DISCLAIMER: This may not be of any interest to the more experienced on this site, but as a "newbie", I found this type of posting both informative and reassuring to read.
Today, I took my very first shot of Reta! 🎉 It's also my very first GLP-1 ever. I'm feeling proud as punch. My goodness, there are a LOT of steps to even get to this point, but so very satisfying to finally be in this next phase of the experience. Which I could not have done without the expertise and generous sharing of information on this site, so a big thank you to all here.
Backstory - struggled with weight all my adult life, gained and lost the same pounds for years. 101 different diets. All worked for a bit, but weren't sustainable long-term. I have been interested in a GLP1 since I first heard of them a number of years ago, but I don't have diabetes and while "fluffy", not quite fluffy enough that my doctor will prescribe me one. SIGH. I hemmed and hawed about paying out-of-pocket, but my God, so expensive!
One fortuitus day, on Reddit (I know) I heard murmurings of a way to acquire a GLP1 and NOT pay $400 a month... I was instantly fascinated. Reddit though, such chaos. From there I thankfully found my way here quite quickly and to a few other "beginner friendly" resources. Spent weeks reading, reading, searching, reading. My initial thoughts were: "this is absolute insanity, no way in hellll am I buying suspect white powder from another country, sneaking it through customs, and then trying to mix it up MYSELF and INJECTING it into myself!" What in the ever-loving F? 😀 I've come a long way since then.. emboldened by reading the many experiences of others, and the realization that these are just normal folks, they're not exclusively chemists or roid-rage-gym-bros. They're everyday people. My bad for assuming.
I spent some time learning the reconstitution process and while very daunting initially, it's not actually that complex. You can't be a moron about it of course, but if you have a functioning brain, you can certainly do it. Then researching dosing, safe sources, testing, supplies needed etc. And when I finally thought I was ready to place an order.. omg crypto?? I have to fucking pay in crypto?? I don't know anything about crypto and my brain is TIRED y'all. Anyway after a little flailing hissy fit, I got over myself and got back to learning. Crypto payments too, seem very very confusing initially - exchanges, wallets, addresses, stablecoins, networks WHAT IN THE NAME OF ALL THINGS HOLY?!! SOMEONE HELP MEEEE. And the kind people on the internet, they did help me. With simple user guides and helpful pointers. Can we talk about how terrifying that first purchase is though? Did I just send hundreds of dollars into the abyss? Do I just wait for 3 weeks now in silence and hope a parcel shows up at my door instead of the customs officers coming to arrest me? 🙂
Well last night a parcel DID show up at my door, without any fanfare at all. No doorbell buzzer, no email, no phone call. Just silently there on my front step. In keeping with this whole secret-and-clandestine affair I suppose. It was all I could do to wait until today to take my first dose.
This morning I re-watched my favourite reconstitution videos, quadruple checked my calculations, and began. They said to inject the Hospira BAC water slowly and to the side of the powder, but zoooom! it was sucked right out of the syringe instantly... well.... okay I guess. Small fail on my part there. Everything mixed up perfectly clear. Now, the moment of truth. Did I mention I have a needle phobia? Yeah. Had to take some deep breaths, and broke out in a little sweat on my upper lip lol. I was so nervous. But I jaw-clenched my way through it and now I am SO PLEASED.
Today I am going to celebrate with some nice treat. It's the starting point of what I'm hoping will be the pathway to the best shape of my life.
I am starting with 1 mg Reta for 4 weeks and then will assess. If losing, will stay there, if not really losing, will increase to 1.5 or 2 mg.
5'7 female
Highest weight: 221
Current weight: 175
(Recently lost those 46 through intermittent fasting & a year of loss/grief)
1st Goal weight: 160
2nd Goal weight: 140
I had been doing 23/1 intermittent fasting, but I may now switch to more frequent but small meals, if I'm not struggling with hunger every waking hour of the day.
I incorporated high-intensity sports 3 x a week about 2 months ago, and will be adding in some weight-lifting on a couple days as I enjoy that more than cardio anyway. Always get min 10,000 steps anyway.
I am hypothyroid and will consult with my doctor in a month or so regarding any needed medication adjustments.
I bought a smart-scale so I can watch that I don't lose too much muscle mass as I go.
Very very grateful for everyone that has shared knowledge, information, stories, encouragement along the way, and cannot wait to see how the future unfolds with Reta! 🙂 🙂 🙂
PS. One thing that took me aback each time was the sizes of the various items. For some reason I pictured Hospira BAC much larger bottles, and even more so for the Reta vials. WAY smaller than I'd imagined lol, THESE ARE FOR ANTS!! Also the way volumes of liquid look in different sized syringes and vials, very unexpected for me. Ten units is going to be half this vial, how can this possibly be 10 doses in here (then I extract it and it's like "oh.... okay, that's fine then") 😀
