What is Mounjaro

Mounjaro is a weight loss injection that's taken once weekly and contains the active ingredient tirzepatide. It reduces your appetite and makes you feel more full between meals, so you can lose weight alongside a diet and exercise plan. You’ll follow the Mounjaro dosing schedule while taking it, which involves increasing your dose every 4 weeks, unless you want to stick to a lower maintenance dose. Below we look at the different Mounjaro doses, when to take them, and which dose is the most effective for weight loss.

Mounjaro doses

Each Mounjaro dose contains the active ingredient tirzepatide.  Each pen contains 4 doses, enough for 4 weeks supply. There are 6 Mounjaro doses available:

2.5 mg              Price £199 

5 mg                 Price £199

7.5 mg              Price £209

10 mg               Price £209

12.5 mg            Price £215

15 mg               Price £215

How to take your Mounjaro dose

Mounjaro comes in the form of an injectable pen, with pre-filled doses. This means you don’t need to draw up your dose before injecting it. You should take Mounjaro once weekly, at the same time and day. This makes the medication most effective and can reduce side effects by keeping the medication at a steady level.

Mounjaro can be injected into the upper legs or abdomen. It may also be injected into the upper arms but only with help from someone else. Switch your injection site each week to prevent soreness and irritation. You can find out more about injecting Mounjaro in the image below:

For more information on taking Mounjaro, read the patient information leaflet before taking it for the first time.

Mounjaro dosing schedule

The Mounjaro dosing schedule is as follows:

2.5 mg For the first 4 weeks

5 mg For at least 4 weeks, or you can stick with 5 mg as a maintenance dose

7.5 mg For at least 4 weeks

10 mg For at least 4 weeks, or you can stick with 10 mg as a maintenance dose

12.5 mg For at least 4 weeks

15 mg For at least 4 weeks, this is the maximum maintenance dose

The starting dose of Mounjaro is always 2.5 mg, even if you’ve taken weight loss injections before. You’ll usually stay at each dose for 4 weeks before increasing to the next Mounjaro dose.

You may need to stay on a lower dose for longer if you’re:

• getting severe side effects
• happy with your weight loss results at a dose of 5 mg or 10 mg

You can choose to increase your Mounjaro dose at any time, as long as it’s been longer than 4 weeks.

You can’t take more than 15 mg once a week as this is the maximum maintenance dose. Taking more than 15 mg could cause severe side effects and serious illness.

Mounjaro dosage chart

Our Mounjaro dosage chart explains when to increase your dose, but always follow the pharmacist’s instructions:

Why does Mounjaro follow a dosing schedule?

Mounjaro follows a dosing schedule to give your body time to adjust to the new medication. Increasing the dose too quickly, or starting at a higher dose, could increase your risk of side effects or serious illness. Mounjaro has been studied by doctors and the Mounjaro dosing schedule was created to be the safest and most effective way of taking Mounjaro. Other weight loss injections, such as Wegovy, also follow their own dosing schedule.

Which Mounjaro dose is the most effective?

According to a clinical study, the most effective Mounjaro dosage for weight loss is 15 mg, although lower doses are still effective. After 72 weeks of treatment, patients lost on average:

• 22.5% of their starting body weight while taking the 15 mg maximum maintenance dose
• 21.4% of their starting body weight while taking the 10 mg maintenance dose
• 16% of their starting body weight while taking the 5 mg maintenance dose

Mounjaro works best when following a diet and exercise plan.

What if I miss a Mounjaro dose?

If you forget a Mounjaro dose and it’s been:

• 4 days or less since you should have taken it: Inject it as soon as you remember, take your next dose as usual on your scheduled day.
• more than 4 days since you should have taken it: Skip your missed dose, take your next dose as usual on your scheduled day.

Don’t inject a double dose to make up for a forgotten dose – this won’t make it more effective and can increase the risk of side effects. The minimum time between 2 Mounjaro doses must be at least 3 days.

Is Mounjaro effective?

If you’re wondering how much weight you can lose on Mounjaro, clinical trials have shown that patients could achieve at least 20% weight lossafter using tirzepatide for 72 weeks (18 months) when combined with healthy lifestyle changes.

What are the main side effects of Mounjaro?

Mounjaro can cause some side effects to occur.

Very common ones are gastrointestinal in nature: nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and constipation. These are mainly seen with dose increases, and tend to settle with time.

Other common side effects could include: fatigue, feeling lightheaded, excess wind (flatulence), gallstones, gastroesophageal reflux, injection site reactions, hair loss and hypoglycemia in patients with type 2 diabetes.

In rare cases, there can be serious side effects, such as:

Pancreatitis – if you develop severe abdominal pain, with or without persistent vomiting, this may be a sign of pancreatitis and you need to get medical help immediately.

Anaphylaxis – if you experience difficulty breathing, swelling of the face, lips or tongue and difficulty swallowing, you may be having a severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis) and you must seek immediate medical help.Please read the Patient Information Leaflet that comes with your medicine for full details of side effects and how to use Mounjaro.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON SIDE EFFECTS CLICK HERE

What else should I know about Mounjaro?

Mounjaro is approved for people with a BMI over 30 (obesity), as well as those with a BMI over 27 (overweight) who also have weight-related health problems such as prediabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or heart problems.

You shouldn’t use tirzepatide if you’re pregnant, and you should stop taking Mounjaro at least one month before trying to get pregnant.

Mounjaro is not suitable in some medical circumstances, for example if you use some other diabetes medicines, have severe problems with digesting food, or have a history of pancreatitis or thyroid cancer.

If you’re allergic to tirzepatide or any of the other ingredients in this weight loss injection treatment, you must not use Mounjaro.

It’s essential that you give us a full medical history and details of any conditions or other medicines you’re taking when you fill out our Pharmadoctor on-line screening. This ensures we’re able to prescribe weight loss treatment that’s suitable and safe for you.

As Mounjaro is a new weight loss medicine available in the UK, it has been assigned a black triangle, which means it will be closely monitored for any adverse effects.

What are the non-drug alternatives to Mounjaro?

Making healthy lifestyle changes, such as improving your diet and increasing activity, can help with weight loss and also help you to live a healthier, happier life.

https://www.nhs.uk/better-health/lose-weight/

https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-weight/managing-your-weight/tips-to-help-you-lose-weight/

https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/medical/measuring-your-waist

How to manage the side effects of Mounjaro

Common Mounjaro side effects should be mild and are likely to lessen or even disappear after your body gets used to the treatment. We understand that it’s still tough to live with these discomforts though and so we’ve put together some tips for managing these where possible:

• Make sure to inject yourself with the treatment at the same time and day each week so your body has a regular interval between each dose
• Stay hydrated, sipping water and other clear liquids if you’re experiencing nausea, vomiting or diarrhoea. It may also help to eat smaller meals more regularly and avoid anything that smells or tastes too strong
• If you’re struggling with constipation, increase your fibre intake, stay well hydrated and try eating small fruits such as prunes, figs or grapes. Make sure you’re also getting regular activity, such as going on short walks
• To ease a headache, spend time in a quiet space to relax, take a simple pain relief medicine like paracetamol, drink plenty of water, and try relaxation techniques such as meditation and DIY scalp massage

For more information on managing side effects and what to do if you experience more severe side effects, see our specific section on managing side effects in the further information page (CLICK HERE)

To download a copy of the Mounjaro patient brochure guide to use CLICK HERE

To download a copy of the Mounjaro instructions for use CLICK HERE 

To access the Lilly Mounjaro patient support website (CIICK HERE)