Reta w/ Hypoglycemia?

[Dos-Dox]

Does anyone have any experience with reta hypoglycemia? I have a family member (F73) wanting to start retatrutide but she suffers from hypoglycemic episodes. (She is not diabetic, doesn’t drink, etc.) I just want to ensure the risks associated with reta usage aren’t of more concern for her with this condition.

I’ve read every thread on this forum that mentions hypoglycemia but don’t see anything about someone already having recurrent hypoglycemia before starting reta. I haven’t found much out on the web in my searches either.

I’ve seen that GLP1s can exasperate hypoglycemia, but that the risk is lower with reta due to the glucagon receptor targeting. My thought is that hypoglycemia is another form of metabolic disorder, which reta should help stabilize. If she sticks with a low dose, eats small meals throughout the day (even if not particularly hungry) and monitors blood sugar, she should be able to give it a go to see how well it is tolerated. Does this logic seem reasonable? I’d appreciate any thoughts or experience you have with this combo. Thank you.

 

[pavlovs]

I took reta for two months, and the only hypyoglycenic episodes I have ever had was while taking the reta. However, I wasn't eating frequent small meals, I was skipping breakfast, eating a small dinner and small lunch.

I have a Dexcom, a couple of times my glucose level got down into the fifties. Since she is better at taking care to eat properly throughout the day and monitors her levels, she might do okay. My thought would be to start low and slow. I admit I went up pretty quickly and didn't start low.

 

[lessthanhalf]

Without knowing the reason for the hypoglycemic episodes, the only reasonable advice would be to seek a medical opinion first, given the persons age, and the fact that hypoglycemia can have serious consequences. GLP drugs can cause hypoglycemia, not common in people with diabetes, and less common again in people without diabetes. As Retatrutide is newer and does not have its phase 3 studies completed yet there is less information about it and its side effects than there is for semaglutide and tirzepatide, the only reference I found in a few seconds of googling was that hypoglycemia was less common with retatrutide than tirzepatide, so it might be safer. Generally speaking doctors are not going to recommend people take drugs that have not been approved for use in humans yet, so it might be necessary to ask about tirzepatide instead. If a doctor who understands the mechanism causing the hypoglycemia recommends not using glp medications then it would be a good idea to follow that advice.

 

[MsGizmo]

My first answer is going to be ... talk to an actual doctor.
My second answer would be risk reduction ... take SUPER low doses and pay VERY close attention to her numbers. A continuous monitoring device would be ideal. I'm not positive, but I would think that you could buy one without a prescription since it isn't a drug or involved in drug delivery. (correct me if I'm wrong) But I will also admit I have no idea how much that would cost either.

 

[pavlovs]

My first answer is going to be ... talk to an actual doctor.
My second answer would be risk reduction ... take SUPER low doses and pay VERY close attention to her numbers. A continuous monitoring device would be ideal. I'm not positive, but I would think that you could buy one without a prescription since it isn't a drug or involved in drug delivery. (correct me if I'm wrong) But I will also admit I have no idea how much that would cost either.

There are two over the counter cgms, and both cost about 90 dollars a month. I didn't know how helpful they would be, though. My prescription device has an alarm if I go too high or too low, I think that both of the over the counter ones have a much more narrow range, and I heard that the alarms aren't helpful.