should be good. Many may disagree with me here. Peptidetest has name brand supplies, also stairwaytogray has a list of suppliers in their "getting started" section.

3. Can't help here, but if you're halfway decent at math, this shouldn't be an issue. Here's a handy tool: https://calc.injectionshop.com/

4. A moderate delay (14 days) shouldn't be an issue, but I have no experience here. Use your best judgement.

5. I am newer to this as well, and I did an incredible amount of research before I started and even more after starting. That eased a lot of anxiety.

6. Take it slow! Don't titrate up until your current dose stops working. I was tempted to keep pushing, but I keep losing at a low dose so that's gonna wait. This is the best way to minimize side effects. Clinical trials often use aggressive titration to achieve the best clinical outcomes, you do not have to use their titration schedule.

Note that all of this is just my opinion and is in no way medical advice. I'm not a doctor lol. This is all based on what I've read here and elsewhere, and experienced. Welcome and good luck!

 

[rtw01]

Well done. You've done a great job figuring out what'll work for you preliminarily. A lot of the research says you start at 2mg and up it every 4 weeks as per the clinical trials, but starting at 1mg and going up to 2 and onward makes sense for your comfort. As long as you're not starting at a higher dose, you should be good.

Answers!:

1. You'll actually find a less enthusiastic bowel (in MY experience). Your gastric emptying process slows down within the first week or two (again, my experience). You may find you're burping more, but there are very few intense side effects. Drink tons of water, slight stomach discomfort isn't too alarming. Slight increase in resting heart rate is normal. Obviously if you have any signs of heart attack / stroke / malaise beyond the typical "stomach ache", definitely seek medical advice.
2. I'm not in the UK, but I suggest looking for Pfizer or similar "name brand" bacteriostatic water. Same with the sharps. But more on this in 3.
3. Absolutely, please, please try your best to get a pen. They're available on Aliexpress from some decent vendors. You're looking for "peptide pen" or the like. There's a "V2" "V3" and "V4" which you can read about on here. The most important thing to do is to figure out your maths. When you reconstitute the dry peptides, you're left with a specific concentration. For example, if you have a 10mg vial, you and 3ml of BAC, you have 10mg per 3ml. Then, work out your 1mg dose in ml, and make sure you're setting the pen appropriately. Reference the specifications for the specific pen you get, and it'll be easy from there. You eliminate a HUGE margin of error with a pen. Infection / contamination / dosing errors are vastly mitigated with the use of a pen.
4. Everyone's different, but typically, you won't be in medical danger when missing a dose. You may experience lessened effects of the retatrutide, such as increased hunger / cravings etc., but you won't be in grave medical danger. If you miss a dose by a day or two, you can continue on your schedule. If you miss a dose by two weeks, you might want to titrate back up with smaller doses over the period of time that works for you. It's science, and also not science. Everyone's different. You may want to do 1mg twice weekly, you may want to do one dose every X days, depending on how you feel and how you respond!
5. Pro tip: get a pen... Trust me. Get the pen. The "Rookie Tip" that I weirdly suggest... Don't be afraid to ridiculously overpay and buy a prefilled disposable pen from a local vendor. There's UK-based peptide sellers that provide pre-filled pens and you may want to do that for your first few doses. It gave me the peace of mind to know what I was (probably, possibly?) getting versus a shot in the dark with overseas. Once I started with a "local" supply, I was comfortable ordering from overseas and doing it myself. Also, with a disposable pre-filled, you just kinda ... start?

Excuse my wall of text in response. Happy to help any way I can.

 

[zerikas]

Hi! Fellow ADHDer here! A few tips you may find helpful. Note that I take Tirz which is a similar compound but not the same.
-Reta is known to increase resting heart rate in some people, that can be unpleasant for people who take stimulant medication. Not a huge deal, but something to be aware of.
-Playing it slow is wise, as these substances take up to a month to accumulate in the body. Wouldn't hurt to stay at 1mg for a couple weeks before titrating up, but it's your body so choose accordingly.

Now to your questions:

1. Some things that may be anxiety-inducing but normal (I'm a very anxious person):
-Increased acid reflux, which can present as chest pain in some people. If you know your body, you should be able to differentiate the two. Obviously see a doctor if you think something is wrong.
-A lump in the throat can also occur due to acid reflux. Knowing that "globus sensation" can ease anxiety where some people might see that as thyroid swelling. I have GERD so both of these feelings are familiar to me.
Things I would not disregard are extreme gut pain as this can be symptomatic of gastritis or pancreatitis. Not bloating pain, but extreme, doubled over, throwing up type of pain. Also, lots of vomiting to the point you can't keep anything down is not normal.

2. I'm in the US, but Amazon has been my source for injection supplies. As long as you specify sterile supplies, you should be good. Many may disagree with me here. Peptidetest has name brand supplies, also stairwaytogray has a list of suppliers in their "getting started" section.

3. Can't help here, but if you're halfway decent at math, this shouldn't be an issue. Here's a handy tool: https://calc.injectionshop.com/

4. A moderate delay (14 days) shouldn't be an issue, but I have no experience here. Use your best judgement.

5. I am newer to this as well, and I did an incredible amount of research before I started and even more after starting. That eased a lot of anxiety.

6. Take it slow! Don't titrate up until your current dose stops working. I was tempted to keep pushing, but I keep losing at a low dose so that's gonna wait. This is the best way to minimize side effects. Clinical trials often use aggressive titration to achieve the best clinical outcomes, you do not have to use their titration schedule.

Note that all of this is just my opinion and is in no way medical advice. I'm not a doctor lol. This is all based on what I've read here and elsewhere, and experienced. Welcome and good luck!

Already had a different calculator tool I was using but I like that one. Saving it for future recons. Thanks

 

[Morbius]

I greatly enjoy overthinking things on occasion, but I just started reta at the clinical trial 2 mg starting level. When my rate of weight loss slowed greatly after about 3 months, I decided to step up to 3 mg instead of the clinical trial next tier of 4 mg. This worked out well for me because I do not want to lose weight any faster than I am now.

I do not at all plan what I eat. I just eat whatever I want, when I want. I just want less, and the weight comes off.

It's as easy as falling off a log.

I think any schedule with specific weeks in it is off the mark, we all respond differently. Don't make a change because the calendar says it's time.

IMHO, YMMV.

 

[joseblo]

I'm a newbie, but I've been on compounded Tirz for a while, and need to switch so thinking of doing personal research on Reta. A pen allows micro-dosing, which might make titrating up easier. The classic mico-method is every other day (I think Reta has a half-life of ~6 days, whereas Tirz is ~5) which could minimize the initial side effects and perhaps keep you on a slightly lower effective dose. See the glp1plotter. Injection site likely does matter and is also worth researching.

I have heard negatives about pens such as the possibility of back contamination. I'd definitely look closely and regularly at anything in a pen. Keeping it around over 30 days isn't really recommended, but the same is said about BAC. Finding your own sources you trust for reconstitution and injection supplies is critical. When calculating dosing you want to keep injection units reasonable and I'd expect +/-1 1unit error in most pens (even the tiny syringes might be 0/-0.5) so my preference is 5-20 units. The reverse calculator helps with that.

GLP-1 Plotter - Semaglutide (Ozempic/Wegovy) & Tirzepatide (Mounjaro) Dose Calculator

Plot graphs and calculate levels for GLP-1 Receptor Agonists Semaglutide (Ozempic/Wegovy/Rybelsus) or Tirzepatide (Mounjaro) based on dose & half-life.

glp1plotter.com

Reverse Peptide Calculator

I think other people have covered the symptoms. You really won't react well to high fat foods (even nuts, cheese, etc). I'd really recommend finding a fiber supplement and protein source you can tolerate even when you don't feel particularly hungry. Getting that everyday will hopefully keep things moving properly and keep too much muscle from coming off. Getting plugged up cold be a medical event, and if you're grey that means discussing it with your emergency Dr. Another side effect to research is pancreatitis.

As far as positive effects, there's weight loss, but also just the reduction of mentally distracting "food noise", and other anti-inflamitory effects. I find that I just want to do more!

Good luck! Keep us apprized of your research, results and any interesting finds! We can always learn more.