when you say day 2, i presume you are meaning week 2? Back to back injections not needed for Reta
My Reta story begins!
- Thread starter PineCone99
- Start date
BNLFL
GLP-1 Specialist
Those are good BP and HR numbers. Reminds me of my wife, I ask her if she's alive when I do her BP, it's just a tad lower that yours sometimes. I run +/-120/72 with a 72HR. Sleeping my HR is around 54. I do beat her in O2 levels, me 100% her 98%.
PineCone99
GLP-1 Apprentice
You must feel like an absolute rockstar at 145!!!! That's a huge accomplishment, I really really hope to get there myself in the coming 6 months-1 year. "Love being thin" <-- cannot wait to say those words too.
PineCone99
GLP-1 Apprentice
Yeah that IS strange! The phobia joining-the-chat after you'd already done it for months, how odd. Thanks for the tip on the pens, a few folks have suggested that and it seems quite a consensus.
PineCone99
GLP-1 Apprentice
Thanks! Full 21-28 day fasts?? Surely you could easily do 23/1 then. 🙂 Longest I ever did was a few 72 hour fasts, but phewwww those were ROUGH. Nothing but water & black coffee. Did it for the autophagy benefits, but those definitely took all of my determination.
PineCone99
GLP-1 Apprentice
Ah, maybe I phrased it in a confusing way. I just meant my "observations" on Day 2, after taking the shot the prior day. But yes, it will only be once-a-week injections, and just 1 mg for the first few weeks.
PineCone99
GLP-1 Apprentice
Thanks, I'll be curious to watch now that I've started Reta, what changes might occur. Normally, (pre-Reta) in the evenings watching tv I'm around : 105/59 and 55 pulse.
Lol @ asking your wife if she's still alive! Oh I'd be curious about O2 levels.. don't think I have a device for measuring that...
PineCone99
GLP-1 Apprentice
Day 6 Observations:
- Appetite - earlier, someone said that on Reta they constantly felt like "they'd just eaten a burrito" and I have to agree. Great appetite suppression very early on! I'm eating, but small quantities (prioritizing fibre and protein) and eating more frequently since I'm trying to transition away from intermittent fasting. It feels very weird eating breakfast for the first time in many, many years and I was really nervous about it because that has always made me ravenous 2 hours later and then I'd have crazy cravings to battle all day long. What a shock to realize that isn't happening with Reta. I gave it a few days because I still didn't trust it lol. But now I can eat breakfast (even with some high GI carbs) and still have to remind myself a few hours later to have some protein/fibre for lunch... this is astounding for me.
- Burps! I was delighted to notice this on Day 2, as it tells me it's working. I normally never burp unless drinking a diet pop, so it was noticeable.
- Nausea - felt a few spells in Days 1-4 but I don't feel it now anymore.
- Super super happy with things so far, and I'll take my second dose on Wednesday morning.
Mayostardayonnaise
GLP-1 Apprentice
I would say 50% of the time when I go get blood drawn, I almost/do pass out 😂 and it is strange that it’s not every time. Maybe it stems from having to do bloodwork fasted - sometimes I’m fine, got enough sleep, didn’t go too crazy on the caffeine, had enough water, ate enough the day before, etc. It’s really annoying that the stars need to align just right for me to have a normal blood draw experience….🥴
BNLFL
GLP-1 Specialist
This is the one I have. Had to get it after 3 weeks in the hospital, two of those in ICU with double/double pneumonia that almost took me out. That's when I got the BP deal for the wrist.
I moved to 2mg on week 2. I was concerned about an allergic reaction and when all went well I decided that I might as well move to 2mg. At 2mg I got this horrible sunburned feeling on my arms and legs. It is the only side effect that made me consider quitting as it makes wearing clothes very annoying but I decided to stick with it and back down to 1.5mg for 2 weeks. After 2 weeks at 1.5mg I acclimated enough to decide to go back to 2mg for 2 more weeks. I stayed at 3mg for 5 weeks and this is my first week at 4mg. The sunburn feeling is present at 4mg but its not quite as terrible like it was at 2mg. I've had a little bit of all of the common side effects other than vomiting, thank god. Unusual burping for the first few days post shot, semi regular nausea, 1 disastrous bout of diarrhea and a little bit of constipation.
ivelweyz
GLP-1 Novice
🚫No Source Discussion🚫
The issue for me was consuming ~2k calories in a sitting and developing long term eating habits that I didn't like and still haven't recovered from.
1st 72hrs are always rough for me so not surprised you didn't enjoy it. It gets much easier but it's not something I'd suggest others do.
Oldnotout
GLP-1 Novice
🚫No Source Discussion🚫
Loved your initial post. For me I felt side effects before I really felt the impact of Reta. If I recall it wasn’t until my second dose.
dailychemicals
GLP-1 Novice
🚫No Source Discussion🚫
You will definitely make it 💪🏻
Winnifer
GLP-1 Novice
🚫No Source Discussion🚫
@PineCone99 hows your first week going?
PineCone99
GLP-1 Apprentice
Week 2 - here we go!
- Current weight: 172 (down 3 pounds from last week woo hoo!) I thought I'd lose less honestly, as I've been losing via intermittent fasting for months leading up to starting Reta, so I knew I was well past that "initial water weight loss week" AND I'd been eating throughout the day instead of fasting, but hey, I'm happily surprised with the 3 pounds!
- Blood Pressure: 110/64, pulse 61 (that's normal for me, no change so far)
- Took my second dose this morning - 1 mg again. Injected on the other side of the stomach. No need to increase dose.
- I see now the value in labelling, lol. After all the concentration and stress of last week, this week I took my clear vial from the fridge and thought... I put 1 mL of BAC in here, right? RIGHT? I did, but I should have written it down so I didn't have to second-guess myself this morning.
- Also, the visual amount in the syringe (10 units) still looks freakishly big to me, compared to what is in the vial itself. It gives me pause each time, but I guess I'll get used to it. 🙂
- I did have a brief argument with my brain (needle phobia) as I went to inject, but no sweating upper lip this time haha, progress! I'm kind of a bully to myself when I need a kick in the ass: "OK DO YOU WANT TO BE A FATASS??! NO?? OKAY THEN, QUIT YOUR PANSYING AROUND AND GET ON WITH IT YOU GIANT BABY!" Lol I am not from the "kind self-talk" era, but I could certainly learn a thing or two. I'm going to work my way through this epic stash of insulin needles (why tf did I buy so many!?) and then take the advice everyone gave re: pens.
- No noticeable sides at all in the recent 4-5 days, the initial day and day after I felt a bit of headache, dizzy, nausea but only for a few seconds at a time and I drank a lot of water and it subsided pretty quick.
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Celestar62
GLP-1 Novice
🚫No Source Discussion🚫
Awesome! I started Reta in Jan after being on Tirz for a year. The only advice I'd give would be to micro dose when you want to start titrating up. Use glp1plotter to see the difference. I started at 2mg for a month, then 4mg once a week for a month. Instead of going up to either 6 or 8mg a week, I started micro dosing 3mg every other day. After 2 weeks I can see a difference. I also supplement cargi.5mg 1x a week. Though I might increase that to 2x a week at some point.
PineCone99
GLP-1 Apprentice
Well… what is going on here?
I just started wearing a continuous glucose monitor, just for observation (I don’t have diabetes). And the low alarm has gone off a few times.
The dotted red line by the 3 is the 3.9 cutoff. 1:30 am how could it have been that low? Under 3.9 a few times and under 3 as well. Maybe I’m laying on the sensor? Though that doesn’t explain the lows at 7 AM when I was awake and definitely not laying on the sensor… A few more times in the middle of the day today the alarm went off. I’m gonna watch over the next few days and see what happens but this is a bit unexpected.
I just started wearing a continuous glucose monitor, just for observation (I don’t have diabetes). And the low alarm has gone off a few times.
The dotted red line by the 3 is the 3.9 cutoff. 1:30 am how could it have been that low? Under 3.9 a few times and under 3 as well. Maybe I’m laying on the sensor? Though that doesn’t explain the lows at 7 AM when I was awake and definitely not laying on the sensor… A few more times in the middle of the day today the alarm went off. I’m gonna watch over the next few days and see what happens but this is a bit unexpected.
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PineCone99
GLP-1 Apprentice
Thanks for sharing your experience, a good reminder to me, not to move up too quickly. That "sunburned skin" does not sound like a good time and I would like to avoid if possible.
PineCone99
GLP-1 Apprentice
Ahh, I see. It's the consuming in the short window that's the problem, makes sense. I was at about 1200 cals so it wasn't TOO bad for me. Back then, I would get the worst blood sugar crashes around the 55 hour mark of a 72, and for that reason I didn't do them all that often.
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PineCone99
GLP-1 Apprentice
BLOOD SUGAR:
For 3 days in a row now, during the day and especially at night (1 am, 3 am, 6 am) I'm having the low blood sugar alarms go off from my CGM (continuous glucose monitor). Unexpected. I don't feel really brutal when it happens, but slight headache, tired. In the past when I've overdone a sports game while fasting, and the dreaded "bonk" hits me, that feels terrible (weak, imbalanced, shaky, nausea, etc). So it hasn't gotten to THAT point, but I'm not quite sure what to do. I am not fasting. I am eating all throughout the day, and having plenty of carbs and even a couple dates or honey when I hear the alarm, then complex carbs 30 mins later. Blood sugar rises, an hour and a half later, again it goes off. Sigh. Is one expected to have a banana on their nightstand to eat at 1:30 am? Surely not.
Blood Pressure is still chill at : 109/65, pulse 61
For 3 days in a row now, during the day and especially at night (1 am, 3 am, 6 am) I'm having the low blood sugar alarms go off from my CGM (continuous glucose monitor). Unexpected. I don't feel really brutal when it happens, but slight headache, tired. In the past when I've overdone a sports game while fasting, and the dreaded "bonk" hits me, that feels terrible (weak, imbalanced, shaky, nausea, etc). So it hasn't gotten to THAT point, but I'm not quite sure what to do. I am not fasting. I am eating all throughout the day, and having plenty of carbs and even a couple dates or honey when I hear the alarm, then complex carbs 30 mins later. Blood sugar rises, an hour and a half later, again it goes off. Sigh. Is one expected to have a banana on their nightstand to eat at 1:30 am? Surely not.
Blood Pressure is still chill at : 109/65, pulse 61
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PineCone99
GLP-1 Apprentice
Week 3 begins!
- Current weight: 169 (down 3 pounds from last week yay!). Do you know how long it's been since I've seen a "16.." prefix on that scale?!! For a brief time a decade ago, and then back in college days. Hello old friend! It's good to see you again.
- Blood Pressure: 111/66, pulse 54 (that's normal for me, no change so far)
- Dose: Took my 3rd dose this morning - 1 mg again. Injected on the other side of the stomach. No need to increase dose, progress is happening with minimal sides.
- Blood Sugar: The CCM continues to alarm periodically in the day and at night, though the past 2 nights, it hasn't gone as low as previous nights. I'm curious if this is due to the tapering off of the Reta in my system and will observe these next 2 nights now that I've just injected.
- Non-scale Victory - Breakfast: One of the most pleasing things of all, is that I can now actually enjoy a breakfast again and NOT have a massive blood sugar spike followed by a drop followed by incessant nagging cravings for the ENTIRE DAY. My gosh!! THIS IS SO NICE. I still feel a little nervous eating something "high GI" like a banana gasp, clutch pearls in the morning. But that spike & crash & cravings just don't happen anymore. So so amazing and freeing. Imagine! Just eating a little of what you actually like, instead of nothing or goddamn barley lol.
- Fattest Pants, Be Gone with Thee! This weekend, I'm cutting the cord on all of my too-big jeans that I've been holding onto from when I had reached peak rotundness (221). I am NOT going back. I need to buy 1 single new pair to get me through this transition stage (as I don't intend to stay at this current weight for too long either). I'm super pumped to see what size those will be!!
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Countyroad233
Recently Joined
🚫No Source Discussion🚫
When you switched from Tirz to Reta, did you start back at a lower dose? I am in 12.5 Tirz and wondering where to start when switching to Reta
PineCone99
GLP-1 Apprentice
Week 4 begins!
- Stats:
- 5'7, female
- Highest weight: 221 (lost 46 prior to Reta)
- Starting weight: 175
- Current weight: 167 (down 2 pounds from last week)
- 1st Goal weight: 160
- 2nd Goal weight: 140
- Dose: Took my 4th dose this morning - 1 mg again. Depending on how this next week goes (re: hunger & weight loss) I may bump to 1.5 mg next week.
- Blood Pressure: 104/63, pulse 59. No change since starting Reta
- Blood Sugar: The CCM doesn't alarm at night much anymore which is good, and not as often in the day, just occasionally, so I think my system is adjusting to the Reta nicely. It still alarms about 30 minutes after stopping a high-impact sports session. But I can easily fix that with a quick bite to eat. I do think Reta lowered my blood sugar from the start to slightly lower than it would have been otherwise, but each time, my body does whatever it needs to do and brings it back up into range fairly quickly. The only time it doesn't is after an intense 2 hour sport session, and that's the "bonk/blood sugar crash" that happens to anyone I think. My CCM sensor runs out in 3 days so no more blood sugar info after that.
- Hunger: Noticed the return of some hunger/food noise this week for the first time, over the past 4 days. Not sure if this is related to hormonal monthly cycle or just getting used to the current Reta dose. I will observe this week and may increase the dose by 0.5 mg next week if I find hunger increasing yet again.
- Sides: Minimal sides, mostly on shot day and the day after I get some bouts of dizziness and nausea but nothing very bothersome.
- All in all, very happy with Reta, onward we go!! 🙂
laansasa
GLP-1 Enthusiast
This is soooo similar (almost identical) to my story (except I ordered from the US). The needle phobia was the hardest part but I watched a video from a doctor who said to cough and that somehow distracts your senses and it worked.
lessthanhalf
GLP-1 Specialist
Thanks for posting this series , it is the kind of info that is actually useful for people starting out.
I wonder if your sugars might be more stable with higher protein or less carbs or low glycemic index carbs? With the aim of preventing spikes than then trigger drops in glucose. I have never measured mine like that with a cgm, but I definitely know what rebound hunger a few hours after eating some types of food is like. My solution is fairly extreme with total avoidance of any high calorie / highly rewarding / high glycemic index foods for 3 years, but I am down 54% in weight .
I wonder if your sugars might be more stable with higher protein or less carbs or low glycemic index carbs? With the aim of preventing spikes than then trigger drops in glucose. I have never measured mine like that with a cgm, but I definitely know what rebound hunger a few hours after eating some types of food is like. My solution is fairly extreme with total avoidance of any high calorie / highly rewarding / high glycemic index foods for 3 years, but I am down 54% in weight .
PineCone99
GLP-1 Apprentice
Week 5 begins!
- Stats:
- 5'7, female
- Highest weight: 221 (lost 46 prior to Reta)
- Starting weight: 175
- Current weight: 165 (down 2 pounds from last week, woo hoo!)
- 1st Goal weight: 160
- 2nd Goal weight: 140
- Dose: Took my 5th dose yesterday morning – I increased for the first time, from 1 mg to 1.5 mg. I was starting to have increased cravings over several days in the past 2 weeks and therefore figured it was a good time for a modest increase.
- Blood Pressure: 108/66, pulse 54. No real change since starting Reta
- Sides: Very minimal sides, mostly on shot day and the day after I get some bouts of dizziness and nausea but nothing very bothersome (other than the sleep issues).
- Sleep: Not sure if this is related to reta or not, but I keep waking up at 5:30/6:30 am, every day, which is annoying. Even on the weekends. And I’m still tired, I need more sleep, but I can’t seem to get back to it once I wake at that time. It may be that my hypothyroid meds need to be lowered now that I weigh less. Typically on the weekends I sleep until 9-10 am, so this is unusual for me.
- Thoughts: Mannnn, I cannot even express how exciting this all is! 👏 I suppose part of me is still untrusting, thinking “watch, it’ll work for 2 weeks and then stop working” like so many other things have. So, I’m almost holding my breath, yet it continues to work!! I barely dare type it out, lest I jinx myself!! I may cry once I see a “15..” on that scale.. 3-4 more weeks. Maybe right in time for my birthday. ☺️
PineCone99
GLP-1 Apprentice
Thanks for this, and for sharing your thoughts. In fact, I was low-carb/low-GI-carb and intermittent fasting (23/1) for years, prior to starting Reta. And after playing sports, I was having a very bad time with the "bonk" / blood sugar crash. So, that led to me adding the carbs back in, which has prevented that post-workout crash. While wearing the CGM I noticed that (separate from sports), when it would alarm, a low-GI carb or high-fibre was not enough to bring me out of the alarm-stage. But I hear you on ideally preventing those large spikes and subsequent drops. Trying to find that balance. 🙂
BNLFL
GLP-1 Specialist
I was waking up at 4am for about a week, and couldn't go back to sleep. I'm normally a 8-5:30/6:30 guy. Not the Reta, because it recently started. It was just my brain going into overload thinking about everything. My wife made me take half a gummy we had here, and bam. I'l do it tonight too. Asleep in 15 minutes and slept till 5:30. Still getting way to much to pee. I really need to go to the Urologist.
