Mounjaro and PCOS

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common condition affecting the ovaries. It usually becomes apparent in your teenage years or early 20s. To be diagnosed with PCOS, you’ll have at least 2 of these features:

1. Irregular periods – Your ovaries do not release eggs every month so you may only have periods every few months, or longer in some people. Your periods may also be different every time, such as sometimes being heavier or lighter, or shorter or longer. This can also make it difficult to get pregnant as you do not know when you’re ovulating.
2. Excess androgen – A higher level of ‘male’ hormones in the body than the average female. This can cause physical signs like excess facial and body hair, acne, and oily skin.
3. Polycystic ovaries – These are fluid-filled sacs (follicles) that surround the eggs in the ovaries and this also causes the ovaries to become enlarged. Despite the name of the condition, these are not cysts.

A GP can diagnose you with PCOS after taking some blood tests, checking your symptoms, and looking at an ultrasound of your ovaries for follicles.

Symptoms of PCOS

PCOS can have many symptoms, and these can range from mild to severe depending on the person.

Common PCOS symptoms include:

• irregular periods, or no periods
• difficulty getting pregnant
• insulin resistance
• weight gain (this can often be linked to insulin resistance)
• excessive hair growth (hirsutism) usually on the face, chest, back, or bottom
• thinning hair or hair loss from the scalp
• oily skin or acne

PCOS is also the most common cause of female infertility.

What causes PCOS?

It’s not known what causes PCOS but it’s usually linked to insulin resistance and abnormal hormone levels. This may be caused by a problem with the ovaries, the glands that produce your hormones, or the part of your brain that controls hormone and insulin production.

PCOS is thought to be hereditary (passed down in families) and there’s an increased chance of having it if you have a mother, sister, or aunt with the condition. There’s currently no cure for PCOS, although it can be managed, usually with lifestyle changes and hormonal contraception.

PCOS and other health conditions

PCOS can increase your chance of developing further health problems, including:

• type 2 diabetes
• depression and mood swings
• high blood pressure
• high cholesterol
• sleep apnoea
• pregnancy complications, such as gestational diabetes, miscarriage, and pre-eclampsia (a type of high blood pressure that can happen during pregnancy)
• obesity
• heart disease, more so in women with obesity and insulin resistance

Mounjaro is a prescription-only injectable medication that contains tirzepatide. It’s prescribed for 2 conditions: weight loss and type 2 diabetes.

You cannot get it specifically for PCOS, although doctors can prescribe it if you meet the other criteria as it may help your symptoms.

How does Mounjaro work?

Mounjaro works by mimicking 2 hormones in your body called incretins. After eating, these hormones usually:

• slow down the emptying of your stomach, increasing feelings of fullness
• regulate your blood sugar levels by improving how your body uses insulin and limiting glucose levels in your blood
• send signals to your brain that you’re full, reducing hunger

When you inject Mounjaro once a week, you get the same effects. This means it can treat obesity by keeping you fuller for longer and reducing your appetite, so you can eat fewer calories without feeling hungry all the time. It also helps with type 2 diabetes by regulating blood sugar levels.

As PCOS cannot be cured, lifestyle changes, weight loss, and medications are used to manage the condition so it has less of an impact on your life. Mounjaro for PCOS can help in several ways, including aiding weight loss and treating insulin resistance, which improves weight maintenance, PCOS symptoms, and fertility.

Mounjaro for weight loss in PCOS

If you have PCOS, you’re more likely to be overweight or obese, and a lot of this is linked to insulin resistance (more on this in the following section).

According to the NHS, even a weight loss of 5% can cause significant improvements in PCOS symptoms. That’s why one of the first treatment options recommended for women with PCOS who are overweight and obese is weight loss.

Mounjaro can help you on your weight loss journey, especially if you have PCOS and have struggled to lose weight despite making lifestyle changes. It’s prescribed alongside a healthy diet and exercise plan to complement your ongoing efforts, helping you manage your weight and PCOS effectively both during and after treatment.

Mounjaro has been proven in clinical trials to cause a weight loss of up to 22.5% from starting weight while taking the maximum dose of 15mg of tirzepatide per week, for 72 weeks. This could cause a significant reduction in body weight for people with PCOS.

Mounjaro for insulin resistance in PCOS

Insulin resistance is estimated to affect 64% of women with obesity and PCOS. This happens because your body cannot use insulin effectively to process the glucose (sugar) in your blood. Insulin resistance makes it harder to lose weight because it leads to a buildup of sugars, which are then stored in your body as fat.

Mounjaro can help with insulin resistance in a few ways.

1. It stops your liver from releasing sugar into your blood.
2. It increases how much insulin your pancreas releases when your blood sugar is rising.
3. It makes your body more sensitive to insulin, so it can use glucose for energy instead of it being stored as fat.
4. It helps reduce body weight by making you feel less hungry, so you can improve insulin resistance.

Improving your blood sugar levels can also lead to feeling less hungry as there aren’t as many spikes in your blood sugar levels to cause cravings. This will also make it easier to maintain a healthy weight.

Mounjaro for fertility in PCOS

A medication often used to treat PCOS is metformin, another type 2 diabetes treatment that can improve fertility levels and insulin sensitivity. Mounjaro is also a type 2 diabetes treatment and although it’s not known whether it can directly improve fertility in women with PCOS, it can improve insulin sensitivity, leading to weight loss and, in turn, improved fertility.

Obesity can make it harder to get pregnant and increases your risk of pregnancy problems. Since PCOS also increases this risk, using Mounjaro to reach a healthy weight before trying for a baby could make the process safer and easier.

Further research needs to be done on fertility and PCOS, but it is likely your doctor will encourage you to lose weight if you have PCOS and want to conceive. This means Mounjaro could be a great treatment to help you speed up the process.

You cannot get Mounjaro for PCOS specifically but you can get it prescribed if you have PCOS and meet the other criteria for taking it. For type 2 diabetes, Mounjaro is only used if other medications like metformin are not working.

How to get Mounjaro for PCOS

You can be prescribed Mounjaro for weight loss if you’re overweight or obese and have been diagnosed with PCOS. To get a prescription for Mounjaro through Asda Online Doctor, you’ll need to meet either of the following criteria:

1. A body mass index (BMI) of 30 or over, also known as obesity, even if you do not have PCOS or another weight-related condition. If you have a BMI of 30 or higher you can still benefit from losing weight with Mounjaro, even if you haven’t been diagnosed with PCOS yet. If you have symptoms of PCOS, you should speak to your doctor about getting a diagnosis.
2. A BMI of between 27 and 30 (also known as overweight), and a weight-related condition such as PCOS, high cholesterol, prediabetes, or heart problems.

You can check your eligibility for Mounjaro through our online assessment. It may not be appropriate for everyone who is overweight or obese with PCOS, as certain medical conditions or medications could make it unsuitable. Your GP or one of our doctors will let you know whether it could be a good option for you.