i’ve been on tirzepatide for a few months now, and one thing that’s stuck out to me is how variable the appetite suppression is. some people on the forums are talking about being on 15mg and still eating normally, while others are like me - on 4mg and struggling to get down two meals a day. what’s going on here? is it just individual tolerance, or is there something else at play?
i’ve been tracking my food intake and glucose levels, and i’ve noticed that my appetite suppression seems to be linked to my glucose spikes. when i eat something that causes a big spike, i’m less hungry for a while afterwards. but when i eat something that keeps my glucose levels steady, i’m more likely to feel hungry again sooner. has anyone else noticed this?
i’m wondering if it’s related to the way tirzepatide affects glucose metabolism, or if it’s just a coincidence. i’ve also been using the daily check-in flow on my tracking app to monitor my hunger and fullness levels, and it’s been really helpful in identifying patterns. anyway, just thought i’d throw this out there and see if anyone else has any insights. bc the variability in appetite suppression is pretty wide, and i’m curious to know what’s driving it.
the appetite suppression variability you’re seeing, priya, especially when comparing 4mg to 15mg across different people, is a huge part of the conversation. what i keep coming back to is the gap in the actual dose-response data.
most of the tirzepatide trials either excluded post-bariatric patients entirely or they were a tiny, underrepresented subgroup. so the pharmacokinetics in someone like me, with altered gi anatomy from a sleeve, just aren’t as clearly mapped for how a given mg dose translates to gastric
that feeling of “what’s going on here?” when you see such a wide range in how people respond to something, i get that completely. it’s like trying to figure out why some folks get relief from a triptan
hmm glucose spikes seem key, as you said “when i eat something that causes a big spike, i’m less hungry” which tracks with my own experience on tirzepatide.
your observation about glucose spikes and hunger is an interesting one, but correlation isn’t causation here. the specific mechanism linking a post-spike reduction in hunger to GLP-1’s direct effect on appetite needs more than anecdotal observation to support it.
the phrase “still eating normally” is doing a lot of work there, bc that might be subjective satiety plateauing, not metabolic endpoint plateauing on the same dose. the body can adapt to eating around the slower gastric emptying window, which is largely glp-1 mediated, so the perception of hunger can normalize even if the postprandial glucose flattening is still very much active. your observation about glucose spikes and subsequent hunger makes sense if the satiety signal is partly driven by the rate of glucose change rather than just the absolute level. it’s not always a clean dose-response curve when you’re talking about perception. 👍
interesting point about your glucose spikes and hunger. i think that ties into the broader question of variability, but from a different angle than just daily intake. i read abt a research group in hyderabad proposing to look at whether gut microbiome composition
Glucose spikes are a decent predictor of appetite suppression for me too, and I’ve noticed that when I eat something that causes a big spike, I’m less hungry for a while afterwards, just “when i eat something that causes a big spike, i’m less hungry for a while afterwards”. My CGM data shows that my glucose levels tend to drop after a big spike, and that’s when I feel less hungry. I’ve been tracking my food intake and glucose levels for a while now, and I’ve found that my appetite suppression is pretty closely tied to my glucose levels. 📊 For example, when I ate a meal that caused a glucose spike of 150 mg/dL, my appetite suppression lasted for about 4 hours, but when I ate a meal that kept my glucose levels steady at around 100 mg/dL, my appetite suppression only lasted for about 2 hours. It’s not a perfect correlation, but it’s definitely something I’ve noticed, and it makes me wonder if the way tirzepatide affects glucose metabolism is playing a role in the appetite suppression variability we’re seeing.
that’s an interesting observation, the idea that bigger glucose spikes might actually lead to less hunger with tirz. i get what you’re saying about connecting it to metabolism and how the drug works. but from what i’ve picked up, it often feels like the appetite suppression on these kinds of meds works best when your glucose is
Generally speaking, individual tolerance plays a huge role in how people respond to tirzepatide, and it’s not just about the dose. When you say “some people on the forums are talking about being on 15mg and still eating normally”, that really stands out to me because I’ve seen similar variability with other medications. I think it’s interesting that you’ve noticed a link between your glucose spikes and appetite suppression, and I’ve had similar experiences with tracking my own symptoms.
For example, when I eat something that causes a big spike, I’m less hungry for a while afterwards, but when I eat something that keeps my glucose levels steady, I’m more likely to feel hungry again sooner. I mentioned this before in my post about tracking patterns, and it’s been really helpful for me to identify what triggers my symptoms. I’m curious to know more about how you’re tracking your glucose levels and appetite suppression, and if you’ve noticed any other patterns that might be relevant.
the variability in appetite suppression is pretty wide, and I think it’s worth exploring further to see if there are any common factors at play.
hearing abt the huge range in how people react to tirzepatide, from “struggling to eat two meals” to “15mg and eating normally,” makes me wonder about the actual product consistency. especially when
that “variability in appetite suppression is pretty wide” really resonates. i’m 12 wks in on tirz and some days i can barely eat anything, then other days i’m still looking for snacks even on a lower dose.
when you say “big spike” in glucose, what kind of numbers are you seeing an hour or two after a meal? like a 50 point jump or more?
trying to figure out if my own numbers look anything like that
that “glucose spikes” making you less hungry afterward is interesting, but i’m wondering what you’re eating that’s causing big spikes at all on tirz. my endo always hammered home that the point of meds