Welcome to the forum and thanks for your honesty!
First off what
@Nikki nik said! If you're not currently on a GLP it's likely your stomach issues are a medical issue and not the result of a GLP.
You've gained the weight back since February?? How much weight are we talking about here? I'm guessing it's not much based on your brief periods on the med.
I 100% believe that any GLP (including Reta) purchased through the gray market will actually save you money. You order less in restaurants and spend way less on groceries.
Did you find the medication as effective each time you went back on it? If you choose to lose on Tirz again for example you'll be out $7.50/wk at maximum dose (which it doesn't sound like you'll need to reach). Maintenance of 2.5mg or so weekly will cost $1.25/wk. Weight gain costs exponentially more than that. It makes financial sense to take a maintenance dose next time around.
After you figure out what's going on with your stomach
Thank you! These drugs have been a great help so I'm glad to be here
I weighed 134lbs on February 2 and I'm 158 as of today. Obviously a lot of that is water weight but I've gained quite a bit - went from having abs visible to being pudgy. I consume around 4000-6000 calories a day when I'm not on a GLP1, sometimes more.
I've never actually used gray market GLP1s, is the thing. All of those were (expensive) private prescriptions. (I use an obese relative's info to acquire the prescriptions, consensually obviously). I would like to switch to gray but I'm still unsure.
I would love to try Retatrutide and/or get cheaper access to Semaglutide/Tirzapetide but I don't trust myself not to fuck up the whole vial/mixing with water/dosing process. And I'd be paranoid about getting a fake product.
So I'll be lurking here and trying to inform myself better before taking that step.
No, they've definitely been weaker each time. Mounjaro wasn't as effective as my first time on Ozempic despite being "stronger" and despite me taking it for longer. But it still worked, and I lost considerable weight in just 2 months once I hit 7.5mg.
(The 3rd time I went on Ozempic, reaching 0.5mg, it had absolutely 0 effect. But it's possible it would have still worked once I got to higher doses).
Yeah, the plan for me right now is to immediately get back on Sema or Tirz (haven't decided yet) when/if my stomach pain gets figured out. Since these drugs affect your GI function I wouldn't want to risk making things worse. Also got to decide whether I'll buy pharma again (expensive) or try a gray market vial.
I am just curious about how much weight we are talking. You're losing "all the weight" in 2-3 months and gaining it "all" back again in about the same time. I've been doing research since Fall and more often than not read that you have to stay on it on a maintenance dose unless you are very strict when coming off.
I keep going back and forth between 130ish-160ish lbs (5'8 male). Around 150-155 I start to look pudgy and clothes become too tight, which depresses me, so I find myself reaching for the weight loss pens again. I am chronically ill and have mental health issues so I can't muster up the motivation to lose weight without drugs doing half the work for me. I don't even care much about my appearance since I'm quite a shut-in - I just physically feel better when I'm below 140lbs, and not eating so much.
