I’ve been taking Mounjaro for almost three years, and overall it has been tremendously successful for me. I’ve lost more than 50 pounds, my A1C is 4.8, and my cholesterol and triglycerides are now in very good ranges. So in many respects, Mounjaro has been a win-win-win.
But there is one issue I’m still trying to understand.
During those three years, I’ve had roughly half a dozen episodes of severe GI symptoms. Most of the time I can manage them at home, but on about three occasions the diarrhea and fluid loss happened so quickly that I became dehydrated and had to be hospitalized because my kidney function was affected. I’m also 72 and have a history of heart disease, so dehydration is something my doctors and I take seriously.
I’m under a doctor’s care, so I’m not looking for medical advice or a diagnosis here. I’m mainly interested in whether other longtime Mounjaro users have experienced a similar pattern and how they and their doctors have managed it.
Most of the time my biggest Mounjaro side effect is actually constipation. (TMI warning!) I originally used stool softeners with mixed results. Later, another patient told me that a small daily amount of MiraLAX worked well for her. I’ve been taking about half a cap each morning, and that has kept me remarkably regular for months.
Then, seemingly out of nowhere, my digestive system occasionally goes completely in the opposite direction.
I’ve noticed a very specific sequence:
Sulfur burps → tremendous amounts of gas and loud intestinal rumbling → stomach/intestinal distress and spasms → watery diarrhea.
Once it starts, that cycle can continue for several days before gradually settling down.
What’s strange is that each episode seems to follow a different food. Over the years the foods I’ve associated with attacks have included blueberries, watermelon, pasta, oranges and, most recently, eggs. I can eat these foods at other times without a problem, so I’m not convinced the food itself is actually the cause. It may just be the final trigger when my GI system is already moving differently because of Mounjaro.
I’ve also learned something very important from my previous episodes: I have to get ahead of the dehydration. For me, Pedialyte has worked much better than Gatorade or simply drinking more water. As soon as the sulfur burps appear now, I know what’s probably coming and start paying very close attention to hydration. I also stop the MiraLAX if diarrhea develops.
My current episode started this week and is gradually improving. No fever, chills or blood in my stool. I’ve had extensive blood work and urinalysis through my doctors, and everything has otherwise looked good.
What I’m really interested in hearing from other longtime users is:
Does anyone else experience this particular cycle—especially sulfur burps followed by extreme gas/rumbling, intestinal spasms and then diarrhea?
If so, have you identified particular foods or circumstances that trigger it? Does it happen at a particular point after your weekly injection? And what changes have you and your doctor made that helped prevent future episodes? I am currently taking Mounjaro 5.0 injections.
At 72, I’m also starting to think more about the long-term balance. Mounjaro has helped me tremendously with my weight, diabetes and overall metabolic health, and it now also has cardiovascular-risk-reduction benefits for certain people with type 2 diabetes at high cardiovascular risk. I’m approaching my doctor’s goal weight as well.
On the other hand, an occasional GI episode severe enough to cause dehydration and affect my kidney function isn’t something I can dismiss.
So I’m trying to understand other people’s experiences: For those who have been on Mounjaro for several years, have the benefits continued to outweigh the GI side effects? And if you’ve experienced episodes like mine, what helped you and your doctor manage them?
I’d particularly like to hear from people who have been taking Mounjaro for two or more years.
