- A clinical trial patient said Mounjaro helped her lose over 100 pounds and maintain healthy habits.
- Also known as tirzepatide, it works similarly to meds like semaglutide by controlling appetite.
- Some evidence suggests it could be even more effective by acting on multiple hunger hormones.
A game-changing medication called semaglutide, better know by brand names Ozempic and Wegovy, has been trending for its impressive weight loss results since 2021 — but one 47-year-old woman told Insider she lost over 100 pounds on a drug that could be even more effective.
Known as tirzepatide, or by the brand name Mounjaro, the medication has a similar action as semaglutide in helping to regulate appetite, but a recent clinical trial suggests patients could lose up to 5% more weight.
Tara Rothenhoefer, of Florida, was a patient in one of those studies, and said she lost over 100 pounds tirzepatide after a lifelong struggle with yo-yo dieting.
Rothenhoefer went from 342 to 210 pounds during the 18-month trial, and later was able to lose even more after obtaining a prescription once the trial ended.
"Mounjaro completely changed my life," she said. "The biggest benefit is reducing the food noise. I learned I don't need to eat everything on my plate, and I've never had that feeling before."
Mounjaro works similarly to Ozempic, but with an added effect
Tirzepatide is part of a class of medications (including semaglutide) that act on a hormone called GLP-1, which controls appetite. The family of drugs can help patients feel more full after eating and slow digestion, helping people lose weight by eating less.
The difference between tirzeaptide and semaglutide is that the former is known as a dual-agonist, which means it also acts on another insulin-related hormone called GIP. The additional effect could explain why some evidence suggests tirzepatide causes greater weight loss than semaglutide.
Both medications were originally designed to treat diabetes. However, semaglutide was approved for weight loss in 2021 under the brand name Wegovy — the version used to treat diabetes is called Ozempic, though that name has also become associated with weight loss thanks to social media trends. Tirzepatide is still in the process of receiving the FDA's approval as a weight-loss treatment, which means it can't yet be marketed for that purpose, although doctors can still prescribe it if they think it will help patients.
Rothenhoefer said the medication cut out 'food noise' and helped jump start healthy habits
When Rothenhoefer signed on to the clinical trial in 2020, she was told up front that she had a 25% chance of getting the medication instead of a placebo. She initially felt no difference after the first injection. Then, about three days later, she realized eating had abruptly lost its appeal.
From there, Rothenhoefer lost about 80 pounds in the first six months.
"All of the sudden, I realized I wasn't hungry, nor was I thinking about food," she said. "I was floored. I was steadily seeing weight coming off, but almost felt like I was cheating."
But her success wasn't without effort. She was meticulously following the advice of a nutritionist throughout the clinical trial, eating smaller portions, getting more protein, and moving more frequently. The difference was that she no longer felt deprived by her new routine or overwhelmingly tempted by foods like cake, cookies, or donuts, or persistence thoughts about eating sometimes known as "food noise."
While some people on tirzepatide and similar medications struggle with side effects including stomach cramps, nausea, or diarrhea, she said experienced only a headache and mild gastrointestinal issues that resolved after a week or two of starting the weekly injections.
Rothenhoefer said that prior to taking the medication, she had been struggling with her weight and dieting for decades. She started her first diet program, Weight Watchers, at age 13, and then spent years going on and off of it, losing weight only to regain it again. She had similar experiences with other weight-loss strategies like following a low-carb, high-fat keto diet, and taking phentermine, an appetite-suppressing medication.
"Every time you gain back what you lost, and a little more," she said.
Mounjaro's cost could put it out of reach for many patients
When the trial Rothenhoefer was part of ended in October 2021, she was just shy of her goal weight of 200 pounds. Without the medication, she found her weight slowly creeping back up, gaining 18 pounds over the course of the year until she was able to access tirzepatide again through an online prescriber.
Now having lost a total of 176 pounds, Rothenhoefer said she may soon be unable to afford tirzepatide. With a major manufacturer's discount, she pays $25 a month now, which will balloon to over $1,000 per month when the coupon expires in June.
However, she isn't interested in other medications like semaglutide: "When I already had the best, why would I go backward?" she said.
Patients who stop taking tirzepatide and similar medications will regain the weight they've lost, obesity medicine experts previously told Insider.
To help buy herself more time, Rothenhoefer said she's been ordering the maximum amount she can (a four-week supply every three weeks) to stockpile the extra.
She hopes to eventually transition off of it and maintain her weight through healthy habits, knowing it may be an ongoing challenge.
"I don't want to be on it forever. I'm not generally a medication person. I don't even like to take a Tylenol," she said. "I don't ever see myself being the person I was three years ago but I know it's going to be an everyday struggle for the rest of my life."
Rothenhoefer also hoped others will benefit from hearing her story — and from her part in the clinical trial, which has helped propel tirzepatide toward the next stage in eventual FDA-approval for weight loss.
"It took people like me to put myself out there for it to be available to anyone else. If it didn't take a leap of faith, I wouldn't even know what I was missing," she said.