Progress report (5mo of reta) and journey of healing

[damic]

I wanted to give an update on my journey using peptides to this community first, probably post a larger article online;

Some background. In November of 2023 some test results from my doctor’s office came back with some pretty high blood pressure and blood sugar readings that were alarming. The results were Glucose readings of 319mg/dL, an A1C of 12 and blood pressure readings of 190/120. To myself I felt like me, or how I have for a long while. However, what got me was the look in my doctor’s face, I could tell she had genuine concern and told me I could have a heart attack or stroke at any time. At this time, I had a weight of 350lb (2023) however at my highest weight I was 390lb (2020), I have always fluctuated weight gradually hitting new highs over many years. I knew I add to do something drastic to change these results from the look on her face alone.

This started a couple of journeys, one of medical intervention and one of habit change. Referred to a different doctor that wanted to prescribe a slew of medications. I do not take new medications without researching them first, I’ve had a history of being sick, asthma, in the hospital in and out for different issues, back surgery for a herniated disk, gallbladder removed due to gallstones. It has taught me to research a bit first. Any who…it was suggested to take Ozempic (Semaglutide I would come to know), a couple of statins, insulin and metformin after these results. I said I would consider them and let them know in a follow up. First off family members had bad experiences in the past from using statins….so those were not something I wanted. Starting insulin right off the bat wouldn’t be my first choice, the basic principle being trying to let my body correct itself first with what it had (sometime that type of thinking isn’t the best, but why I didn’t want it then), Semaglutide was just hitting the hype from Hollywood folks taking it and it was just started as weekly injections, the info at the time showed issues with gastrointestinal slowing, causing issues, in some severe cases up to death (Australian 60 minutes story) so I didn’t like the idea of this without more data. Researching Metformin, it has been around a long time, proven results, and was showing potential for longevity not just treating diabetes. So, after this I declined all but Metformin and some BP meds. My doctor also told me about CGMs and a class the medical facility hosted, so I joined that and it seem like a logical move instead of taking insulin. This was a journey in itself. The CGM was denied by my insurance due to the requirement that to qualify I had to be taking insulin. I called them up to explain the other medicines they wanted me to take would have a higher cost than the CGM, it sounded like a cheaper option for the insurance than the recommended medicines I was offered, plus it also gave a chance for me to correct the situation on my own. The next day it was approved.

The changes. Now with the CGM and taking the class to learn how to use the information that the CGM provide, in addition I hired a personal trainer, I started journey of figuring out what foods did to my blood sugar, how to read the CGM and then take action on it. The trainer gave me the support to start working out again after not having to do that in this manner since high school. Over the next 12 months from changing nourishment and exercise habits I gained muscle, lost weight, to 298 in June (2024). This was pretty good. However, struggles in life made me slowly lose the habits I had just worked for near the end of 2024. It was not just one factor but a number of them that added up, some of it being depression. I gained weight back and by May of 2026 I was again 375lb. At this point my doctor recommended a new GLP1 medicine, Mounjaro. This kicked off another struggle with insurance. I paid out of pocked for the first month’s doses and would work on the insure to get it covers. This led me to find out about Zepbound, Mounjaro, and how they were the same, however had different qualifications by insurance providers. This started the research about GLP-1 beyond just Semaglutide and then the Diary of a CEO episode about peptides was released. I found out about peptides and shortly after, this forum. That started a whole other research journey. Eventually after months, 3-5 appeals to the insurance, they finally covered Zepbound. The rub…, the price was the same as me paying out of pocked. I order my first vials of Triz and Reta. Let the researching begin “on my rat Barnaby”.

I can’t tell you how this this forum provides such an alternative of information, support, and a place to learn how to take your health into your own hands. As I still had my first month of Mounjaro and I can tell you the first shot has somewhat of a “high” effect, a tingle, a feeling in my head, it was a specific feeling. What people called “food noise” was apparent right away. I really had never felt like that prior. It was easy to not think of food, but I’m not a big fan of the term “food noise” because I think it limits what it can actually do. It not only calms the craving of food, but also calms the mind. Decisions which I would deliberate over, were easier. Thinking was calmer. My pocket book felt this, as those easier decisions made me start doing tasks I would have only deliberated over before. Initially I used some Triz shots, research grade, just to test if it gave the same feeling as the name brand, it did. Then I started the journey of Reta. Now what I would call food noise, isn’t as strong, but other effects are. From all the reading I decided to start at 1mg. It seemed that people started lower and a lot of the trial data released at the time seem to start at 2mg (TRIUMPH1-4). I decided that I would follow the 4-week titration starting at 1mg, 2mg, 4mg, 6mg. Originally my goal was to try Reta for a 6-month period. I picked Reta because I had liver scans of S3, F3, which is fatty liver and the next stage not being good. Let me use some AI to show a pic

Part of early data from Reta is the ability to reduce fatty liver. My thinking was to switch to Triz after Reta, the plan I want to give my liver the best chance it could. Any who, I can tell you the steps are slow…. probably because you want results quickly, but they are quick, just not the time frame your initially thinking of. I think I could have started out at 2mg dose wise, but still happy I started with 1mg. I did have some side effects, lose stool sometime, I ate more fiber (pistachios were my go-to for a while) I also took some supplements, magnesium for help the stool movements, zinc to help with the sleep, because it does impact your sleep. Overtime I started back into the gym two times a week, doing lower body and upper on different days. Keep things simple and do some basic stuff, upper days are bench press, Lat pulldown, cable-fly (hi) and (face-pulls), triceps pushdown and shoulder press. Lower days are Quats, lunges, leg press, let extensions, and leg curls. I alternate sets of 12, 10 and 8 each week. Not only does the strength training retain mussel, it also helps with maintaining better sugar levels. One of the bests habits I would say in life, if your able, is to walk. I enjoy walking (once started), it’s a calm period, I had to start that slowly again, but over time move up to doing about an hour in the morning. I find that its one of the best things for the body to move when first waking up. At one point my knees started hurting, probably from the leg days and age, however a friend told me about Olympic weight lifters typically had knee issues except for on nations, and the big difference was pulling a sled backwards. I started to walk backwards for a period of my walks in the morning. To my utter surprise about after a few weeks my knee pain was gone. You look like a goof doing it, but it’s worth it!

Beyond using GLP meds I’ve stocked up on all the research peptide stuff and will be explore as much as I can to determine what continues to work best for me. This is only possible with un-biased information. Again can’t state how unfiltered information sources like this place are imperative to freedom, freedom of healing and learning. Anyone of these topics I mention could be a book so I’ll end it with, Thank you. Here are some stats on my current Reta use.

Tootles!

[Stan Douglas]

GREAT WORK!
Where did you get the infographics from?

[damic]

@Stan-Douglas pics are AI generated using data from number of sources, health devices, data from spreedsheet and an app I use to merge it all. Come in helpful to track a bunch of markers.

[mussels4muscles]

@damic Which app are you using for tracking data? Btw, Very good story of your journey! Thanks for sharing

[damic]

@mussels4muscles Its a combination of data sources that I put into an app I made with AI. I call it health by numbers. But the actual data come from doctor records, a health ring (Luna) gives me heart-rate and sleep numbers. The injections I keep track of in a spreadsheet and track anything I take on a daily basis, included any comments or observations. Body weight I typically don't track except for doctor records, however for this I found my scale in my storage unit and have been measuring weekly. I have more data, just put the relevant stuff on this chart.