Ta-dah! Here's my mermaid pose - fitting into one pant leg of my favorite comfy pair of capris that I bought for my birthday in March 2022. Below that is a photo of me wearing the same pants in May 2022...and I really felt "put together" for a family mother's day picnic in Nashville. I've lost a total of 77" around my whole body and 12 of those inches were from around my waist.
I've been in maintenance for a few months now and it's going well. I've been bouncing between a loss of 85-88 pounds and my appetite is pretty normal. I still eat pretty small portions and recognize when I'm satisfied. There's just a little bit of nausea sometimes that is easily cured with a peppermint or chewing gum these days. I don't have major food cravings and when I do, I'm still satisfied with just a few bites as far down the road as day 13 after a shot.
Let me explain...my maintenance routine involves shots of Mounjaro every other week. I am gradually titrating down in dosage. Right now I'm on 12.5mg and my box of 4 doses will last 8 weeks. In November I'll start 10 mg, and in January I'll drop to 7.5, then by March I'll be on 5mg. By May my doc and I discussed going off the medication for a few months to see how my body reacts. If I start to gain weight that isn't related to weight lifting I will go back on a low dose. The InBody Scan is a great tool for checking on this.
Insurance Coverage
I sent in a prior authorization request to have this medication covered by Blue Cross Blue Shield of IL, because I do have weight loss prescription coverage through my husband's employer. However, it was denied—even after an appeal because the FDA has not approved Mounjaro for weight loss—yet. IT would have been approved if I was diabetic. Being pre-diabetic when I started this medication apparently doesn't count. BUUUUUT, we pretty much know that this indication approval is coming before the end of the year.
So in the meantime, I'm shelling out $500/mo. My insurance would cover Wegovy, but I don't want to change since this medication is working so well and I know what to expect. That price point is sustainable thru the end of the year through an FSA my employer funds because I don't utilize the company insurance plan. What a blessing it is to have that resource. I'm hopeful this will be covered beginning in 2024. However, I'm sure there will be hiccups along the way.
The devil's advocate in my brain keeps saying that Eli Lilly will change the name and it will take a while to get the new name brand on the insurance formulary (insurance company's list of covered drugs), or my BMI will be too low to qualify for it, or the insurance company will think of SOMETHING else to deny coverage because it is such an expensive medication. Time will tell, and all I can do is wait and jump thru any hoops as they present themselves. I'm not going to stress about it.
Nashville Meet-Up
I'm sure I've mentioned all the wonderful encouragement and wisdom I've gained from watching my virtual community on TikTok as they have endured this weightloss journey. A few of them had a meet up at a ritzy vacation in Mexico. That was a bit out of my price range, but there is another group from the midwest that are going to meet up on October 7th in Nashville. Now THAT is more do-able, and it's one of my favorite cities to visit. We are definitely going to do dinner together, maybe a pool party to show off our new swim suits that we never dared to wear before Mounjaro. I hope we can get a group photo with the skyline or Broadway in the background - THAT would be a keepsake! If we all decide to go shopping together, you can bet we will clear out all the size smalls, 4's and 6's in the entire mall! It is the season to replace our wardrobes! The malls around Nashville are WAYYYYY better than my options in Bloomington so I'm especially looking forward to that on Sunday afternoon before we head home.
Also—just for fun—I reached out to Customer Service at Eli Lilly (the makers of Mounjaro) and asked if they had any swag to share with all these successful Mounjarians. They are looking into it and are sending the request up the communication channels at Lilly. I'll let you know how that shakes out. Finger's crossed! If you want to join us, let me know and I'll get you added to the Discord chat.
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