Mounjaro and Alcohol

Mounjaro is an injectable weight loss treatment and it is also used to treat type 2 diabetes. It contains the active ingredient tirzepatide, which works to reduce your appetite so that you feel full from eating less food. Tirzepatide can also help control blood sugar levels.

Multiple studies have observed that alcohol drinkers are more likely to be overweight or obese than non-alcohol or light alcohol drinkers – for example, rates of obesity are 21% higher in heavy drinkers than non-drinkers.

There’s many reasons alcohol contributes to weight gain, such as:

• adding empty calories to your daily calorie intake – the highest calorie drinks include cocktails, wine, lager, beer, alcopops like WKD, cream or milk-based alcoholic drinks like Baileys and cider
• increasing your appetite, causing you to eat more calories through food and choose unhealthier food options, such as a takeaway or other fast food
• increasing the level of stress hormones, which increase belly fat storage

Extra calories from alcohol

Drinking alcohol means adding ‘empty calories’ (calories that don’t come with nutritional benefits) to your total calorie intake. This can lead to you taking in more calories than you burn during the day. These extra calories are converted to fat and stored in the body which leads to weight gain over time.

The NHS recommends drinking less alcohol to reduce weight gain, reporting that just a standard glass of wine can contain up to 158 ‘empty’ calories, and a pint of lager up to 222 ‘empty’ calories.

Find out more about the calories across a range of drinks in this table:

Source: drinkaware

These numbers vary depending on the strength and type of your drink. For example, if you prefer strong lager, a pint of that will likely be higher in calories. If you prefer a cocktail, they contain many calories, typically from higher sugar levels due to being made with syrups and fruit juices.

Alcohol can influence your blood sugar levels in many different ways, whether you’re diabetic or not. When you start metabolising (breaking down) the alcohol in your body through your liver, it stops releasing glucose. This can cause low blood sugar.

On the other hand, drinking things like beer and sweetened drinks that contain a high carbohydrate content may cause high blood sugar levels. If you’re taking Mounjaro to help you manage diabetes, alcohol can affect your treatment and may even be unsafe, so you should speak to your doctor first.

Most often, high alcohol intake, particularly on an empty stomach, lowers your blood sugar levels, causing you to feel:

• lightheaded or dizzy
• shaky
• irritable
• tired

Can alcohol make diabetes symptoms worse?

Yes, you must be careful when consuming alcohol if you are being treated for diabetes.

Studies have found that alcohol consumption can worsen blood sugar control and cause complications:

• If you usually eat well, and have diabetes, drinking alcohol can increase your blood sugar levels and lead to diabetic complications affecting your eyes, nervous system and blood circulation.
• If you do not eat enough food and have diabetes, drinking alcohol can lower your blood sugar to dangerous levels causing hypoglycemia. This can cause symptoms of dizziness, headaches and nausea and you could lose consciousness or be in danger.

If you have any specific concerns about using alcohol if you are diabetic, speak with your doctor or diabetes team.

There is no reported specific interaction between Mounjaro (tirzepatide) and alcohol, but we recommend that you avoid drinking alcohol whilst being treated with Mounjaro.

This is because not only can it lead to low blood sugar side effects, it can limit the success of your weight loss treatment by adding empty calories and increasing your appetite.

What happens if you drink alcohol on Mounjaro?

Drinking on Mounjaro can lead to:

• low blood sugar related side effects
• an increase in the number of calories you take in
• an increase in appetite, possibly causing you to stray from your diet plan

You will likely experience low blood sugar symptoms if you drink alcohol on Mounjaro often, especially if you have diabetes too.

Drinking alcohol can lower your blood sugar, in addition to dehydrating your body, which can worsen other potential side effects of Mounjaro such as nausea (feeling sick).

Due to the fact that both alcohol and Mounjaro have similar side effects, we recommend that if you are taking Mounjaro, it is best to avoid alcohol, especially after a dose increase or if you already get side effects, however manageable.

Drinking alcohol increases your calorie intake and appetite. In order to lose weight, you need to be burning more calories than you’re consuming. Alcohol adds calories to your daily total, which makes losing weight harder. It also can make you hungrier, making it harder to stick to your diet and potentially causing you to eat more calories than you would otherwise.

Is it a contraindication?

No, drinking alcohol is not a contraindication for Mounjaro. However, increased risk of low blood sugar is, particularly if you have diabetes. Be sure to speak with your doctor if you would like more information about drinking alcohol whilst being treated with Mounjaro – they should be able to advise according to your personal health needs.

Does alcohol make Mounjaro less effective?

Drinking alcohol whilst taking Mounjaro does not directly make it less effective. However, because alcohol can lead to you consuming more calories, it can make your overall weight loss plan less effective.

If you’re taking Mounjaro for weight loss and you drink alcohol excessively, you will make it harder to burn off more calories than you’re consuming, making weight loss more difficult or even leading to weight gain.

Due to the effects both alcohol and Mounjaro can have on your body at the same time, drinking alcohol on Mounjaro can lead to a higher chance of:

• low blood sugar related symptoms
• dehydration
• nausea
• vomiting

A common side effect across patients with diabetes and without diabetes when taking Mounjaro is low blood sugar. Drinking alcohol can lower your blood sugar further and in turn, make side effects of Mounjaro worse.

Symptoms of low blood sugar include (but are not specific to, or limited to):

• headache
• drowsiness
• feeling hungry
• dizziness
• irritability
• fast heartbeat
• sweating
• weakness

Dehydration that can be caused by drinking alcohol can also increase symptoms of nausea (feeling sick) and vomiting. These are common side effects of Mounjaro, particularly when you first start your treatment or after you increase your dosage.

In summary, you can drink alcohol while you are being treated with Mounjaro, but it’s not recommended. Drinking excessively when using Mounjaro can make your side effects worse and make it harder to lose weight.

If you’re planning to start or have just started Mounjaro treatment, it’s a good idea to look into ways to cut back on or avoid alcohol altogether, which is recommended in any healthy diet plan.

The NHS and Drinkaware both have plenty of resources and advice to help you better manage your drinking. If you’re receiving treatment through ZAVA, you can message a doctor through your patient account if you have any questions or need support with Mounjaro and drinking.

Whether you’re receiving treatment through ZAVA or not, you should speak with your doctor if you have any personal health-related questions about drinking alcohol during your treatment with Mounjaro or if you need alcohol support.