The practical process of starting a GLP-1 medication
Plus, sharing some great reads I discovered this week
I am starting this week’s newsletter by saying a big hello to all my subscribers - especially those who aren’t related to me!
The fact that people are subscribing to this newsletter from the US, Australia, Hungary, the UK and Cyprus, is wild to me. It’s great to have you here.
This week’s piece is about the practicalities of ordering and administering Mounjaro, using it as a treatment for the disease of obesity.
As a side note, I have been totally loving reading articles on Substack recently. It feels much more wholesome to spend time reading interesting stories and articles, rather than brain-rotting on insta (although I will still be doing that of course).
There are many talented writers on Substack so I am going to include a weekly round-up of articles I have enjoyed at the end of each newsletter. Hopefully you’ll find something you like, too.
Off we go then…
Ps. If you like this article, please press the heart button ❤️ as that helps other people to discover my content. Thanks!
When you’re get started with a GLP-1 medication like Ozempic, Mounjaro or Wegovy, ordering and administering the medication feels like you’re doing a BIG THING.
Here, I break down the process so you can see that
It’s not scary
It doesn’t hurt
It’s quick and easy
It will become normal to you very quickly.
I feel I should state that you should follow the instructions from your GLP-1 provider and contact them if you have any questions.
Ordering
Once you have selected a provider, you need to order your medication. Providers will ask you a set of questions about your health, height, weight and you usually have to send a photograph of yourself and a photo of your ID. Providers are getting more strict with what information you need to provide, to try and stop people from gaming the system and getting the medication when it’s not suitable for them.
Your order will be reviewed by a pharmacist or GP and if approved, it will then be dispatched. It’s all done online and may take a couple of days to get approved and dispatched, which is something to keep in mind to make sure you have your next medication pen in time for when you need it.
Delivery
The three different suppliers that I have used have all sent my medication in plain packaging, so the postie won’t know what’s inside it, and neither will anyone you live with. Inside the box it will be wrapped inside a special bag that contains wool, alongside a small ice pack. This is to keep your medication cold during transit and the packaging can be fully recycled.
Storage
Once you have your medication, you need to store it in the fridge in its box. Once you have used it for the first time, it can be stored at room temperature up to 30℃. This means that if you’ve already used your pen and you need to take it with you away from home, you can just keep it in a pouch and you don’t need to worry about keeping it cool. If the pen hasn’t been opened yet, you’d need to try and keep the pen cool.
Administering
Some people might be a bit worried about injecting themselves with medication for the first time. Over on the Reddit support groups there are always posts from people saying ‘it’s in my fridge and I’m nervous to inject it for the first time’. These comments are always met with encouragement from others who also had that nervous feeling, and then realised it’s actually absolutely fine.
The process is simple. The pen is supplied with very small needles, you take one out of the packet and screw it onto the end of the pen. You then get to feel like you’re on the tv show ER, by testing that a tiny amount of the medication will squirt out of the needle.
Once you’ve confirmed it’s working properly, you twist part of the pen as far as it will go. Then you use a supplied antibacterial wipe to clean your skin, insert the needle and twist the end of the pen back to its original position. Carefully remove the needle from your skin, replace the needle cap, unscrew it and put it in a sharps box.
There are three places on your body that you can administer the medication - the back of your arm, your stomach or your inner thigh. I always chose my stomach, except for once when I went for the thigh as I wanted to see if it was still a pain-free experience. The only difference for me was a slight sting and a small bruise.
The first few times I did my injections I shuddered when I opened the antibacterial wipes as the smell of them reminded me of having blood taken from my hands when I was pregnant, which really hurts! I don’t even notice the smell anymore as administering Mounjaro has become such a quick and ordinary thing to do each week.
You can do it
If you’re about to get started with taking a GLP-1 medication for the first time, please don’t worry. It’s honestly fine. I had nerves when I started Mounjaro, and now I have lost five and a half stone. It’s worth it and you will be fine!
TTFN!
The articles I loved reading this past week:
Hi, I’m Fran and I have been taking Mounjaro for the last 12 months. I am writing about my lived experience of using a GLP-1 medication to treat the disease of obesity. I’ll be covering all things connected to this including how to parent whilst on a GLP-1, enjoy a holiday, what food noise is and lots more. I hope you’ll subscribe and come along for the ride. See you next time!
If you liked this article you might enjoy reading my other content: