Stalls for days...or weeks?

I've felt pretty spoiled after my first four weeks on 2.5mg—I was losing 1-2 pounds almost every other day and dropped a total of 20 pounds on that dose! But things changed when I moved up to 5mg. The syringes also got bigger, which has been its own experience—I've posted pictures in my last update if you're curious. And if you saw that, no, the bruises aren't gone yet.

So, what's going on? Honestly, I'm not sure, but it seems like a common theme when I read other people's stories online. The only thing I can think of is the extreme fatigue that's hit me since starting the new dose. On 2.5mg, I was going for daily walks and using my new resistance bands, but now it feels like I'm glued to my chair or bed. Even doing the dishes feels like a mountain to climb. As I’m typing this at 1 pm, my eyes feel heavy, and I'm struggling to stay awake.

Right now, I’m taking a multivitamin, magnesium citrate, vitamin D, and using Muscle Milk’s protein powder for the extra vitamins. I’ve heard some compounding pharmacies can add B12 to the mix to help with energy, which honestly sounds tempting. I've also heard that autistic people often have a hard time with energy, and that’s definitely been true for me. Espresso, coffee, Monster energy drinks, Vitamin B supplements—none of these have made a dent. If anything, they just make me more sleepy almost immediately. So, what am I supposed to do? It feels like no one really cares about this aspect of Autism.

I’m heading back to school tomorrow, and to be honest, I’m dreading it. Last year wasn’t exactly stellar, and with this new level of fatigue at 5mg—and knowing I'm still far from the top dose of 12.5mg—I’m honestly terrified. What if I fall asleep in band or orchestra? I really don’t want an angry Scottish man yelling at me, haha. I’ll update you on how it goes. Thankfully, this week I only have to go in for two days to complete some tasks and training related to my graduate assistantships. I've got two of those, and they’re both a ton of work and pretty exhausting.

Now, onto the one positive side effect of 5mg. Stop reading here if you don’t want to hear about bodily functions... After five weeks of terrible constipation, the 5mg dose seems to have finally leveled things out. Thank goodness! I was taking so much Miralax and magnesium, and the idea of getting Gastroparesis was really stressing me out, so this has been a huge relief.

As for negative side effects, it's mostly the same—issues with the bigger needles and the extreme fatigue. I’m thankful I inject higher up on my thigh because if anyone could see these bruises when I wear shorts, I’d probably get some strange looks. This last injection, I switched back to my original syringe size, but for some reason, I had a hard time puncturing the skin, so now I have an even larger bruise and bled a little.

But to end on a positive note, the plateau has finally ended! I lost two pounds this weekend, and I’m thrilled! Also, I might be switching from Emerge to Lavender Sky. Lavender Sky is not only way cheaper, but with all the talk about compounding pharmacies potentially shutting down, I’m really interested in their 3-month supply plan instead of Emerge only sending one vial at a time.

5 weeks ago, 3 weeks ago, and this week. This container is starting to get so full.