James Moorhouse
A woman who lost 23 stone while on Mounjaro has revealed the frustrating side effect she still has to deal with.
Weight loss drugs have become extremely popular in the last year or so, with celebrities such as Jeremy Clarkson and Amy Schumer trying Ozempic, before moving on to Mounjaro.
Although the GLP-1 medications were initially designed as treatment for those with diabetes, people quickly realised that they could do wonders for their weight loss, even if they do have to deal with a lot of side effects.
Mounjaro was recently rolled out by the NHS as a weight loss drug for eligible patients and a woman in the US, who suffers from type 2 diabetes, qualified for the drug after her weight spiralled out of control due to a takeaway addiction.
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Joanna Higgenbottom, a 60-year-old from North Carolina, had been struggling in all her attempts to lose weight, whether it be through diets or clubs such as weight watchers, but she managed to lose 23 stone after being put on the drug in June 2023, in what was a last-ditch attempt by her doctor.
She said: "I became a caretaker for my mother; she struggled with weight later in life, and it bothered her that I was going through the same thing.
"It got to the point where I could not walk through the grocery store without having to stop and catch my breath.
"I made the promise to my mom before she passed that I would get my weight under control."
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Joanna's weight issues were kickstarted by an addiction to takeaways, as during the pandemic she was ordering from DoorDash daily and spending between $600 and $800 (£470–£625) each month.
She added: "I didn't even have to leave the house."
"I was able to stay at home and save the embarrassment of being looked at by people due to my size."
Although the drug has been a huge success and helped her to transform her life, as she went from 35st (490lbs) to 11st 10lbs (164lbs), she was left with a painful reminder of her old issues, with excess skin a real problem.
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Loose skin can be a problem when someone rapidly loses a large amount of weight.
She said: "My skin hang was so severe it hung so low, I had to tuck my skin into my underwear to even be able to go walking.
"It was so frustrating to lose all that weight and have a constant reminder of how big I used to be."
But in July 2025, Joanna underwent skin removal surgery to get rid of 8 1/2 pounds of excess skin - and now feels 'cute and confident' for 'the first time in my life'.
She said: "Now I have the confidence to try new things, I went to an aerial workout class, and I would never have done that before now.
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"Before, I would hate going clothes shopping and buying clothes that would cover me up the most.
"Now I wake up ready to go. I am happy and ready to go."
LADbible has contacted Eli Lilly, who manufacture Mounjaro, for a comment.