Hello, everyone! This is Barbara, back with an update on week five of my oral Tirzepatide treatment from Henry Meds. My week five concluded on July 14th, 2024, and I began the 4 mg dose. I've lost another 1.5 pounds, bringing my total weight loss to 5 pounds since starting.

The new pills are slightly larger and mint-flavored, which I find less pleasant than the previous citrus ones. They also don't dissolve as easily, requiring me to chew them or wash them down with water. In terms of side effects, I've noticed an increase in headaches and fatigue, though it's unclear if these are due to the medication change.

Additionally, I encountered a hiccup with Hairy Meds regarding my follow-up assessment, but it has since been resolved. I've been prescribed another two months on the 4 mg dose and am awaiting my next shipment. Moving forward, I plan to update bi-weekly for a more comprehensive view of my progress.

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Hi again, Barbara here to give you an update on week 4 of the oral Tirzepatide treatment and an overall month update on the experience and the results. A little disclaimer before continuing, I'm not a doctor or a nurse and the content of this podcast is intended only to share my experience as a patient with this treatment. Nothing that I say here is to be considered medical advice.

Okay, so let's start with a little recap of my first month on the oral Tirzepatide on the initial dose of three milligrams. I started the treatment on June 8th, 2024, and my first week ended on June 15th. That week, I only experienced one minor and basically adjusting side effect, which was nausea, and that happened only on the first couple of days. My body received the medication pretty well and I noticed a positive difference right on the first week, but not a drastic change. It felt like more like slowly built up. However, on the first week, I did not have any weight loss, nor was it expecting to lose any weight. So, everything was okay. I was pretty much getting adjusted to it and it went as expected.

On week two, which started on June 16th and ended on June 23rd, to my surprise, I actually lost 2.8 pounds. It was a little bit shy of three pounds. I've had no negative side effects and the nausea was pretty gone. There was a noticeable reduction in hunger and noticeable reduction in desire to snack, especially with sweets and chocolate which is my main issue, so I guess I was very happy then.

Well, for week three, which started on June 24th and ended on June 30th, I called that bummer week because I had a setback due to having a very bad period, and I ended up gaining the three pounds back. During that week, I experienced lack of energy, pain throughout my body, irritation, mood swings, bloating, and increased desire for sugar. But I blamed that on my hormonal rollercoaster. All of those were regular PMS symptoms for me, so it was kind of expected that I would gain those pounds back. That's why I call it bummer week, but I had a surprise on week four.

All right, so week four, which started July 1st and ended July 7th, and was my last week on the three-milligram dose. I felt like I've recovered from week three. My energy was back. I was feeling great. I was just not sleeping better because we adopted a new puppy and she's very active at night. But even with that, I was again rolling out of bed and pretty much into work at 4 a.m. and feeling good and focused. Following the trend that have not had any negative side effects and drum roll, I have lost three and a half pounds. But basically, I lost the three pounds that I had gained back on week three, plus a half a pound. So, so far, I'm pretty happy with the results. I know that three and a half pounds in a month, it's nothing to some, but I'm not here to compete with anyone. I'm here to run my own race, and I'm happy.

Also, I got in touch with Harry Meds to inquire about my follow-up consultation, and they told me that it was due on July 13th, but they sent me a link to complete the follow-up questionnaire if I wanted to get ahead and not risk having a gap in the medication. So, I did that and I'm currently awaiting approval or another telehealth appointment. Next week, I'm starting with the four-milligram dose and I'm a little bit nervous, I'm not going to lie, but I'm excited at the same time. I hope I won't have any bad side effects, obviously. And that's all for this episode. I'll catch you next time. Oh, and don't forget to subscribe if you don't want to miss out on further updates. Bye-bye now.

Hi, this is Barbara again, and I'm here for an update on week three with the oral compounded Tirzepatide prescription from Henry Meds. Before I do that, I like to say that I'm not a nurse nor a doctor, and nothing that I say here is to be taken as medical advice. I'm a patient on GLP-1 medication and on a weight loss journey, and this is where I share my experience in order to hopefully help someone else that may have some questions about this treatment. So, let's get started.

Well, week three ended on June 29th, and unfortunately, I had a setback. If you listen to my update on week number two, you will know that I had a weight loss of about three pounds. Well, sadly, I gained those three pounds back, but I'll explain why I think it happened.

If you follow my first podcast in the series, you will probably remember that I mentioned that I have PCOS. PCOS is a disease that causes severe hormonal imbalance, making weight loss a lot more difficult for those who have it. People with PCOS usually don't ovulate on a regular basis, therefore, do not have periods on the same frequency as someone without PCOS. And when we do ovulate, hence we have a period, it can be as light and easy or just plain brutal. And that's what happened to me on week three. So, my period coincided with the third week of the treatment.

I should also mention that this is my first known hormone-induced period, meaning that I was off progestin that I was taking before. I don't know if that had anything to do with that or if it could possibly have been a side effect of the Tirzepatide itself. I can't say that there's a correlation, but I have read some reports on research that GLP-1 medications can affect the efficacy of birth control pills and also enhance fertility. If you want some more information on that, I suggest Googling, but make sure to look at the actual research papers.

In any case, my period this time was brutal. I felt like I've been hit by a truck the whole entire week. I had pain throughout my body, but especially my joints. I had a lot of joint pain. I had headaches, blurry vision. I was moody, emotional. I did not sleep well at all that week, and I was very tired. All of, quote, normal PMS symptoms, but worse, like more enhanced. I felt very bloated the entire time, and I also had more sweet cravings. However, even with all of this, I still feel like the medication did a good job as the cravings were more controllable in comparison to other very bad periods that I had while I was still not on this medication.

In comparison, times that I had very bad periods and I wasn't still on this medication, on this treatment, I remember, for example, just eating to eat or what I like to call emotional eating or even hormonal hunger. All of these things combined, I feel that they contributed to gaining those pounds back and possibly also water retention. I guess we'll find out at the end of week four when things go back to normal. So even though I gained three pounds back and initially felt like a bummer, I'm still optimistic with the overall result.

As for the known negative side effects of this medication, I have not experienced any that week. I do feel like my body's used to the three milligrams dosage at this point, so I am looking forward to starting on the four milligrams next month.

On a different note, usually when you have your initial consultation, you're sent two months' worth of prescription. In my case, I started with the initial dosage of 3 milligrams and for the second month, it would be up to 4 milligrams. I should also mention that on June 24th I was charged for the second month's prescription that I had already received. The first charge was $249 for the first month because I took advantage of a sale that they were having and now for the second month I was charged the regular price of $349.

I remember slightly that at some point, it was mentioned that I will have a follow-up consultation now in July, but no one has reached out to me yet to that concern. So, I will be reaching out to Henry Meds at some point this week to find out the process into the following months. And don't worry, I'll report everything on the next episode.

Thank you so much for listening. And if this has helped you and you would like to continue receiving updates, make sure to subscribe to be notified. Until next time.