Reta & Mood Swings?

My-Chick

Active member
Hey everyone,

I'm planning on trying retatrutide once I get through the holidays, and I'm curious about its impact on mood. I've heard some people mention feeling emotionally blunted or experiencing anhedonia. Is this usually a short-term thing, or does it tend to stick around? And how manageable is it, really? Does it become too much to handle?

I'm a bit worried about getting down or losing my drive. Any tips for dealing with this side effect? I'm starting with a low dose, 0.5 mg weekly. Does this typically show up at this level?

Thanks in advance,
Larissa 🥰
 
That's such a small starting dose. I don't know about the mood thing, I take a bunch of other things that could mess with my mood so I can't say for sure if it's the Reta.
 
I've been taking Reta for half a year now, and I haven't had any changes in my mood. I haven't heard of that as a side effect before. But, I guess you can find anything if you look hard enough.

0. 5mg is a pretty tiny dose and often people will go for 1mg to begin with. Try not to worry too much, you should be fine at that dose. A lot of people are very happy with it, so I'm sure you will too. Keep us updated!
 
I haven't experienced any negative mood stuff. Actually, I think my mood is better overall. I feel better in general. I've lost weight, my joints don't ache, my skin looks better, and it even fixed my acid reflux. I'm a big fan. I started at 2mg and now I'm at 5, four months later. (43/m)
 
I've got that a little bit. It's not feeling down, just like, "I don't want to do that.", even when I probably should. I made a to-do list and I force myself to do everything on it. It's worth it for all the other good things Reta does for me.
 
Many doctors think GLP-1 analogues can slightly change your mood.

Anhedonia gets reported a lot. But does it have to mean you're down? I think it's more of a drop in impulsiveness and needing to impress people. But that can make you less motivated.
 
I'm not sure Reta made my mood change. I was low on energy at first while I figured out what to eat, my macros and calorie cut. When I got my eating right, my energy got better and so did my mood. I also started going to the gym like 4-5 times a week. The gym is cheaper than therapy!
 
Yep, My-Chick, looking at my notes, the fatigue and low mood were only during the first 3 weeks I was on Reta. I was taking 2mg once a week during those weeks.

Also, I started tracking my macros closely at the start of week 3. I was eating 40% protein, 40% carbs, and 20% fats. By the end of week 3, I felt good enough to return to the gym. Training seemed to make my mood and energy even better. I hope that helps.
 
I've been taking Reta for 22 days. I started at .5mg twice a week and now I'm at 1.5mg twice a week. I noticed mood changes pretty fast. I don't feel down, just a bit blah. Is this how people feel on antidepressants?

I can still do everything, but I'm not getting the usual happy feelings from everyday things. But it's weird, I'm more into going to the gym.
 
I haven’t seen any big changes in my mood but maybe I'm a bit more sensitive to things, like I'm more aware of how I feel?

I don’t think it's bad. I used to eat my feelings, and now I guess I’m not getting happy feelings from food so I’m more aware of my emotional state. I'm trying to look at it as a good thing and find better ways to deal with how I feel instead of running to food!
 
It's so personal. When I took sema my anhedonia got bad, like really dark. Even at a low dose. So I stopped taking it.

Tirz was better. Still a bit flat, but okay if I pushed myself to get out and do stuff. It wasn't "sagging" my mood like the first one did.

Some people feel amazing on these meds. Others say they have a terrible reaction even to tiny doses 🤷‍♀️ It's all just my experience. I'm probably sensitive or something. But I'm glad I started slow.

I've had some big hormone changes recently so I'm going back on Tirz soon. If I can wait that long. 🙃

It depends. I've been on like 7 different meds over the last 13 years. Cymbalta made me numb. I felt nothing at all. Maybe that's good for some people.
 
I've been feeling this too for a few weeks. I started really low at .5mg, then 1, and now 2mg. About 4 weeks at each level. I noticed it at 1mg and it's a bit stronger at 2mg. I hope it goes away because I want to see good weight loss results.

It feels like a numb or dull mood, less motivation, but maybe a bit more "chill" when things are stressful (maybe that's good, or at least I'm trying to see it that way)
 
I've been on reta for 8 months now and started at 0.5mg and now I'm going to stay at 3mg (or maybe go lower). I posted about losing my sex drive and that's how I realized I had emotional flatness. It's not that I'm sad....I have kids - they make me laugh. But I'm not excited about things. We planned a last minute vacay over Christmas and normally I would have been SO excited but I wasn't....I just didn't "feel" anything. Same with any upcoming life events....I just feel blah. Don't get me wrong, I'm not sad....I'm just not excited. Losing my libido has been difficult which is why I'm thinking of cutting back. But I also don't freak out as much in stressful situations.
 
I don't know about Reta, but it happens on tirzepatide. I think when they study it more, they'll find that when you take someone who gets happy feelings from food, and give them a drug that stops those feelings, they just feel confused and blah until they learn to find dopamine somewhere else. That's what happened to me. I'm playing the kalimba now, and learning the tongue drum, and I feel happy again.
 
Fake anhedonia maybe? Saying a feeling isn't a "real feeling" doesn't make sense. We're all just chemical soup here.

Anhedonia is part of MDD diagnosis, so flat feelings can be nothing, or they can be a sign of something more serious. Keep an eye on it.
 
I didn't have it, but I read about anxiety attacks from using Reta. Going to find those posts (FB group) and share here later.
 
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