Expert issues warning over weight loss jab 'risk' as users hit out at 'golden dose' being removed

A health expert has issued a stern warning about the popular Mounjaro 'golden dose' hack.

For those of you who are not up to date with the GIP and GLP-1 receptor agonist-sphere, the 'golden dose' is a popular hack promoted by Mounjaro users looking to get their money's worth from the injectable pens.

Often referred to by its brand name Mounjaro, tirzepatide is administered weekly via an injectable KwikPen and comes loaded with four doses, meaning that patients will go through one pen a month on average.

The medication works by suppressing a person's appetite and slowing digestion, which helps users lose weight.

Each dose of Mounjaro is measured at 0.6ml doses, while the entire pen contains 3ml of medicine.

However, eagle-eyed users online have been quick to notice there is still medication left inside the pen after the four doses have been administered and have come up with innovative ways in how to make the medicine stretch further.

Mounjaro is licesned in the UK for weight-loss reasons (Peter Dazeley/Getty Images)

This procedure is what's known as the 'golden dose' and has seen users resort to removing the leftover medication with a syringe and injecting it into themselves.

However, this is not recommended by manufacturer Eli Lilly, who explains the amount of medicine in the pen is specially designed 'to deliver a fixed volume of Mounjaro solution at each dose'.

"The KwikPen must be discarded after 4 doses or 30 days after first use," the company added.

What have health experts said about the Mounjaro 'golden dose'?

Doctors and health experts have strongly advised Mounjaro patients against attempting to access the so-called 'golden dose'.

"Chasing the so-called 'golden dose' of Mounjaro is risky and could put your health at risk," Thorrun Govind, TV pharmacist and ex-leader of the Royal Society of Pharmacists, explained to The Mirror.

"It's important that medication is only used as prescribed."

Mounjaro pens carry four 0.6ml doses, with users noticing leftover medication (Peter Dazeley via Getty Images)

Meanwhile, Professor Penny Ward, a King's College London pharmaceutical expert, explained to MailOnline that people attempting to extract leftover medicine from their pens are putting themselves at risk.

"They're risking serious side effects from overdosing by doing this — as well as the potential to develop a life-threatening infection," she said. "It's not a good idea at all."

Has the 'golden dose' of Mounjaro been removed?

Mounjaro manufacturer has since confirmed that future pens will carry a reduced dosage in order to deter people from accessing the 'golden dose' – a move which has angered many users.

"A modified KwikPen will be made available globally. While the modified KwikPen has been approved in the UK, the timelines for availability are yet to be determined," an Eli Lilly spokesperson told LADbible.

However the manufactuer will now modify the amount included in pens, angering people who chase the 'golden dose' (Getty Stock Images)

"The initial Mounjaro KwikPen and the modified Mounjaro KwikPen both contain the volume of solution necessary for priming before each injection and the delivery of 4 doses (one dose given weekly). The KwikPen has been modified to reduce the amount of leftover medicine that remains in the KwikPen after 4 doses have been administered."