Mounjaro and anxiety

[UpendedPineapple]

I have been on Mounjaro for three weeks. Amazing results - 17lbs loss.

Full disclosure I am also on any depressants and have been for years but very stable.

After my third jab I started feeling odd - has led to a full anxiety/panic disorder that I'm now working through with diazepam. It's genuinely been one of the worst weeks of my life.

Just wanted to mention here in case anyone has had similar and if not just to keep an eye out. I hope I was just incredibly unlucky

@VoyOySaveloy You're not alone. I've noticed the defensiveness of various Mounjaro users, unwilling to actually believe or acknowledge serious negative effects. They claim they're willing to take the risk because obesity also has risks, but we know how addictive weight loss is and the cult-like vibe of the Mounjaro threads are very reminiscent of pro-ana forums a few decades ago. Women have prioritised thinness over health for many, many years.

Edited to add:
By the way, I'm not anti-Mounjaro. I think it seems like a medication that has lots of benefits. I just think we should be honest.

It's also worth noting the jab affects the birth control pill and makes it less effective. I wonder if that will be the case for offer medications too?

Yes it's written in the patient leaflet and even the online consultations, there's a place where you have to tick that you understand that it happens and are advised to use other methods of contraception. I'd imagine it affects other meds and some posters have said they had to increase their pain meds dosage, for example.

This is what I mean by these information being very clearly stated already and not (supposed to be) a secret or news if people paid attention or researched the drug before taking it.

I really don't think anyone disbelieves Saveloy, at least I know I don't and have agreed in previous posts. Of course it happens/ed - that has never been in question. I'm not sure why the rhethoric is that people don't believe. What I see people try to figure out is why it happened, which even Saveloy has said they don't know in their last post. That's where the loggerheads seem to occur.

I've been much less anxious and have been able to reduce my fluoxetine from 40mg to 20mg, I have also seen reductions in blood pressure and wonder if it is related.

It's interesting that we are all different.

I have genuinely only posted here because you do have to dig to find the mental health stories and it's always nice to know you're not alone if you're struggling.

Personally I think it's triggered something for me, and I think there should be better aftercare perhaps for those on other medications and any reactions. That is maybe my fault for not going through my GP.

BUT it is an amazing drug for so many and as PP has said has helped their mental health which is great 😊

@UpendedPineapple
OP, it's fine. You're free to post anywhere about it. Don't worry. I'm glad you're finding that you're not alone because you aren't. It's awful to have a negative reaction to something that would've otherwise been great in other areas so i empathise.

I see quite a few stories on Facebook mounjaro groups and reddit if you want to search there also. I think it's easier to search by keywords there but I could be wrong.

Check with your GP that the Mounjaro is not interfering with the absorption of your antidepressants. One of the ways it works is to slow down the emptying of your stomach, this can interfere with the absorption of drugs.
Because of its relative novel use information about drug interactions is not always available. Presumably when you were prescribed the Mounjaro they took a thorough medical history. The pharmacist should have checked if it was going to affect other meds.

A quick check suggests that you may need a dose adjustment of your antidepressants. Please see your GP asap.

Just here to say I had exactly the same experience after my second jab and so stopped the injections. It was an awful 10 days or so of crippling anxiety.

I found a study that confirmed the link - someone committed suicide in a clinical trial.

amp.cnn.com/cnn/2023/07/10/health/weight-loss-medications-under-evaluation-for-suicide-risks

Yes, just to note, they said it was on Saxenda (containing Liraglutide).

Other meds with 3 patients who had increased suicidal ideation (with underlying previous condition of those) were on Semaglutide (Ozempic/Wegovy).

Ozempic contains the medicine semaglutide, which is also the active ingredient in its sister drug, Wegovy, which is cleared for weight loss. Saxenda contains a similar drug called liraglutide. All three are made by Novo Nordisk...

The EMA told CNN Wednesday that the safety review doesn’t include tirzepatide, the drug in Mounjaro, as it targets a second hormone, GIP, in addition to GLP-1. The review comprises semaglutide, liraglutide, lixisenatide, dulaglutide and exenatide...

The US prescribing information for Saxenda includes a recommendation to monitor patients for depression or suicidal thoughts and to discontinue the drug if symptoms develop. Clinical trials in adults found that nine people on the drug, of more than 3,300, reported suicidal ideation, compared with two of more than 1,900 on a placebo. One adult on Saxenda attempted suicide, the prescribing information says. In pediatric clinical trials, one person on Saxenda died by suicide, of 125 studied. The prescribing information says “there was insufficient information to establish a causal relationship to Saxenda.”

There is no similar warning in the US prescribing information for Ozempic, although the information for Wegovy notes that suicidal behavior and ideation have been reported in clinical trials with other weight management products and says patients should be monitored for depression, suicidal thoughts or behavior, or any unusual changes in mood or behavior.

Thank you AngryMum. I think that's very likely part of it, my concern is even though I told the provider about the antid's there has been zero follow up.

That's not so bad when you've had depression and anxiety for 20 odd years and a supportive dh, but could be a different story for others.

It is being touted as a fix all by some providers i think, and that should be mitigated a bit.

I'll take a look at the FB groups thank you!

www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-3419258/v1

There is a study showing up to 3% of people are effectively negatively.

No disrespect, but this is what I mean. The medical person on the thread is reiterating it was probably not the Mounjaro.

"I think something you ate that day or the day before / preexisting high bp is probably the source of it. Not necessarily Mounjaro"
I disagree. I didn't eat or drink anything different from normal and I haven't ever had that reaction before.

I don't understand it. Even if my mildly high but below treatment level blood pressure dropped because I took MJ and then I had a several hour long panic attack because my blood pressure crashed (not just jitters) then it was still the MJ that triggered that reaction, surely?

Btw I have since been put on propranolol for intermittent use and that Def drops my blood pressure but without the panic attacks.

Drug interactions can be very specific to the patient. I changed my blood pressure meds and instead of lowing my bp, it shot up to the point I was having severe symptoms. 24hrs after going back to old drug and I was fine. The reaction is unusual but not impossible.
As op reports, having support at home is essential, if her reaction happened to someone living alone it could have serious outcomes.
These weight loss drugs have been used on a relatively small group of people who are well monitored because they are being reviewed in person by their medical prescriber. The online prescribers are not acting as responsibly.
I am not against the use of these drugs but the questionable method under which they are prescribed.
There is a major investigation into cosmetic drugs and procedures currently ongoing because of the increase in deaths and life changing side effects ( gastric sleeve procedures carried out abroad). The WLI are no different if obtained outside of the NHS, they are a cosmetic drug if you don’t meet the NHS criteria. The criteria for being prescribed them in the NHS means it is difficult to obtain them but this is because the outcome outweighs the risk for morbidly obese patient. The drugs are not prohibitively expensive to the NHS. One can only presume that the risks are considered too high compared to other weight loss methods.

Completely agree, it's actually ridiculous seeing people try to brush things off with "oh it's something you ate". There are plenty of people who report heightened anxiety as a symptom, many of which have ended up at a&e if you look online. We all know our own bodies and what feels right and wrong for us.

The first week of 2.5mg I ate super clean, and have not experienced that level of anxiety before (full blown panic attack out of nowhere when I was just reading a book, palpitations all night etc it was awful.). Mounjaro has been amazing, but funnily enough when I reduced the dose to 1,25mg I've had zero anxiety or panic, and eating the exact same foods. So yeah I think mounjaro can affect us all in different ways. The more people that take it, the more the nhs will learn about this drug beyond the studies.

I would disregard the 'medical person'.

Whilst I am not disputing that they are who they say they are, any medical person who would actually be so unprofessional/inexperenced/stupid as to attempt to to make medical diagnoses like this on Social Media deserves to be brought up before their regulatory body and properly disciplined.

I have no idea about Mounjaro as I'm not on it (am considering it though...), but read your post & wanted to let you know it might be a sulphite sensitivity you have. I also can't drink wine & have a reaction to dental anaesthetics due to this. I also react to wine vinegars & balsamic vinegar, all which contain sulphites. Dental anaesthetics have sulphites in the adrenaline part of it (a preservative I think). Wanted to let you know in case it helps!

I am not discounting your experience OP. And good to warn others.

However I would add that losing 17lbs in first 3 weeks is EXTREME weight loss.

Speaking for myself I would expect to feel ill or strange at that rate of weight loss, no matter what method I used.

Did you eat much, or indeed anything?

I’m a great believer in slowly as she goes and titrating very slowly. I am very cautious and go even slower than the manufacturer, preferring @ 1.25 starting dose for first week. I don’t even expect to lose weight the first couple of weeks.

Just to add, drugs like these I would imagine could potentially have strong psychological effects as well as physical for some. Also this might be more the case if you are a ‘super-responder’?? All the more reason to take it slowly/carefully. Maybe it’s not quite the right drug for some? Or else you have to go extra slowly eg lower dose or cautiously ?

My DSis doctor wouldn't prescribe as she's on sertraline for anxiety and depression so maybe they're getting more savvy on it.

MJ doesn't interfere with Sertraline. If anything, being on anti depressants and anti anxiety meds helps ward off the anxiety/Depressive side effects of MJ that some have experienced. If she's on a low dose and MJ is known to interfer with medication, she can get a higher dose prescribed to combat MJ's interference. It works. They have to be consistent with their meds though.

Consultation questions on Mounjaro also ask about any mental illness like depression, anxiety and ask about the medicine taken for them. They prescribe MJ with those because the pharmacists understand how they work with MJ.

I've always mentioned depression and my meds and never had a problem with the prescription, GP also knows and is fine with it

But it can effect absorption of the anti depressants, and studies have shown glp 1 inhibitors increase anxiety and depression in 3% of people.

I think at 21 (??!!) lbs in just over 3 weeks means I was a super responder and couldn't eat. As in was gagging when trying to force anything down. The shell of cooking made me gag.

Clearly it wasn't for me. Amazing for others which is great, but it is a side effect that I think is gaining more visibility. Which can only be good.

Hi there, I also had the same happen to me. I’m a Clinical Nurse Specialist and did my research before starting Mounjaro so was well prepared, however after my 2nd week I had a huge panic attack! I’ve never had a panic attack before and literally felt like I was dying, I had waves of numbness from toe to head, fast pulse, raised BP ( when I have very low BP normally ). Ambulance was called and taken to A&E. Tests were carried out which all came back normal, yet the panic attack itself lasted 2hrs. I was kept in for observation but discharged the next day being told not to continue on the mounjaro and that it was extremely likely that it caused the attack as they’ve experienced similar incidents recently. I stopped the medication straight away, I have had a couple of panic attacks since but no way near as bad! I’m so sorry you’ve experienced this, your not alone xx

Blimey. Someone came on here looking for an argument. Perhaps she works for the drug company