#163

Very important to get checked for Factor V and Jak2 (I think there might be one other genetic clotting variant) on a basic blood test. Having these raises risk significantly.

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#165

Some doctors have found microdosing Tirzepatide to be effective for some subtypes of Long Covid. They are dosing starting at 1/10 or 1/5 of the recommended initial starting dose for Mounjaro. There are warnings against microdosing using the bottled version. And concerns about compounded versions which I suspect are used by the Long Covid doctors. There are no Long Covid doctors that I can locate in my state using this approach. I’d appreciate any suggestions on usage and where to purchase. I am thinking about trying a GLP-1 instead which may be easier to microdosed using a click pen, but I’d rather use what is thought to be more effective.

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#166

My injection yesterday only knocked me out yesterday and my hunger returned to normal the next day damnit

#167

My hunger and appetite are very low on retatrutide but I am also experiencing severe fatigue on it.

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#168

That stuff is a stone cold appetite killer!

I tried it at 1.0mg for 2 weekly doses and lost all appetite, so I stopped.

I have since added 0.2mg to my weekly Reta dose and I am liking that dose and combo. My problem is in the evening when I’ve had my nightly THC dose and get the munchies LoL! Cagri has helped mitigate that effect just enough to not be driving me to the fridge as often.

Although my Reta dose has not changed and I had not gained any weight, I did find the urge to snack was becoming a bit annoying. And that is not a bad thing, it helps me be a bit more understanding of people who complain about “food noise”. Sometimes it’s good to walk a mile in another’s shoes.

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#169

revised - GLP1-Ra dose response.

Made this little graphic to help my clients understand that the dose is the key to success and to not worry about it being “too high”. It takes what it takes to get the job done. Lifestyle, sex, genetics, hormones, etc all have a part to play for each individual in how they respond to any given dose.

Each dose level will reach a state of homeostasis, at that point, either the weight loss goal has been reached or it hasn’t.

It’s also important to keep in mind that ALL the studies on weight loss with GLP1’s involve ramping up to the MAX dose as quickly as possible and running the studies for 3 to 5 years. People who expect the “magic needle” to do all the work at 1 or 2 non-MAX dose levels in 2 or 3 months are going to be disappointed. This does not mean people can’t achieve their goal at a lower dose, they just need to understand the process.

My wife and I are both excellent responders and achieved our goal with a “small” dose, I never went over 3.5 mg and neither did she, and we both maintain at a lower dose than that, 2.5 for her and 2.0 for me. We have a few people on 9mg per week who are maintaining at their idea weight. Still not quite at the MAX dose of 12mg for Reta.

GLP1 effects on weight are dose dependent.pdf (48.7 KB)

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#170

My appetite is quite suppressed at 4 mg/wk. I can’t imagine what 9 mg or 12 mg would feel like!

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#171

For you and I it would be extreme, for those who have a different dose response it’s normal for them.

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#172

The individual variation is very high. My wife lost 10kg on TZ 4mg over 6 month while I lost exactly 0kg at the exact same dose from the same vials. It helped with my glucose though.

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#173

I just got back some lab work and my fasting insulin was 1.8 (2.6-24.9). I’ve never seen it that low. A1C was 5.2 and glucose was 82

2.5mg retatrude per week, 150mg Acarbose daily and 10mg empagliflozin daily

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#174

Great numbers, congrats! What’s your weight, and how much did you lose?

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#175

210lbs and I didn’t really lose weight on the scale because I was already at a low body fat level and I am not on a fat loss diet. It was really more about seeing it improving health markers, which it has (except for increased heart rate).

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#176

29% average weight loss for retatrutide
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/11/health/eli-lilly-retatrutide-weight-loss-drug.html

So a 400 lb hacker would become 280 lb?

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#177

Even better: there seemed to be no plateau to weight loss after 68 weeks. Discussed here:

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#178

12 mg is the highest recommended dose for Reta. There will be a “plateau” for any dose. I really don’t like the word plateau used for describing GLP1’s performance as it’s misleading in my opinion.

Any particular dose has a limit to it’s effect and people call that limit a “plateau” and ask “I’ve plateaued, what do I do now” - the clinical answer is “are you at the maximum dose if not, increase your dose”. It’s pretty simple.

If they are at the max dose and have stopped losing weight, then other steps need to be taken. Lifestyle is the number one step as we cannot do much about the other aspects, sex, genetics, age, hormones, other health conditions, etc. all have an effect on individual response to GLP1’s

I’ve posted an info sheet several times on how this works :slight_smile:

#179

I lowered my dose to 0.5 mg and I keep losing weight, dropping from 138 to 128. This is nuts. I don’t know where I’m losing it from, and I don’t want to be emaciated. Oddly, my appetite is pretty good. I think I’ll either quit entirely or try a microdose of 0.1 mg.

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#180

That is one of the aspects of Reta compared to others. It seems to have a weaker influence on appetite, at low doses. But the effect of feeling full sooner still seems to be there.

Your idea of going for a super-micro dose seems pretty reasonable for your response.

Another avenue would be to extend time between doses, instead of weekly, maybe every 10 days to 2 weeks since you are not trying to lose weight.

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#181

Yes, a low maintenance dose seems to be in order. And maybe I should eat more ice cream.

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#182

Wow that is a big loss given the dose and your weight. I’m not a doctor but if it were me, I’d stop it all together for a while and see how it goes. At 138lbs any loss of weight is probably muscle loss and that is a big no no for health and longevity. You can always start at a later date. I don’t think it is normal to lose that much in such low dose. I wonder if you got Semaglutide instead by mistake. Never heard anyone losing any weight at 0.5mg Reta. Even the maintenance dose is supposed to be about 2mg.

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#183

This is more common than you think, a reminder that every body is different. On the other hand of the spectrum, many have gone up to max dose and beyond with only 5-10% weight loss to show for it.

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