u/CarryAffectionate878

I started my Mounjaro journey back in November 2023 and have been incredibly lucky with it overall. I stayed on 2.5mg the entire time and lost the 12kg I wanted to lose within about 6–8 months. That dose was then enough to maintain my weight really well for many months.

The problem was tolerability. My blood pressure would often crash after my injection and I’d feel exhausted for a few days afterwards, sometimes with quite a low mood too. I initially tried spacing my injections further apart, but that wasn’t ideal either, so about 1.5 years into my journey I started experimenting with microdosing.

I’ve tried a few different doses and intervals since then and, for a long time, managed to maintain my weight perfectly while avoiding the side effects, woudl only shift up and down a few 100 grams for a long time, I was sailing!

But something seems to have changed over the last 6 months. It just doesn’t feel as effective as it used to, and I’ve gained around 1–1.5kg that I simply cannot seem to shift. I know that’s not a huge amount, but what worries me is whether this is the beginning of the medication becoming less effective for me.

At the moment I’m taking 1.7mg every 6 days. I moved from every 7 days to every 6 days to increase my overall exposure slightly without increasing the actual dose too much, as I really don’t think I can tolerate a significantly higher dose.

I’m 54 and menopausal, so I’m very aware that hormones, body composition and metabolism can all be part of the picture. At the same time, I was already dealing with hormonal changes when I originally started Mounjaro and it worked incredibly well then.

Has anyone else who has been on a low dose/microdosing long term experienced something similar, where it suddenly seemed to lose some of its effectiveness? Did you manage to get things moving again without dramatically increasing your dose?

I’d really love to hear what worked for others, especially anyone who had side effects that prevented them from simply moving up the usual dosing schedule. I’m trying not to overreact to 1–1.5kg, but I’d like to understand what might be changing before it turns into a bigger regain.

Hi ladies! I’m just over 2 years into menopause and currently on estrogen and progesterone. My doctor has now suggested adding a small dose of testosterone, not because my levels are terribly low, but more because of symptoms that estrogen hasn’t completely sorted out: aches and pains, brain fog and, most impressively, a libido that seems to have packed its bags and left the country 😂

I’m curious about dosing. Has anyone here used testosterone gel/cream every other day rather than daily?

I’ve had slightly different advice from two doctors. One says alternate-day dosing is absolutely fine because it builds up in the system, while the other prefers a smaller amount daily because they feel the consistency better mimics the body’s natural hormone production, and less likely to have fluctuations.

I’d love to hear from anyone who has actually tried alternate-day dosing. Did it work well for you? Did you eventually switch to daily? Any difference in benefits or side effects?

Also interested in how long it took before you noticed improvements, particularly with libido, brain fog, energy or aches and pains.

I'm a bit worried about overshooting as my levels are not terrible, even though my dr keeps reassuring me that I'm not likely to... hearing real-life experiences from women actually taking would be incredibly helpful!

Thank you ❤️

I need a little rant, and also to know I’m not the only one! 😅

I’m 54 and about 2.5 years into menopause, and I honestly wasn’t prepared for how dynamic this whole thing would be. I thought you got a bunch of symptoms, decided whether to go on HRT, found the right dose and menopause managed. 😂

Apparently not.

Instead, something improves and then a completely new symptom pops up. And every single time my brain goes: Is this menopause? Hormones? Or is there actually something wrong with me that I’m missing?!

It’s genuinely given me deep health anxiety. I feel like all these hormonal shifts have made me less resilient, physically and mentally, and I've become hyper aware of my body.

My latest menopause gift over the past few months has been musculoskeletal stuff, especially my right hip, more general aches and pains, feeling like my muscle strength has changed, and just feeling slow and sluggish. I’m fed up with not feeling like my energetic self.

I’m on estradiol and progesterone and would say HRT has made me about 70% better, which I’m incredibly grateful for. But OMG… HRT optimisation is bloody difficult.

I thought the difficult decision was whether to take HRT. Turns out the real fun begins afterwards: Is my estrogen too high? Too low? Do I need more? Less? Is this new symptom because of hormones? Should I change the dose or wait? 😂

I’ve already changed my estrogen dose multiple times. Now my gynaecologist is adding testosterone. My levels aren't really low, but she thinks it may help with energy, mood and muscle strength/pain. She also says my ovaries can still have intermittent activity for years, which makes finding that hormonal sweet spot even trickier.

And meanwhile I’m monitoring my body like it’s a full-time job 🤦‍♀️

Breast pain? Worry.
Hip pain? Worry.
Fatigue? Worry.
Random new ache? Obviously I’m dying.

My blood work is good, mammograms/checks are clear, so rationally I know that’s reassuring. But every new symptom still sends me down the “can ALL of this seriously be hormones or am I missing something?” rabbit hole.
I just miss feeling like myself, balanced and able to have a random ache without conducting a full internal medical investigation on chat GPT!

Has anyone else found that the further into menopause they got, their symptoms kept changing rather than simply getting better? And has menopause given anyone else health anxiety because you genuinely don't know anymore what’s hormonal and what isn't?

And for those on HRT, has finding the right dose been an ongoing moving target for you too?

Please tell me I’m not the only one having conversations with CHAT GPT all day 😂❤️

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I've recently noticed bumps along the vein in my left arm only, not my right. What is that? they seem to be there v often, theyre soft to the touch, but I only see them on my left, right arm is perfectly smooth. Also in general the veins in left arm arm a lot more visible then right arm. Would be grateful if anyone could shed light on this 🙏🏻

Hey everyone, just wanted to share a lesson I learned this week in case anyone else is going through the same thing.

I’ve been on a 75mcg estradiol patch for a bit but recently started feeling incredibly overstimulated, anxious, flustered, and was dealing with a massive wave of water retention out of nowhere. Assuming the patch was the issue, I decided to pull it off, and switched over to daily estrogen gel to try and get better control over my doses. I discussed this with my dr of course, she was trying to convince me to ride it out and that it could be from spontaneous ovarian activity, but I insisted on changing as was feelign so awful.

Well, I just got my blood work back (2 blood tests done in the span of 2 weeks) and the mystery is solved: The patch was never the problem. Turns out my ovaries decided to stage a massive, uncoordinated menopausal "flicker" right over the top of my stable patch dose. My progesterone had spiked in first blood test, and plummeted right back down in second one, Same with estrogen.

Now that my ovaries have gone back to sleep and the blood work shows my baseline is completely quiet again, the gel routine feels tedious and I'm realizing how much I miss the hands-off convenience of the patch. Am I crazy for wanting to go back on the patch??

Has anyone moved back and forth between gel and patch and how did your body handle it? Talk me off the ledge, not sure what to do next lol!

I’ve been on patches for years and love the convenience factor, but lately I’m running into stability issues with my estradiol. Over the last few months, I’ve noticed my levels are all over the place, I can’t tell if it’s adhesion problems or my skin just not absorbing consistently.
The challenge is finding the sweet spot: 75mcg gives me water retention, but anything less and I feel it (fatigue, joint aches, mood dips). It’s like there’s no middle ground.
I’m exploring whether gel might give me better control and more consistent delivery. If you’ve had similar issues with patches or switched to gel, I’d love to hear about your experience, especially what’s actually worked for your body in the long run.
Appreciate any insights!