Coming off your weight loss medication safely (Mounjaro)

Coming off Mounjaro is generally done by stepping down one dose at a time, with a minimum of one month on each strength. 5mg, 10mg and 15mg doses are all licensed maintenance doses, so you can stay on these for longer if you want to maintain your weight loss before stepping down further.  However once you reach a healthy BMI (25 and below) our prescribers would advise you to step down to the lowest effective maintenance dose. The aim is to lessen side effects and give you time to lean on the healthy habits you have built.

Who this applies to

This article applies to patients currently on Mounjaro who are ready to come off the medication, whether because they have reached a healthy BMI, want to try managing without the medication, or have been advised to step down by the doctors. For patients on Wegovy, see the separate Wegovy coming-off article.

The principle: step down one dose at a time

Coming off Mounjaro mirrors going up: one dose at a time, with a minimum of one month on each strength (although you may be able to step down 2 doses at a time if deemed clinically appropriate for you by the prescriber). Going faster than that increases the chance of side effects and makes it harder to settle into life without the medication.

When you reach a healthy BMI (25 and below), the doctors will request that you start stepping down on that current order to the lowest effective maintenance dose.

The maintenance dose

5mg, 10mg and 15mg are maintenance doses for Mounjaro. If you have reached a healthy weight and want to maintain it, you can stay on the lowest effective maintenance dose for an extended period, unless there is a clinical reason to step down.

If you continue to lose weight while on a maintenance dose, the doctors will ask you to step down to the next lowest maintenance dose or if you are on the 5mg dose currently to 2.5mg. If you continue to lose weight on 2.5mg having reached your healthy goal weight, the doctors will no longer be able to prescribe to you.

If you have stayed at the same weight on 5mg for at least a month and you feel ready to stop, you can step down to 2.5mg before coming off entirely.

Why step down rather than stop suddenly

Stepping down does two things:

• It lessens any side effects that might come with a sudden change.
• It gives you time to strengthen the healthy habits you have built up (water, food patterns, movement) and put them more into practice as the medication's help reduces.

If your weight starts coming back

If you have a gap in treatment of up to 2 weeks, you may be able to continue on the dose you were previously taking after completion of an online consultation.

If you have stopped Mounjaro and start to gain weight again, you could potentially re-start the medication if you are an exisitng customer of Oxford Online Pharmacy, have a BMI above 25 and there has been less than a 6 week period since your last injection.  

If it has been longer than 6 weeks since you came off, you will need to restart from the beginning with a fresh assessment but you will need a BMI of over 30 (or over 27 with one or more co-morbidities) to be able to restart on the weight loss journey.

Common scenarios

• You have reached a healthy BMI and the doctors have asked you to start stepping down. Move to the next dose down on your next order.
• You have been on a maintenance dose for several months and feel ready to come off. Step down month by month to 2.5mg for a month before stopping.
• You came off Mounjaro a month ago and your weight is coming back up. Place a new order; if you are within 6 weeks and your BMI is 25 or over, you may be able to resume with us.

What to do next

When you are ready to step down, place your next order at the lower strength and complete the consultation. The doctors will review and confirm. If you are unsure which strength to drop to, contact us with your current dose and how long you have been on it. Please note you will be generally advised to go down one strength at a time, but the prescriber will consider stepping down 2 doses if clinically appropriate for you.

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