Very strange reaction to 7.5mg Mounjaro

[Minniliscious]

Good morning. I’m just after a bit of advice and wondering if this has happened to anyone else.

I started my Mounjaro journey on the 2nd June starting on 2.5. No problems at all except fatigue and a little bit of nausea. I even lost 9lb in 4 weeks. I moved up to 5mg for the next 4 weeks and again no problems but fatigue. I lost around 7lb in 4 weeks.

Two nights ago, I injected my first dose of 7.5mg. It stung more than usual and felt painful going in which is very unusual. However, I shrugged it off and didn’t think anything off it. This was at 11pm. I woke up at 4am and my throat felt like it was closing up - it was extremely frightening. I sat up on the bed and went really dizzy and started sweating profusely. I had to lay back down and pray that it would pass as I didn’t want to wake the household. No one knows I am on the jabs as my husband is against them but that’s another story!

Luckily it passed within 15-20 minutes.

I’ve googled and it’s coming up with anaphylaxis shock. I’m just baffled how that would happen all of a sudden after 2 months of taking this medication? Do I stop? It really has changed my life for the better and I’m gutted if I’m suddenly allergic.

I feel fine now just severe appetite suppression which is obviously expected.

It sounds like you definitely had a bad reaction. I wouldn’t inject it again, as an allergic reaction can escalate.

I'd definitely check with your prescriber asap for advice.

I doubt it was anaphylaxis, as someone that's had anaphylaxis, it doesn't resolve on its own and doesn't present how you describe. It may have been a sudden drop in blood sugar levels whilst sleeping, given the time you injected. Maybe try injecting during the day next time, and possibly going back down to 5mg if you are feeling high suppression on the 7.5mg.

Thank you to those that have already commented. I will speak to my supplier.

@SilenceInsideI did think that the time I injected it may have had something to do with it as I never usually inject that late.

That sounds frightening OP and it's worrying that you could have a worse reaction next time and nobody around you knows you're on medication. What if you're unable to call for help yourself?

Regarding the slightly less severe experience of pain at injection site, and feeling pain of injection going in, I've had this since moving up to 5mg. There are a couple of variables to consider here:

1. Is it caused by the dose being more potent, and thereby more of an irritant when injecting? and/or
2. Does the injection sting more and you feel pain as it goes in because you've lost weight, including fat loss from where you commonly inject? So a loss of 'padding'.

Another variable to consider is simply technique. I am so glad I'm not a nurse because I'm terrible at injecting, no matter how I go about it - gently, or just stab - it hurts. It definitely hurts more on 5mg, but I am guessing that as the pen size is the same regardless of dose strength, it means that the dose is less diluted - 2.5mg is presumably 2.5 of the active ingredient and some other liquid(s) to enable it to be injectable, and the make up of this will change. I wonder if they use different ingredients with different potencies.

Guessing wildly as I'm definitely no scientist, but I do have an extensive background in turning things off and on again.

Allergic reactions can build over time and exposure. I would imagine you could have been having less obvious symptoms when you've previously injected but they've possibly been masked by the other SE you mentioned.

I would speak to your doctor but really think hard as to whether you continue. I would also tell someone in your house, if you did have a really bad experience someone will need to be able to explain what you're taking. I'm on MJ by the way so not judging!

Pain at the injection site is likely just accidentally hitting a small nerve, or injecting into an old small scar. It’s likely just a coincidence. The dose is always 0.6ml of liquid, and the concentration changing from 2.5mg to 5mg and so on will not make any discernible difference to the liquid injected. The other ingredients in the injection are always the same, as per the patient info leaflet that comes with the pen.

Allergies can develop suddenly, I developed one to hair dye out of the blue a few years ago. Very frightening, I thought I was going to die in the hairdresser’s chair! Is it worth the risk?

Definitely ask for advice from your provider, and hopefully they can reassure you that it was very unlikely to be anaphylaxis or an allergic reaction. It sounds very much more like low blood sugar which is easily resolved.

It absolutely sounds like anaphylaxis. My DS's presents as a blood pressure drop.

It sounds like you were getting decent results on 5 so I'm curious why you went up to 7.5 so quickly - was this pushed by your prescriber? If you do decide to continue, maybe talk to them about dropping back to 5.

I started in March and only went up to 7.5 just under 4 weeks ago.

@GargoylesofBeelzebub hopefully the OPs provider can advise her and offer suggestions on what to do next.

Thanks all - some really useful insights and advice here. I knew it would be the right place to come!

@GiveMeWordGamesReally good point regarding moving up so quickly. I am with the Online clinic who immediately wrote a 6 month prescription moving my dosage up every 4 weeks. I thought this was normal as it was all new to me so didn’t question it. I now know that this isn’t always necessary. I still have 3 doses left of 7.5mg - can I get them to change this immediately back to 5? I know it’ll probably cost but could be worth it.

I've never had to do anything similar so I don't know but definitely ask and if they're a decent prescriber they should have your best interests at heart. Perhaps switch to someone else if they don't listen to you. You can also count clicks to take a smaller dose from the 7.5. 45 clicks is just over 5.

You don't need to do spend more money on it, just turn the dial fewer clicks, so instead of 60 clicks for 7.5, do 40 clicks for 5mg. That way you don't waste the pen and you also have one more dose in your pen, so it will last 5 weeks.

Ahh off course 🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️ I forgot that less clicks were an option! Thanks so much.

Definitely speak to provider and go back to 5mg. Absolutely no need to go up every month, they tend to push it as the higher potency ones are more expensive. You can stay in 2.5mg if you are losing weight.

Do you keep your pen in the fridge? Cold can definitely be more stingy.

it does sound like blood sugar and then a bit of panic, but do take the next dose early morning so that you can notice side effects and make sure you eat and drink enough during the day and get your protein in.

I do store it in the fridge until use - obviously hidden so my husband doesn’t find it! Then I store it in a drawer.

why hidden from husband?

do you leave it to warm up for a good 20 minutes? That could have caused the pain when injecting.

Hi, just to say that you don't need to increase your dose every 4 weeks. If it's working well for you and you're losing weight, with good suppression, stay on that dose a while longer. It'll be cheaper too!! I've stayed on 2.5 the whole time! You don't need to move up just to increase your weight loss, 1-2lbs per week is much better for you. I'm still losing 1lb per week and almost at goal!

What happened in the end @Minniliscious??

. Sorry thought this was a new thread

Hi @Sleepyquest - I used less clicks for the following 3 weeks on the pen. Taking me back down to 2.5mg. No bad reactions at all and still lost weight.

However, I have since switched to Wegovy and not feeling anything at all! No appetite suppression, zilch! I felt more on 2.5mg mounjaro but can’t really justify the increase.

I’m confused - if you take a smaller amount of the 7.5ml dose than prescribed - surely you are using less ingredient at the same concentration? Is that the SAME as using a lower dose?