Constipation on Mounjaro - A Well-Known Side Effect
You might have already heard of it, you might already suffer from it or you might dread it - constipation on Mounjaro is real. Even in small and atarter dosages, constipation might occur and can be really unpleasant. Here are some guidelines and measures to manage it.
An unpleasant topic per se
Sure, nobody is very fond of talking about “poop issues”, but a) it simply is a biological process b) can happen to anyone and c) is something that can be avoided or at least made manageable.
What causes constipation and why does it happen specifically with weightloss medications?
Simple put, most weightloss drugs like Mounjaro, Wegovy or Ozempic work by slowing gastric emptying, making your digestion processes slower and keeping you full for longer.
Many obese or morbidly obese people have dietary habits that do not exactly benefit a well working digestion anyways and this gets amplified when on GLP-1s or Tirzepatide:
- not enough fiber (or none at all)
- not enough hydration and the wrong fluids
- not enough movement after meals
Those are just three bad habits that might work out for someone not on weightloss meds but might become a problem fast as soon as Mounjaro is in play.
The weightloss drug slows gastric processes (means your digestion) and not properly “lubricated” food will pass your intestinal tract less easy, thus causing constipation.
Lubrication can happen by properly hydrating (which means drinking a lot more than usual for most people), consuming chia seeds (which form a gel around food and help with movement), timing your fiber intake especially when you are not used to eating much more fiber (which you should) as well as preparing your foods in a more gut-friedly way (e.g. steaming vegetables instead of eating them raw).
Help! It is already too late!
Break out the comics, the toilet meeting will take longer! 🤡
Jokes aside, constipation is no fun and can even hurt you or at least have some pretty drastic health consequences. But what to do if it is already happening?
Hydrate like hell
I mean it: drink a lot more water than usual (most obese or morbidly obese people drink way to small amounts), skip soft drinks and shoot for water and, if your doctor permits, electrolytes. This helps smooth things and lubricate naturally.
Food Choices & Natural Supplements
Stuff like the aforementioned Chia seeds as well as Psyllium husk can also help with digestion. Also skip raw veggies for cooked or better yet steamed choices, this also makes your gut happier!
Emergency OTC medication
If everything else fails, there are over-the-counter meds based on polyethylene glycol (in the US brands like Miralax, in Spain one of those is called Movicol) that are stimulant free. This is important to not have unpleasant side effects or - even worse - get used to those. Make sure to only take in emergencies and a minium viable dose because you don’t want your gut to keep dependent on meds to do its job, right?
Thanks for reading!