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.