4 months on tirzepatide: my progress report and what comes next

fatjacked said:

Week 1 — 263.0 lbs at 2.5 mg

Week 2 — 257.9 lbs at 2.5 mg

Week 3 — 258.6 lbs at 2.5 mg

Week 4 — 255.7 lbs at 2.5 mg

Week 5 — 254.0 lbs at 2.5 mg

Week 6 — 253.4 lbs at 3.3 mg

Week 7 — 253.5 lbs at 3.3 mg

Week 8 — 252.4 lbs at 5.0 mg

Week 9 — 247.0 lbs at 5.0 mg

Week 10 — 245.7 lbs at 5.0 mg

Week 11 — 245.5 lbs at 5.0 mg

Week 12 — 245.4 lbs at 5.0 mg

Week 13 — 246.6 lbs at 7.5 mg

Week 14 — 243.5 lbs at 10 mg (split dose)

Week 15 — 241.0 lbs at 7.5 mg

Week 16 — 239.5 lbs at 7.5 mg

Week 17 — 235.1 lbs at 7.5 mg

Week 18 — 234.2 lbs at 7.5 mg

Week 19 — 236.0 lbs on 10 mg (+2 days)

Week 20 — 233.7 lbs at 10 mg

Week 21 — 230.4 lbs at 10 mg (+3.2mg KLOW daily)

Week 21 — 228.4 lbs at 10 mg (+3.2mg KLOW daily, 500mcg Semax NA intranasal daily)

The 10mg dose looks to be doing the job. I've got a 2 week work trip in mid-July, and I'm really hoping to be at my initial GW of 220 by then, then reset / reassess. I added Semax NA this week to see whether it eased any of the anhedonia / brain fog that comes with a cut this long — I do think it's helped a bit, though it's pretty subtle for me.

Sleep has been a touch worse this week — could be the Semax, could be the rising tirz, could be something else entirely... My plan is to run the Semax solo for a week to gauge it, then bring Selank NA in on afternoons during the 2nd week, since plenty of people run the two together. I've also ordered Adamax and Bromantane, and I may cycle each once the Semax runs out to see which I prefer.

On the whole, I expect to reach GW soon and then move more deliberately into recomp / maintenance, probably bringing in some GH secretagogues and/or reta at that stage — but for now I'm holding the course at the current tirz dose.
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Week 23: 10 mg, 230.0 (+3.2mg KLOW daily, 500mcg Semax NA intranasal, 500mcg Selank NA intranasal)

Week 24: 10 mg (reduced interval to 6 days), 227.0 (finished KLOW cycle, maintained Semax / Selank)

These past 2 weeks have been a bit strange. Several times after morning workouts I've stepped on the scale at 223-225, but I try to keep my weekly weigh-ins uniform: first thing in the morning on injection day, before hitting the gym. Cardio makes me sweat heavily, so my weight swings quite a bit over the course of a day. On top of that, I ate heavily over Father's Day weekend with my family.

I've come across anecdotal accounts suggesting that both KLOW and Semax can ramp up appetite while on GLP-1s, and I suspect that may have contributed to a small stall. Even in the 5 days since I ran out of the KLOW vial, the food noise seems to be settling back down.

For me, the Semax / Selank effects are fairly mild. The anxiolytic action of the Selank is easier for me to notice; I'm not sure the Semax is doing much. My plan is to do a 25-day Epitalon cycle next, then stop everything except the tirz while I'm away for a 2-week work trip in late July. I'd like to hold at 10mg for as long as I can instead of increasing.

Peptides create a strong pull to keep piling on more and experimenting with new compounds, and the last 2 weeks have been a reminder for me to stay locked on my original goal and plan things out carefully. Many people who find this community because of GLP-1s experience such dramatic changes that they start assuming there must be other amazing compounds being withheld from them. In reality, for a lot of people those other peps are just fine-tuning at the margins, or their effects differ enormously from one person to the next.
 
Week 25: 10 mg, 225.0

Week 26: 10 mg, 223.0

I kicked off a 25-day Epitalon run at 1mg per day, taken 1 hour before bed. Coming off the KLOW / Semax combo appears to have helped me get past the plateau.

By this week I'll have been on GLP-1 treatment for 6 months. Total loss is 41 pounds (15.5% of where I started), and nearly everything has improved. My goal weight has been moved up to at least 210 (originally it was 220), and I'll likely hold off on any bigger stack adjustments until I get there.

I also met with a new PCP. It turned out that dropping 40 pounds, plus all the effort and lifestyle shifts that went with it, brought my T from 229 up to 465, which is a great outcome. The rest of my labs look excellent, cholesterol is in the normal range, and metabolic markers are good. On top of that, he managed to get my insurance to approve prescription Zepbound, so this past week was my first on it. I'll stay at 10 mg at least through Week 29, then go back for a f/u visit to discuss moving up to 12.5. If another stall hits, I can always add gray (or reta) as a supplement.
 
Week 26.5: After moving to prescription Zep, I added 1 mg on day 3 because I wasn't feeling it

Week 27: 10 mg (skipped weigh-in)

Week 28: 10 mg (skipped weigh-in) - shifted the dose 1 day earlier

Week 29: 10 mg - returned to a 7-day schedule

This morning, midway through week 29, the scale showed 218.7.

For 15 days I ate only food grown and cooked locally on a distant tropical island, and stayed active with swimming, hiking and other outdoor pursuits. I felt excellent and clearly kept losing weight, even though the appetite suppression at my 10mg dose seemed to be fading. That could be from overfill in my earlier grey dose compared to prescription Zep, or simply from 8 weeks at the same dose. Tomorrow I see my PCP and will ask to increase to 12.5mg.

While traveling I did a full washout of all other peptides and mood-altering substances. I intend to do a second Epitalon cycle, this time alongside Thymalin or TA-1, and likely begin a CJC/IPA cycle to hold onto muscle through the final stage of my cut. I might also consider adding 1mg reta midweek for glucagon activation.
 
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