My Reta dose creeping higher

[Testshopper]

Ok. First real post so be gentle

I’ve been on Reta since May, and recently I’ve felt like the appetite suppression is more or less gone. My hunger is back to where I started it feels like. I started out with 1mg/week a while back, which had great effects. These days I’m running 1mg ED, but I’m quite hungry. I’m recomping, which is OK, but I’m thinking maybe I should add another glp-1, add cagri, do a complete reset or even up the dose to 1.5mg ED (over a couple of weeks).

When I have increased recently, it feels like I’m getting hungrier actually. Weird right?

My goal is to get pretty shredded, as much as possible before vacation in January, and keep muscle. I’m on enough juice to not lose in a deficit and I’m doing a PPL approximately 5-6 times pr week. I’m around 10-12% BF now, the leanest I have ever been.

Open for suggestions.

Macros:

250-300g protein
50-80g fat
Varying carbs from day to day, but 250-450g

 

[wp_375]

Well, you're only taking half the starting dose so...Wouldn't expect that to work very long.

 

[assielima]

Four weeks in on Reta, started at 0.6mg every five days - now up to 1mg every five days - hunger suppression is kept at a functional level.

Over how many weeks are people hitting 5mg+ doses per week?

Personally, i've been on Reta for a total of 10 weeks so far and will be taking my 3rd 8mg pin in a few days. I was on Tirz 2.5mg for 4 weeks before I moved to Reta. I was on brand name Zepbound (Tirz) and WeGovy (Sema) before in the past and both of them gave me issues over time, and that's why i'm trying Reta this time.

Here is the titration protocol I've followed for Reta:

2mg - 3 weeks
3mg - 1 week
4mg - 4 weeks
8mg - 2 weeks

I've had little sides. Within 24 hours of a pin, i notice a little more bloating, which is usually resolved with some gas-x.

 

[HotPepper]

You’d be surprised how affordable it is when u get 30/60mg vials.

I’m at 15mg and stocked for a yr and didn’t cost that much rly

I also bought 60mg vials from china.

I think if I'm reaching the +20mg per week I will add cagrilintide, sema or tirza (again) just because of the hunger suppression.

 

[Mushy404]

I don't really have anything to offer that hasn't already been said. however, I've noticed Cagri mentioned a few times in terms of appetite suppression, but nobody mentioned Tesofensine.

I want to be careful not to hijack the thread, but curious if Cagri is just that much better than Teso? Or if it's more personal preference?

 

[HotPepper]

I have tried Tesofensine. The thing is that Teso works in an other way. It's a kind of antidepressant:

Tesofensine is a Serotonin-norepinephrine-dopamine-reuptake-inhibitor (SNDRI). SNDRIs are a class of psychoactive antidepressants. They act upon neurotransmitters in the brain, namely, serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine.

It's nearly like bupropiom (the serotonin part is here missing) which I also tried. Yes these kind of meds are working fine for hunger depression but I never would take it because of the main function and the sides.

 

[Raiders789]

Thought I'd offer my experience with reta so far -

I've been on for almost 8 months now, slowing increasing the dose. At first, 2mg/week gave me crazy appetite suppression but now I'm doing 18mg/week and its not much - trying to put on a bit of size and can easily get 4000cals of high volume food down.

I really like how reta makes food choice a lot easier - like i can easily get my 4000 cals down but on low carb/rest days I'm perfectly comfortable going much lower. Also I like how I'm never hungry on reta but every meal still tastes good and I look forward to eating even when I literally eat the same exact things every day. And I have literally 0 desire to cheat on my diet - haven't gone off my meal plan once in the past 4 weeks. Its also great at helping with intuitive eating, as a former fat kid who developed a bad eating disorder, reta basically just switched that off. About 6 weeks ago I went on a 2 week long vacation with my family(who are a bunch of fatasses) and I didn't weigh myself the entire trip - and ended up losing a few lbs and looking leaner even though I'd feel like a fatass eating a shit ton of food every day.

For me, once I got past like 8mg/week I didn't really get any more appetite suppression in the sense that I was incapable of consuming over a certain amount of calories, which is how i felt when i used sema about a year ago. I feel like its more of a mental drug that gives you more control over what you eat. I have a ton of reta sitting in my fridge so I might push the dose up a bit more as I lower the calories soon to see if that has any effect. I've heard good things about cagrilintide too, might give that a try. But I'm really hoping that the effect I'm getting right now from reta stays becuase I feel like I'm in the sweet spot

 

[Mushy404]

I have tried Tesofensine. The thing is that Teso works in an other way. It's a kind of antidepressant:

Tesofensine is a Serotonin-norepinephrine-dopamine-reuptake-inhibitor (SNDRI). SNDRIs are a class of psychoactive antidepressants. They act upon neurotransmitters in the brain, namely, serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine.

It's nearly like bupropiom (the serotonin part is here missing) which I also tried. Yes these kind of meds are working fine for hunger depression but I never would take it because of the main function and the sides.

So as not to hijack this thread I will leave this as my final comment on Tesofensine.

My initial concern when first looking into Tesofensine as a bridge when taking a break from Reta, was the common emotional numbness that comes from SSRIs/SNRIs - that would be a deal breaker for me.

However, from my understanding, Teso does not cause this and in fact gives an energetic and motivated feeling - none of that mental numbness. I have some now, so will try it out when the time comes.

I just ran it through ChatGPT and got the following:

you’re unlikely to get the “emotional numbness” or blunted affect that people often describe with SSRIs or SNRIs.


Here’s why:

---

⚗ Neurochemical balance​

• SSRIs/SNRIsprimarily raise serotonin (and sometimes norepinephrine).
  • This often stabilizes mood but dampens emotional amplitude — both highs and lows.
  • Dopamine activity tends to decrease secondarily, leading to apathy or reduced reward sensitivity.
• Tesofensine, on the other hand, also raises dopamine and norepinephrine strongly, while its serotonin effect is balanced — so you get activation and motivationrather than flattening.
  • Dopamine → drive, reward, and focus
  • Norepinephrine → alertness and mental energy
  • Serotonin → calmness and appetite control

That combination tends to feel energising and emotionally “clear”, not sedated or dulled.

---

Typical subjective experience​

Most users (in clinical data and anecdotal feedback) describe tesofensine as:

• “Brightening” mood, not numbing it
• Increasing drive, focus, and productivity
• Reducing appetite and compulsive thought patterns
• Possibly increasing irritability or anxiety in some if dose too high

So, instead of the SSRI-style detachment, it can lean toward a mild stimulant-like alertness — closer to bupropion or modafinil, though stronger.

---

⚠ Important distinction​

While emotional numbing is rare, overactivation is possible:

• If your baseline anxiety is high, or you’re sensitive to dopaminergic/noradrenergic drugs, it may feel edgy or restless rather than balanced.
• Sleep quality can drop if dosed late in the day.
• BP and heart rate can rise — those need monitoring.

---

In short:
No, tesofensine doesn’t cause that antidepressant numbness.
It’s more likely to make you feel more alive, driven, and alert — possibly even too much so at higher doses.


So for me, that's my main concern gone. I'll give it a go and see how it pans out.

 

[Deadpool99]

I don't really have anything to offer that hasn't already been said. however, I've noticed Cagri mentioned a few times in terms of appetite suppression, but nobody mentioned Tesofensine.

I want to be careful not to hijack the thread, but curious if Cagri is just that much better than Teso? Or if it's more personal preference?

My biggest mistake was probably using reta then stocking up for 4-5months of it. It was my first glp1 and didn't want to have smth aggressive. Tirz probably would have killed my appetite even more and possibly better insulin sensitivity,

On a bulk 15mg reta is great, but when cutting I had to add 1mg cagri, now upto 1.5mg. I heard some fuss about desensitization on cagri but hopefully I probably won't reach the 4-5mg max dose. Need to use for 2-3 weeks before I bulk again.

I was also interested in Tesofensine for the insane suppression and tdee boost and mild stimulant/thermogenic.

But holy shit the sides I discovered, The potential psychiatric effects, hypertension, possible CNS disturbances also causing insomnia (that's assuming ur okay with the GI sides). Also no long term studies as well as the possible drug interactions and tolerance buildup.

Quick summary on my thoughts.

 

[sionnach]

I just ran it through ChatGPT

Please don't feed the robots.

 

[HotPepper]

Yes @Mushy404 you are right. Even Bupropiom gives you these effects. I was remaining the side when you take it (sweating, increasing heard rate) and if you diside not to take it anymore (panic attacks, depression, ...).
If such things are easy going you also can choose ephedrin.


Btw, another thought.
In the studies the claimed that a too low sugar is not a side regarding retra.

At the moment with nearly 20mg per week I don't think so anymore.

I will check it today but since I increased the dosage I have this specific feeling of low sugar (week during the training, no concentration, cold body).
I increased the calories since two days and it's still the same (180cm, 106 kilo, 14%)

I will give an updated after some blood glucose measurements.

 

[Mushy404]

Please don't feed the robots.

Bruh... I say please and thank you all the time.

You know... just in case, hahah

 

[Testshopper]

Thought I'd offer my experience with reta so far -

I've been on for almost 8 months now, slowing increasing the dose. At first, 2mg/week gave me crazy appetite suppression but now I'm doing 18mg/week and its not much - trying to put on a bit of size and can easily get 4000cals of high volume food down.

I really like how reta makes food choice a lot easier - like i can easily get my 4000 cals down but on low carb/rest days I'm perfectly comfortable going much lower. Also I like how I'm never hungry on reta but every meal still tastes good and I look forward to eating even when I literally eat the same exact things every day. And I have literally 0 desire to cheat on my diet - haven't gone off my meal plan once in the past 4 weeks. Its also great at helping with intuitive eating, as a former fat kid who developed a bad eating disorder, reta basically just switched that off. About 6 weeks ago I went on a 2 week long vacation with my family(who are a bunch of fatasses) and I didn't weigh myself the entire trip - and ended up losing a few lbs and looking leaner even though I'd feel like a fatass eating a shit ton of food every day.

For me, once I got past like 8mg/week I didn't really get any more appetite suppression in the sense that I was incapable of consuming over a certain amount of calories, which is how i felt when i used sema about a year ago. I feel like its more of a mental drug that gives you more control over what you eat. I have a ton of reta sitting in my fridge so I might push the dose up a bit more as I lower the calories soon to see if that has any effect. I've heard good things about cagrilintide too, might give that a try. But I'm really hoping that the effect I'm getting right now from reta stays becuase I feel like I'm in the sweet spot

I agree with a lot in your perspective. Thanks!

 

[Testshopper]

I appreciate all the insight in my first post... love this forum so far.

 

[Testshopper]

Update: dropped to 2mg EW. Feels ok. Not overcome by cravings yet, added a bit more fat in my diet and I can see slightly softer look. Much stronger inntjening gym. Thinking I might as well go off after this bottle and do a 2-3 month bulk. Hop back on I February.

Thanks for all the advice, I’ll try out cagri on top next time I hop on Reta.

 

[Hankerchief]

Ok. First real post so be gentle

I’ve been on Reta since May, and recently I’ve felt like the appetite suppression is more or less gone. My hunger is back to where I started it feels like. I started out with 1mg/week a while back, which had great effects. These days I’m running 1mg ED, but I’m quite hungry. I’m recomping, which is OK, but I’m thinking maybe I should add another glp-1, add cagri, do a complete reset or even up the dose to 1.5mg ED (over a couple of weeks).

When I have increased recently, it feels like I’m getting hungrier actually. Weird right?

My goal is to get pretty shredded, as much as possible before vacation in January, and keep muscle. I’m on enough juice to not lose in a deficit and I’m doing a PPL approximately 5-6 times pr week. I’m around 10-12% BF now, the leanest I have ever been.

Open for suggestions.

Macros:

250-300g protein
50-80g fat
Varying carbs from day to day, but 250-450g

I struggled with this same issue a couple of months ago. Let me tell you what helped me: Cagrilintide. I don't feel like writing an essay, so do your own research on it, but I'm currently on 6mg of reta and 1mg of cagrilintide a week, and man, IT IS STRONG. They are very synergistic, and I feel great. It will keep your appetite in check, and a small batch will last you a long time. Good luck!