{"id":248303,"date":"2026-01-16T19:25:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T19:25:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/248303\/"},"modified":"2026-01-16T19:25:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T19:25:15","slug":"i-tried-to-quit-mounjaro-and-will-have-to-pay-200-a-month-for-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/248303\/","title":{"rendered":"‘I tried to quit Mounjaro and will have to pay \u00a3200 a month for life’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kelly says as soon as she stopped she started to pile the weight back onNeil Shaw<\/a> Assistant Editor (Money and Lifestyle)<\/p>\n

07:07, 15 Jan 2026Updated 09:34, 16 Jan 2026<\/p>\n

A woman who lost over four stone by taking Mounjaro said she will now have to stay on the weight loss medication for life \u2013 after piling the pounds back on after trying to live without it. Kelly Parish had been thrilled with her results after using the drug, but had hoped she could stop relying on it to maintain her size 12 figure.<\/p>\n

The 32-year-old weaned herself off of the drug, but suffered with \u201cinsane\u201d food noise and her old eating habits rapidly returned \u2013 leading to a 9lb weight gain within weeks. Now, she is facing the \u00a3200-a-month fee for life to ensure she doesn\u2019t fall back into her old ways.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt took about 20 days or so to be out of my system, and during that time I was struggling,\u201d said Kelly, a talent executive from Sunderland. \u201cI had it in my head to count calories so I wouldn\u2019t overeat, but the food noise was insane. \u201cI was able to eat exactly as I had before Mounjaro.<\/p>\n

\"Kelly<\/p>\n

Kelly before her weight loss (Jam Press)(Image: )<\/p>\n

\u201cI was trying to my best to eat well and weigh myself, but I was caving in and eating 12-inch pizzas again. I felt like a child who didn\u2019t have a parent telling them what I had to do because I didn\u2019t have Mounjaro holding my hand anymore.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt felt liberating being free, but I soon gained 9lbs. I was constantly battling voices in my head saying \u2018Go back on Mounjaro\u2019, \u2018Don\u2019t go back on \u2013 people will think you\u2019re a failure\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kelly was stumped as to why she was gaining weight, ad she was still being active in the gym, but late-night snacking proved to be her downfall. She said: \u201cWhen I was on Mounjaro this was non-existent, but after coming off I had cravings for desserts and sweet things \u2013 which is not like me at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kelly decided to go back to the costly drug in October 2025. She said: \u201cI was putting it off because the prices had skyrocketed and I felt proud telling people I didn\u2019t need it.<\/p>\n

\"Kelly<\/p>\n

Kelly before her weight loss (Jam Press)(Image: )<\/p>\n

\u201cBut, in reality, I did. I came to grips with the fact I had used it wrongly. When I was [first] on Mounjaro, I was relying on it way too much, and struggled going to the gym because cardio and strength-training requires you to eat the right amount of calories and high protein.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d struggled to get the balance right. I went back on it with a different approach. Instead of racing through the doses, I was going to use it as a guide \u2013 while still counting calories and exercising \u2013 and was only going to use it as a helping hand.\u201d<\/p>\n

She started back on the lowest dose and stayed on that for some time to allow her body to adjust, before upping it to 5mg \u2013 which she has since remained on. Kelly said: \u201cI\u2019m probably going to be on Mounjaro for life. But it\u2019s manageable \u2013 I\u2019m not relying on it, but it helps.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can eat my daily calories with no issue, and Mounjaro stops me going over them. Since taking it again, my sweet cravings have stopped, and I\u2019ve lost a stone \u2013 including the weight I had put back on \u2013 so I\u2019m happy.<\/p>\n

\"Kelly<\/p>\n

Kelly is happy with her new body (Jam Press)(Image: )<\/p>\n

\u201cI pay \u00a3200 per month on instalment plans, but that would go on takeaways if it wasn\u2019t for Mounjaro! I\u2019d rather be on it for life than be overweight. My health is my first priority, and at least I\u2019m paying for it myself so it doesn\u2019t affect anyone else.<\/p>\n

The mum had been at risk of developing type 2 diabetes before trying Mounjaro, weighing over 15-and-a-half stone and wearing a size 18. She had struggled to lose weight for over a decade, but found the pounds dropped off of her after starting the weight loss medication in October 2024, and by July 2025 she was down to a comfortable 11st 7lbs.<\/p>\n

But the drug didn\u2019t come without downsides, with Kelly struggling to enjoy food. She said at the time: \u201cIt has completely changed my taste buds. \u201cI have gone off the taste of food. When I eat, it\u2019s because I need it \u2013 and not because I enjoy the taste. It gets to around 1pm and my belly will rumble, and I\u2019m aware that I\u2019m hungry, but when I make myself a meal \u2013 no matter what it is \u2013 as soon as I have a bite, I\u2019m instantly put off.<\/p>\n

\"Kelly<\/p>\n

Kelly wants to stay a size 12 (Jam Press)(Image: )<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of a sudden, I feel full and don\u2019t like the taste of what I\u2019m eating. If I\u2019m eating a ham sandwich, all I taste is the bread and meat \u2013 but I won\u2019t enjoy the combination. Whereas when I was overweight, I was eating sandwiches and multipacks of crisps in between meals.<\/p>\n

\u201cI used to be able to eat, and eat, and eat without ever being full or satisfied. I would eat dinner and order a takeaway straight after! I ate purely for enjoyment. Everything that touched my lips was the best thing I\u2019d eaten \u2013 and now even a takeaway pizza, which was my go-to, doesn\u2019t taste the same.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kelly says as soon as she stopped she started to pile the weight back onNeil Shaw Assistant Editor…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":248304,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[103,61,60,371,1912,2114],"class_list":{"0":"post-248303","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-medication","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-ie","10":"tag-ireland","11":"tag-medication","12":"tag-prescriptions","13":"tag-weight-loss"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248303","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=248303"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248303\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/248304"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=248303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=248303"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=248303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}