"I Lost Weight, But I Don’t Feel Like Myself Anymore"

Losing weight feels empowering and often boosts self-esteem. However, losing weight doesn’t equate to feeling better mentally. Some people who lose weight successfully might not feel entirely like themselves after the weight comes off.

“Well, you do have a heavy sweater and jeans on,” the nurse reassured me while I audibly gasped as soon as I stepped on the scale. It was a chilly November morning when I visited my local urgent care center for debilitating back pain thanks to a raging, unrelenting case of sciatica.

I could barely focus on what the doctor had to say when she entered the examination room. All I could think about was my weight – a frightening number I hadn’t seen before. How did I get here? What had I done over the last few years to pack the pounds on so quickly? The only thing I knew at that moment was that I had to do something.

GLP-1 Medication to the Rescue

It took a few months after this harrowing revelation before I started using GLP-1 (Glucagon-like peptide-1) medication, namely, Mounjaro (tirzepatide). I found a telehealth provider who gave me a prescription after submitting my height, weight, age, and a blood test. I’ll admit, I was a bit hesitant and scared of the potential side effects, mostly nausea (something that I find intolerable).

Once I started taking Mounjaro, the side effects were minimal and the weight slipped off me at breakneck speed. Even when I ate “whatever I wanted to,” I wouldn’t gain – I’d even lose a bit after the evenings my husband and I would go out to a nice restaurant and indulge in rich, heavy meals and a decadent dessert.

Initially, it was my goal to get back to my wedding weight. I had gained a significant amount since our wedding and told myself I’d be happy to just get back to that point. Before I knew it, I was 12 pounds below my wedding weight. After a year of using Mounjaro, I’m now down 45 pounds, which might not be as much weight loss compared to other users, but it’s an incredible victory for me. 

A respectable percentage of people taking Mounjaro lost approximately 15% of their starting body weight after using the medication as prescribed for 72 weeks. After 52 weeks (one full year), I was down by approximately 18% of my original body weight before starting the medication. Although losing weight was a personal success for me, my mind still doesn’t feel quite “right” and to put it bluntly, I don’t feel like myself anymore.

Mounjaro: What’s Changed for Me?

I’m physically smaller now, and my body fits into smaller clothing sizes. This still shocks me every time I get dressed and look in the mirror. Yet somehow, my brain still has a tough time connecting the joy of my weight loss to how I feel in other ways. 

Here are some things that have changed for me since embarking on my GLP-1 weight loss journey.

My Anxiety Is Off the Charts

I never dealt with anxiety before, but I do have attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This makes things a bit more challenging in my professional life as a writer. However, when I took ADHD medication before taking it in conjunction with Mounjaro, I never felt antsy or anxious, just focused and calm. 

Since I started Mounjaro, I get intense bouts of anxiety that occasionally make it difficult for me to focus and to feel at ease in general. I spend most of my day writing with deadlines dangling above my head, and piling on the anxiety makes my otherwise typical daily tasks difficult to manage. I feel burnt out and overwhelmed at the end of the day, and it sticks with me until I finally fall asleep.

Ironically, one study found that patients with diabetes who took GLP-1 medications had a lower likelihood of being diagnosed with depression and anxiety.

Insomnia Upends My Days

I’ve suffered from insomnia since I was a child. Sure, I have decent stretches when I sleep just fine, but when I don’t, the following day is hell. When I entered perimenopause, the insomnia started coming back in intense and brutal waves.

Once I started taking Mounjaro, I noticed that I tend to have sleepless nights on the evening of my weekly dose. Now I have to diligently plan when I take the medication, or else I’ll suffer the next day. Whenever I pair a night of little to no sleep with anxiety, it’s disastrous and can derail my day entirely.

The Anhedonia Is Real

It’s not set in stone, but some healthcare professionals theorize that GLP-1 drugs may directly interact with dopamine in the brain. Those dopamine receptors are what give you a feeling of satisfaction or reward. Although this may show that GLP-1 drugs have the potential to help people dealing with addiction, it might not work for people like me.

You see, since I’ve started taking Mounjaro, I don’t feel the same feelings of joy or elation that I once did. Things I used to get excited about barely make a blip on my radar. I wouldn’t say I’m depressed, but I would say it feels similar to anhedonia, an inability to experience joy or pleasure that makes me feel numb. You’d think it would be the opposite since losing the weight, but I constantly feel like I’m in a heavy mental fog that blocks sheer delight from my view.

Before taking this medication, I’d get giddy about the little things in life. Whether it was a friend coming to town to visit me or exciting dinner plans with my husband, those small yet personally significant things have sadly lost their shine. Of all the changes I’ve felt, this one has impacted me the most profoundly.

How I'm Coping

I still take Mounjaro once a week and don’t plan to stop until my doctor advises me to do so. However, I am doing a few things to try and mitigate these new changes in my mental health:

• I’m going to bed earlier to give myself more time to unwind and fall asleep.
• I’ve started practicing mindfulness like walking outside in the sunshine with my dog more often to help me feel calmer and more grounded.
• I make notes (mental and written) about what I’m grateful for, which helps me overcome the nagging feelings of numbness due to anhedonia.
• I take Mounjaro at night rather than in the morning since it takes a few hours to “kick in” for me.

While the maker of Mounjaro lists its side effects as only physical, I can say with confidence that this medication has had a profound impact on the way I feel mentally, too.