Hi everyone, appreciate you taking the time. I've spent a year on Tirz, with the past 4 months at 15mg. Now I'm thinking about trying Reta for the first time. To keep my risk down and avoid placing multiple orders, I'd like to get the largest dose available for my initial Reta kit. Would a 60mg kit be too much to consider? The price is attractive and it ships from a US warehouse. I'd also save on shipping.
Switching from 15mg Tirz to Reta: what's the highest starting Reta dose you've come across?
- Thread starter RT0123
- Start date
Whiynot20026
Explorer
In my view, once you get to about 8 mg or higher, you are basically Icarus. He flew too near the sun and ended up melting.
Bill
Bill
Justatechdude
Explorer
I've read that the smartest approach is to not make an abrupt change, and to split your doses instead. The common advice was to begin at a low dose and increase slowly — around 1mg of Reta or even less.
I ignored that advice. While on 5mg tirz, I went with 2.5 & 2.5.
What I like: appetite suppression is moderate and food passes through my stomach more quickly. What I don't: a mild case of dystenthesia (skin sensitivity that's uncomfortable). I'll likely step back down to 4mg TRZ plus 1mg Reta. That said, I might never fully switch over, since the current setup is working well for me.
I ignored that advice. While on 5mg tirz, I went with 2.5 & 2.5.
What I like: appetite suppression is moderate and food passes through my stomach more quickly. What I don't: a mild case of dystenthesia (skin sensitivity that's uncomfortable). I'll likely step back down to 4mg TRZ plus 1mg Reta. That said, I might never fully switch over, since the current setup is working well for me.
78monk
Explorer
Someone on reddit claimed they pinned 30mg.
My advice would be to begin at a much lower amount than that...
Unless, of course, you genuinely really really enjoy your bathroom visits.
My advice would be to begin at a much lower amount than that...
Unless, of course, you genuinely really really enjoy your bathroom visits.
MikeyMike
Explorer
For a starting point, I'd say stay at or below 2mg. My own experience: I came off the highest Sema dose and began Reta at 2mg — no problems at all. After that I raised it by 1mg each month. I've also read accounts from people who ramped up too quickly, including some who had been on large Tirz doses, and they ended up with serious side effects.
LongevitybroTX
Explorer
Honestly, for the first week or two I'd stay at 2mg and only slightly reduce your tirz... purely to confirm you can handle it. After that, as RETA goes up, TIRZ comes down. My approach is to always keep a bit of Tirz in the mix for appetite control, because RT isn't as potent on that front.
rkbleddyn
Explorer
"A random guy on reddit claimed he started at 30mg."
And then washed it down with a big pile of Tide Pods?
koffea
Explorer
During the phase 2 trials, Eli Lilly attempted a 4 mg starting dose, but it caused a huge jump in nausea and vomiting without any additional weight loss. As a result, they dropped that approach in phase 3 and switched everyone to a 2mg start.
it only works if you can get it in you and stick with it
it only works if you can get it in you and stick with it
Gt3294a
Explorer
That was the greatest Reddit post I've ever seen. I only wish I could find the link again.
Gt3294a
Explorer
Man, my honest take: the moment you begin thinking "what's the largest dose anyone has started on," you're basically inviting trouble. There was one stretch where I went 2 weeks on Reta with almost no sleep (that's a whole other story). Maybe it's smarter to play the long game and accept that the first few weeks might not feel amazing. Either way, those 2 weeks of no sleep were rough on me.
lessthanhalf
Explorer
Beginning reta is not the same thing as switching over from tirz. Jumping straight in at 4mg is likely a poor choice, whereas a swap carries far less risk of trouble. When I last proposed simply changing over at 6-8mg, a number of people pushed back quite firmly, a few of them with fairly solid science on their side, and on the whole reta produces more side effects than tirz.
A great deal also hinges on which side effects you are currently getting from 15mg of tirz and how things went as your doses went up. The more side effects tirz gave you, the more slowly and cautiously you ought to move. Broadly speaking, the slower and more careful your approach, the lower the chance of suddenly hitting severe side effects, though it probably makes little difference to how many side effects you get in total at any given dose.
So you can either bring reta in gradually while tapering tirz down, or simply stop and swap. I do not see it as a major issue either way.
It also comes down to how much of a problem it is for you to sit at a lower reta dose for a while during the changeover, and whether putting some weight back on during that stretch would be a serious concern.
On a straight swap I would not begin above 4mg. Generally, if you want to move doses up faster than roughly every 4 weeks, the lowest-risk route is smaller doses given more frequently, so every 2 or 3 days or twice a week. That way each small added dose will either produce some side effects or not, which helps you judge whether pushing doses higher is going to make things worse. And usually, if you overshoot your tolerance, blood levels should fall back to pre-last-dose levels within only a few days. So something along the lines of 2mg 2 x a week, raising by 0.5mg per dose every week or 2, assuming no side effects show up. If it starts to take effect, with things like appetite suppression or side effects such as nausea, then you need to slow the increases right down. An approach like that would land you at 6-8mg within 2 to 4 weeks, with a fairly low risk of unexpected severe side effects. Have a look at glp plotter so you can see what different doses do to blood levels over time; you need some grasp of what is happening if you plan to deviate from the standard schedule. Also, do not do this if you have never been on a glp drug before. Once you reach a dose you are happy with and want to move to weekly, just step one dose up and the other one down gradually.
When I went from ozempic to tirz, I simply added an extra mg every day or two for a while, until it seemed to be suppressing appetite somewhat or causing mild nausea, but it got me to 15mg a week in about a month with no real problems.
A great deal also hinges on which side effects you are currently getting from 15mg of tirz and how things went as your doses went up. The more side effects tirz gave you, the more slowly and cautiously you ought to move. Broadly speaking, the slower and more careful your approach, the lower the chance of suddenly hitting severe side effects, though it probably makes little difference to how many side effects you get in total at any given dose.
So you can either bring reta in gradually while tapering tirz down, or simply stop and swap. I do not see it as a major issue either way.
It also comes down to how much of a problem it is for you to sit at a lower reta dose for a while during the changeover, and whether putting some weight back on during that stretch would be a serious concern.
On a straight swap I would not begin above 4mg. Generally, if you want to move doses up faster than roughly every 4 weeks, the lowest-risk route is smaller doses given more frequently, so every 2 or 3 days or twice a week. That way each small added dose will either produce some side effects or not, which helps you judge whether pushing doses higher is going to make things worse. And usually, if you overshoot your tolerance, blood levels should fall back to pre-last-dose levels within only a few days. So something along the lines of 2mg 2 x a week, raising by 0.5mg per dose every week or 2, assuming no side effects show up. If it starts to take effect, with things like appetite suppression or side effects such as nausea, then you need to slow the increases right down. An approach like that would land you at 6-8mg within 2 to 4 weeks, with a fairly low risk of unexpected severe side effects. Have a look at glp plotter so you can see what different doses do to blood levels over time; you need some grasp of what is happening if you plan to deviate from the standard schedule. Also, do not do this if you have never been on a glp drug before. Once you reach a dose you are happy with and want to move to weekly, just step one dose up and the other one down gradually.
When I went from ozempic to tirz, I simply added an extra mg every day or two for a while, until it seemed to be suppressing appetite somewhat or causing mild nausea, but it got me to 15mg a week in about a month with no real problems.
FartfulCodger
Explorer
You ought to taper off the Tirz slowly while you ease your way into the Reta. It's possible you'll find that Reta won't deliver the appetite suppression you're used to, even when the dose goes up. A lot of us have found that after you've been on Tirz, Reta simply doesn't perform all that well. Hopefully your results turn out differently.
Pepperboi
Explorer
The smartest approach is to lower the tirz dose while adding reta in. Simply switching straight from one to the other and then trying to work out the ideal amount is never wise, since they usually are not equivalent on a 1:1 basis.
RadicalCrimson
Explorer
Went directly from Tirz 15mg plus Survo 6mg over to Reta 10mg, and I'm now dosing Reta 7mg every 3.5 days.
Yesterday I hit my target weight, which I owe to Cagri 1.7mg.
Zero side effects.
Yesterday I hit my target weight, which I owe to Cagri 1.7mg.
Zero side effects.
RadicalCrimson
Explorer
I get the sense that Tirz+cagri alone might have brought me to this point sooner, without any glucagon agonists in the mix — though there is no way to find out now.
RadicalCrimson
Explorer
Honestly, Cagri was a game changer, particularly when I increased the dose every 4 weeks as the studies did.
An elora kit is on its way to me, though since I've hit my goal, it will likely just sit unused.
An elora kit is on its way to me, though since I've hit my goal, it will likely just sit unused.
Diamondd817
Explorer
I went from 7.5mg Tirz over to 6mg Reta, and it was smooth. The only thing I noticed was mild nausea during the first 2 days.
My own move from Tirz to Reta did not work at all. Reta by itself was awful for me. While eating, I couldn't stand the food, yet the food noise stayed. For me, though, Tirz plus Reta turned out to be the perfect combination.
3mg Tirz on Monday / 3mg Tirz on Friday.
3mg Reta on Wednesday.
No regrets since.
3mg Tirz on Monday / 3mg Tirz on Friday.
3mg Reta on Wednesday.
No regrets since.