Content Warning: Discussion of psychiatric medications and issues.
If you are needing help, contact your doctor or call 911 immediately.
I insist you stay on the earth with us!
Watching YouTube, I am beginning to see folks mention that they are experiencing psychological issues because of Mounjaro. Apparently it is a discussion on other forums, too. Mind you, I do not do social media besides YouTube, so have not gone to check things out for myself.
However, I am on five different psychiatric medications, including two antipsychotics, and wanted to talk about my own experiences being on meds while taking both dulaglutide (Trulicity) and tirzepatide (Mounjaro). With this, I will also add my experiences on psych meds after the RNY Gastric Bypass I had in 2001. It’s all relevant.
Psychiatric Medications Post
Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass
I bring this up because in this surgery, there is a delay in gastric emptying that could affect medications. It is a different mechanism than the GLP-1s but still important.
From the Resource Document on Bariatric Surgery and Psychiatric Care:
Recommendations
• Psychiatric medication monitoring is important post-bariatric surgery due to potential reductions in
absorption of psychiatric medications.
• Monitor patients who are receiving psychiatric medications closely for the first 6-12 months given
the risk of toxicity or lack of effect due to decreased drug levels.
• Physicians should consider using standardized tools for symptom evaluation and monitor the
following psychiatric change.
I had zero issues taking psych meds after my RNY. Well, I did have to take one pill at a time with a few minutes inbetween for about six months or so, but psychologically, no difference whatsoever. If I had been on a time-released pill (XL Wellbutrin, for example), I would have been switched to the quicker acting one (SR). It was a long time ago, so don’t remember which Wellbutrin I was on at the time. I take the SR twice a day now.
Trulicity and My Psychological State
First, I didn’t even know what Trulicity did until I had been on it a year and gone off it (changing to Mounjaro) a few weeks later. That’s what I get for not watching TV or being on social media. I actually look at this time as almost a double-blind study of not knowing what I was taking and allowing the medication to do its thing without my projecting or worrying about it. For all I knew, I was on a placebo. Except I lost 86 pounds, so not quite the placebo effect!
Dulaglutide has the delayed stomach emptying just like the other GLP-1s do and I had zero side effects that I can remember. Certainly none of them psychological.
It’s important to note that I live with hallucinations. Cruising through my Navelgazing Writer blog, you will see posts about mania, depression, and a whole lot of hallucinations. I had them on the Trulicity, too, so if you come across a post during my 13 months on Trulicity and see hallucinations, those are normal for me. Not fun sometimes, but normal. Trulicity didn’t make them any worse and did not make them go away.
Mounjaro and My Mental Health… so far
Sure, it’s only been a couple of months, but I have zero thoughts that anything is going to go wrong. Hell’s bells, I had a gastric bypass and am on a GLP-1/GIP that slow my digestion and absorption! Have been for 15 months now and am fine and dandy.
I’m just going to keep cruising along.
I do want to toss in a warning from the FDA:
MOUNJARO delays gastric emptying, and thereby has the potential to impact the absorption of concomitantly administered oral medications. Caution should be exercised when oral medications are concomitantly administered with MOUNJARO.
Believing Others & Hysteria
I do not doubt others’ difficulties, but do want to warn about group hysteria with something as serious as mental health issues. Again, if you are having troubled thoughts, anxiety, or thinking about things you never have before, call your doctor or 911 immediately.
Let’s all get… and stay… healthy!
photo by Barb Herrera