Low blood sugar and mounjaro

[LowBloodSugar]

I typically have relatively low blood sugar. I don't have diabetes etc.. but just have always had lowish blood sugar. No idea why!

Anyway, I started mounjaro on 31st and so far all's been well. No side effects at all, one day of good appetite suppression but otherwise don't feel much different. Have been looking forward to upping the dose to 5mg at the end of the month.

Then this morning I was cycling with my son and started to feel REALLY cold. It was raining and my hands were freezing but this felt colder than I've ever felt. I then started to feel really faint and dizzy and sick and had to stop.ormi.think.id have collapsed. I then started slurring my speech and to be honest I did think at that point i might collapse or faint or something.

My son stayed with me and we managed somehow to walk home. I lay on the floor when we got home but was very emotional, crying (weirdly!) and disorientated. My husband gave me a lucosade and ran a hot bath. Once I'd climbed into the hot bath (fully clothed as no energy to strip!) and drunk the whole bottle of lucosade I started to feel normal again. After a while I go out bath, changed and got a hot water bottle and had some tea and toast.

It's been almost two hours since we got home with our bikes and i still have a hot water bottle and now feel pretty much fine except a tiny bit cold.

I think the mounjaro may have interacted with bad weather to cause a dip in my blood sugar. But it was pretty scary.

I somehow knew I needed sugar and am so glad I was able to communicate that to my husband when I got home and for him to fetch a lucosade. I couldn't have actually got it myself and think I'd have gone unconscious without it. I will make sure I keep glucose sweets with me at all times from now on as I terrified myself this morning.

Has anyone else experienced this? or anything like this???

Well, I feel cold pretty much all the time and from threads here it seems that it's fairly common.

Are you eating regularly and a reasonable amount of calories? Do you check your blood sugar levels somehow?

I think maybe I've not been eating enough calories. I've tried to restrict them since Jan 1st but maybe too much.

No I don't check my sugar. I only know it tends to be low because over the years when I've had blood tests in the past form things it's been noted to be low. I had blood tests privately in October before starting mounjaro (look me a couple months to get round to actually starting after that!) to make sure I was healthy and the only flag on the tests was 'very low blood sugar'.

I might buy a machine thing like the ones used by people with diabetes, so I can monitor what my blood sugar actually is.

It might be helpful if it's possible to get a blood sugar monitor and see what's actually happening with your blood sugar levels, as you might be able to see a pattern and figure out cause and effect.

You could also check your TDEE and check that your daily calories are not too low in comparison to it.

Thanks. I think I'll get a monitor today. I am not eating.enough calories. I know that so this is my own fault. I'm just so desperate to loose weight but I this morning was pretty scary so I'll eat more.

Has anyone else experienced low blood sugar symptoms since being on mounjaro?

Hey that sounds so scary! Yes I've had a number of low blood sugar moments on mounjaro that freaked me out. They tend to happen in the middle of the night so I wake up shaking and feeling unwell (first one happened the very first evening I injected - and I did get really scared).

My biggest tip is carry those glucose tablets (dextrose?) with you at all times. Anytime I start to feel a little weird I take a couple and it really helps. What I've noticed is when I first started I was hardly eating sugar, but over Christmas I have enjoyed some chocolates and sugar in tea etc. and I've not had any episodes for the last month now.

Hope that helps! But I think if you can catch it early it's a lot more manageable than when it becomes a full on low blood sugar episode x

Forgot to say, but I've also noticed that when I exercise (leg day at the gym for example) it has also brought on a low sugar episode, so I always make sure to eat something like a banana before working out now a days!

Thanks @crumbsonmyface

It's nice to know I'm not alone.

Yes, I think some combo of exercise (cycling), period, bad weather, no breakfast and a week of very few calories caused it. Stupid me!

I'm going to buy some dextrose tablets today (I'm late 40s but i remembered today that as a teen I used to carry these little packets of dextrose sweets because I'd feel a bit faint here and there and it helped. Never really told anyone and never mentioned to GP and I guess I gradually stopped eating them and carrying them by the time I was maybe 16/17 I think. I had forgotten all about it til today! I think I must have had low blood sugar then too! but was maybe more in tune with my body and what it needed then! How strange I did that and needed to and didn't think it was odd at the time!!)

Hi, I think im suffering from the exact same issue.
I'm a non diabetic taking mounjaro for weight loss. I took my second dose of 2.5 mg last night and terrified myself this morning and then again later in the day with what I now think was / is a hypo. Shaking, dizzy, faint, racing heart etc (then I think I might have jazzed it up with a panic attack on top).
My appetite is suppressed today to the point where i can barely think about food so getting calories in has been a real challenge.
Toast and a banana resolved this mornings episode in about 10 minutes and this afternoon I've had to eat a load of wine gums and moams which sorted me out in about 5 minutes.
I'm quite concerned this is going to happen overnight when I'm asleep so I'm going to get myself some lucozade to have at bedtime and during the night.
Ive been absolutely floored by this today and was lead to believe I'd barely experience any side effects at such a low dose.
Im nervous now to continue next week.
How did you get on after your last episode? Have you found a way to control it any better?
Look forward to hearing back from you
Anna

Hi Anna

I was also really scared about getting it in the night which could b very dangerous if it doesn't wake me, which it likely wouldn't.

I've started going to bed a 500ml bottle of juice (regular blackcurrant cordial) and some hydration tablets. I was worried lucosade would keep me up. I'm also trying to make sure I've eaten something (even just a piece of chocolate or something) close to bed and eat little and often during the day. So far seems manageable and the longer I'm on the mounjaro the better my body seems to be coping

I also did buy the dextrose tablets and glucose monitor. Turns out my glucose is often undetectable it's so low (under 1 or 2). Dextrose tablets seem to bring it up very quickly to about 4.

Thanks for taking the time to respond. I do suspect this is what's been happening to me. This is day 3 now of what seems to be hypoglycemia.
I've been walking up early hours with symptoms of it.
I went to the walk in centre yesterday morning because I felt so terrible. Dizzy, faint, rapid heart rate, sweaty and anxious.
They tested my blood while I was there and it was 6.8 but I had eaten loads of fruit pastilles and drank lucozade in the hour prior so that probably normalised it.
I've decided I can't continue with the medication after this ordeal as I'm so unwell I can't function for my kids and I'm due back in work tomorrow so god knows it ill have improved enough by then.
I've just ordered myself a blood glucose monitor to check my levels at night just out of interest.
I'd love to hear from somebody who had come off the medication who could tell me when I'm lively to feel normal again as it's really getting me down now.

Sounds sensible to come off it. Best wishes

Really glad I found this. I've been hunting around for information on Mounjaro and hypoglycaemia for a while now.

I don't have diabetes but I've just been diagnosed with reactive hypoglycaemia.

My blood sugar levels can drop rapidly after eating and it doesn't have to be a high carb meal to cause the drop. I experience all of the symptoms you have mentioned - dizzy, shaking, sweating, heart pounding and feeling very faint. I need to eat something sugary quickly to alleviate it. I now carry glucose tablets at the suggestion of the Endocrinologist I saw.

I am also obese and would love to lose weight. All of my previous attempts have failed on my own so I bought Mounjaro after discussing it with the Endocrinologist. He thought it was worth a try but couldn't say whether it would make the reactive hypoglycaemia worse or not. It's been sitting in my fridge for weeks now and I'm scared to try it as I'm so worried that it will exacerbate an already frightening condition.

This has reaffirmed that Mounjaro is probably not a good idea for me, so I just wanted to thank you for posting this.

@Anna208 i was just wondering how you are feeling now Anna? I have experienced exactly what you are going through and decided to stop mounjaro, my last jab was on 24/02 but I am still really struggling and being woken 2 or 3 times in the night with low blood sugar and having to take the dextrose tablets. In the day I also have to be careful I don’t eat much or it then spikes to high and I start sweating and shaking. I’m hoping your going to say you are recovering as I don’t know whether to visit the gp as this is hard to live with. 😞

So sorry for the late reply. And I'm really sorry to hear you're suffering the way I did. Have you been checked out by a doctor at all. I'd suggest you do just for peace of mind.
I'm feeling loads better now. My last dose was on 13/02 and it absolutely knocked me off my feet for a good 10 days. I'm still feeling slightly dizzy at times and I've had really terrible brain fog (i do s really technical job and im really struggling to focus/ feel like I've got a bit of an information processing delay going on - but that may well be residual as i was really badly traumatised by the whole thing). My appetite is fully back to normal now though, I don't feel sick anymore and I'm not longer waking in the night with what I reckon we're hypo episodes.
Hopefully this provides you with a bit of reassurance that you will get better , it will probably just take a bit of time.
If you want to ask me any more questions please don't hesitate.
Hope you feel better very soon xxx

Sorry I should also have asked how long you'd been taking mounjaro for and what dose? The half life of the drug is 5 days so if you've had multiple doses it will stick around in your system for quite some time. If your last dose was 24/02 then depending on how many doses you had previously you should start seeing a bit of an improvement soon.

OP - sorry to jump on, but have you informed a doctor that you're getting such low readings? Don't want to scare you but readings consistently under 4 can be dangerous; and under 2; life threatening if it is ongoing and without any treatment!

Hope things have improved for you!

I was also going to say this. Blood sugar that low, and regularly should be looked into.

Also; for anyone experiencing low blood sugar it’s useful to understand ‘glycemic index’.

Eating something with a very high GI like a dextrose or a lucozade will help you to recover from the hypo quickly. However, they are unlikely to hold your glucose levels in the non-hypo range for a particularly long time. If you know it’s going to be a while until your next meal you to also eat something with a low GI as well to help to hold your glucose levels.

And making sure you include low GI carbs in your meals like wholegrains, oats, apples, bananas should help to avoid hypos.

Hope you’re feeling better soon, and good luck with the weight loss.

Thank you @Anna208 for replying, I had taken 4 doses of minimum dose. Weirdly the first few weeks I felt amazing better than I’d felt in years and was losing weight but after that last dose it really affected me, must have been the build up. I do feel better in the day but still having the issues in the night, although I did sleep through the night on Tuesday so maybe I managed to eat just the right foods that day. I am eating very mindfully but sadly the weight has stopped coming off and I’ve lost nothing since my last dose. I would rather feel well though than endure the side effects. I will try see a gp although hopefully I will be well by the time they fit me in. Your reply has made me hopeful this will pass. Thank you

Hopefully you're over the worst of it. Definitely get yourself checked out though and I assume the dr will tell you to discontinue. Like you I'd rather be a bit overweight and able to function than go through that again. I believe more side effects will be reported about this drug as the months go by now it's so widely used. I just don't think it works for everyone sadly.
Best of luck hope you continue to improve

I'm on Mounjaro and also have type 2 diabetes. When I started taking Mounjaro I told Juniper (who I signed up with) about the medication I use for diabetes (dapagliflozin and metformin) and they told me it should be fine. I checked with their health coaches / prescriber several times before starting to take it. Within a week, my blood sugar had fallen to levels between 4 and 6, which I believe is the norm for non diabetic people. However, it did tip down below 4 a couple of times, so I checked with my GP, who instantly told me to stop taking the dapagliflozin as that also lowers blood sugar.
I've been fine since and am on my second week of 5mg mounjaro. I use CGMs from time to time, and have been keeping a close on things. I'm very pleased to see my blood sugar is generally between 4.5 and 5.5.
I would really recommend using a cgm. It does give me peace of mind, although I can understand your reluctance to take the drug because of your condition.

Don't take mounjaro if you have not got a glucose monitor. Also missing meals is dangerous.

I forgot I started this thread! Just to say, been on the mj for 3 months now and blood sugar has sorted itself all out! No recent scary episodes and I'm testing sugar regularly and all is well. I think body just took a while to get used to the mj!

Am so glad I found this thread. I had an episode yesterday walking home with my son and i was just exhausted! Wiped out trying to place one foot in front of the other trying desperately to get home. Got home had a pineapple smoothie and then recovered.