Reta giving my subject diarrhea but zero appetite or weight effect
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My research subject has been on Reta for about 3 months now. We kicked things off at 0.25mg and worked up to 1mg, and we've been holding at 1mg for the last 4 weeks.
The problem is that ever since hitting the 1mg dose, the subject has had diarrhea, even though that's still a pretty low amount. And the frustrating part is there's basically no benefit to go with it — no appetite suppression at all, and no real fat loss since starting. The only thing that's dropped is water weight, maybe 2kg total.
The Reta itself has been tested, including third-party testing, and it works completely fine for another subject I'm running. So I don't think it's a quality issue. But the diarrhea is making it hard to push up to higher doses.
Is there anything that actually helps with the diarrhea aside from watching the diet? The subject already eats low fat, gets plenty of fiber, keeps sugar low, avoids artificial sweeteners, and tracks everything that goes in.
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Reta just isn't the right fit for every research subject — it's popular in bodybuilding circles specifically because it's less appetite-suppressing and lets subjects eat more protein, but that's actually a drawback when the goal is weight loss. A lot of subjects I've observed in my cohorts have struggled with appetite control on it and ended up miserable. The researchers seeing the best results tend to be the ones whose subjects already have their diet dialed in.
I've moved many of my subjects over to Tirz or Tirz+Reta and seen much better outcomes. Since you're still fairly early, you could try bumping the dose first, but if things don't improve I'd seriously consider the switch. And don't let anyone pressure you about dosing low being ineffective — my RS started Tirz back in 2022 on micro doses once a week, did incredibly well, and is now 3.5 years in at only 6.9mg for maintenance when most subjects at that point are up around 15mg.
For the diarrhea in the meantime, bananas are great since they have both pectin and potassium, and adding electrolytes can really help too. Subq KPV is also worth looking into for GI issues — it's been a solid addition for some of my subjects dealing with similar problems.
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Yeah the diarrhea at 1mg is super common, even when everything else looks fine. Splitting into 0.5mg twice a week instead of one full dose can really help the GI system handle it better, and timing the injection either first thing in the morning or right before bed seems to make a noticeable difference for a lot of subjects too.
On the lack of effects, some just take a really long time to respond - had one that didn't show real appetite suppression until week 8 or 9 despite getting sides almost immediately, so that 2kg water drop early on is pretty typical before the real changes kick in. Throwing some probiotics in the mix might help stabilize things in the meantime while the subject adjusts.
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Honestly, it's not surprising there's been no weight loss at such low doses. All the clinical trials started at 2mg, and by the 3-month mark participants were up to 3-4mg with significant weight loss to show for it. Going at a snail's pace with the "start at 0.25mg and go slow" crowd has basically meant 3 months of spinning your wheels with nothing to show for it.
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