Mounjaro “Golden” 5th Dose: What You Need To know

You may have heard of the phrase “Mounjaro golden dose”, but what exactly does it mean? Mounjaro is a popular weight loss injection containing the active ingredient tirzepatide and is available in a pre-filled pen with 4 doses. The 5th dose refers to the leftover liquid after all the doses have been administered.

There have been reports of people using the Moujaro golden dose as an extra 5th dose. Here, we explain what the golden dose of Mounjaro is, and why it isn’t safe.

The Mounjaro golden dose refers to the remaining liquid in the injection pen after all 4 Mounjaro doses have been administered. It is also referred to as the 5th dose of Mounjaro. It is not an official term and has been informally adopted by some people who have tried to inject the remaining liquid as an addition to the standard 4 doses.

Each Mounjaro Kwikpen contains 4 doses of 0.6ml each. A small amount of liquid is included in each pen to make sure there is enough to prime the pen before each dose, which means you may have some Mounjaro-containing liquid leftover after you have injected all of the doses.

Is there a golden dose for Mounjaro?

No, there is no such thing as a golden or 5th dose for Mounjaro. Each Mounjaro pen delivers 4 doses, which is equivalent to 1 per week. The leftover liquid in the pen after all the doses have been administered must not be injected and is not an extra dose.

The Mounjaro golden dose is considered unsafe because it is not intended for injection. Because some of the liquid is lost each time you prime the injection pen, it is unlikely that the same amount of liquid is left after you have injected the 4 standard doses. So, there is no way of telling how much Mounjaro you are injecting as a 5th dose.

Injecting the Mounjaro golden dose can mean you:

• could get a much smaller dose than you should be, interfering with the usual Mounjaro dosing schedule and impacting your weight loss progress
• take too much Mounjaro if you take it on top of your normal dose, increasing the chance of side effects like feeling or being sick, diarrhoea, and constipation
• are more likely to get an infection because each Mounjaro pen expires after 30 days, so the medication may no longer be sterile

Mounjaro is injected once per week. You’ll start on the lowest 2.5mg per week dose, which gradually increases until you reach the maximum 15mg per week dose. This helps your body get used to the active ingredient and minimises the chance of side effects.

▶ Learn more about the Mounjaro dosage schedule in our detailed guide.

Mounjaro’s manufacturer, Eli Lilly, has announced it will reduce the amount of medication in each KwikPen, so the Mounjaro golden dose will no longer exist. Although there will be enough liquid to prime the pen and administer the 4 doses, there will not be enough to attempt a 5th dose.

The timeline for when the new, non-golden-dose Mounjaro pens will be available is not yet known. However, in the meantime, you should use your pen exactly as prescribed by your doctor. That means injecting Mounjaro once every week for 4 weeks and then disposing of it properly after the 4th dose.

If you are unsure about how to inject Mounjaro, speak to your doctor or pharmacist for more help.

If you are not getting the results you expected with Mounjaro, attempting to inject a golden dose is tempting, but it is unsafe. Instead, there are other things you can do to help kickstart your weight loss journey.

If you’re not losing weight on Mounjaro or your progress is slow, it could be because:

• it’s too early to see results – if you have only just started the medication, it can take up to 12 weeks for you to start noticing the benefits
• you have not reached the maximum dose yet – the highest doses are the most effective, with clinical trials reporting that the average weight loss on the highest 15mg/week dose is 22.5% after 72 weeks
• you haven’t changed your lifestyle – Mounjaro will not work on its own; you must make changes to your diet and lifestyle, such as following a calorie-controlled diet and increasing the amount of exercise you do to help you hit a calorie deficit
• you’ve hit a weight loss plateau – if you were making progress on Mounjaro and that’s suddenly stopped, you may have hit a weight loss plateau, a common effect of weight loss where you lose water very quickly at the start of your journey, but losing fat is a slower process, and you may need to adjust your diet and exercise plan to suit
• poor lifestyle habits are hindering progress – factors like alcohol, sleep, and stress can slow your metabolism, increase your appetite, and make you crave unhealthy foods

When using Mounjaro for weight loss, it is vital that you eat the right foods to support your progress and minimise the chance of side effects. Some of our top tips when it comes to devising a Mounjaro diet plan are:

If you have addressed all the above points, it may be that Mounjaro isn’t the right weight loss medication for you. Our switching service can help you switch from Mounjaro to Wegovy quickly and conveniently, all under the guidance of one of our registered doctors.