Featured Image Credit: Getty Stock Images
Topics: Mounjaro, Weight loss, Health
Callum Jones
Have you ever wondered what could happen if you took the 'golden dose' of Mounjaro?
Mounjaro is one of the many brands that work to lower blood sugar levels to treat people with type 2 diabetes, though individuals hoping to shed some pounds have also taken advantage of the drug as a weight loss treatment.
The medication has worked wonders for some, with the likes of Meghan Trainor, Amy Schumer and Jeremy Clarkson being open about using it for weight loss purposes.
However, other reports have suggested a rising number of Mounjaro users may be abusing the tool by squeezing extra doses out of the injector pens to get more bang for their buck, which health experts are warning could be dangerous.
Advert
So, one injector pen comes pre-filled with a fixed dose that users take once a week, typically lasting for a period of four weeks.
Apparently, a number of Mounjaro users have claimed a small amount of the drug remains in the pen at the end of the round, with some reportedly promoting a 'hack' to recover the liquid remnants.
This is where the 'golden dose' comes in, with dozens on social media suggesting a syringe and needle can draw out the dregs to create such, as per the Daily Mail.
Earim Chaudry, MBBS, who is a chief medical officer at health provider Voy, has detailed the serious risk that can come with taking a potential fifth dose in an injection pen.
Dr Chaudry told UNILAD: "Overdosing can quickly lead to dangerous and unpleasant symptoms like severe nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, and dehydration.
"In rare cases, it could even trigger serious complications like pancreatitis. These medications are carefully calibrated for your safety, so stepping outside the guidance isn’t just bending the rules, it’s putting your health on the line."
Hans J. Schmidt, MD, an expert at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey, agreed with Dr Chaudry, stating users should not be taking the 'golden dose'.
In worst case scenario, it could lead to sepsis - which is a life-threatening condition.
"Medical experts do not recommend this and the (Mounjaro) drug maker has warned that the process of ‘breaking into the pens’ is not clean and could put users ‘at risk of harm including’ infection due to potential bacteria, an abscess, (and) if an abscess is left untreated, it could progress to sepsis," the expert said, as per Medical News Today.
The makers of Mounjaro, El Lilly, has issued a response to UNILAD following the comments made by experts.
"The Mounjaro (tirzepatide) KwikPen is designed to deliver a fixed volume of Mounjaro solution at each dose," a spokesperson for the company said.
"The KwikPen contains sufficient solution to allow for the necessary priming before each injection and the delivery of a total of four doses (one dose given weekly for a 28-day supply of medicine).
"Medication will remain in the KwikPen cartridge following the delivery of the 4 fixed doses, however, an additional complete dose cannot be dialled. The KwikPen must be discarded after four doses or 30 days after first use."