Jump to: What is a thyroidectomy? | What is Mounjaro? | Why take Mounjaro after thyroidectomy? | Take home message
You can take Mounjaro (tirzepatide) if you’ve had your thyroid removed (thyroidectomy) and your BMI is over 27. There are no known interactions between Mounjaro and thyroid replacement medications like levothyroxine.
However, living without a thyroid affects your metabolism and can make weight management more challenging. Your thyroid hormone levels must be stable and well-controlled with medication before starting Mounjaro.
No clinical trials have specifically investigated Mounjaro’s effectiveness in people without a thyroid.
However, the significant weight loss observed in randomised controlled trials for participants on Mounjaro suggests it could be beneficial for this population.
If you take Mounjaro after thyroidectomy, it’s essential to:
- Continue your thyroid replacement medication exactly as prescribed
- Work closely with your healthcare team to adjust medications if needed
As you lose weight on Mounjaro, you may need to adjust your thyroid medication dosage. This is normal and should be managed by your healthcare provider.
On Second Nature’s Mounjaro weight-loss programme, the clinical team monitors your progress and response to medication. All members have access to a nutritionist or dietitian five days a week for habit change and diet support.
What is a thyroidectomy?
A thyroidectomy is the surgical removal of all or part of the thyroid gland. This surgery might be necessary for various reasons, including:
- Thyroid cancer
- Enlarged thyroid (goitre)
- Overactive thyroid (Graves’ disease)
- Suspicious thyroid nodules
After thyroidectomy, you’ll need lifelong thyroid hormone replacement therapy to maintain normal metabolism and bodily functions. The most common medication is levothyroxine, which replaces the missing thyroid hormones.
People without a thyroid can maintain normal metabolic function when their hormone replacement is managed correctly.
However, finding the right medication balance can take time, and weight management may be more challenging during this adjustment period.
What is Mounjaro?
Mounjaro is a dual-action weight-loss injection. It supports weight loss by mimicking two hormones, 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 occurs when we consume fewer calories than our body needs to fuel its essential functions, such as 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 after thyroidectomy?
Living without a thyroid can make weight management particularly challenging, even with optimal hormone replacement.
Mounjaro could help by reducing appetite and food cravings while your thyroid medication maintains your metabolic rate.
The medication also helps by slowing down digestion, meaning you’re likely to feel satisfied with smaller portions.
These combined effects may help overcome some of the weight management challenges that often come with thyroidectomy, working alongside your thyroid medication rather than against it.
Before starting Mounjaro, ensuring your thyroid levels are stable and well-controlled is crucial.
Your healthcare team will need to monitor these levels regularly throughout your weight loss journey, as losing weight can affect how much thyroid medication you need.
Take home message
Mounjaro can be taken safely after thyroidectomy when thyroid hormone levels are well-controlled with medication.
Regular monitoring of thyroid levels is essential, as weight loss may affect your medication needs.
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.
