Gallbladder issues 15 weeks in

[JH20000]

I am about 15 weeks in using Mounjaro and I’ve just come home from a very very long day at A&E. Yesterday I developed the most intense abdominal pain alongside nausea and a high temp/fast heart rate etc etc. Blood tests show pancreas and liver are fine however I’m due a scan tomorrow where they’ll check for gallbladder issues. Both the emergency doctors believed it is gallbladder problems caused by Mounjaro. I am assuming I may need to come off it then but I’m wondering if anyone else has experienced this. I am on 10mg and only had small side effects with the medication (a bit of nausea for example) before it all kicked off yesterday.

Rapid weight loss (with or without WLI) can trigger gallbladder issues. It certainly did for me when I lost weight when dd2 was born, 22 years ago.

I lost 4st rapidly a few years ago which caused gallstones. I had to have my gallbladder removed. You have my sympathy- an attack is very painful!

Gosh that sounds awful, though I have seen people go back on it after removal of the gallbladder (just depends how long you are waiting for surgery).

Out of interest how come you are on 10mg if only 15 weeks in? Did you rush up the doses?

Apologies, I was on morphine yesterday and early this morning and got the time I was on it wrong.

ive been on it about 16 weeks or so, a new dose every 4 weeks

My message was also garbled middle of the night nonsense! What I was trying to say is that gallbladder issues can be triggered by significant weight loss, not by the injections per se. I guess (not a doctor disclaimer) that with so many people on WLI there will be more gallbladder issues about because people are losing weight.

Hope you’re feeling better today. Those attacks are no joke.

Have you lost weight very quickly? At 10mg already you must be losing fast?

So in 16 weeks I’ve lost about 1.5 stones which isn’t as fast as others but has definitely caused something to start up in me

Ah, no that's not as fast as I expected. I hope you get better soon!

Thank you!

yeah it’s been quite a slow and steady weight loss. I’ve used the reduction of food noise to really overhaul my eating habits so the medication has been really good for that.

So I’m currently awaiting a decision on whether to admit me for a drip as I’m very dehydrated but fingers crossed it’ll be sorted somewhat soon.

Hi. I had similar. I managed 4 months on mounjaro (got to 7.5mg) before my gallbladder became very inflamed and I had the horrendous, intense pain you describe. My diet had been pretty good for quite a while before I started on the drug – lean protein, high fibre, low fat sort of thing. And, like you, I hadn’t lost weight particularly rapidly up to that point (I did when the pain started, when I stopped taking mounjaro, but that was down to so much vomiting). I cant say whether or not I had gallstones before I started on the drug – I just don’t know, I’d not had obvious problems – but I had them when I was scanned. Anyway, the pain and vomiting didn’t stop and I had my gallbladder removed. It turned out it had been haemorrhaging and I had an inflamed biliary duct, which can be a terrible complication. My gastroenterologist said he had seen quite a few mounjaro related similar cases.

Really good luck with it all. I know the pain is awful.

Thing is, gallstones and gallbladder issues are incredibly common. I know so many (mostly women) who have had theirs removed over the last 10 years or so. Pregnancy can start them off, and being overweight and losing weight. So it could just be a complete coincidence. Especially as your pancreas is healthy. Good luck getting it out hopefully. It is awful.

By way of update in case anyone else researches this I was admitted back into hospital this evening. I was severely dehydrated and given a couple of litres of fluids already. Surgical team are awaiting scan tonight to confirm gallbladder issues but are hoping to get it removed soon as, if that’s confirmed.

Surgical team did say that they’ve seen a big increase in patients with similar issues after starting Mounjaro. I feel a bit guilty about it all, I only wanted to lose weight, but we are where we are.

Anyway thank you for sharing your stories all. ❤

Good lord don’t feel guilty. I was a yo-yo dieter long before MJ and had my gallbladder out at 29. Loads of people I know have had them out too - all ages ago! Gallstones take years to form so it’s likely they were on the way there. Whipping out a gallbladder isn’t going to compare with the savings the NHS will make if obesity is significantly reduced.

I had the same.
Was on mounjaro for 4ish months and then started with horrendous abdominal pain, vomiting etc. The first time it started I called an ambulance - I was sure I was dying!
GP suspected gallbladder so I went and had a private ultrasound as the wait around here was 5 months. They confirmed gallstones. I was having regular attacks for the couple of weeks after, but the waiting list for removal was also very long, so I ended up paying privately to have it removed a couple of weeks later.

I have always been a yoyo dieter, so I don’t think the mounjaro caused it per se, it’s more maybe it triggered the attacks off, if that makes sense?

I came off the jab before surgery when all the attacks started, and have cautiously restarted 6 months after surgery. Honestly, it’s amazing the difference so far. No nausea, no pain, just the suppression. I feel like a different person!

I lost 6+ stone on slimming world over 20 years ago and was rewarded with gallstones and my gallbladder was removed. Fast forward 20+ years and I've been left with bile malabsorption and ibs due to gallbladder removal. Just a heads up that it's not always plain sailing after the gallbladder is removed 😔