Chewing the Fat

[Helium_Heart]

My goal is to shed some pounds; right now I'm at 194 sw and aiming for 180 gw. I work out on a consistent basis and my diet is fairly clean, yet I have a complicated love-hate dynamic with eating — occasionally I'll go overboard, other times I'll barely eat anything, though my macros and calories tend to stay dialed in. On top of that, I deal with digestive and intestinal problems.

To break through this plateau I've been stuck at, I thought I'd try reta 2mg. After browsing many threads across these forums, I came across conflicting details regarding dosing and Reactions, and I'm still wondering if a different option such as Sema or Tirz would be a better fit — but it appears that, as with most things, it comes down to trial & error.

 

[eidos]

What's your injection frequency, and how long have you been on that dose?

A single dose won't tell you much.

Check out pep-pedia — it covers dosing, offers some guidance, and points to clinical trial references.

 

[Mood]

It really comes down to what you're looking for. Reading your situation, I get the sense we might be alike — it's not that food is constantly on my mind or that I'm snacking nonstop, but once I start a meal, I can put away a huge amount. That's why I chose reta (my current schedule is 1.5mg every 3 days). Portions feel "normal" for me now.

My wife went with tirz instead, and her experience was the opposite of yours in a way — she reported that food barely crossed her mind at all, which doesn't quite line up with what you described about sometimes over indulging or eating little to nothing. As for my daughter, she gave sema a try (she was under 18 and it was the only thing available to her at the time) and it "worked" but made her really sick. We ended up stopping it after a few weeks at 1mg because she couldn't eat and would be physically ill for days after her shot. She's currently taking 4mg tirz (2mg T/F) and has been doing well on that.

My advice would be to let the reta do its thing for a while (at least a few months) before making any decisions.

 

[Helium_Heart]

eidos said:

What's your injection frequency, and how long have you been on that dose?

A single dose won't tell you much.

Check out pep-pedia — it covers dosing, offers some guidance, and points to clinical trial references.

That was dose number 1 for me. I assumed I'd probably need to take it more consistently before anything shows up, but up to now I'm relieved that neither diarrhea nor nausea — the ones I've read about on here — have hit me. Still, thanks for pointing me toward pep-pedia; it's already proven really useful

 

[Helium_Heart]

Mood said:

It really comes down to what you're looking for. Reading your situation, I get the sense we might be alike — it's not that food is constantly on my mind or that I'm snacking nonstop, but once I start a meal, I can put away a huge amount. That's why I chose reta (my current schedule is 1.5mg every 3 days). Portions feel "normal" for me now.

My wife went with tirz instead, and her experience was the opposite of yours in a way — she reported that food barely crossed her mind at all, which doesn't quite line up with what you described about sometimes over indulging or eating little to nothing. As for my daughter, she gave sema a try (she was under 18 and it was the only thing available to her at the time) and it "worked" but made her really sick. We ended up stopping it after a few weeks at 1mg because she couldn't eat and would be physically ill for days after her shot. She's currently taking 4mg tirz (2mg T/F) and has been doing well on that.

My advice would be to let the reta do its thing for a while (at least a few months) before making any decisions.

Thanks for the suggestion — given that I've only just begun, it seems like the logical route. I was second-guessing myself because I keep scrolling the threads and noticing how differently people respond. Sorry to hear your daughter had such a rough time with sema; it sounds like it was really terrible, though I'm happy it eventually worked out. That ties back to what I said earlier about trial & error: a buddy of mine was on the same tirz dose as your daughter and reacted much like she did to sema. I guess we're all wired differently. Still, you nailed it regarding comparable eating patterns, and giving reta a few months to see how it feels strikes me as a sensible call

 

[quicksilver80]

Helium_Heart said:

eidos said:

What's your injection frequency, and how long have you been on that dose?

A single dose won't tell you much.

Check out pep-pedia — it covers dosing, offers some guidance, and points to clinical trial references.

That was dose number 1 for me. I assumed I'd probably need to take it more consistently before anything shows up, but up to now I'm relieved that neither diarrhea nor nausea — the ones I've read about on here — have hit me. Still, thanks for pointing me toward pep-pedia; it's already proven really useful

My general approach is to run a vial or 2, with the amount depending on how much is taken each day, before deciding whether something actually does anything. For instance, I went through an entire ss31 protocol and came away unimpressed.

Now for reta. At 2 it knocked me flat, and over time the way it affects me has shifted, particularly now that my training is this intense. Appetite suppression is noticeably weaker, yet the near-total absence of hunger and mental chatter remains. I also fill up sooner. That said, when I inject on Monday for a weekly schedule, by Saturday the effect has clearly faded. Bumping up to 4 brought on severe constipation that was, without exaggeration, a complete mess. I'm down 43 and have recently plateaued.

By contrast, a relative of mine can hardly get food down and notices no side effects whatsoever. Increasing the dose doesn't produce extra side effects for them either. Their weight loss just keeps ticking along with no constipation.

Tldr I'd give it a proper trial before abandoning it completely

 

[Helium_Heart]

quicksilver80 said:

Helium_Heart said:

eidos said:

What's your injection frequency, and how long have you been on that dose?

A single dose won't tell you much.

Check out pep-pedia — it covers dosing, offers some guidance, and points to clinical trial references.

That was dose number 1 for me. I assumed I'd probably need to take it more consistently before anything shows up, but up to now I'm relieved that neither diarrhea nor nausea — the ones I've read about on here — have hit me. Still, thanks for pointing me toward pep-pedia; it's already proven really useful

My general approach is to run a vial or 2, with the amount depending on how much is taken each day, before deciding whether something actually does anything. For instance, I went through an entire ss31 protocol and came away unimpressed.

Now for reta. At 2 it knocked me flat, and over time the way it affects me has shifted, particularly now that my training is this intense. Appetite suppression is noticeably weaker, yet the near-total absence of hunger and mental chatter remains. I also fill up sooner. That said, when I inject on Monday for a weekly schedule, by Saturday the effect has clearly faded. Bumping up to 4 brought on severe constipation that was, without exaggeration, a complete mess. I'm down 43 and have recently plateaued.

By contrast, a relative of mine can hardly get food down and notices no side effects whatsoever. Increasing the dose doesn't produce extra side effects for them either. Their weight loss just keeps ticking along with no constipation.

Tldr I'd give it a proper trial before abandoning it completely

One thing I keep asking myself about is that whole messy bathroom situation — does constipation show up often, say every week or even more frequently, or does it mainly happen when you increase the dose? And thanks for the tip, I'll definitely follow your advice

 

[quicksilver80]

Helium_Heart said:

quicksilver80 said:

Helium_Heart said:

eidos said:

What's your injection frequency, and how long have you been on that dose?

A single dose won't tell you much.

Check out pep-pedia — it covers dosing, offers some guidance, and points to clinical trial references.

That was dose number 1 for me. I assumed I'd probably need to take it more consistently before anything shows up, but up to now I'm relieved that neither diarrhea nor nausea — the ones I've read about on here — have hit me. Still, thanks for pointing me toward pep-pedia; it's already proven really useful

My general approach is to run a vial or 2, with the amount depending on how much is taken each day, before deciding whether something actually does anything. For instance, I went through an entire ss31 protocol and came away unimpressed.

Now for reta. At 2 it knocked me flat, and over time the way it affects me has shifted, particularly now that my training is this intense. Appetite suppression is noticeably weaker, yet the near-total absence of hunger and mental chatter remains. I also fill up sooner. That said, when I inject on Monday for a weekly schedule, by Saturday the effect has clearly faded. Bumping up to 4 brought on severe constipation that was, without exaggeration, a complete mess. I'm down 43 and have recently plateaued.

By contrast, a relative of mine can hardly get food down and notices no side effects whatsoever. Increasing the dose doesn't produce extra side effects for them either. Their weight loss just keeps ticking along with no constipation.

Tldr I'd give it a proper trial before abandoning it completely

One thing I keep asking myself about is that whole messy bathroom situation — does constipation show up often, say every week or even more frequently, or does it mainly happen when you increase the dose? And thanks for the tip, I'll definitely follow your advice

Nope, it only hit me once, maybe a 5 out of 10 on that schitcher scale. I picked up a digestive enzyme from costco that does the trick — white bottle, red highlights. Whenever things start feeling backed up or I notice that sluggish feeling, I'll do a few nights of miralax. Day 1 is about getting things going. Day 2 comes after that first movement. Day 2 also keeps the momentum. Day 3 is to make sure it won't mess with me and slam the brakes on an empty highway like some snowy north tourist. A bonus 4th day if there's still something left in the clip.

Also, chew your food properly and actually stay on top of your fluids. I ran the numbers and it came out saying I need to drink MORE than a gallon daily. Whenever I slack off on drinking fluids, I can feel it in my body.

 

[lessthanhalf]

Helium_Heart said:

My goal is to shed some pounds; right now I'm at 194 sw and aiming for 180 gw. I work out on a consistent basis and my diet is fairly clean, yet I have a complicated love-hate dynamic with eating — occasionally I'll go overboard, other times I'll barely eat anything, though my macros and calories tend to stay dialed in. On top of that, I deal with digestive and intestinal problems.

To break through this plateau I've been stuck at, I thought I'd try reta 2mg. After browsing many threads across these forums, I came across conflicting details regarding dosing and Reactions, and I'm still wondering if a different option such as Sema or Tirz would be a better fit — but it appears that, as with most things, it comes down to trial & error.

Switching to something else is premature at this point. My view: reta is the strongest anti obesity medication that has ever been developed, so once you commit to it, it makes sense to stick with it long enough to judge how it treats you, both in terms of benefits and adverse effects. That means several months and a few dose escalations, unless the side effects become unbearable and cannot be resolved by lowering the dose. If the issue you are addressing with this drug turns out to require ongoing use, you could be on it for life, which makes it even more worthwhile to allow enough time to learn how well you tolerate it.

Reta and tirz are not actually all that far apart. Reta delivers slightly better results and carries a somewhat higher chance of side effects, yet on the whole the two have much more in common than not. Sema comes with substantially more side effects and performs considerably worse, so if we are talking about grey glp's, there is almost no reason to choose it over reta or tirz.