Is there truly a tirz effectiveness window, and should I increase my dose?

[Sarsippius]

I grabbed a T30 kit recently. Still figuring out my next step with it. Should Tirz stay in the mix alongside something else, should I swap Tirz out for Cargri or Reta, or should I simply run Tirz on its own? Might be worth making a separate thread for this.

 

[spanky2026]

According to the initial Surmount studies, weight reduction reached its highest point across 72 weeks — this is what people call the "runway". Those same studies indicated that the biggest losses happened at the higher doses (10 and above). Around the 1 year point, the rate of loss usually decreases (it does not halt), so for those carrying a large amount of excess weight in particular, following the social media favorite "low and slow" approach is not recommended.

 

[woundcarping]

Sarsippius said:

I grabbed a T30 kit recently. Still figuring out my next step with it. Should Tirz stay in the mix alongside something else, should I swap Tirz out for Cargri or Reta, or should I simply run Tirz on its own? Might be worth making a separate thread for this.

I switched from Tirz to Reta, pretty much cold turkey, though I did add a Tirz bump on 2 occasions during that stretch… it wasn’t a problem. To move through Reta’s loading phase fast, I took small doses often, aiming to reach 6-8mg levels as quickly as side effects permitted.

I have an idea about going from Reta back to Tirz for maintenance, but I still have several months before I can flesh that idea out.

If I mapped your situation onto mine, I would have raised my Reta dose prior to bringing in Cagri. Because you’re shifting to appetite control only, I would cut back to Tirz alone and use Cagri prn as support for that transition. I’d take small doses often, guided by appetite suppression and “feels,” gradually reaching what I assume is a therapeutic level, then convert that level into less frequent maintenance dosing—weekly or 2x weekly—for the cruise.

 

[lessthanhalf]

Sarsippius said:

Roughly 12 months is what you have before tolerance develops and hunger comes back. Keep that in mind when planning.

Once you've dropped 125 lbs, this scenario is a textbook illustration of what people often interpret as the drug losing potency or tolerance setting in.

Sure, at that level of weight loss, appetite goes up, but that's your body reacting to the weight loss itself, not the drug becoming less effective. Additionally, energy use falls because there's less lean and fat mass burning calories, plus a significant amount of metabolic adaptation from eating fewer calories over the long haul. Together, these factors halt further weight loss even while you remain on the GLP. The key point, though, is that continuing the medication prevents weight regain, so it's effectively maintaining a new, lower set point and will continue doing so as long as you stick with it.

In an ideal world, you'd hit your target weight right as this kicks in. Take someone 6ft4in aiming for a BMI of 25—that's 90kg or 198 lbs, meaning 27lbs below where you are now. Naturally, this varies with body composition and muscle. If you began at 350 and are at 225 now, you've shed 35.7% of your initial weight. That beats any result from GLP trials, though reta and cagri haven't been tested in combination.

Since you're already at the max for both reta and cagri, there's no clear-cut path to additional weight loss. One approach is to accept and celebrate what you've accomplished, as it rivals bariatric surgery minus the operation, and it's typically enough to eliminate obesity-related health issues. Over the long run, preserving that loss matters far more than shedding extra pounds when it comes to outcomes. The reta/cagri pairing is theoretically among the best available. At this stage, choices include upping reta or cagri, or bringing in tirz for added GIP activity. Switching entirely to tirz probably won't do much, and what you try next likely hinges on your current side effects. Sadly, escalating doses from here edges into diminishing returns, where more reta or adding tirz could ramp up side effects with minimal additional weight loss.

 

[woundcarping]

lessthanhalf said:

Sarsippius said:

Roughly 12 months is what you have before tolerance develops and hunger comes back. Keep that in mind when planning.

Once you've dropped 125 lbs, this scenario is a textbook illustration of what people often interpret as the drug losing potency or tolerance setting in.

Sure, at that level of weight loss, appetite goes up, but that's your body reacting to the weight loss itself, not the drug becoming less effective. Additionally, energy use falls because there's less lean and fat mass burning calories, plus a significant amount of metabolic adaptation from eating fewer calories over the long haul. Together, these factors halt further weight loss even while you remain on the GLP. The key point, though, is that continuing the medication prevents weight regain, so it's effectively maintaining a new, lower set point and will continue doing so as long as you stick with it.

In an ideal world, you'd hit your target weight right as this kicks in. Take someone 6ft4in aiming for a BMI of 25—that's 90kg or 198 lbs, meaning 27lbs below where you are now. Naturally, this varies with body composition and muscle. If you began at 350 and are at 225 now, you've shed 35.7% of your initial weight. That beats any result from GLP trials, though reta and cagri haven't been tested in combination.

Since you're already at the max for both reta and cagri, there's no clear-cut path to additional weight loss. One approach is to accept and celebrate what you've accomplished, as it rivals bariatric surgery minus the operation, and it's typically enough to eliminate obesity-related health issues. Over the long run, preserving that loss matters far more than shedding extra pounds when it comes to outcomes. The reta/cagri pairing is theoretically among the best available. At this stage, choices include upping reta or cagri, or bringing in tirz for added GIP activity. Switching entirely to tirz probably won't do much, and what you try next likely hinges on your current side effects. Sadly, escalating doses from here edges into diminishing returns, where more reta or adding tirz could ramp up side effects with minimal additional weight loss.

For me, bumping up the dose was the clear path forward.

Your point about being deep into diminishing returns is exactly right. As long as nothing in the data looks concerning (side effects, labs, resting heart rate, heart rate variability, sleep quality, and so on), I find it difficult to make a case against raising the dose... particularly with split dosing, which flattens the peaks while keeping the same area under the curve.

My reasoning was to raise the dose sooner instead of waiting, based on the idea that time is not really working in my favor. It is not a sprint, but it is definitely not a slow, lazy float either.

If things go well, my equilibrium point sits under my goal weight, I titrated down so that my equilibrium point matched my goal without any negative effects, and I go through life as someone who responds strongly to Reta.

If things go poorly, I am permanently harming my receptors and my maintenance dose will end up higher than it would have been otherwise, possibly.

If things go terribly, higher doses are later found to drastically reduce either the quality or the length of life, and I have sabotaged myself. That seems improbable.

 

[lessthanhalf]

woundcarping said:

lessthanhalf said:

Sarsippius said:

Roughly 12 months is what you have before tolerance develops and hunger comes back. Keep that in mind when planning.

Once you've dropped 125 lbs, this scenario is a textbook illustration of what people often interpret as the drug losing potency or tolerance setting in.

Sure, at that level of weight loss, appetite goes up, but that's your body reacting to the weight loss itself, not the drug becoming less effective. Additionally, energy use falls because there's less lean and fat mass burning calories, plus a significant amount of metabolic adaptation from eating fewer calories over the long haul. Together, these factors halt further weight loss even while you remain on the GLP. The key point, though, is that continuing the medication prevents weight regain, so it's effectively maintaining a new, lower set point and will continue doing so as long as you stick with it.

In an ideal world, you'd hit your target weight right as this kicks in. Take someone 6ft4in aiming for a BMI of 25—that's 90kg or 198 lbs, meaning 27lbs below where you are now. Naturally, this varies with body composition and muscle. If you began at 350 and are at 225 now, you've shed 35.7% of your initial weight. That beats any result from GLP trials, though reta and cagri haven't been tested in combination.

Since you're already at the max for both reta and cagri, there's no clear-cut path to additional weight loss. One approach is to accept and celebrate what you've accomplished, as it rivals bariatric surgery minus the operation, and it's typically enough to eliminate obesity-related health issues. Over the long run, preserving that loss matters far more than shedding extra pounds when it comes to outcomes. The reta/cagri pairing is theoretically among the best available. At this stage, choices include upping reta or cagri, or bringing in tirz for added GIP activity. Switching entirely to tirz probably won't do much, and what you try next likely hinges on your current side effects. Sadly, escalating doses from here edges into diminishing returns, where more reta or adding tirz could ramp up side effects with minimal additional weight loss.

For me, bumping up the dose was the clear path forward.

Your point about being deep into diminishing returns is exactly right. As long as nothing in the data looks concerning (side effects, labs, resting heart rate, heart rate variability, sleep quality, and so on), I find it difficult to make a case against raising the dose... particularly with split dosing, which flattens the peaks while keeping the same area under the curve.

My reasoning was to raise the dose sooner instead of waiting, based on the idea that time is not really working in my favor. It is not a sprint, but it is definitely not a slow, lazy float either.

If things go well, my equilibrium point sits under my goal weight, I titrated down so that my equilibrium point matched my goal without any negative effects, and I go through life as someone who responds strongly to Reta.

If things go poorly, I am permanently harming my receptors and my maintenance dose will end up higher than it would have been otherwise, possibly.

If things go terribly, higher doses are later found to drastically reduce either the quality or the length of life, and I have sabotaged myself. That seems improbable.

If future long-term reta trials end up revealing harms tied to glucagon agonism, that would change things. Absent that, the odds look low. Tirz has been studied extensively, so brand-new surprise side effects seem improbable. Semaglutide was tested at 7.2mg and 16 mg; as one would expect, nausea and vomiting showed up at fairly high rates, and the additional weight loss fell short of hopes, yet no novel unexpected adverse effects emerged—only more frequent versions of the already familiar ones. That means for GLP-1 agonism, the evidence against long-term issues is quite strong, even at doses that look nauseating just to read about. For GIP with tirz, the picture is fairly solid; for reta and cagri, the research is at a much earlier stage.

So far, the sole study I have come across hinting that receptor damage might be possible is the one currently discussed in a post about mice stopping and restarting, which found problems and less weight loss. Aside from that, there are no other signs of long-term trouble, and with an unchanged dose weight loss held steady for 5 years without any upward drift over time. If long-term tolerance to the weight-loss effect existed, that graph would eventually show weight climbing.

 

[woundcarping]

lessthanhalf said:

woundcarping said:

lessthanhalf said:

Sarsippius said:

Roughly 12 months is what you have before tolerance develops and hunger comes back. Keep that in mind when planning.

Once you've dropped 125 lbs, this scenario is a textbook illustration of what people often interpret as the drug losing potency or tolerance setting in.

Sure, at that level of weight loss, appetite goes up, but that's your body reacting to the weight loss itself, not the drug becoming less effective. Additionally, energy use falls because there's less lean and fat mass burning calories, plus a significant amount of metabolic adaptation from eating fewer calories over the long haul. Together, these factors halt further weight loss even while you remain on the GLP. The key point, though, is that continuing the medication prevents weight regain, so it's effectively maintaining a new, lower set point and will continue doing so as long as you stick with it.

In an ideal world, you'd hit your target weight right as this kicks in. Take someone 6ft4in aiming for a BMI of 25—that's 90kg or 198 lbs, meaning 27lbs below where you are now. Naturally, this varies with body composition and muscle. If you began at 350 and are at 225 now, you've shed 35.7% of your initial weight. That beats any result from GLP trials, though reta and cagri haven't been tested in combination.

Since you're already at the max for both reta and cagri, there's no clear-cut path to additional weight loss. One approach is to accept and celebrate what you've accomplished, as it rivals bariatric surgery minus the operation, and it's typically enough to eliminate obesity-related health issues. Over the long run, preserving that loss matters far more than shedding extra pounds when it comes to outcomes. The reta/cagri pairing is theoretically among the best available. At this stage, choices include upping reta or cagri, or bringing in tirz for added GIP activity. Switching entirely to tirz probably won't do much, and what you try next likely hinges on your current side effects. Sadly, escalating doses from here edges into diminishing returns, where more reta or adding tirz could ramp up side effects with minimal additional weight loss.

For me, bumping up the dose was the clear path forward.

Your point about being deep into diminishing returns is exactly right. As long as nothing in the data looks concerning (side effects, labs, resting heart rate, heart rate variability, sleep quality, and so on), I find it difficult to make a case against raising the dose... particularly with split dosing, which flattens the peaks while keeping the same area under the curve.

My reasoning was to raise the dose sooner instead of waiting, based on the idea that time is not really working in my favor. It is not a sprint, but it is definitely not a slow, lazy float either.

If things go well, my equilibrium point sits under my goal weight, I titrated down so that my equilibrium point matched my goal without any negative effects, and I go through life as someone who responds strongly to Reta.

If things go poorly, I am permanently harming my receptors and my maintenance dose will end up higher than it would have been otherwise, possibly.

If things go terribly, higher doses are later found to drastically reduce either the quality or the length of life, and I have sabotaged myself. That seems improbable.

If future long-term reta trials end up revealing harms tied to glucagon agonism, that would change things. Absent that, the odds look low. Tirz has been studied extensively, so brand-new surprise side effects seem improbable. Semaglutide was tested at 7.2mg and 16 mg; as one would expect, nausea and vomiting showed up at fairly high rates, and the additional weight loss fell short of hopes, yet no novel unexpected adverse effects emerged—only more frequent versions of the already familiar ones. That means for GLP-1 agonism, the evidence against long-term issues is quite strong, even at doses that look nauseating just to read about. For GIP with tirz, the picture is fairly solid; for reta and cagri, the research is at a much earlier stage.

So far, the sole study I have come across hinting that receptor damage might be possible is the one currently discussed in a post about mice stopping and restarting, which found problems and less weight loss. Aside from that, there are no other signs of long-term trouble, and with an unchanged dose weight loss held steady for 5 years without any upward drift over time. If long-term tolerance to the weight-loss effect existed, that graph would eventually show weight climbing.

That is how I see it.

Using what I consider an "advanced" Reta dose and adjusting it according to the data I can actually observe is a deliberate strategy, one that I presume improves my chances of dropping 32-35% of my starting weight while bringing little to no negative consequences.

 

[bellanoise]

DidntMakeBrownies said:

I've been on 6 of tirz for 5 months, have lost 35 lbs, and want to drop another 45 to get near my goal. I figured slow and steady was fine since my losses are consistent, even if not huge, and I barely get side effects. Then I came across something saying tirz weight loss levels off around 72 weeks. If a third of that window is already gone, should I raise my dose to speed things up? Add Reta if I can ever work out how to order from China? Stalling out is something I'd really hate…

Around the 1 year point, I noticed tirz was no longer producing the same weight loss for me, and at 18 months I had stopped losing altogether and was simply holding steady. I quit it entirely for 3 months so it could clear from my body, then 3 months ago I began a low dose of reta. A month ago I also brought in cagrilintide, mainly to address food noise a little more (on ret it isn't as strong as it is on tirz), and now the scale is moving down again at about 2lb per week, which matches the average I had on tirz For me, the important part was pausing and allowing a full reset before returning to a GLP1

 

[Jfrick11]

DidntMakeBrownies said:

I've been on 6 of tirz for 5 months, have lost 35 lbs, and want to drop another 45 to get near my goal. I figured slow and steady was fine since my losses are consistent, even if not huge, and I barely get side effects. Then I came across something saying tirz weight loss levels off around 72 weeks. If a third of that window is already gone, should I raise my dose to speed things up? Add Reta if I can ever work out how to order from China? Stalling out is something I'd really hate…

Honestly, the way you're handling this seems more sustainable than what the "just keep titrating it up" group tends to do. Something that shifted my perspective: the 72 week figure that gets repeated (coming out of trials such as the Surmount 1 trial) doesn't indicate that the medication abruptly quits working. What it reflects is that weight loss slows and levels off on its own over time, largely through the body adapting, rather than because you've "used it up."

On top of that, the reason those studies move people up every 4 weeks is standardization, not because that schedule is ideal for actual people. In practice, tying the dose to response rather than to a calendar makes far more sense.

When it comes to something like tirzepatide, eating as little as possible isn't the aim. The aim is lowering hunger enough to allow a deficit you can maintain, while making better food choices. Rushing the dose upward too quickly can cause a few things to go wrong:

• Protein intake falls too low = more muscle lost
  
• Energy dips = you unknowingly move less
  
• Fat loss stalls and it feels like the med quit working

So rather than trying to outrun a plateau, these strategies tend to work better:

• Stick with the lowest effective dose that keeps hunger manageable
  
• Make protein and resistance training a priority so lean mass is protected
  
• Maintain daily movement (NEAT matters more than people think)
  
• Recheck intake every so often as your body weight changes

Tracking can definitely be useful, but don't drive yourself crazy being overly obsessive.... It isn't really realistic, and being consistent and directionally accurate is enough.

Also, there's no need to view this as one endless sprint. Working in stretches of maintenance can actually help lessen that body defending effect over time and make the whole process more sustainable.

Bottom line: you're not burning through a limited window. You're building a foundation. Moving slower with good habits in place often produces better long term results than pushing dose aggressively and dealing with side effects or muscle loss later.

 

[Wecandothis]

DidntMakeBrownies said:

I've been on 6 of tirz for 5 months, have lost 35 lbs, and want to drop another 45 to get near my goal. I figured slow and steady was fine since my losses are consistent, even if not huge, and I barely get side effects. Then I came across something saying tirz weight loss levels off around 72 weeks. If a third of that window is already gone, should I raise my dose to speed things up? Add Reta if I can ever work out how to order from China? Stalling out is something I'd really hate…

I went through this exact situation previously. Once tirzepatide seemed to stop doing anything for me, I introduced a small amount of Reta. Then, as I moved the Reta dose upward, I brought the tirz dose downward. These days I sit under my goal weight, and Reta is what got me there.

 

[Grogu]

lessthanhalf said:

DidntMakeBrownies said:

I've been on 6 of tirz for 5 months, have lost 35 lbs, and want to drop another 45 to get near my goal. I figured slow and steady was fine since my losses are consistent, even if not huge, and I barely get side effects. Then I came across something saying tirz weight loss levels off around 72 weeks. If a third of that window is already gone, should I raise my dose to speed things up? Add Reta if I can ever work out how to order from China? Stalling out is something I'd really hate…

Nearly every study reports that weight reduction levels off to around zero past roughly a year, maybe a bit more, though not at 72 weeks. That said, those results come from a fixed dose. To my knowledge, there is no solid data either way on whether reaching that top weight-loss dose gradually or rapidly alters the overall pounds shed. Likewise, no strong evidence exists one way or the other about whether bumping up doses after a stall at a non-maximum level helps or not, yet plain reasoning and anecdotal reports point to more weight coming off when doses go up post-stall. I don't believe the one-year plateau is tied to time itself; it's simply the duration required to hit peak weight loss at whatever dose you're on.

The 72 weeks figure is merely the lengthiest follow-up completed to date, demonstrating that weight loss holds steady over that period provided the individual continues the medication at the dose that produced the loss.

Since I don't know your specific weight, height, and so on, if your aim is to drop 80lbs total, that likely means at least 25% and probably higher. Unless you're an exceptional responder, you'll likely have to push doses up to 15mg to achieve that level of loss.

Fast weight loss does carry downsides, chiefly feeling terrible, so it also hinges on your present rate of loss, hunger levels, and side effects at the current dose. And whether you feel okay or drained and exhausted. Keeping the process bearable makes it more sustainable over time, and it's the long-term upkeep of the loss that truly counts.

So you likely do need to raise doses to or near 15mg at some point, but the speed depends heavily on where things stand now.

For people taking tirzepatide, 72 weeks is not actually the longest period anyone has been tracked. In SURMOUNT, participants were followed out to 193 weeks. Looking at the weight-loss curves, a downward trend is still present through week 72, though it becomes quite small after week 60. It is hard to say for certain, but the 15mg line appears to show a bit more weight loss continuing until week 85. After that, all 3 curves go flat.

Lately I have been wondering whether the higher doses give less and less back, since the 10mg and 15mg lines sit so close together on that chart. When someone is getting near week 72, I am not convinced that going up in dose is really the fix for a stall.

I am at week 70 myself (and not at goal), so what comes next matters to me on a personal level. My instinct is that switching to other pathways, eating more protein, and doing resistance training are more likely to get past a stall than adding more tirzepatide.

 

[lessthanhalf]

You're correct — I must have mixed up months with weeks, since I remembered it as 4 or 5 years. And 193 weeks works out to just under 4 years.

It's unfortunate that the high-dose tirz study isn't out yet. On that graph, the gap in weight loss between 10mg and 15mg for tirz is pretty modest, which points toward that being near the point of diminishing returns.

Reta could be the better option, but even though I've noticed a fair number of people on this forum using tirz above 15mg, I've barely come across anyone on reta beyond 12mg.

This paper tried to build mathematical models predicting weight loss at various doses.

"Comparative efficacy and safety of GLP-1 receptor agonists for weight

reduction: A model-based meta-analysis of placebo-controlled trials"

It hints that higher reta doses might yield additional weight loss, although it predates the latest reta findings, and my math is too out of practice to interpret it well. I had chatgpt estimate a possible maximum weight loss for reta at higher doses using the paper's formulas, and it came out in the high 30% range at around 20mg of reta.

 

[woundcarping]

lessthanhalf said:

You're correct — I must have mixed up months with weeks, since I remembered it as 4 or 5 years. And 193 weeks works out to just under 4 years.

It's unfortunate that the high-dose tirz study isn't out yet. On that graph, the gap in weight loss between 10mg and 15mg for tirz is pretty modest, which points toward that being near the point of diminishing returns.

Reta could be the better option, but even though I've noticed a fair number of people on this forum using tirz above 15mg, I've barely come across anyone on reta beyond 12mg.

This paper tried to build mathematical models predicting weight loss at various doses.

"Comparative efficacy and safety of GLP-1 receptor agonists for weight

reduction: A model-based meta-analysis of placebo-controlled trials"

It hints that higher reta doses might yield additional weight loss, although it predates the latest reta findings, and my math is too out of practice to interpret it well. I had chatgpt estimate a possible maximum weight loss for reta at higher doses using the paper's formulas, and it came out in the high 30% range at around 20mg of reta.

 

[Grogu]

lessthanhalf said:

You're correct — I must have mixed up months with weeks, since I remembered it as 4 or 5 years. And 193 weeks works out to just under 4 years.

It's unfortunate that the high-dose tirz study isn't out yet. On that graph, the gap in weight loss between 10mg and 15mg for tirz is pretty modest, which points toward that being near the point of diminishing returns.

Reta could be the better option, but even though I've noticed a fair number of people on this forum using tirz above 15mg, I've barely come across anyone on reta beyond 12mg.

This paper tried to build mathematical models predicting weight loss at various doses.

"Comparative efficacy and safety of GLP-1 receptor agonists for weight

reduction: A model-based meta-analysis of placebo-controlled trials"

It hints that higher reta doses might yield additional weight loss, although it predates the latest reta findings, and my math is too out of practice to interpret it well. I had chatgpt estimate a possible maximum weight loss for reta at higher doses using the paper's formulas, and it came out in the high 30% range at around 20mg of reta.

Appreciate you sharing that study! I'll be sure to check it out. From my quick skim, what stands out most to me is the part about age. It gives me a reason why, at 54, I may not have hit my own weight loss goals . Often, when folks in online forums and other spaces fall short of their target, some of that may come down to age and the age-related factors that could influence how well these medications work. Thanks once more!

 

[DidntMakeBrownies]

Wecandothis said:

DidntMakeBrownies said:

I've been on 6 of tirz for 5 months, have lost 35 lbs, and want to drop another 45 to get near my goal. I figured slow and steady was fine since my losses are consistent, even if not huge, and I barely get side effects. Then I came across something saying tirz weight loss levels off around 72 weeks. If a third of that window is already gone, should I raise my dose to speed things up? Add Reta if I can ever work out how to order from China? Stalling out is something I'd really hate…

I went through this exact situation previously. Once tirzepatide seemed to stop doing anything for me, I introduced a small amount of Reta. Then, as I moved the Reta dose upward, I brought the tirz dose downward. These days I sit under my goal weight, and Reta is what got me there.

Could you share how you started Reta? Did your heart rate go up? What dose were you on?

 

[Wecandothis]

DidntMakeBrownies said:

Wecandothis said:

DidntMakeBrownies said:

I've been on 6 of tirz for 5 months, have lost 35 lbs, and want to drop another 45 to get near my goal. I figured slow and steady was fine since my losses are consistent, even if not huge, and I barely get side effects. Then I came across something saying tirz weight loss levels off around 72 weeks. If a third of that window is already gone, should I raise my dose to speed things up? Add Reta if I can ever work out how to order from China? Stalling out is something I'd really hate…

I went through this exact situation previously. Once tirzepatide seemed to stop doing anything for me, I introduced a small amount of Reta. Then, as I moved the Reta dose upward, I brought the tirz dose downward. These days I sit under my goal weight, and Reta is what got me there.

Could you share how you started Reta? Did your heart rate go up? What dose were you on?

Yep, in the early days it caused skipped beats, and my resting heart rate went up — both while working out and when sitting still. I began at .5 and four days afterward put in the other .5. Tirz stayed in the mix, and whenever I raised Reta, I brought tirz down. Right now it's roughly 2 tirz alongside 6-8 Reta. The tirz is still necessary for me because of its anti inflammatory action.

 

[Wecandothis]

Grogu said:

lessthanhalf said:

You're correct — I must have mixed up months with weeks, since I remembered it as 4 or 5 years. And 193 weeks works out to just under 4 years.

It's unfortunate that the high-dose tirz study isn't out yet. On that graph, the gap in weight loss between 10mg and 15mg for tirz is pretty modest, which points toward that being near the point of diminishing returns.

Reta could be the better option, but even though I've noticed a fair number of people on this forum using tirz above 15mg, I've barely come across anyone on reta beyond 12mg.

This paper tried to build mathematical models predicting weight loss at various doses.

"Comparative efficacy and safety of GLP-1 receptor agonists for weight

reduction: A model-based meta-analysis of placebo-controlled trials"

It hints that higher reta doses might yield additional weight loss, although it predates the latest reta findings, and my math is too out of practice to interpret it well. I had chatgpt estimate a possible maximum weight loss for reta at higher doses using the paper's formulas, and it came out in the high 30% range at around 20mg of reta.

Appreciate you sharing that study! I'll be sure to check it out. From my quick skim, what stands out most to me is the part about age. It gives me a reason why, at 54, I may not have hit my own weight loss goals . Often, when folks in online forums and other spaces fall short of their target, some of that may come down to age and the age-related factors that could influence how well these medications work. Thanks once more!

Don't use me as a reference point—I've got quite a few years on you, and I'm currently 2 lbs below my target, which is leaner than I've ever been at any point in my life. Simply stick to proper eating and working out, and the pounds will drop.

 

[DidntMakeBrownies]

Wecandothis said:

DidntMakeBrownies said:

Wecandothis said:

DidntMakeBrownies said:

I've been on 6 of tirz for 5 months, have lost 35 lbs, and want to drop another 45 to get near my goal. I figured slow and steady was fine since my losses are consistent, even if not huge, and I barely get side effects. Then I came across something saying tirz weight loss levels off around 72 weeks. If a third of that window is already gone, should I raise my dose to speed things up? Add Reta if I can ever work out how to order from China? Stalling out is something I'd really hate…

I went through this exact situation previously. Once tirzepatide seemed to stop doing anything for me, I introduced a small amount of Reta. Then, as I moved the Reta dose upward, I brought the tirz dose downward. These days I sit under my goal weight, and Reta is what got me there.

Could you share how you started Reta? Did your heart rate go up? What dose were you on?

Yep, in the early days it caused skipped beats, and my resting heart rate went up — both while working out and when sitting still. I began at .5 and four days afterward put in the other .5. Tirz stayed in the mix, and whenever I raised Reta, I brought tirz down. Right now it's roughly 2 tirz alongside 6-8 Reta. The tirz is still necessary for me because of its anti inflammatory action.

Because I underwent a cardiac ablation to treat a heart arythmia, this makes me somewhat fearful.

 

[Grogu]

DidntMakeBrownies said:

Wecandothis said:

DidntMakeBrownies said:

Wecandothis said:

DidntMakeBrownies said:

I've been on 6 of tirz for 5 months, have lost 35 lbs, and want to drop another 45 to get near my goal. I figured slow and steady was fine since my losses are consistent, even if not huge, and I barely get side effects. Then I came across something saying tirz weight loss levels off around 72 weeks. If a third of that window is already gone, should I raise my dose to speed things up? Add Reta if I can ever work out how to order from China? Stalling out is something I'd really hate…

I went through this exact situation previously. Once tirzepatide seemed to stop doing anything for me, I introduced a small amount of Reta. Then, as I moved the Reta dose upward, I brought the tirz dose downward. These days I sit under my goal weight, and Reta is what got me there.

Could you share how you started Reta? Did your heart rate go up? What dose were you on?

Yep, in the early days it caused skipped beats, and my resting heart rate went up — both while working out and when sitting still. I began at .5 and four days afterward put in the other .5. Tirz stayed in the mix, and whenever I raised Reta, I brought tirz down. Right now it's roughly 2 tirz alongside 6-8 Reta. The tirz is still necessary for me because of its anti inflammatory action.

Because I underwent a cardiac ablation to treat a heart arythmia, this makes me somewhat fearful.

That's a sound rationale for being careful. Whether existing cardiac issues will be included in the black box warning once complete prescribing information comes out is unclear, but in the meantime, if I were in your position, I wouldn't take a chance with Reta.

 

[Wecandothis]

DidntMakeBrownies said:

Wecandothis said:

DidntMakeBrownies said:

Wecandothis said:

DidntMakeBrownies said:

I've been on 6 of tirz for 5 months, have lost 35 lbs, and want to drop another 45 to get near my goal. I figured slow and steady was fine since my losses are consistent, even if not huge, and I barely get side effects. Then I came across something saying tirz weight loss levels off around 72 weeks. If a third of that window is already gone, should I raise my dose to speed things up? Add Reta if I can ever work out how to order from China? Stalling out is something I'd really hate…

I went through this exact situation previously. Once tirzepatide seemed to stop doing anything for me, I introduced a small amount of Reta. Then, as I moved the Reta dose upward, I brought the tirz dose downward. These days I sit under my goal weight, and Reta is what got me there.

Could you share how you started Reta? Did your heart rate go up? What dose were you on?

Yep, in the early days it caused skipped beats, and my resting heart rate went up — both while working out and when sitting still. I began at .5 and four days afterward put in the other .5. Tirz stayed in the mix, and whenever I raised Reta, I brought tirz down. Right now it's roughly 2 tirz alongside 6-8 Reta. The tirz is still necessary for me because of its anti inflammatory action.

Because I underwent a cardiac ablation to treat a heart arythmia, this makes me somewhat fearful.

I deal with known PVCs. My husband underwent an ablation a while back, and Reta has worked well for him. Still, it might be best to let your doctor weigh in on this. My own cardiologist is aware that I use it.