Jump to: What is lansoprazole? | What is Mounjaro? | Why take lansoprazole and Mounjaro together? | Take home message
You can take Mounjaro with lansoprazole, as no known interactions exist between the drugs.
However, caution is advised as Mounjaro and lansoprazole directly affect the stomach, which could lead to more GI-related side effects.
Mounjaro is a weight-loss injection approved for people with obesity. At the same time, lansoprazole is a proton pump inhibitor (PPI) used in treating gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and other acid-related conditions.
Mounjaro will only be prescribed alongside lansoprazole if your BMI is in the eligible range. If your BMI is in the healthy range, you won’t be prescribed Mounjaro as it will lead to unnecessary weight loss.
Mounjaro and lansoprazole may be beneficial together, as excess body fat and obesity can contribute to the development and severity of symptoms in conditions that lansoprazole is used to treat.
If you applied for a Mounjaro prescription with Second Nature’s Mounjaro weight-loss programme, the clinical team would review your situation and provide any necessary guidance.
We also recommend telling your GP if you start taking Mounjaro alongside other prescription medications like lansoprazole.
What is lansoprazole?
Lansoprazole is a proton pump inhibitor (PPI). It’s primarily used to treat conditions related to excess stomach acid, such as heartburn, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and ulcers.
Lansoprazole turns down the production of acid in your stomach. This provides relief from uncomfortable symptoms and allows damaged tissues to heal.
Lansoprazole targets and blocks a specific enzyme in the stomach lining responsible for acid production.
By doing so, lansoprazole reduces the amount of acid your stomach produces, which can help alleviate symptoms like burning sensations in the chest or throat, difficulty swallowing, and stomach pain.
While lansoprazole is generally well-tolerated, it can lead to side effects like diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting, and headache.
What is Mounjaro?
Mounjaro supports weight loss by mimicking two hormones in the body, GLP-1 and GIP, that communicate with the brain’s appetite control centre, the hypothalamus, to lower hunger and food-seeking behaviour.
By lowering hunger and our desire to eat, Mounjaro helps us eat fewer calories to achieve a calorie deficit.
A calorie deficit is when we consume fewer calories than our body needs to fuel its essential functions, like digestion, blood flow, and brain function.
By creating a calorie deficit, our bodies will ‘burn’ the excess fat stored for energy, and we’ll lose weight.
Mounjaro also slows down the rate at which we digest food so that our stomach and gut send signals to the brain to signal the feeling of fullness.
So, Mounjaro supports weight loss by making us feel less hungry through two mechanisms:
- Communicating with the brain’s appetite control centre
- Slowing the rate that food is digested
Randomised controlled trials have shown that Mounjaro leads to an average weight loss of around 26% after one year.
Why take Mounjaro and lansoprazole together?
Lansoprazole is used to treat acid-related conditions like gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), which is strongly associated with obesity and excess body fat.
For example, research has shown that people with a BMI over 30 have a 94% greater risk of developing GERD and its related symptoms compared to those with a BMI below 25.
Increased abdominal pressure and chronic inflammation are two reasons why people living with obesity may experience a greater risk of developing GERD and other acid-related disorders.
Clinical studies have also shown a dose-dependent relationship between weight loss and GERD. This means that the more significant weight loss achieved, the greater the reduction in GERD-related symptoms.
Therefore, taking Mounjaro, which induces significant weight loss of up to 26%, could work synergistically with omeprazole to reduce GERD symptoms via different mechanisms.
Reducing body fat, particularly visceral fat, which secretes pro-inflammatory molecules linked to GERD, could significantly improve the condition for people living with it.
Take home message
It’s important to consider the risks and rewards when taking any medication, particularly when considering combining multiple at the same time.
As Mounjaro is a new medication, it’s challenging to know which other medications it may interact with.
Over time, we’ll establish a clearer understanding of what medications are appropriate to take with Mounjaro and which aren’t.
Still, there are no known interactions between Mounjaro and lansoprazole and it’s considered safe to combine them if your BMI is over 30.
We’d recommend letting your doctor know if you start taking Mounjaro alongside lansoprazole.
Second Nature’s medication programmes
Second Nature has two medication-supported programmes: a Wegovy weight-loss programme and a Mounjaro weight-loss programme.
Why should you choose Second Nature over other medication providers if you’ve decided to try Mounjaro or Wegovy (assuming you’re eligible)?
For peace of mind.
Second Nature has worked with the NHS for over 6 years, providing weight-loss programmes across the UK.
While our Wegovy and Mounjaro weight-loss programmes are private and not currently used by the NHS, we’ve built the programmes focusing on scientific evidence, patient safety, and data security.
We hope that our 6+ years of working with the NHS and building a track record of effective weight-loss results will give you peace of mind to give us a try.
