Jump to: What is PCOS? | How could Mounjaro help women living with PCOS? | Take home message
You can take Mounjaro if you’re living with PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) and obesity, as it may help to improve insulin sensitivity, chronic inflammation, and other features of PCOS, like hyperandrogenism.
Researchers have also published a review investigating the potential role of Mounjaro in supporting women living with PCOS.
However, if you’re living with PCOS but are currently at a healthy BMI, you won’t be prescribed Mounjaro as it may lead to unnecessary weight loss.
Additionally, you may need to consider whether Mounjaro interacts with other medications you may be taking.
If you applied for a prescription for Mounjaro with Second Nature, our clinical team would assess this for you.
We’d also recommend you inform your doctor if you start taking Mounjaro to support weight loss if you’re living with PCOS.
What is PCOS?
Polycystic ovary syndrome or polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is an endocrine disorder that affects approximately 5-10% of females of reproductive age. Other health conditions often complicate it.
It can affect how the ovaries work and cause symptoms and complications such as irregular periods and disrupted menstrual cycle, pain, weight gain, excessive hair growth, ovarian cysts, ovulation issues, and infertility.
There’s no known cause of PCOS, but genetic, environmental, and certain lifestyle factors are known to play a role in the development of the condition.
Three common issues occur for women living with PCOS:
- Insulin resistance
- Chronic inflammation
- Weight gain (in some cases)
Our guide on nutrition and PCOS discusses these three areas in more detail. In short, insulin resistance, chronic inflammation, and weight gain are all associated with PCOS due to the hormonal imbalance caused by the condition.
PCOS can make it very challenging to maintain a healthy weight, so weight-loss injections like Mounjaro could be a viable tool to help women living with PCOS lose weight, improve their insulin resistance, and reduce other symptoms associated with the condition.
How could Mounjaro help women living with PCOS?
No trials have been completed directly investigating the impact of Mounjaro (tirzepatide) on women living with PCOS.
However, randomised controlled trials have investigated the impact of another GLP-1 medication similar to Mounjaro, Saxenda.
Saxenda and Mounjaro mimic the hormone GLP-1. GLP-1 communicates directly with the brain to lower food-seeking behaviour and hunger. This lowers our appetite and helps us eat fewer calories, leading to weight loss.
The results of these four randomised controlled trials showed a positive impact of Saxenda (liraglutide) on weight loss and insulin sensitivity.
For example, one study showed that 57% of the participants on liraglutide achieved at least 5% weight loss, compared to 22% of those on a placebo (a saline solution).
This suggests that weight-loss injections may help women living with PCOS lose weight despite the inherent features of the condition that make weight loss particularly challenging.
Mounjaro may prove to be more effective than Saxenda as randomised controlled trials on people living with obesity suggest Mounjaro supports more weight loss.
Studies have shown that Saxenda leads to an average weight loss of 6.4%. Comparatively, Mounjaro leads to a weight loss of up to 26%, depending on the dose.
So, Mounjaro and other GLP-1 medications may support women living with PCOS to lose weight, improve insulin resistance, and lower chronic inflammation.
Take home message
Weight-loss injections are most effective when combined with a healthier lifestyle. They can help kickstart weight loss while you commit to developing healthier habits.
Mounjaro and other weight loss injections, like Ozempic and Wegovy, can allow you to make lifestyle changes to support long-term weight loss.
These medications can help silence food-related thoughts and give you a boost of confidence with more immediate weight-loss results.
They can also buy you the time and headspace to understand why your body may have struggled to lose weight and build new long-term healthy habits.
The core focus of our medication programmes is to calm down the feeling of food noise, lower your cravings, and allow you to build healthier habits to keep the weight off for good.
The ultimate goal is to make losing weight feel second nature.
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.
