Still deciding between semaglutide and tirzepatide

[woundcarping]

I think if you asked people who have taken all three to give you advice it would be:

If you're starting fresh and you're going to be going to the gray market, just start with retatrutide.

My own personal experience was I started on semaglutide and got up to the max dose (at the time) of 2.4mg. I didn't really experience very much weight loss at all and had awful GI side effects... so much gastric pain!

I then switched to tirzpeatide, but because I had already started on semaglutide, it took a higher dose of tirzepatide to be effective. I didn't start seeing any weight loss until I got up to 10mg and I'm now at 15mg.

What we see, anecdotally, a lot in the community is people who are then on tirzepatide switching to retatrutide reporting that they don't feel anything near the appetite suppression that they did when they were on tirzepatide.

However, clinical trials have shown that (despite that valid observation), retatrutide produces superior weight loss results.

If you went straight to retatrutide from the get-go you wouldn't have anything to compare it to and that's probably a good thing.

Plus, if you start with retatrutide and titrate up effectively you should lose the weight you want to lose. If you hit a wall and a plateau then things like eloralintide - which will experience increasing availability in the gray market - will be the thing to add to your arsenal to get you over that hump.

So truthfully, from experience "if I knew then what I knew now" I would say:

1) Retatrutide with an eye to adding Eloralintide down the road
2) Tirzepatide
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
3) Semaglutide

I simply can't advocate the lesser effective medication that typically produces more side effects.

Recommending Reta to someone that is looking to lose say 15% seems short sighted.

I switched from Tirz to Reta after 4 weeks because I wanted to lose 30-35% and Reta was the better choice.

 

[Skidude]

Recommending Reta to someone that is looking to lose say 15% seems short sighted.

I switched from Tirz to Reta after 4 weeks because I wanted to lose 30-35% and Reta was the better choice.

I think the consensus I have seen is Reta is a personal choice based on a number of factors.
Many, who have been in this space a long time, believe it should not be the first line solution.
There are many reasons behind this, perhaps some will elaborate or a search can provide more insight.

For me, I believed I would consider Reta if I did not get my desired weight per week goals met.
There is an advantage of not losing too quickly as well.

I hit goal within 7 months losing a total of 64lbs or about 1.5lbs per week; which was my desired rate of loss.

If that 1.5 would be 52 weeks, or 100+ lbs I would have been ok with that rate as well.

 

[cheaperseeker]

I started with Sema, got up to max dose according to the recommended titration and then switched to Tirz. From the 2.4 Sema the compounding company recommended starting Tirz at 9mg. Weight started dropping again, but I found that Tirz had less side effects. On Sema I often had a low grade nausea. On Tirz no nausea, but major constipation early on. Eating prunes every day cleared that up in a few weeks. Still on Tirz and recently went to a 5 day vice 7 day schedule trying to move through a stall. The the results aren’t in yet. In my case Tirz was the better choice. But everyone’s body reacts differently. I personally think Tirz gives better results with fewer side effects.

This was how it went for me too.

CALM magnesium is really helpful for the constipation too.

 

[smallbrainchud]

honestly, you should go with reta. i've gone from 229lbs to 180lbs in 3 months on reta. side effects kinda suck at the start, but they calm down a lot over time.

if you're really against reta, tirzepatide is superior to semaglutide.

 

[Padre01]

I have been on all three. Reta is my top choice moving forward

 

[leo_123]

I understand completely. I haven't pulled the trigger on Reta yet either. I have it for when I do decide to. There are many people here who can help with retarutide. I'm taking tirzepatide myself since November of last year

Tirzepatide seems to be the most common one people are actually using right now.

 

[leo_123]

Triz would be my recommendation

11 months in , 80lbs down. Along with diet, weight training and steps.

Now trying reta, but the suppression is not as strong or your body is burning more calories so feel hungrier... Who knows

Thanks for sharing your experience, seems like tirzepatide is still the most consistent one people are having success with.

 

[leo_123]

Tirz, the trial data seems pretty clear that its twice as effective as Sema and with less sides.

Tirz gets another point then 😄

 

[leo_123]

I can't think of any reason Sema would be preferable over Tirz other than maybe price. Tirz is just plain better. Better effects and more importantly, fewer sides. And Tirz has gotten pretty cheap, so even the price argument isn't that strong. Go with Tirz,

That’s a fair point!

 

[Mood]

Hi everyone,
Thanks again for all the replies on my intro post—it’s been really helpful reading through different experiences.

I’m still at the stage of trying to decide between semaglutide and tirzepatide.

From what I’ve read so far, both seem effective but with slightly different profiles, and I’m trying to understand what might make more sense for someone in my situation (fat loss plateau despite consistent training and diet).

For those who have tried either (or both), what was the main reason you chose one over the other? And did it end up matching your expectations?

Appreciate any insights, still learning here.

My wife lost almost 100lbs (215 to 115) on tirz. She's switched to reta for maintenance while working on building muscle. I've been running reta (don't have much to lose; mainly for a recomp). Reta did cause my rhr to increase 10 bpm, so that's something to keep in mind with reta.

My daughter started on sema and got to 1mg and was so sick every week after her shot. She lost weight, but much of that was because she spent 3 days a week vomiting. It was our only option because she was 17. We've since moved her to tirz and she's doing much better and still losing weight.

Long way of saying
1. Tirz
2. Reta

99. Sema

 

[leo_123]

I started with Sema, got up to max dose according to the recommended titration and then switched to Tirz. From the 2.4 Sema the compounding company recommended starting Tirz at 9mg. Weight started dropping again, but I found that Tirz had less side effects. On Sema I often had a low grade nausea. On Tirz no nausea, but major constipation early on. Eating prunes every day cleared that up in a few weeks. Still on Tirz and recently went to a 5 day vice 7 day schedule trying to move through a stall. The the results aren’t in yet. In my case Tirz was the better choice. But everyone’s body reacts differently. I personally think Tirz gives better results with fewer side effects.

Thanks for sharing such a detailed comparison!

 

[leo_123]

Lots of people dog on Sema but it was effective for me and I think every GLP1 should be an option. I switched to Tirz several months ago from being on a maintenance dose of Sema. Now using Tirz for maintenance. I get much stronger appetite suppression from Sema and I miss that.

As far as side effects go, I guess there could be more on Sema but they I think it's just a matter of managing them on any choice you make.

Good luck and enjoy this journey. It's been wonderful for me.

Thanks for sharing, I’m probably going to go with Tirz first.

 

[leo_123]

I’ve only tried tirzepatide but love it! Five months in, 30lbs down without changing my activity levels. My diet quality and amount has improved just based on changing tastes, reactions and cravings without putting much real effort into to it. Food noise and obsession is GONE!

Also, tirz + Eloralintide studies seem very promising, so if you ever want to augment in the future, it seems like it’ll be a great lil stack.

That sounds like really solid progress, especially without changing activity levels!

 

[leo_123]

Both studies and the accounts of users show tirzepatide is more effective. As to side effects, the studies don't show a clear preference, but users tend to report tirzepatide has less side effects.

Thanks for the summary, I think I’ll probably start with Tirz.

 

[leo_123]

Tirz, all day long. I've used both and tirz was far superior for me. Sema just made me feel ill and not lose any weight. YMMV

Thanks, I’m leaning toward starting with Tirz as well.

 

[leo_123]

Another vote for Tirz here.
Reasons:

1. better total results in trials
2. long term availability
3. trials testing as a combo with others
4. #1 reason: Worked for me!

🙂

Tirz wins!

 

[leo_123]

I think if you asked people who have taken all three to give you advice it would be:

If you're starting fresh and you're going to be going to the gray market, just start with retatrutide.

My own personal experience was I started on semaglutide and got up to the max dose (at the time) of 2.4mg. I didn't really experience very much weight loss at all and had awful GI side effects... so much gastric pain!

I then switched to tirzpeatide, but because I had already started on semaglutide, it took a higher dose of tirzepatide to be effective. I didn't start seeing any weight loss until I got up to 10mg and I'm now at 15mg.

What we see, anecdotally, a lot in the community is people who are then on tirzepatide switching to retatrutide reporting that they don't feel anything near the appetite suppression that they did when they were on tirzepatide.

However, clinical trials have shown that (despite that valid observation), retatrutide produces superior weight loss results.

If you went straight to retatrutide from the get-go you wouldn't have anything to compare it to and that's probably a good thing.

Plus, if you start with retatrutide and titrate up effectively you should lose the weight you want to lose. If you hit a wall and a plateau then things like eloralintide - which will experience increasing availability in the gray market - will be the thing to add to your arsenal to get you over that hump.

So truthfully, from experience "if I knew then what I knew now" I would say:

1) Retatrutide with an eye to adding Eloralintide down the road
2) Tirzepatide
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
3) Semaglutide

I simply can't advocate the lesser effective medication that typically produces more side effects.

Thanks for the detailed breakdown, really helpful! I think I’ll start with tirz and see how my body responds first.

 

[HouseCat]

That sounds like really solid progress, especially without changing activity levels!

Aw thanks! I think you’ll really like tirz.

Side note since you’re a cat person: check out the cat thread in the Off Topic forum if you wanna post/scope pics of kitties (feline ones 😂)

 

[leo_123]

My wife lost almost 100lbs (215 to 115) on tirz. She's switched to reta for maintenance while working on building muscle. I've been running reta (don't have much to lose; mainly for a recomp). Reta did cause my rhr to increase 10 bpm, so that's something to keep in mind with reta.

My daughter started on sema and got to 1mg and was so sick every week after her shot. She lost weight, but much of that was because she spent 3 days a week vomiting. It was our only option because she was 17. We've since moved her to tirz and she's doing much better and still losing weight.

Long way of saying
1. Tirz
2. Reta

99. Sema

Super helpful perspective, thanks for sharing this! Definitely leaning toward tirz as a starting point now.

 

[JohannesSweden77]

Tirzepatide seems to be the most common one people are actually using right now.

It's common because it's already on the "big pharma" market as well as on the gray market. We know the side effects etc.

Btw you could press the +quote on the posts you want to respond to and you can collectively answer them in just one post (add all quotes) instead of answering each one at the time.

 

[leo_123]

Aw thanks! I think you’ll really like tirz.

Side note since you’re a cat person: check out the cat thread in the Off Topic forum if you wanna post/scope pics of kitties (feline ones 😂)

I’m leaning tirz as well, and I’ll check out the cat thread😸