A woman has opened up about her experience with the weight-loss drug Mounjaro - including the horrible side-effect that made her want to quit taking it altogether.
Initially created to help people with diabetes control their blood sugar levels, GLP-1 drugs such a Mounjaro, Ozempic, and Wegovy, have exploded in use in recent months due to their weight-loss effects.
The weekly glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1) injections help people feel fuller by mimicking a natural hormone released after eating and suppressing the appetite.
However, they're not a quick fix and should only be used when medically indicated - and can come with a host of side-effects, too.
Kelly, who is from the UK, has been sharing her journey with Mounjaro and is currently on a 10mg weekly dose.
She revealed that it had "stopped working" to suppress her appetite, but had made everything taste awful instead.
Sharing a clip of the many things she tried to eat and drink to stave off the hunger, she told her followers: "I feel like this is the side of Mounjaro people don’t see!
"I’m starving but don’t fancy anything!! It is such a struggle! I might actually come off Mounjaro at this point!"
She revealed that she'd started the day with peppermint tea to soothe her stomach from the spicy chicken she'd eaten the night before, and that her lunch of spaghetti bolognese leftover from the week before was the "first thing in days [she'd] actually enjoyed."
Kelly also bought a tray of sushi, Peperami, and an iced coffee, adding: "Had no protein so I felt starving. I thought I made good choices getting this... I've never had sushi before."
She then filmed herself almost gagging as she tried to swallow the sushi, before confirming: "Yeah, it's not for me!"
She then attempted a protein bar and some strawberries, telling her followers: "This was also disgusting and I was just so over it all."
Kelly then added in the comments: "I don’t think people understand my situation, I don’t have suppression, I’m not not eating food because of my dose, the Mounjaro has changed my taste buds.
"I AM HUNGRY and I am able to eat how I used to - I just have different tastes now but I can stomach anything. Nobody understands."
Others also shared their experiences in the comments, writing: "I can’t eat eggs, dairy, meat and fried foods now!!", and: "I feel this!!! 7.5mg - I can be eating my fav meal and all of a sudden it’ll be the worse meal I’ve ever had and I have to stop. Like texture/smell that wouldn’t have bothered me before sends me sick. I loved Lurpak and just the smell of it turns my stomach."
Another added: "Everything tastes so ordinary now," while someone else wrote: "GPL-1 (sic) have also changed my taste buds. I’ve thrown away so much food because they taste slimy or just plain disgusting. Can’t even drink soda like I used to (which is a good thing but still)."
That's not the only issue GLP-1 injections can cause, however, as a nurse called Charlene has revealed another unpleasant side-effect people should be aware of.
She warned that people often experience sulfur burps - which are just as gross as they sound.
Charlene explained: "Basically, with a GLP-1 medication, it slows your digestion. So when your digestion is slowed, food that you consumed is sitting in your stomach for a bit longer, and sometimes that can produce gases, and they have to come up.
"So you end up burping gases from old food and it can be quite nasty and smell quite eggy, not very nice."
She recommended carrying some heartburn medication and some strong mints, as she revealed from personal experience that the sulfur burps tend to last "a day or two" after her injection.
Charlene also recommended finding out which foods trigger your sulfur burps, as heavier foods can seemingly worsen her symptoms, and eating more slowly and chewing your food thoroughly can also help prevent them.
Sitting upright for "at least half an hour to an hour" after eating, staying well hydrated, and going for a walk can also help food move through the digestive tract more efficiently.