Restarting MJ after pregnancy?

[Rainbowl]

Last year I posted on MN about being utterly miserable about my weight and it was suggested I try WLI. I started taking Mounjaro at the end of March 2024 and was doing really well on it. I had almost no side effects and lost weight really quickly and easily. If you search my username you’ll see I posted about my journey quite regularly.

I fell pregnant at the end of May 2024 with twins so I stopped taking Mounjaro straight away. The twins are now 8 weeks old. The pregnancy was tough but I’ve recovered really well. I currently weigh the same as I did at my 8 week booking appointment so I didn’t gain any weight in pregnancy. This wasn’t due to any effort on my part - I just didn’t have much of an appetite in the second and third trimesters (probably due to lack of space in there!).

I really want to start taking MJ again. I’m not breastfeeding at all so no worries there. My only side effect last time was occasional headaches. I felt amazing when taking it and like the best version of myself. At the moment, I feel dreadful as I am craving and binging on chocolate - back to old habits.

Any thoughts? I figure it’s worth a try and if I do have horrible side effects that make looking after the twins harder (eg vomiting, diarrhoea etc) then I can stop and try again in a few months?

Congratulations on your twins! If all was well at your six-week check and you're not breastfeeding then I don't see why not. You will likely need to qualify as a new patient so you will obviously need to meet the prescribing criteria with either BMI alone or BMI plus a related health condition. It sounds like you are prepared for this possibility but I would suggest that there's a fairly high chance you may react differently this time. Pregnancy (especially multiples) causes all sorts of physiological changes, some of which are permanent, so although you will hopefully breeze through again you are wise to anticipate possible side effects this time around.

Congratulations on your twins and for already being at the stage where you are thinking about getting healthier with so much on your plate with two babies! I struggled with one!

I am a worrier and quite risk adverse so the things that would worry me would be the impact of Mounjaro and any side effects (even if you didn't have them last time you body and metabolism will have changed when still just 8 weeks post partum) -

Any issues with post-partum recovery/healing if Mounjaro results in temporary nutritional deficiencies - especially ones that are common post-partum such as iron, b12
How will your muscles, especially stomach recover post-partum if you add in rapid weightloss that can sometimes come with Mounjaro
Potential exhaustion when babies are still so small - does it increase risk of PND
If you get vomiting as a side effect this time it could be uncomfortable if you had any stiches/wounds still healing

Sounds like you have recovered amazingly from the pg, so none of that might be a concern for you at all, as long as you are sensible and prioritise your health over weightloss, and stop if you do feel it is too much, hopefully there is little much risk. Perhaps try one of the more supportive pharmacies where you can speak to a supportive pharmacist about any concerns/advice they have first.