IBS Changes When Switching from Tirz to Reta?

[spanky2026]

A question I've been wondering about: for more than 40 years I dealt with IBS, and every single morning I'd eat and then need to get to the bathroom inside of 1 hour — that was just normal life for me. On Day 1 of Tirz, it went away. Completely. My bowel movements went back to being totally normal. I realize the delayed emptying with Tirz is probably the reason behind this, but I'm wondering about Reta — if I made the switch from Tirz to Reta, would my IBS come back, since Reta works through different mechanisms? Does anyone have experience with this? TIA

 

[wheymaster1]

The way these drugs work isn't really distinct from one another — the difference is that Reta also hits the glucagon receptor, in addition to the GLP and GIP receptors that tirz targets. In theory that shouldn't matter, but it may still be wise to keep taking the first two while you ramp reta up and taper it down, and then come off Reta over a 2-4 week interval. Pick a stretch of time when things are calmer for you, just in case the IBS comes back.

 

[spanky2026]

wheymaster1 said:

The way these drugs work isn't really distinct from one another — the difference is that Reta also hits the glucagon receptor, in addition to the GLP and GIP receptors that tirz targets. In theory that shouldn't matter, but it may still be wise to keep taking the first two while you ramp reta up and taper it down, and then come off Reta over a 2-4 week interval. Pick a stretch of time when things are calmer for you, just in case the IBS comes back.

Since I'm retired, I've got nothing but free time, lol! Still, that's solid advice—appreciate it. I haven't committed to buying any reta so far; I'm holding off, waiting for...beats me!

 

[woundcarping]

spanky2026 said:

A question I've been wondering about: for more than 40 years I dealt with IBS, and every single morning I'd eat and then need to get to the bathroom inside of 1 hour — that was just normal life for me. On Day 1 of Tirz, it went away. Completely. My bowel movements went back to being totally normal. I realize the delayed emptying with Tirz is probably the reason behind this, but I'm wondering about Reta — if I made the switch from Tirz to Reta, would my IBS come back, since Reta works through different mechanisms? Does anyone have experience with this? TIA

With Tirz, the slowed digestion and trips to the bathroom were more pleasant for me than what I get from Reta, though Reta still beats my normal baseline on average. I'm probably selling short how much "better than the baseline" it is because the most recent dose increase is fresh in my mind.

What's driving your interest in moving over to Reta?

 

[spanky2026]

woundcarping said:

spanky2026 said:

A question I've been wondering about: for more than 40 years I dealt with IBS, and every single morning I'd eat and then need to get to the bathroom inside of 1 hour — that was just normal life for me. On Day 1 of Tirz, it went away. Completely. My bowel movements went back to being totally normal. I realize the delayed emptying with Tirz is probably the reason behind this, but I'm wondering about Reta — if I made the switch from Tirz to Reta, would my IBS come back, since Reta works through different mechanisms? Does anyone have experience with this? TIA

With Tirz, the slowed digestion and trips to the bathroom were more pleasant for me than what I get from Reta, though Reta still beats my normal baseline on average. I'm probably selling short how much "better than the baseline" it is because the most recent dose increase is fresh in my mind.

What's driving your interest in moving over to Reta?

Honestly I'm not sure that describes me — my main goal here is just gathering info on Reta and what makes the experience different. Tirz has been treating me well: 30 pounds lost in a little over 3 months, though there's still a ways to go. My thinking is that Reta might become relevant if I hit a ceiling with Tirz dosing or if it quits working on me, but neither of those is close at hand. The reason I raised the question at all is that after 40 years of IBS, the idea of it coming back is something I refuse to even consider, so I was curious whether anyone has seen it return once they moved off Tirz.

 

[woundcarping]

spanky2026 said:

woundcarping said:

spanky2026 said:

A question I've been wondering about: for more than 40 years I dealt with IBS, and every single morning I'd eat and then need to get to the bathroom inside of 1 hour — that was just normal life for me. On Day 1 of Tirz, it went away. Completely. My bowel movements went back to being totally normal. I realize the delayed emptying with Tirz is probably the reason behind this, but I'm wondering about Reta — if I made the switch from Tirz to Reta, would my IBS come back, since Reta works through different mechanisms? Does anyone have experience with this? TIA

With Tirz, the slowed digestion and trips to the bathroom were more pleasant for me than what I get from Reta, though Reta still beats my normal baseline on average. I'm probably selling short how much "better than the baseline" it is because the most recent dose increase is fresh in my mind.

What's driving your interest in moving over to Reta?

Honestly I'm not sure that describes me — my main goal here is just gathering info on Reta and what makes the experience different. Tirz has been treating me well: 30 pounds lost in a little over 3 months, though there's still a ways to go. My thinking is that Reta might become relevant if I hit a ceiling with Tirz dosing or if it quits working on me, but neither of those is close at hand. The reason I raised the question at all is that after 40 years of IBS, the idea of it coming back is something I refuse to even consider, so I was curious whether anyone has seen it return once they moved off Tirz.

How far is a ways? Since starting Tirz in December I've dropped 53lb, and since beginning Reta in Jan I'm down 43lb, with roughly 40lb left to lose.

I moved over to Reta and titrated up to a high dose, hoping to stack the odds that I'd land as a strong responder compared with the trials, where 24% lost 30% or more at 12mg. I'm aiming for somewhere around 32-35%.

 

[lessthanhalf]

I deal with ulcerative colitis that still gives me symptoms even while it's called "remission," plus possible IBS-D on top of that.

For me, the things that helped most were overhauling my diet significantly and dropping 70kg. Simply lowering total calorie intake made a difference, along with smaller portions at each meal and cutting back on fodmaps.

Ozempic was another piece that helped, and that benefit carried over after I moved to tirzpatide 15mg/w. Nothing shifted when I later added reta 5mg/w. Even so, I kept taking tirz because side effects were minimal, my gut stayed steady, and I didn't want to take a chance on disrupting that. The symptoms aren't fully resolved, but they are far better.