Starting Dose Strategy on Reta – Slow Titration vs. Jumping to 2 mg Weekly

[modoodom]

What the heck does this mean?

Mostly just that slower titration gives me more time to actually observe how my body responds before changing variables again.

Things like hunger, energy, sleep, recovery, mood, cravings, GI effects, training performance, etc. can all shift a bit, and if I’m constantly jumping doses it becomes harder to tell what’s actually causing what.

By “self-awareness” I basically mean paying attention to those patterns instead of just chasing faster results immediately.

 

[Vriende]

Mostly just that slower titration gives me more time to actually observe how my body responds before changing variables again. ...
.
By “self-awareness” I basically mean paying attention to those patterns instead of just chasing faster results immediately.

I love the nuances in your posts and being gentle, working with your body rather than attempting to pound it into submission.

 

[Kris P]

8lbs a week is a shitload. If true, it's likely water weight. Did you start dieting too?

I was eating pretty clean, Keto “ish” but not high fat. The Reta seemed to help with the willpower and I just didn’t seem to eat as often. I swear I was stuck at 238 lbs for weeks, 230 was a nice surprise.

 

[A-Train]

I’m only on week 4 myself, but I took a pretty similar approach:
0.5mg for 2 weeks, then 0.75mg for the next 2 weeks. Even at those lower doses I’ve already had pretty strong appetite suppression and reduced food noise, so I haven’t felt a huge rush to climb yet.

My mindset has been “minimal effective dose.” I’d rather slowly work upward if needed than overshoot early, deal with sides, or build tolerance faster than necessary. I also want to clearly understand what each dose change is actually doing.

I think a lot of people define “working” differently too. Some mean scale movement, others mean appetite suppression, impulse control, body composition, inflammation, etc.

I’m around 13% body fat already eating roughly 2000 calories with ~200g protein daily, so I’m not seeing massive scale movement yet, but visually I can definitely see body composition changes already.

Personally, I think slower titration helps with adaptation and self-awareness, even if it delays peak effects a bit.

My mindset is very similar.

I started at 0.25 every 7 days for 4 weeks. Then moved to 0.5 every 6 days for 4 weeks. Currently at 1mg every 5 days and will remain here for at least 4 weeks before titrating up.

I also already have strong appetite suppression and reduced food noise. Also experienced a handful of side effects even at this low dose. I've dealt with nausea and fatigue at 0.25, increased RHR at 0.5, and irregular menstrual cycle since the beginning.

Very little scale movement, but I know that will come eventually. I also really don't want to lose more than 1-1.5lb/week so my plan is to titrate up every 4 weeks until I reach that 1lb/wk mark and stay at that dose until it is no longer helping me lose that amount per week.

 

[Waterslither]

I want to start a discussion about starting dose on Reta and hear some real experiences from others.
I started very cautiously:

• 0.5 mg for 2 weeks
• then 1 mg for another 2 weeks
• during the second week at 1 mg, I split the week in half and pinned another 1 mg

So now I’m doing:

• 1 mg every Tuesday morning 6 am
• 1 mg every Friday evening 6 pm

Honestly, only now do I feel like I’ve reached the right dose for me. Before that, I could barely even say I felt anything, except maybe some mild effect about an hour after injection.

The reason I approached it this way is because I read a lot of reports from rats that jumped straight to 2 mg and regretted it because of sides. But now I’m really wondering if starting lower than 2 mg actually makes sense in practice for adaptation, or if many people simply delay getting meaningful effects.

My weight literally did not move until I reached a total of 2 mg/week. I should also mention that I’m already fit and not massively overweight, so maybe that changes things compared to people with a lot more body fat to lose.

What were your experiences with starting doses?
Do you think the slow titration below 2 mg really helps the body adapt, or is it often unnecessary for people who tolerate it well?

Interested to hear different perspectives. Thank you for considering.

So I actually started with 1mg Reta last Wed and then besides more frequent bathroom visits I didn't notice any other side effects or effects I was expecting from Reta. Then I took another 1mg Sat cuz why not, for all I knew it's not even Reta in the vial. Basically felt no food noise reduction except that maybe I could eat a little bit less after every meal. Also wasn't fully sure if it was just because I'm also eating the same meals everyday for a little over 2 weeks. Might try a slightly higher dose this upcoming week as long as I still don't notice the effects.

 

[Johnny D]

I started at 1 MG. Had what felt like panic attacks but was probably increased heart rate. My chest felt tight and could not get deep breath like normal. I had an episode at the gym and had an ambulance called. The poked and prodded me and found nothing they were concerned with. Fortunately I did not have to take a ride to the hospital. I lowered my dose to 500mcg for a few weeks . Slowly I. Increased dosage by 250mcg every 3 or 4 weeks. Eventually got to 2mg but have since backed back down to 1.5. Been on Reta going in 14 months

How much weight have you lost in those 14 months?

 

[Strawberry man]

How much weight have you lost in those 14 months?

The reason I started was because I heard this can help with alcohol consumption. My drinking has been cut in half. I lost 30lbs before Reta doing Keto diet. Started Reta at 178, got down to 154 which was to much weight loss. Lots of consistent bike riding and swimming helped me lose also. I have been floating around 170lbs for probably the last 5 months. Smooth sailing at the moment at 1.5 mg. I am not dieting or doing any consistent bike riding.

 

[PAPoots]

There's a lot of scary posts in this thread. Rapid titration schedules, massive starting doses, using a triple agonist at 13% bodyfat and trying to go lower. There are reasons why there are multiple peptides out there. Most of them are designed to help sugar control and the weight loss was a secondary effect. Reta will raise your RHR, why would anyone without any comorbidities take it knowing their sleep quality will go down when all they might need is the appetite suppression from Cagri. Not to mention the other side effects like allodynia, dehydration.

Don't use a sledgehammer to put a nail in the wall for a 4x6 picture frame.

 

[bay_area_schizo]

well I fucked up my first dose meant to have 2mg ended up having 4mg (don’t ask) felt like shit didn’t want to eat the works.

The second week I went to 2mg, stomach cramps and either constipation or dhiarea. However as from third week I started dosing 1mg on Mondays and another on Thursdays.

This had been the sweet spot for me no symptoms and losing weight at a steady pace ( too well!)

I have some appetite suppression but nothing major like other people have described food noise is completely gone l. I do stick to my macros and make sure I get all my protein in daily.

I’ve helped two friends start up with feta I recommended the first dose to be 0.5
The first one had all the side effects however by the second week all gone. Next week he will be hoping it to 1mg.

Think everyone should start of at 0.5 until your body can tolerate it and forage up slowly to your desired dose. Most people’s sweet spot seems to be 2mg without drastic rapid weight loss.

I know you said don't ask but I gotta do it 🤣 what happened that you mistakenly doubled your expected dose? your experience can help some other rat 🐀

 

[Llanitox]

I know you said don't ask but I gotta do it 🤣 what happened that you mistakenly doubled your expected dose? your experience can help some other rat 🐀

Hahaha I essentially used the wrong amount of bac to reconstitute it (1ml instead of 2ml for a 20mg vial). So what I thought was going to be a 2mg dose was actually a super concentrated 4mg dose

 

[bay_area_schizo]

Hahaha I essentially used the wrong amount of bac to reconstitute it (1ml instead of 2ml for a 20mg vial). So what I thought was going to be a 2mg dose was actually a super concentrated 4mg dose

but did you die? lol thanks for sharing with us. I got a label maker today due to this fear

 

[Llanitox]

but did you die? lol thanks for sharing with us. I got a label maker today due to this fear

No but when I was shitting my life away in the toilet I thought I was going to 🤣

 

[MarcTheAnimal]

well I fucked up my first dose meant to have 2mg ended up having 4mg (don’t ask) felt like shit didn’t want to eat the works.

The second week I went to 2mg, stomach cramps and either constipation or dhiarea. However as from third week I started dosing 1mg on Mondays and another on Thursdays.

This had been the sweet spot for me no symptoms and losing weight at a steady pace ( too well!)

I have some appetite suppression but nothing major like other people have described food noise is completely gone l. I do stick to my macros and make sure I get all my protein in daily.

I’ve helped two friends start up with feta I recommended the first dose to be 0.5
The first one had all the side effects however by the second week all gone. Next week he will be hoping it to 1mg.

Think everyone should start of at 0.5 until your body can tolerate it and forage up slowly to your desired dose. Most people’s sweet spot seems to be 2mg without drastic rapid weight loss.

Dude i saw your post asking about SSY but was not able to reply on your post, so i want to do it here. Be careful, they scammed me...

 

[BNLFL]

Eli lilly phase 3 Trial (Triumph) dosage schedule:

2mg/week x4
4mg/week x4
6mg/week x4
9mg/week x4
12mg/week x4

I got to 12mg for 2 weeks and hit my goal. Now back down to 6mg/week.

Almost the same here . I used one of the early trial schedules. that went 2-4-8-12 all 4/weeks. I modified it a little, I went 2-4-6-8 and on 8mg now. 10 will be next if needed. It's worked well at 1.5-2lbs/week.

 

[Llanitox]

Dude i saw your post asking about SSY but was not able to reply on your post, so i want to do it here. Be careful, they scammed me...

How so ? Did you not receive your good ?

I’ve got the tracking number for my stuff already and on its way for a small test purchase

 

[Mood]

I did 1mg first week; didn't really feel anything. Increased to 1mg every 3 days second week and definitely felt it then. Skin sensitivity being my only real side effect. Definitely helped with not eating as much in a single sitting. Lost 8lbs in the first few weeks but then stopped. Most likely a lot of water weight. Just entered 5th week and increased to 1.5mg/3 days. No increase in sides and feeling good so far. Will monitor from here and increase as needed. Going slow; no need to rush anything. Weight is currently holding pretty steady but feel like I'm looking better which is more what I'm going for anyway. Weight isn't as important as the way my clothes fit, etc.

 

[PepGladiator]

I took my first dose at 1mg on Wednesday night. Had some trouble falling asleep even with the magnesium and glycine I take. Nothing but protein shakes and vitamins during the day, even with strength training in the early am, until getting home from work where my wife made dinner Thursday and Friday. Had my first lunch craving today which I acted on. Considering another 1mg tonight, if I do will continue with split dose schedule of another 1mg next Wednesday

Maybe dose Reta in the morning, to alleviate the issue of trouble falling asleep. I stack with Tesamorelin, in the evening (fasted at least 2 hours before I jab), and it has done wonders for my sleep. Reta once a week in the morning. Tesa 5 days a week, 2 days off.

 

[pharaoh]

IMO starting at 0.5mg is just not worth it. Starting at 1mg at least and suck it up if you have any side effects. Personally, most people I've known handle 1mg-2mg fairly well when starting.

The thing about Reta is that you want to titrate up get to 4mg minimum as soon as possible. We already saw from the trials that the dose-response curves start going up at 4mg and flattening out at 9mg.

So, taking any less than 4mg means you're not getting much of the amazing fat burning benefits from Reta.

If the effects are too rough, just split dosage.

The Phase-3 Lilly trials have been following a starting dosage of 2mg with titration of 2mg every 4 weeks, and the results have been good.

I personally believe this is the best way to go about it, but then again, I haven't once gotten any side effects from GLPs even at 12mg Tirz and 4mg Reta.

 

[ProblemChild]

I'm taking things VERY slowly. I started on 0.25mg and increased 0.25mg every five days. I'm hanging out at 1.0mg for a total of three weeks (four pins) and will increase to 1.5mg next.

 

[BNLFL]

I'm taking things VERY slowly. I started on 0.25mg and increased 0.25mg every five days. I'm hanging out at 1.0mg for a total of three weeks (four pins) and will increase to 1.5mg next.

Living on the edge huh?

 

[ProblemChild]

Living on the edge huh?

No, I have afib and know that Reta can trigger episodes so I'm taking my time titrating up. I'm in no hurry.

 

[BNLFL]

No, I have afib and know that Reta can trigger episodes so I'm taking my time titrating up. I'm in no hurry.

What meds do they have you on? I had that 3.7 years ago. Very bad pneumonia put me into it. They had me on everything in the hospital. Cardiologist still has me on 2 meds.

 

[ProblemChild]

What meds do they have you on? I had that 3.7 years ago. Very bad pneumonia put me into it. They had me on everything in the hospital. Cardiologist still has me on 2 meds.

No meds anymore. Had an ablation back in 2021 and have had no episodes to date (knock on wood).

I ran across this clip that talks about supplementing Taurine to help with the heart-related side effects of Reta.

 

[Powerslide]

IMO starting at 0.5mg is just not worth it. Starting at 1mg at least and suck it up if you have any side effects. Personally, most people I've known handle 1mg-2mg fairly well when starting.

The thing about Reta is that you want to titrate up get to 4mg minimum as soon as possible. We already saw from the trials that the dose-response curves start going up at 4mg and flattening out at 9mg.

So, taking any less than 4mg means you're not getting much of the amazing fat burning benefits from Reta.

If the effects are too rough, just split dosage.

The Phase-3 Lilly trials have been following a starting dosage of 2mg with titration of 2mg every 4 weeks, and the results have been good.

I personally believe this is the best way to go about it, but then again, I haven't once gotten any side effects from GLPs even at 12mg Tirz and 4mg Reta.

We also have to remember they are in business to make money and sell drugs. Why keep going up if you are still losing your goal per week?

 

[lessthanhalf]

Peoples individual responses to GLP drugs seems to be very variable, both side effects and useful effects. The advantage of starting at lower doses than standard is to reduce the risks of unpleasant side effects that happen suddenly. One person might get mild nausea at 8mg and another vomiting at 2mg , but the standard start doses were chosen for a reason, for reasonably low chances of severe side effects on starting. Starting at 1mg for a couple of weeks is reasonably sensible but not essential, starting even lower is probably in most people a waste of time.

People who are not overweight or only mildly so do seem to sometimes get stronger responses to lower doses. And in that case low doses and slow increases make sense, mainly as any health risks from taking the drugs are not counterbalanced by the health benefits of treating obesity. And usually those people are not going to need very high doses anyway.

I am not sure that how slowly you build up the doses makes any difference to the dose that will cause side effects in that person, which you can only find out by starting them and seeing what the effects are. Getting mild side effects at a lower dose is an indication that they will get worse with dose increases, which can be used to slow down dose increases, and is likely the main advantage of slow small dose increases. Tolerance to GI side effects like nausea is usually a fairly slow process, probably slower than even very cautious dose increase plans.

Interesting, that is the third person on this forum describing a panic attack like episode from starting reta, assuming it is a different person, it is not reported in the studies and probably should be.

 

[MarcTheAnimal]

Peoples individual responses to GLP drugs seems to be very variable, both side effects and useful effects. The advantage of starting at lower doses than standard is to reduce the risks of unpleasant side effects that happen suddenly. One person might get mild nausea at 8mg and another vomiting at 2mg , but the standard start doses were chosen for a reason, for reasonably low chances of severe side effects on starting. Starting at 1mg for a couple of weeks is reasonably sensible but not essential, starting even lower is probably in most people a waste of time.

People who are not overweight or only mildly so do seem to sometimes get stronger responses to lower doses. And in that case low doses and slow increases make sense, mainly as any health risks from taking the drugs are not counterbalanced by the health benefits of treating obesity. And usually those people are not going to need very high doses anyway.

I am not sure that how slowly you build up the doses makes any difference to the dose that will cause side effects in that person, which you can only find out by starting them and seeing what the effects are. Getting mild side effects at a lower dose is an indication that they will get worse with dose increases, which can be used to slow down dose increases, and is likely the main advantage of slow small dose increases. Tolerance to GI side effects like nausea is usually a fairly slow process, probably slower than even very cautious dose increase plans.

Interesting, that is the third person on this forum describing a panic attack like episode from starting reta, assuming it is a different person, it is not reported in the studies and probably should be.

Thank you for your reply, and I agree with you.
It was only after I recently increased my dose to 2 mg twice a week that I started experiencing skin sensitivity and allodynia. I don't think my initial dose had any effect on that.
I also think I would have experienced these side effects once I reached 4 mg per week, regardless of what dose I started with.

 

[BNLFL]

Side effects seem to shrink with time. Except this sleep thing.

 

[Mr. B]

About to start on Reta after having done microdosing Sema for 3 months. The microdosing while not crazy effective did have some benefits, it helped with food noise and my sweet tooth kind of went away. I didn't have much side effects other than some constipation and it messed with my sleep. Never seemed to get deep sleep. So in starting Reta want to start low likely at 0.5 mg for a few weeks and see what happens. Then scale up. Eventually would like to be able to scale up to level where I could see some Liver Fat Burning along with weight loss. Have about 75 lbs would like to lose being at 275 currently

 

[Pete369]

Was planning on weekly and started at .5mg but felt nothing so added another .5mg 3 days later. Felt a little so went up to 1mg the first injection of the next week and had appetite suppression but also what I’d describe as ‘clenching bowels’ for a few days. Felt similar to when I found out I was lactose intolerant but the pain wasn’t as bad. Best to start slow imo

 

[BNLFL]

About to start on Reta after having done microdosing Sema for 3 months. The microdosing while not crazy effective did have some benefits, it helped with food noise and my sweet tooth kind of went away. I didn't have much side effects other than some constipation and it messed with my sleep. Never seemed to get deep sleep. So in starting Reta want to start low likely at 0.5 mg for a few weeks and see what happens. Then scale up. Eventually would like to be able to scale up to level where I could see some Liver Fat Burning along with weight loss. Have about 75 lbs would like to lose being at 275 currently

Wanting to lose 75lbs, and starting at .5mg? You need to start at 2mg. But I guess I don't know anything according to someone here.