Mounjaro is a new medication used to manage blood sugar levels in people who have type 2 diabetes. This medication offers weight loss and cardiovascular benefits, which can also help with insulin resistance.
Mounjaro is a relatively new diabetes medication used to help improve blood sugar and A1C levels in people with type 2 diabetes.
However, many people are not familiar with exactly what the medication is, what it does, and if it can really help with insulin resistance.
This article explores everything you need to know about Mounjaro as it relates to insulin resistance.
Mounjaro is the name brand for the Eli Lilly-manufactured drug tirzepatide. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved it in 2022 for managing blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes.
It’s the first medication available in the United States that
Specifically, Mounjaro can help with insulin resistance in a few ways.
This medication
It also stops your liver from releasing sugar into the blood, resulting in lower blood sugar levels.
While not FDA approved as a weight loss drug, it
Another drug, Zepbound, which contains the same active ingredient, tirzepatide, gained FDA approval as a weight loss medication on November 2023. Despite Zepbound and Mounjaro both being tirzepatide-based medications, each product has its own FDA indication.
Mounjaro may sometimes be prescribed off-label (doctor-prescribed use other than what it is FDA-approved to treat) to help people with insulin resistance lose weight, even if they do not have diabetes.
Whether or not you have diabetes, when you lose weight, your insulin resistance improves.
Experiencing better blood sugar levels without lows and losing weight can lead to improved insulin sensitivity.
While there is no best drug for improving insulin resistance, many drugs can treat the root causes of insulin resistance. These may include obesity, type 2 diabetes, and a sedentary lifestyle.
The
You can discuss treatment options with your healthcare team. They can help you determine whether a different GLP-1 agonist medication like Ozempic, Victoza, or Trulicity might be best for you or whether a combination GLP-1 and GIP medication like Mounjaro might work best.
Comparing other medications
You can read about other medications that can help with weight loss, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes here.
Mounjaro may help people without diabetes lower their insulin resistance and lose weight.
However, since it is not FDA approved as a stand-alone weight loss medication, you may experience challenges in trying to get a healthcare professional to prescribe it for that off-label use. Many health insurance plans may also not cover the cost of the drug.
Unlike Mounjaro, the brand name medication Zepbound is now approved for weight loss.
While many health insurance plans will not cover the cost of Zepbound, the manufacturer offers a savings card to help patients afford it. If a person’s insurance covers some of the cost, then they may pay as little as $25 a month for the drug.
This offer does not work with government funded benefits like Medicare/Medicaid.
Whether or not you have diabetes, medications like Mounjaro can improve insulin resistance, aid in the lowering of blood sugar and A1C levels, and may help with weight loss.
- 12 pounds (lb) more than participants on the GLP-1 medication (semaglutide)
- 29 lb more than participants on insulin degludec
- 27 lb more than participants on insulin glargine
Mounjaro stimulates insulin production, helping to improve insulin resistance. It acts on GLP-1 and GIP, both of which are in low concentration in a fasting state. Once someone eats, GLP-1 and GIP act on pancreatic cells to create an insulin response.
In an insulin resistant person, glucose is not being well absorbed, so the pancreas will try to make more insulin to compensate even though the body can’t use it well. If the body can’t use glucose, then one feels hungry.
Tirzepatide’s GLP-1/GIP agonism makes the body more sensitive to insulin so that the insulin can do its job to utilize glucose for energy and decrease the feelings of hunger, thereby decreasing appetite and food intake.
When hormones like insulin and glucagon are released in the body, it reduces hunger, decreases appetite and food intake, and makes you feel fuller for longer, all resulting in weight loss.
More research needs to be done to test the efficacy of Mounjaro as a preventive measure against prediabetes and type 2 diabetes.
However, given its strong effectiveness on weight loss and insulin sensitivity, it may be helpful in preventing the weight gain and insulin resistance that often accompany a prediabetes or type 2 diabetes diagnosis.
In a post hoc analysis of tirzepatide’s SURMOUNT-1 trial, it was found that tirzepatide significantly lowered the 10 year predicted risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Additionally, in participants with prediabetes, tirzepatide had a significant impact on risk reduction.
Additionally, In the same SURMOUNT-1 clinical trial, tirzepatide was shown to have a significant effect on prediabetes. After 72 weeks, 95.3% of participants with prediabetes had reverted to normal glucose levels.
Additionally, along with diet and physical activity, such as exercise, Mounjaro may help with reversing prediabetes and may even help people in weaning or getting off their type 2 diabetes medications, but this largely remains to be seen.
Mounjaro is a new drug approved for people 18 years and older with type 2 diabetes. It can help improve insulin resistance, as well as aid in weight loss and improve blood sugar and A1C levels.
It is currently only FDA approved for treatment in people living with type 2 diabetes. However, more and more people are taking it off-label. It’s important to note that you should never take Mounjaro if your healthcare team has not approved it and provided a prescription.
You can consult your doctor and healthcare team about any questions related to Mounjaro and whether it may help improve your health.
