A couple of years ago, I wrote about a 'miracle' anti-obesity jab that a dear friend had discovered. This woman had struggled with her weight her entire adult life and had tried every diet to no avail – now, over the course of a year, she had lost nearly three stone. The name of that life-changing drug? Ozempic (semaglutide).
Now coming hard on Ozempic's heels is a similar medication, tirzepatide, manufactured by Prozac's creator's Eli Lilly. Sold under the name of Mounjaro and working on two appetite regulating hormones as opposed to just the one (as Ozempic does), it is fast gaining popularity in the UK.
Now, I may be a wise old woman at 59, but that doesn't mean I don't get bothered when my waistband suddenly starts feeling a bit tight or my jeans appear to have suddenly 'shrunk in the wash'. And if, like me, you are post-menopausal, it can prove nigh impossible to keep those pesky pounds at bay.
I may be a wise old woman at 59, but that doesn't mean I don't get bothered when my waistband suddenly starts feeling a bit tight, says the anonymous writer
I am not overweight (my weight before trying the drug was 57 kilos – just under 9 stone) but I come from greedy stock. I'd love to be the sort of person who could eat just the one square of chocolate or a bite of dessert but I'm not. If something tastes good, then why wouldn't you want to keep eating it forever as my inner Labrador will always reason. It's a constant battle and 70 per cent of the time I win, but lately, for whatever reason, not so much.
And so it is that I decide to try Mounjaro for a week.
On Monday morning Royal Maildelivers a small package to my door. Four mini syringes of the lowest dose (2.5mgs) – it costs £250 for a month's supply– nestled in what looks like an expensive chocolate box, a good thing because I haven't yet dared tell my partner. Meanwhile I am impatient for him to get out of the house so I can shoot up.
The nice doctor I used (because so many other people I know use him) prescribed it to me over Zoom. He has no issue with any of the other medications I am on, nor the fact that I am not overweight.
Many of his patients, he says, want to use it for short term for just a few pounds. Exactly what the drug should not be used for according to National Medical Director of NHS England Professor Steven Powis, but I am only doing this as a week's experiment. The doctor gives me his personal number in case I have any problems.
After the first meal I eat– my usual two slices of toast and marmite for breakfast– I feel its effect almost immediately. Normally it's never enough and I find myself at midday sneaking in an extra slice or two. But this time, I feel like I've just had an entire Christmas lunch. So full indeed I feel a bit queasy, but the nausea soon dies down and I don't think about eating again (a miracle for me, given there is a plate of brownies sitting on the counter) until about 5pm.
The writer wasprescribed weight-loss jab Mounjaro over Zoom. The online doctor has no issue with any of the other medications I am on, nor the fact that I am not overweight, she writes
Because we are going out tonight, I decide to eat something beforehand. There is no time to cook so I have some poached eggs on toast and wish I'd skipped the toast. Bread, the mainstay of my life, now feels like a leaden weight in my tummy. When we get back, all I can manage in front of Love Island is an ice lolly. Again, a miracle for someone who cannot watch television without getting up to have a nose round the fridge the moment the ads come on.
I have one friend who took Ozempic for three weeks and had to come off it she felt so dreadfully low. My mood, though, if you eliminate the slight fatigue, is one of mild elation. I feel not just physically but psychologically lighter. It's very freeing not to be constantly thinking about the next meal.
By the end of the week, I've lost a kilo (just over two pounds) and my jeans are gratifyingly loose. Apart from nausea for the first two days (a bit like morning sickness) I have had no other side effects. What's interesting is how my love of carbs has diminished, and I crave protein. Lean roast beef. Grilled white fish. Smoked salmon. Scrambled eggs. Nuts.
This is lucky for me because protein builds muscle and one of the BIG downsides of these drugs is the muscle loss (particularly in older people like me). As per the online doctor, I've started working out with weights to further build up muscle. It's harder at my age, but I find myself really wanting to give it some extra welly. It's a little bit of a high, if I'm honest, this new sensation of eating to live rather than living to eat.
Mounjaro has actually made me choose grilled fish and broad beans over a pack of boiled sweets and a bagel. This may be because the drug slows down the rate at which my stomach empties and these foods hang around in my tummy too long. It might also be because carbs have a big impact on blood sugar levels and the carb 'load' now feels uncomfortable.
I end up doing two weeks and find myself another two pounds down. I don't need to lose anymore, so I'm keeping the remaining two syringes as emergency spares.
Did I regain my appetite? Yes, I'm afraid I did, though perhaps not with quite its former vengeance. It definitely gave me the reset I wanted. And eliminated the fear I had that once you hit your 60s you have no control over your weight so you might as well give up.
It's the obsessing rather than the actual eating of the darn food which I think is so pernicious. Who knows? If I'd had all this extra head space (because I wasn't thinking about food) when I was younger maybe I'd be prime minister by now.
Dr Ellie Cannon says:
There is no such thing as a 'miracle' drug and I am very concerned that this is how Mounjaro is being perceived.
There is no such thing as a miracle drug, says GP Dr Ellie Cannon
This drug does exactly the same thing as Ozempic: tricking our body into thinking we are not hungry as well as reducing the amount of sugar in the body. It was designed for diabetes and works very well for it.
In June 2024, the health watchdog, NICE approved the use of Mounajro for weight loss if someone has a BMI over 35 and a health condition as a result, such as high blood pressure. It is absolutely not to be used for someone wanting to shift a few holiday pounds.
Furthermore, all medications carry risks and side effects. We know these medications cause lots of tummy troubles like nausea, diarrhoea and pain not to mention headaches and dizziness.
The fast weight loss also results in saggy skin issues: something the NHS and private providers are already being asked about. It is not only medically inappropriate to use Mounjaro for a bikini body, but as the medications are in short supply it is unfair when people who need it for diabetes and cannot get hold of it.
