Ella Scott
A slew of Mounjaro users allege they’ve lost more than just weight on the injectable prescription medication, prompting health experts to detail how best to avoid the ‘alarming’ side effect.
We’re in the midst of a weight management injection boom, with as many as 500,000 people taking the drugs via private online pharmacies, as per reports published by Reuters.
Tirzepatide, or Mounjaro as it’s known in the market, is one of the more popular weight loss drugs.
The idea is that the drug makes you feel fuller for longer, therefore blocking out ‘food noise’ and helping you drop pounds, the NHS stated.
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But losing weight isn’t the only thing the GLP-1 medications can cause, with some common side effects including nausea, diarrhoea and dizziness.
It’s also recommended that you use an additional method of contraception if you’re on the contraceptive pill. Experts claim your body may not absorb the hormonal medication as effectively while using the drugs.
Another worrying side effect apparently causing users of these so-called ‘skinny jabs’ to freak out is mass hair loss.
Long-term Mounjaro users have taken to Reddit to complain of various side effects, including how they are ‘alarmingly’ losing hair in clumps.
Some have even gone so far as to upload pictures of their snapped-off locks in the hopes of gaining advice from others who are also experiencing the same issue.
Posting in the popular r/Mounjaro thread, one Redditor commented: “I am still losing so much hair. These pics are from one shower, began with a clean brush. I had a full lush head of hair and now I have to fix my hair to cover bald spots. How long to recover?”
They included an image of a brush with a wad of hair attached to it, prompting responses like: “Check if you’re low in iron.
“My hair was falling out in chunks and it turned out I was very iron deficient. Since getting an infusion my hair has stopped falling out.”
A second replied: “I was losing hair like that and from my last dose it took 4 months to go back to normal.”
Another began by explaining they’d lost 75lbs on GLP-1 drugs and that their hair didn’t stop falling out until their weight loss had ‘started to level out’.
“Once the weight loss levelled out and became less drastic, the hair loss began to slow down as well. No one understood how much hair I was losing every day!”
They continued: "I mean it was an alarming amount! So I finally kept 2 of the large handfuls from one shower and showed it to my mom, my doctor, my hairdresser… every one that tried to downplay the hair loss. Needless to say they were all shocked!”
According to a Manchester-based doctor, it isn’t just the GLP-1 medications causing your hair to come out in clumps.
Dr Ed Robinson, who runs an aesthetics clinic, told the Daily Mail that he thinks it’s actually a ‘combination of two things’.
“First of all, the people who use these medications obviously eat significantly less because it suppresses their appetite,” he explained.
“A lot of people use either more than the recommended dose or calorie restrict even more than is recommended, and that can result in really quite rapid weight loss and that can effectively cause quite quick nutritional deficiencies.”
GP and senior clinical advisor Dr Donald Grant has echoed the link between not eating nutritionally dense meals and hair loss while on Mounjaro.
He has also revealed what long-term weight-loss drug users should be piling on their plates.
“A common mistake people make while on Mounjaro is completely abandoning the idea of a well-balanced diet,” Dr Grant said to SomersetLive.
“While portions may decrease due to suppressed appetite, it’s still important to prioritise the correct foods. Be sure to include foods rich in these nutrients to lower the risk of hair loss.
"Foods such as chicken, eggs and red meat can prove incredibly effective."
Eli Lilly, Mounjaro's manufacturer, previously told Tyla: "Patient safety is Lilly’s top priority. We take any reports regarding patient safety 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."