Considering a jump to 4mg of Reta?

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poundsdownstayfit

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For my first month, I went 0.5mg, then 1mg, then 1.5mg, and I'm at 2mg now. Appetite suppression only became noticeable during week 4. My BMI currently sits between 30-35%. I'm 5'7" and 210lbs. Because 2mg isn't giving me much effect, should I move to 3mg or 4mg when week 5 starts? I realize reta affects each person differently. I exercise 4-5x/week and my diet has improved a lot. Would it be better to stay at 2mg for another 3 weeks? Also, what does it actually feel like for you when you've landed on the right reta dose?
 
Increase your dose more gradually. A number of you aren't even letting the medication have time to take effect. There are no instant results.
 
BNLFL said:

Increase your dose more gradually. A number of you aren't even letting the medication have time to take effect. There are no instant results.
Click to expand...
Besides reducing side effects for bigger folks, what does titrating Reta more slowly actually get you?

With Sema or Tirz, moving up to keep the drug working (appetite suppression) is logical. But Reta's main mechanism isn't appetite suppression — it's GCGR, and that works in a dose-dependent way.
 
poundsdownstayfit said:

For my first month, I went 0.5mg, then 1mg, then 1.5mg, and I'm at 2mg now. Appetite suppression only became noticeable during week 4. My BMI currently sits between 30-35%. I'm 5'7" and 210lbs. Because 2mg isn't giving me much effect, should I move to 3mg or 4mg when week 5 starts? I realize reta affects each person differently. I exercise 4-5x/week and my diet has improved a lot. Would it be better to stay at 2mg for another 3 weeks? Also, what does it actually feel like for you when you've landed on the right reta dose?
Click to expand...
After spending 4 weeks at 2mg, I went straight up to 4mg. Looking back, I regret making that jump. Even at 2mg my heart rate ran somewhat high, but on 4mg my sleeping heart rate came in at 80 and then 82 across the past 2 nights. If you aren't already monitoring your resting and sleeping heart rate, I'd suggest collecting solid data for a few weeks first, then decide about 4mg.
 
BNLFL said:

Increase your dose more gradually. A number of you aren't even letting the medication have time to take effect. There are no instant results.
Click to expand...
I realize waiting it out is important. But seeing others drop 10-20lbs in a single month leaves me wondering if I'm messing something up. My diet is on point and I'm training. Rushing isn't my goal, yet staying put at a dose that isn't doing anything doesn't sit right either.
 
woundcarping said:

BNLFL said:

Increase your dose more gradually. A number of you aren't even letting the medication have time to take effect. There are no instant results.
Click to expand...
Besides reducing side effects for bigger folks, what does titrating Reta more slowly actually get you?

With Sema or Tirz, moving up to keep the drug working (appetite suppression) is logical. But Reta's main mechanism isn't appetite suppression — it's GCGR, and that works in a dose-dependent way.
Click to expand...
What I'm going off of is just the Lilly trials. Like you said, it ramps up more gradually to reduce side effects. As for me, I don't really get the point of the .5 and 1 mg doses, though I'm not informed enough to say. From what I've come across, all the Lilly research I've looked at begins at 2mg, but that was in December.
 
Retarage said:

poundsdownstayfit said:

For my first month, I went 0.5mg, then 1mg, then 1.5mg, and I'm at 2mg now. Appetite suppression only became noticeable during week 4. My BMI currently sits between 30-35%. I'm 5'7" and 210lbs. Because 2mg isn't giving me much effect, should I move to 3mg or 4mg when week 5 starts? I realize reta affects each person differently. I exercise 4-5x/week and my diet has improved a lot. Would it be better to stay at 2mg for another 3 weeks? Also, what does it actually feel like for you when you've landed on the right reta dose?
Click to expand...
After spending 4 weeks at 2mg, I went straight up to 4mg. Looking back, I regret making that jump. Even at 2mg my heart rate ran somewhat high, but on 4mg my sleeping heart rate came in at 80 and then 82 across the past 2 nights. If you aren't already monitoring your resting and sleeping heart rate, I'd suggest collecting solid data for a few weeks first, then decide about 4mg.
Click to expand...
Appreciate the guidance
 
poundsdownstayfit said:

BNLFL said:

Increase your dose more gradually. A number of you aren't even letting the medication have time to take effect. There are no instant results.
Click to expand...
I realize waiting it out is important. But seeing others drop 10-20lbs in a single month leaves me wondering if I'm messing something up. My diet is on point and I'm training. Rushing isn't my goal, yet staying put at a dose that isn't doing anything doesn't sit right either.
Click to expand...
At 10lbs/month, that works out to 2.5lbs/week. I'm on 6mg and I drop 1-2lbs/week. That said, no two people are the same. Go with whatever feels right for you and keeps you at ease.
 
Retarage said:

poundsdownstayfit said:

For my first month, I went 0.5mg, then 1mg, then 1.5mg, and I'm at 2mg now. Appetite suppression only became noticeable during week 4. My BMI currently sits between 30-35%. I'm 5'7" and 210lbs. Because 2mg isn't giving me much effect, should I move to 3mg or 4mg when week 5 starts? I realize reta affects each person differently. I exercise 4-5x/week and my diet has improved a lot. Would it be better to stay at 2mg for another 3 weeks? Also, what does it actually feel like for you when you've landed on the right reta dose?
Click to expand...
After spending 4 weeks at 2mg, I went straight up to 4mg. Looking back, I regret making that jump. Even at 2mg my heart rate ran somewhat high, but on 4mg my sleeping heart rate came in at 80 and then 82 across the past 2 nights. If you aren't already monitoring your resting and sleeping heart rate, I'd suggest collecting solid data for a few weeks first, then decide about 4mg.
Click to expand...

BNLFL said:

poundsdownstayfit said:

BNLFL said:

Increase your dose more gradually. A number of you aren't even letting the medication have time to take effect. There are no instant results.
Click to expand...
I realize waiting it out is important. But seeing others drop 10-20lbs in a single month leaves me wondering if I'm messing something up. My diet is on point and I'm training. Rushing isn't my goal, yet staying put at a dose that isn't doing anything doesn't sit right either.
Click to expand...
At 10lbs/month, that works out to 2.5lbs/week. I'm on 6mg and I drop 1-2lbs/week. That said, no two people are the same. Go with whatever feels right for you and keeps you at ease.
Click to expand...
How far along are you now — which week or month — at the 6mg dose? And did your starting point also fall somewhere between 1mg and 2mg?
 
It's a shame that it isn't hitting you hard. I don't see any downside to stepping up to 3 and observing the outcome.
 
poundsdownstayfit said:

Retarage said:

poundsdownstayfit said:

For my first month, I went 0.5mg, then 1mg, then 1.5mg, and I'm at 2mg now. Appetite suppression only became noticeable during week 4. My BMI currently sits between 30-35%. I'm 5'7" and 210lbs. Because 2mg isn't giving me much effect, should I move to 3mg or 4mg when week 5 starts? I realize reta affects each person differently. I exercise 4-5x/week and my diet has improved a lot. Would it be better to stay at 2mg for another 3 weeks? Also, what does it actually feel like for you when you've landed on the right reta dose?
Click to expand...
After spending 4 weeks at 2mg, I went straight up to 4mg. Looking back, I regret making that jump. Even at 2mg my heart rate ran somewhat high, but on 4mg my sleeping heart rate came in at 80 and then 82 across the past 2 nights. If you aren't already monitoring your resting and sleeping heart rate, I'd suggest collecting solid data for a few weeks first, then decide about 4mg.
Click to expand...

BNLFL said:

poundsdownstayfit said:

BNLFL said:

Increase your dose more gradually. A number of you aren't even letting the medication have time to take effect. There are no instant results.
Click to expand...
I realize waiting it out is important. But seeing others drop 10-20lbs in a single month leaves me wondering if I'm messing something up. My diet is on point and I'm training. Rushing isn't my goal, yet staying put at a dose that isn't doing anything doesn't sit right either.
Click to expand...
At 10lbs/month, that works out to 2.5lbs/week. I'm on 6mg and I drop 1-2lbs/week. That said, no two people are the same. Go with whatever feels right for you and keeps you at ease.
Click to expand...
How far along are you now — which week or month — at the 6mg dose? And did your starting point also fall somewhere between 1mg and 2mg?
Click to expand...
My time on 2mg lasted 4 weeks, then I spent 6 weeks at 4mg. During that final week at 4mg, progress stalled. This past Friday I completed week 6 at 6mg.
 
Splitting it into 2 shots each week works better for me when it comes to keeping hunger and appetite in check. My schedule is Sunday plus Wednesday, and I take 1.5mg with each pin.
 
You've only just hit the starting dose used in the Eli Lilly trial. I don't see any reason to wait longer than 2 or 3 weeks before increasing. Going slow and staying low isn't always the right call. At times, it means you're not making good use of the medication.
 
CathyGoesFar said:

You've only just hit the starting dose used in the Eli Lilly trial. I don't see any reason to wait longer than 2 or 3 weeks before increasing. Going slow and staying low isn't always the right call. At times, it means you're not making good use of the medication.
Click to expand...
Sure thing, I'll do that!
 
Just my 2 cents. As long as the scale is moving down, even if it is only .5lb per week, hold off on going higher. Playing the long game pays off. If 4 weeks pass with no loss, that is when you bump it by 0.5-1mg. The goal is figuring out the smallest dose that works and that you can tolerate. No two people are the same. I know someone personally who dropped 80lb over 9 months while staying at just 2,5mg.
 
From what I recall, Reta reaches its baseline level of effectiveness around 5 weeks. So if you leap straight to 4, you're loading it into your body before the starting dose has even had the chance to work fully. That's generally the reason folks hold a dose steady for a month at a time: to genuinely gauge what the drug does to your system once it's at full strength. Speaking for myself, sitting at 2 and only 4 weeks in means you'd be jumping the gun for no good reason. Give it another week at 2, then spend a few weeks at 2.5, and only after that move up to 3. This is a marathon, not a sprint. As for what you'll feel... you'll know, I promise, you'lll know.
 
It's crazy how differently this hits each person. My own start was 1, and I held that for 5 weeks. During week 1 food was repulsive to me, so protein shakes were basically my diet. I dropped 20 while muscle loss wasn't very noticeable. I'm also taking 100mg hrt. For the past 2 weeks I've gone up to 1.5.

Remember the half life and how levels build week over week. My dose is 1.5 but my present level sits at 2.5, which is the reason the advice is to remain at a dose for 4 weeks and raise it only when sides are manageable. And one more thing: I believe Reta was made so hunger returns for healthy refeeds that supply glucagon, so efficacy can't be judged by that. And lastly, water intake should be huge, and water retention will shift around and move the scale.
 
Whether to raise your dose depends on how you're tolerating it, how quickly you're losing, and how hungry you feel. If hunger is making it hard to eat the way you want for weight loss, and side effects aren't significant, then a higher dose is reasonable. If 2mg is giving you side effects such as some nausea, then stepping up more slowly to 3mg, or holding off, is reasonable. If your weight loss pace feels comfortable and you aren't hungry all the time, staying put is reasonable.

Take a look at GLP plotter. Because you've been raising the dose weekly and began very low, you've only actually had 1 week at 2mg, so your current dose won't reach maximum levels for almost 4 more weeks — keep that in mind. Your starting BMI was 34, so over the long term you're very likely to need doses above 2mg, but going up after just 1 week at 2mg raises the chance of side effects. I wouldn't suggest moving to 4mg after only 1 week at 2mg. If you're really hungry with minimal side effects, maybe 3mg.
 
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