Mounjaro side effect explained as people start to lose more than just weight

Mounjaro and other GLP-1 medications like Ozempic and Wegovy have soared in popularity in recent months as more and more people are taking the drugs for weight loss.

While initially designed to help type 2 diabetes patients, the injectables are now frequently being used as a tool to help shed the pounds.

And after the drug became available on the NHS last month, a whopping 220,000 people are expected to receive Mounjaro, also known as tirzepatide, over the next three years.

However, as more people begin taking the drug made by pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly, an array of different side effects have begun popping up.

For those not familiar, Mounjaro is a weekly self-injectable pen used for weight loss, which works by regulating blood sugar and energy balance levels, helping to reduce appetite and prevent cravings.

The most commonly reported side effects that you can expect to encounter include nausea, constipation, diarrhoea, stomach discomfort and heartburn.

Mounjaro works by regulating blood sugar and energy balance levels - but it doesn't come without side effects (Getty Stock Image)

But as well as this, Mounjaro users have been noticing that they’ve also been shedding something else as well as the weight, which has even left some people battling self confidence issues.

The side effect in question is hair loss, as a series of conversations are popping up about the topic across social media.

What have Mounjaro users said about hair loss?

Beginning a conversation on Reddit in a thread dedicated to the GLP-1 medication, one user asked: “I am still losing so much hair. I had a full lush head of hair and now I have to fix my hair to cover bald spots. How long to recover?”

Someone else responded that they also ‘lost a ton of hair,’ which they first began noticing in their third month on the drug.

They wrote: “Mine has started coming back. I took Mounjaro for a year and lost 75lbs. I started noticing the hair loss around the 3rd month, and it didn’t stop falling out until my weight loss started to level out.

“Once the weight loss levelled out and became less drastic, the hair loss began to slow down as well.”

One of the side effects of the GLP-1 medication is hair loss (Getty Stock Image)

Meanwhile, someone else reassured: “It does. I lost about HALF of my hair and was really worried I’d end up wearing a wig but it’s all growing back now.”

And another user penned: “I was losing hair like that and from my last dose it took 4 months to go back to normal.”

Why do some people on Mounjaro suffer from hair loss?

So, the question is, why is this happening?

Well, although it’s linked to it, it’s not actually the medication itself that’s causing it, but instead a condition triggered by the jabs.

If you’re losing weight rapidly, this can cause telogen effluvium - rapid but temporary hair loss caused by stress or a change to your body.

This can also be a sign that you are losing weight too quickly.

In simple terms, your body is being put under stress and undergoing a very sudden change when you drop a lot of weight in a short space of time.

This causes your hair follicles to enter their resting and shedding phase of the hair growth cycle, leading to hair loss.

Rapid weight loss can trigger a condition called telogen effluvium (Getty Stock Image)

Your body is too busy prioritising more important jobs, like organ function, metabolism, and immunity, reports Simple Online Pharmacy.

But, as seen in the Reddit thread, this is only temporary, and the hair loss should come to a halt once your weight stabilises.

Pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly told Tyla: "Patient safety is Lilly’s top priority. We take any reports regarding patient safety extremely seriously and actively monitor, evaluate, and report safety information for all our medicines.

"The Mounjaro (tirzepatide) Patient Information Leaflet warns that hair loss is a common side effect in patients treated with Mounjaro for weight management. We encourage patients to consult their doctor or other healthcare professional regarding any side effects they may be experiencing and to ensure that they are getting genuine Lilly medicine."