Itching, nausea

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Strawberrykitten

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I just moved over to tirz from Nexph and went up to 10mg. Prior to this, I was using Brello and honestly had no weight loss, no appetite suppression, and a lot of Sulphur burps ..etc

I did 3 weeks at 10 mg, but weeks 2 and 3 have been awful. The spot where I inject becomes inflamed and itchy. My entire body itches intensely, and I have no appetite at all. I make myself eat a small amount, yet the nausea is so severe that I can only manage a few bites. Everything aches and all my joints are painful. This feels really strange. I'm considering dropping the dosage, but what else might help?

I have PCOS and prediabetic, so I'm hoping it will also assist with other problems.

Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks!
 
What has your dosing schedule looked like? I want to get a clearer picture of how quickly you have been moving up in dose.
 
Strawberrykitten said:

I just moved over to tirz from Nexph and went up to 10mg. Prior to this, I was using Brello and honestly had no weight loss, no appetite suppression, and a lot of Sulphur burps ..etc

I did 3 weeks at 10 mg, but weeks 2 and 3 have been awful. The spot where I inject becomes inflamed and itchy. My entire body itches intensely, and I have no appetite at all. I make myself eat a small amount, yet the nausea is so severe that I can only manage a few bites. Everything aches and all my joints are painful. This feels really strange. I'm considering dropping the dosage, but what else might help?

I have PCOS and prediabetic, so I'm hoping it will also assist with other problems.

Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks!
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Getting your thyroid tested is a possibility worth considering, even if it seems unlikely.

As for tirz, it's the same regardless of whether it came from Brello or Nexaph. Poptart's question about your past dosing is a good one. What was your dose and how long were you on it?
 
Strawberrykitten said:

I just moved over to tirz from Nexph and went up to 10mg. Prior to this, I was using Brello and honestly had no weight loss, no appetite suppression, and a lot of Sulphur burps ..etc

I did 3 weeks at 10 mg, but weeks 2 and 3 have been awful. The spot where I inject becomes inflamed and itchy. My entire body itches intensely, and I have no appetite at all. I make myself eat a small amount, yet the nausea is so severe that I can only manage a few bites. Everything aches and all my joints are painful. This feels really strange. I'm considering dropping the dosage, but what else might help?

I have PCOS and prediabetic, so I'm hoping it will also assist with other problems.

Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks!
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Could you walk me through how you calculated that as well? What was the MG on the earlier vial, and what MG does the one you're using now have? How much BAC did you add when reconstituting?
 
After my tirz shot, I end up with a red, itchy patch right where I injected. Someone in another group mentioned using Flonase on the skin, and honestly it helps way more than putting benadryl cream on it. Hope things improve for you quickly. xox
 
Strawberrykitten said:

I just moved over to tirz from Nexph and went up to 10mg. Prior to this, I was using Brello and honestly had no weight loss, no appetite suppression, and a lot of Sulphur burps ..etc

I did 3 weeks at 10 mg, but weeks 2 and 3 have been awful. The spot where I inject becomes inflamed and itchy. My entire body itches intensely, and I have no appetite at all. I make myself eat a small amount, yet the nausea is so severe that I can only manage a few bites. Everything aches and all my joints are painful. This feels really strange. I'm considering dropping the dosage, but what else might help?

I have PCOS and prediabetic, so I'm hoping it will also assist with other problems.

Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks!
Click to expand...
The symptoms you're listing are far, far outside what's normal for GLP-1 medication...... particularly the itching that covers your whole body, swollen injection areas, aching joints and body, and intense nausea that stops you from eating. Don't try to tough that out.

My read is that 2 major things are at play.....

  • You can't tolerate this dose; 10mg is simply too much for your system
  • An inflammatory or sensitivity reaction, possibly cytokine activation
Staying at 10 mg is not something I'd advise.

Two options: take a break, or step down to a far lower dose.

Either pause until symptoms settle or drop to a much lower dose. When it comes to PCOS and prediabetes, staying consistent and tolerating the medication counts for more than pushing the dose high; the aim isn't appetite suppression, it's metabolic stability.

If this were happening to me, I'd stop for now and give the immune system time to calm down, then begin again at a lower amount.

While you wait: keep fluids up, add electrolytes, have small meals built around protein, and think about an antihistamine. Should the itching, reactions at the injection sites, or body aches continue even once you've paused, contact your doctor without delay.

Bottom line: your body is giving you VERY real signals.
 
PopTart said:

What has your dosing schedule looked like? I want to get a clearer picture of how quickly you have been moving up in dose.
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I stuck with the standard titration: 2.5, then 5, then 7.5, and each of those doses lasted 4 weeks for me. From Nexaph I ordered the 60 mg vial, and I reconstituted with 3 ML of BAC water, which gave me 6 doses at 10 mg each. So far I've only injected it 3 times (my husband is on it with me and he's been totally fine).

Even before I began this, I dealt with itching all over, though back then it always showed up after I ate sugar. These days I don't have cravings at all, so I can't explain why the itching has returned. Mornings are when it bothers me the most, right after I wake up. All of my lab work has been completed. I'm under the care of an endocrinologist, my thyroid was tested, and everything came back normal. The one thing that stands out is elevated CRP, but nobody has managed to pin down the cause so far.

Since starting, I've run into every kind of problem (back at 2.5 mgs, my periods dragged on the entire month, and I was told that's normal while things regulate). Losing weight was never my reason for doing this, so in the beginning I didn't drop any pounds, but I was hoping my body was sorting itself out. I have no idea what's happening. Every test that could be run has been run, and I still have no answers from anyone. On top of that, the fatigue is overwhelming - I'm sleeping 20 hours out of the day and I can't function.
 
Jfrick11 said:

Strawberrykitten said:

I just moved over to tirz from Nexph and went up to 10mg. Prior to this, I was using Brello and honestly had no weight loss, no appetite suppression, and a lot of Sulphur burps ..etc

I did 3 weeks at 10 mg, but weeks 2 and 3 have been awful. The spot where I inject becomes inflamed and itchy. My entire body itches intensely, and I have no appetite at all. I make myself eat a small amount, yet the nausea is so severe that I can only manage a few bites. Everything aches and all my joints are painful. This feels really strange. I'm considering dropping the dosage, but what else might help?

I have PCOS and prediabetic, so I'm hoping it will also assist with other problems.

Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks!
Click to expand...
The symptoms you're listing are far, far outside what's normal for GLP-1 medication...... particularly the itching that covers your whole body, swollen injection areas, aching joints and body, and intense nausea that stops you from eating. Don't try to tough that out.

My read is that 2 major things are at play.....

  • You can't tolerate this dose; 10mg is simply too much for your system
  • An inflammatory or sensitivity reaction, possibly cytokine activation
Staying at 10 mg is not something I'd advise.

Two options: take a break, or step down to a far lower dose.

Either pause until symptoms settle or drop to a much lower dose. When it comes to PCOS and prediabetes, staying consistent and tolerating the medication counts for more than pushing the dose high; the aim isn't appetite suppression, it's metabolic stability.

If this were happening to me, I'd stop for now and give the immune system time to calm down, then begin again at a lower amount.

While you wait: keep fluids up, add electrolytes, have small meals built around protein, and think about an antihistamine. Should the itching, reactions at the injection sites, or body aches continue even once you've paused, contact your doctor without delay.

Bottom line: your body is giving you VERY real signals.
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I'm happy you stressed that point! In my opinion, that's what really matters for losing weight. Watching Dr. Ben Bikman on YouTube has taught me quite a bit.
 
Strawberrykitten said:


I've had all kinds of issues since I started (when I first started at 2.5 mgs

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Jfrick11 makes a good point, and I’d follow it. If your body is signaling that something’s off, forcing yourself through it does nothing but cause unnecessary suffering—and it could even set you back. You could also look into stopping tirz and trying reta instead, or finding a way to keep your metabolism steady without relying on GLP-1s.
 
Strawberrykitten said:


I followed the regular protocol of 2.5, 5, 7.5 (each dose I stayed on it for 4 weeks). I bought the 60 mg dose from Nexaph and used 3 ML of BAC water so I could have 6 (10 mg doses). I only used it 3 times (my husband uses it along with me and he hasn't had any issues. )

I had issues with itching all over before I started this but it was always associated with sugar consumption. Now that I have no cravings I''m not sure why the itching is coming back. It's worst when I first wake up in the morning. I've had all my lab work done. I see an endocrinologist and had my thyroid checked and it's all normal. The only issue I have is my CRP levels are high but so far no one has been able to figure out what's causing it.

I've had all kinds of issues since I started (when I first started at 2.5 mgs - my periods were lasting all month long, I was told it's normal and things are regulating. Weight loss wasn't the goal for me so at first I saw no weight loss but i was hoping things were regulating. I don't know what's going on. I've done all the testing that can be done and no one has any answers for me. Meanwhile, the fatigue is so intense, I'm sleeping for 20 hours in a day and not being able to function.

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I appreciate the extra details — that paints a much clearer picture. From what you've laid out, this doesn't come across as a routine GLP-1 adjustment reaction at all.

A few points really stand out to me:

  • You were already dealing with itching and elevated CRP before starting, which suggests an inflammatory or histamine-related process was present from the beginning.
  • In certain individuals, tirzepatide can intensify histamine or inflammatory responses, even when the usual labs (thyroid, etc.) come back within range.
  • Sleeping as much as 20 hours/day, body aches, and itching that keeps getting worse are not typical — these aren't things to try to push through.
  • That early prolonged bleeding hints that your body was already under considerable strain right from the start.
One thing I want to state plainly: bumping the dose every month isn't actually a requirement or a "rule." Doing it monthly frequently amounts to pushing more drug into a body that may neither need nor tolerate it — particularly when weight loss isn't the only objective.

When it comes to PCOS and metabolic regulation, the correct dose is the smallest one that moves labs and symptoms in the right direction, not the largest one you can withstand. The aim isn't appetite suppression — it's stability.

Considering how widespread and debilitating these symptoms sound, I'd seriously think about pausing the medication altogether for now — not merely reducing it — and giving your system a complete reset. If things get better while off it, that tells you something important. If they don't, then something else inflammatory is likely at play, something the medication is either aggravating or bringing to the surface.

Your husband may be tolerating it fine, but individual responses can differ enormously, particularly when PCOS and pre-existing inflammation are in the picture.

None of this is your fault, and you're not making it up. Your body is sending unmistakable signals that something is off, and paying attention to them is the wise choice.
 
One more thing—when you worked out your dose, did you go by the COA fill volume instead of just assuming the vial holds the 60mg you ordered? With Nexa, the vials tend to run overfilled almost every time. So if this was your first move up to 10mg after several weeks sitting at 7.5, and you didn't factor that extra volume into your calculation, then what you actually injected was above 10gm—a fairly sizable step up.
 
I'd like to back the suggestion that you pause the tirzepatide for the time being, at minimum. Based on what you're describing, something is clearly happening — the elevated crp points to inflammation in some location — and since a doctor has already examined you and run blood work, they still don't know the cause. Whether this was recent or not is unclear to me; if it wasn't recent (a week or two?), then another check-up is needed. Situations like this are genuinely not uncommon. Diagnoses can be tricky, and even very capable doctors sometimes can't pin down what's going on. What matters most in those cases is being reassessed on a regular basis — with time, either a clearer picture develops, or a test yields something helpful, or, best of all, it resolves by itself with no explanation ever found. That last one is maddening, but it's still a great result.

Stopping the tirzepatide at least lets you disentangle whatever effects it may be contributing to your symptoms from whatever else may be happening underneath, which makes it easier to identify the real underlying issue. If you're worried that you're unwell and your doctor is overlooking something or isn't as capable as you'd hope, seeking a second opinion about your symptoms is fair. But from a medical standpoint, it becomes very hard to figure anything out when some or all of the symptoms could be coming from grey market peptides. If you're still taking grey market or compounded peptides and you tell them, that's the first thing they'll point to as the cause of non specific systemic inflammation — and in this situation, withholding that information only makes their job more difficult.
 
If PV bleeding has been going on for a long time and you're feeling extremely fatigued, then a blood count plus iron levels should be checked too — unless those tests were already run within the last few weeks. In a case like this, iron deficiency seems highly probable.
 
Strawberrykitten said:

I just moved over to tirz from Nexph and went up to 10mg. Prior to this, I was using Brello and honestly had no weight loss, no appetite suppression, and a lot of Sulphur burps ..etc

I did 3 weeks at 10 mg, but weeks 2 and 3 have been awful. The spot where I inject becomes inflamed and itchy. My entire body itches intensely, and I have no appetite at all. I make myself eat a small amount, yet the nausea is so severe that I can only manage a few bites. Everything aches and all my joints are painful. This feels really strange. I'm considering dropping the dosage, but what else might help?

I have PCOS and prediabetic, so I'm hoping it will also assist with other problems.

Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks!
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Just to be clear, I have zero medical background and I'm not a physician — I'm simply a mother who's past 50. With that out of the way, the symptoms you're describing make me suspect some kind of contamination. If I were in your shoes, I'd put that batch to the side and prepare a fresh one with new supplies, paying close attention to keeping everything clean.

That said, I have no idea what your budget allows, and maybe buying new equipment just isn't possible right now. Should that be the situation, then at minimum you could boil your items or give them an alcohol soak. Disinfect as thoroughly as you safely can. And if the vial you're currently using does turn out to be contaminated, then honestly I don't think there's any way to rescue it. Toss it out if a newly mixed batch takes care of the problem.
 
lessthanhalf said:

If PV bleeding has been going on for a long time and you're feeling extremely fatigued, then a blood count plus iron levels should be checked too — unless those tests were already run within the last few weeks. In a case like this, iron deficiency seems highly probable.
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After seeing a hematologist, I received an iron infusion, and the lab results now show I'm not anemic anymore.

A sleep specialist put me on a cpap. I've also been to a gastro doctor, who performed both an endoscopy and a colonoscopy, plus an endocrinologist who tested for everything, cushings included, and every lab came back normal. For the bleeding that's been lasting 5 years, I'm now with a 2nd obgyn. So as a final attempt at helping my insulin resistance, I began the tirze. Gut detoxes and whole 30 diets are things I've tried too, and as I cut certain foods out, my intolerances keep growing - gluten, dairy, pork and more are off the table for me.

Every doctor I've informed about my tirz use (at first compounded by Brello, so not grey market) did not consider it a possible cause.
 
Jfrick11 said:


Thank you for explaining more, that helps a lot. Based on everything you’re describing, this really doesn’t sound like a simple or “normal” GLP-1 adjustment issue.

A few important things stand out:

  • You already had baseline itching and elevated CRP, which points to an underlying inflammatory or histamine-driven process.
  • Tirzepatide can amplify inflammation or histamine responses in some people, even when standard labs (thyroid, etc.) look normal.
  • The extreme fatigue (sleeping up to 20 hours/day), body aches, and worsening itching are not typical and not something to push through.
  • The prolonged bleeding early on suggests your system was under significant stress from the start.
One important thing I want to say clearly: it is not actually a requirement or “rule” to increase the dose every month. Increasing monthly often means forcing more medication when the body may not need it or tolerate it, especially when weight loss isn’t the only goal.

For PCOS and metabolic regulation, the right dose is the lowest dose that improves labs and symptoms, not the highest tolerated dose. Appetite suppression is not the goal, stability is.

Given how systemic and disabling these symptoms are, I would strongly consider stopping the medication entirely for now, not just lowering the dose, and allowing a full reset. If symptoms improve off it, that’s critical information. If they don’t, it suggests something else inflammatory is driving this that the medication is worsening or unmasking.

Even though your husband is doing fine, bodies can react very differently, especially with PCOS and baseline inflammation.

You’re not doing anything wrong, and you’re not imagining this. Your body is giving clear signals that something here isn’t right, and listening to that is the smart move.

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I appreciate the suggestion. My plan is to take a break for a while and then reassess. But right now, I'm at a loss. I turned to this somewhat as a final option, since these problems have been going on for more than 5 years and keep deteriorating. I've consulted numerous doctors, and none of them could provide any explanation. Their only response is to schedule another visit in 6 months.
 
Strawberrykitten said:


Thanks for the input. I plan to stop for a bit and see what happens. In the meantime, I really don't know what to do. This was kind of a last minute resort on my part because I've been having issues for over 5 years and it's just getting worse. I've seen so many doctors and no one has been able to give me any answers. They just tell me to come back n 6 months.

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Hearing what you're going through really hits hard, and I'm sorry. It's clear how much this has drained you and how discouraging it is to keep trying without ever landing on any solid explanation. 😢

Taking a break so your hormones and immune system can settle seems like the wisest path to me. Even when these medications may ultimately help with PCOS, sometimes forcing the issue only backfires.

Should you ever choose to give GLP-1s another shot down the road, my strong recommendation would be to go low and slow...... basically at a crawl. Keep the dose minimal, stretch out the gaps before any increase, and prioritize keeping your metabolism steady rather than chasing fast results.

When a doctor simply tells you to "come back in 6 months," it can feel like there's no hope, but you are owed someone who will genuinely dig deeper. Even this break is telling you something about what your body is asking for at this moment.

There's nothing wrong with you, and you haven't run out of choices. It may just be a period in which rest and getting stable need to come first. 😊
 
OP, let me add my 2 cents and repeat something others have already brought up:

When it comes to Nexa vials, overfilling is never a rare thing. Occasionally it's only slight (my 6 mg Reta came in at 6.54), other times it's more noticeable (my 60 mg Tirz was 65.xx), and in some cases it can be substantial (my 100mg GHK-cu was 150; GHK is well known for overfilling, but that doesn't change the point).

Check the COA for the batch you have. With a 3 ml recon, you might actually be dosing closer to 12 mg. My other thought is that you should pause Tirz for now, but it's still worth looking into the concentration.
 
Not_Your_Dad said:

OP, let me add my 2 cents and repeat something others have already brought up:

When it comes to Nexa vials, overfilling is never a rare thing. Occasionally it's only slight (my 6 mg Reta came in at 6.54), other times it's more noticeable (my 60 mg Tirz was 65.xx), and in some cases it can be substantial (my 100mg GHK-cu was 150; GHK is well known for overfilling, but that doesn't change the point).

Check the COA for the batch you have. With a 3 ml recon, you might actually be dosing closer to 12 mg. My other thought is that you should pause Tirz for now, but it's still worth looking into the concentration.
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The Reta 48 kit that came from them turned out to be Reta 58! Luckily my initial pin was just 1 mg prior to receiving the COA.
 
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