Mounjaro is a new injectable weight loss drug and diabetes treatment. In 2023, Mounjaro was approved by the American FDA (Food and Drug Administration) for weight loss. Recently, as of February 2024, it has also been approved for weight loss in the UK through private prescription, so far it is only available through the NHS for treatment of type 2 diabetes.
With this in mind, many people are asking ‘do I need a prescription for Mounjaro?’ The short answer is ‘yes’ – Mounjaro is only be available on prescription.
What is Mounjaro?
Mounjaro is a diabetes medication, but it can also be used for weight loss. Mounjaro is taken as a weekly injection. Mounjaro comes inside a pen injector, so you can easily inject yourself at home. You simply place the pen against the skin on your upper arm, thigh or abdomen and press and hold down the button to administer the medication.
Unlike other injectable weight loss treatments, Mounjaro works on two different pathways; glucagon like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and glucose dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP). The GLP-1 pathway slows the emptying of your stomach, which reduces appetite helps you to feel fuller for longer and the GIP pathway acts on the hypothalamus in your brain to produce feelings of satiety (fullness). This dual action may be why Mounjaro outperforms its competitors for weight loss.
Clinical trials have shown that people experience an average of 20.9% weight reduction after 72 weeks of taking 15mg of tirzepatide (the active ingredient in Mounjaro), compared to losing just 3.1% of body weight on a placebo. In fact, 57% of people taking this dose of Mounjaro lost more than 20% of their initial body weight.
Mounjaro Side Effects
Like all medications, Mounjaro does carry a risk of side effects. The most common side effects relate to the gastrointestinal system and include constipation, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), nausea and vomiting. Some people may also experience tiredness, weakness or a mild allergic reaction. Please read the patient information leaflet for more information.
Unfortunately, Mounjaro is not suitable for everyone. To use Mounjaro for weight loss, you need to have a BMI over 30 or a BMI of 27 or more if you also have a weight-related medical condition, such as diabetes or high blood pressure. Mounjaro should be avoided by patients with multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2 (MEN 2), previous pancreatitis, severe gastrointestinal disease or a family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma.
Do I Need a Prescription to Get Mounjaro?
If you want to use Moujaro for weight loss, you will need a prescription. Mounjaro is currently only approved to treat type 2 diabetes in the UK, but it is likely that it will be approved for weight loss soon. If you would like to be prescribed Mounjaro, UK patients can submit their email address to receive a notification from Simple Online Pharmacy when it becomes available. On the NHS, Mounjaro prescriptions are only available for type 2 diabetes.
Where Can I Get Mounjaro?
Mounjaro is available on the NHS for type 2 diabetes only, but is currently available on private prescription in the UK. This means that you can get Mounjaro from private doctors and online pharmacies such as Simple Online Pharmacy.
It is possible that Mounjaro may also become available on the NHS for weight loss. However, access is likely to be restricted, much like other injectable weight loss drugs. Currently, injectable weight loss drugs like Saxenda and Wegovy are only available on the NHS through Tier 3 Weight Management Services. This means that you will have had to try many different weight loss options before you can be offered these treatments.
Prescription Alternatives
You may be interested in the alternative weight loss treatments to Mounjaro. Wegovy and Saxenda are two other injectable weight loss treatments that are currently available in the UK. They are known as GLP-1 receptor agonists, which means that they work by slowing the emptying of your stomach which helps you feel fuller for longer and reduces your appetite.
Other weight loss drugs are available in tablet form, such as Xenical (orlistat). Xenical is commonly referred to as a ‘fat-binder’, because it binds to the fat you eat, making it harder for your body to digest it. If your body can’t digest the fat, then it can’t absorb as many calories from it.
Non-Prescription Alternatives
There are a small number of weight loss medications available over the counter, such as Alli. Alli contains a low dose of orlistat, which can help you lose weight by preventing you from digesting as much fat from your diet.
Diet and exercise are the mainstay of most approaches to weight management. That is not to say that it is easy to make those changes. Some people find that having the support of a dietician, psychotherapist or community group makes that process easier.
In terms of a weight loss diet, the usual approach is to try to reduce the calories you consume, but to maximise the nutritional benefit of the food you do eat. If you just cut down calories, there is a risk that you could create other health problems from nutritional deficiencies.
A healthy balanced diet is best alongside increasing your exercise regime. It is recommended that you aim to have several short exercise sessions over a week totalling at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity exercise.
Moderate intensity exercise includes everything from pushing a lawnmower to cycling or dancing. Vigorous intensity exercise includes running, swimming or playing team sports like rugby or netball. Exercise doesn’t burn much energy on its own, but it does help to increase your metabolism which helps you to burn off energy more efficiently, making it easier to lose weight.
Conclusion
Mounjaro looks to be a promising new weight loss drug that could help people significantly reduce their weight over time. It has recently become available through private prescription from private doctors or online pharmacies like Simple Online Pharmacy, but, unfortunately, it is not available for weight loss through the NHS yet. There are several other prescription and non-prescription weight loss approaches to consider, such as orlistat, Wegovy and lifestyle changes.
