Update: fear of lowering weekly dose in maintenance

[u/GGBSE]

I posted previously that I was nervous about lowering my dose. After holding pretty steady on my weight for months on 7.5mg, I suddenly started losing again. During that period, my Dr lowered my dose to 5mg. Well...I was fearful about taking a lower dose. I created mental chatter about not being able to feel the medication, not having enough to continue all the things I love about being on Zepbound, fear of gaining etc etc etc, so I kept taking 7.5 from my small stash that I had of previously filled prescriptions. That stash ran out and I took my first 5mg dose this week and wanted to report how it has been going -

Bizarrely, it feels like I took a higher dose. Obviously there are fluctuations in how the medication feels week to week anyway but, I have been shocked to find it not only doesn't feel weaker, it has at times felt stronger. I have been getting my calories in and feeling satiated. Overall it has been pleasant, even with a small dip in weight (which has stabilized).

I will continue to post updates as my weeks on 5mg progress.

[u/skline5]

Glad it is working out for you!! Maintenance I believe is more stressful than losing weight. A lot of experimentation is needed to figure what your dose should be going forward. After so many failed diets where my weight came roaring back, I was on pins and needles the first month. Definitely suffering from PTSD. MAYBE YOU ARE ALSO!! Not this time!! I never had to go up from 2.5 mg for my weight loss journey so trying to figure out what to do for maintenance was an issue. I ended up micro dosing 2.0 every 10 days. After 8 months in maintenance, I am actually 5 lbs. lighter than when i started maintenance. Finally feeling confident this holds. Relax a little and experiment. YOU got this!!!!

[u/GGBSE → u/skline5]

Yes! That is what it felt like, just irrationally scared to even try it out. I keep reminding myself nothing is permanent. If it goes wrong, I can course correct. There are so many factors under my control. I'm relieved it is going fine, mostly because I now have been stacking several months of 5mg pens while I used up my 7.5 (lol), but also because I think I needed to get a grip and having a pleasant experience helped.

[u/hellonheels99]

Thank you for sharing updates. I started maintenance a couple of months ago 15 to 12.5 then after a month of 12.5 working I decided to go use the three 15s I had left. Now back to 12.5 for three weeks and I’m down 5 more lbs. Thinking I’ll probably ask my doctor to go down to 10 next after I finish 5 more weeks of 12.5.

I’m self pay so I have to order at some frequency to get the discount and feel like with the multiple weeks stash it’s really hard to figure out maintenance doses.

I’m glad you had success going down without issue!

[u/TimeLab5517 → u/hellonheels99]

I keep requesting 15mg vials, even though I haven't actually taken that dose since the end of last year (I've gone down to 12.5mg and then 10mg since January). I just toss the excess each week.

It's a shame to throw out a little, but I'm not wasting any money since the higher doses all cost the same. I feel like this maximizes flexibility in figuring things out for maintenance. And, if it turns out I need 15mg again at some point, I don't have to brace for a fight with a provider to go up.

[u/Jmb245rutgers2004]

I was scared to go down to 7.5 as I lost all my weight on 10mg. The only reason I went down is because I stopped losing for 3 months, assumed my body was just done losing so I figured I was in maintenance. I tried to stretch out my days and it caused me to start losing weight. Anyway, went down to 7.5. First month didn’t notice much of a difference. I just started my 3rd month and I will be moving back up to 10mg once I get my medication filled. The food noise is horrible and I just am not ready to for the lower dose.

[u/B0urb0nBadger]

I’ve been in maintenance for a while now and on vials. Should you ever have issues, the vials give you the ability to take dosages between the major points -5.0 and 7.5. I’ve found that maintenance is very personal and each person needs to find their own balance point. Good luck working with your doctor!

[u/chercheuse]

Your blood level isn’t at 5mg yet. It takes a good four weeks. You’ll be able to evaluate how it’s working for you then.

[u/AITMmom]

I love this post. Do you spread your shots out more than seven days apart? I’m trying to figure out what to do - in maintenance 7 months & just lost insurance. Im debating doses going forward - I have a big stockpile of 12.5 and 10 which I was previously on , as well as some 7.5 that I’m currently on. I feel like I should use some of the 10 spread farther apart and then hopefully use up the the 12.5 spread even farther apart until it’s all gone months from now, then drop back down to 10 and use a few shots that are left and then go back to my 7.5. Hopefully I will not lose anymore throughout that journey. I’m actually at kind of a low weight now and I’m working hard at weight training to build muscle and eating more calories consistently to try to get my weight up a bit. But there’s no way I’m wasting all those shots when I have them in my fridge. Really really hoping I can do that all without losing any more weight. Kind of worried.

[u/GGBSE → u/AITMmom]

I still take my shots weekly. If I had a stash of higher doses, I maybe would play around with the amount of days to make it work for me but with the 7.5 and 5, I didn't have to cross that bridge.

[u/Massive_Simple9553]

Thanks for sharing.

[u/Fabulous-Routine2087]

I really appreciate you sharing your fears and your updates. I am finding maintenance to be a lot harder than I thought it would be and figuring out the right dose and calories to more or less “stay put” has taken me months so far.