VerFree Says:
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Mounjaro Memory Loss
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Nancy Says:
Has anyone experienced sudden memory loss while taking Mounjaro? I noticed it a couple of weeks after starting. It was not the normal "aging" loss - it was more pronounced and happened suddenly. I know it could have been a TIA, but it did seem coincidental.
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Ref: Mounjaro Information
On the contrary, I did find a PubMed abstract concluding that “Tirzepatide (the active ingredient in Mounjaro) obviously exerts a protective effect against spatial learning and memory impairment, potentially through regulating abnormal insulin resistance and inflammatory responses.”
Ref: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37701028
Have you consulted your doctor? Are you on any other medications?
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Nellise Says:
Re: VerFree (# 1) 
I am currently experiencing it.
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Jo Says:
I had a severe bad reaction to mounjaro and trying to flush it out of my body now. But today I spent 15 mins trying to remember that I ate a donut just before it happened. I could still taste it but couldn't figure out what I last ate 30 mins prior. I will no longer take any of the shots.
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Sue Says:
Re: Jo (# 3)
Donut? lol That donut could cause hypoglycemia which can definitely give you a serious bout of brain fog. If you are a type 2 diabetic see if you can get a prescription for a continuous glucose monitor such as a Libre although be forewarned it is almost as difficult to fill these prescriptions as it is to fill the shots. I used to think my blood sugar was well maintained with my meter, fact is you really have no clue what’s going on without a CGM. That’s when I learned that any carbs would cause a rapid increase in blood sugar followed by a rapid crash to hypo which would often resolve itself quickly. Without that CGM ( and some times where I had serious symptoms from the hypo) I would have had no clue…
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Monica Says:
I have been feeling same way just forgetful on the regular any one know if it’s a side effect?
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Rick Says:
IYes, i m experiencing it. I have been taking mounjaro for about a year now. While it helped with my weight and diabetes, i have these bouts of brain fogs and memory loss. Usually happens when j fint eat for half a day or more. Anyone experienced the same?
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Maeleah Says:
Absolutely. This is me. My dose went up two weeks ago and it has been worse since then. Brain fog, yes, but more concerning is I can not hold onto thoughts.
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Bonnie Bon Says:
I am so glad I randomly asked if Mounjaro could cause memory loss and was linked to this page. I’m excessively grateful to all who left a reply.
I’m a professional writer, and my memory loss, written and verbal, has been SHOCKING. It is like someone flipped the switches on my verbal and mental memory to DECREASE. The real trouble began about six weeks ago. I had been taking the product for several months.
My memory loss has gotten even worse the last few days. My verbal and written skills had always been excellent. Today I could hardly string two sentences together in conversation with a friend, who noticed. She REALLY noticed.
In retrospect, it all started with an inability to FOCUS and also procrastination. This all happened months earlier than the memory problems. I have NEVER had problems with focus or procrastination. Then, as if over night, my verbal skills began to deteriorate. I have never taken more than 5 mg, but I’ve been on 5 mg for months. Long story short, it had to do with my insurance company’s, TriCare for Life, inability to get higher dosages of the product.
Writing this all out — and seeing the words I left out of sentences and the sentences I had to rewrite, I will NEVER take Mounjaro again. Lord, I sure hope this will ALL be a temporary side effect, not just for me, but for all of us who are suffering. As of this week, I sound like I have a speech impediment.
Sincere thanks to all of you who shared your experiences. Let’s all check back. Please!
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Rick Says:
Re: Rick (# 6)
Quick update: Been dealing with brain fog and saw multiple doctors. They think it might be low B12 levels. Started B12 shots and feeling better. I'll keep you all posted as I have a brain test coming up. I'm 48. Mounjaro helped me get my HbA1c down from 8.1 to 6. Fingers crossed ; I'll share my experience objectively. Would love to hear your experiences too. Sharing this info could help us all.
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Maeleah Says:
Re: Maeleah (# 7)
For example, I saw this site in my email and thought, oh that would be good to contribute to, completely forgetting that I already did!
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RickFL Says:
I, too, have experienced memory loss. The only thing different in my life is the Mounjaro, so it is the likely culprit. Also, it came on suddenly and has affected my short term memory as well as my ability to spell complex words, muchless pronounce them. I'm on the maximum dose.
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Bonnie BON Says:
Re: Bonnie Bon (# 8)
Update: I ended up having to have a brain MRI and will also be seeing a Neurologist to see I I carry a genetic marker for Alzheimer’s.
I had taken myself off Monjuro because it was impossible to get more then 5 mg. thru my insurance company.
I won’t ever want take Monjuro again. I feel like I have lost part of my brain.
In addition to Monjuro, my Internist cut my Lyrica in half. I had NO iDEA how much of my Neuropathy pain Lyrica had masked! It has been extremely painful weaning off it. Do NOT try to wean off it without a doctor’s supervision. Doing so could possibly cause SEIZURES.
I’m starting to feel like some of my memory loss may very well be permanent loss. ??
I’ve read several medical articles that say some specialists believe Dementia is actually Diabetes III!
~ Bon
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Kris Says:
Yes! I am having major memory issues that are not normal aging. Like not remembering my 4 digit code used to get in to my own front door. I had to call my daughter to get it.
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ThisIsCCwriter Says:
I thought I was losing my mind. Thank you for the thread. I will immediately forget what I'm talking about in the middle of a sentence! Can't remember what I did yesterday. Time runs together a little bit. Still, the weight loss is more important to me.
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AJ Says:
Does anyone want to connect on this? I’ve had PET scans, MRIs, experiences Transient global amnesia, and hallmark symptoms of Alzheimer’s since starting Mojurno - and I’m only 35…
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Samantha Says:
Yes! I am so glad I found this. I almost describe it as "Covid Brain". I'm struggling to remember simple daily task, usually the day after my injection. I plan to speak to my doctor about this.
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Nancy Says:
Re: Bonnie Bon (# 8)
Bon - did you notice a difference after you quit Mounjaro? Did you recover any of your lost abilities? I am hoping specifically that your memory improved. Please let us know.
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Junior Says:
Yes! Memory loss an sometimes scatter brained. Started after between the 3rd and 5th week of starting Mounjaro at 2.5 mg. I just finished my second month at 2.5mg, and am considering 5mg. If the Cognitive issues become worse, I'll be stopping Mounjaro.
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Gina Says:
I am only on day 4. Today is a bad day. I woke up thinking I was sick. Nose is stuffed up, I am having memory issues and blurry vision. Went food shopping with husband and went down 2 different isles 3 times forgetting why I went down the isle. I was using a driving cart and I had to stop driving due to trying to get my thoughts together wondering how I got where I was and what I was wanting to get. Its Sunday so I have to wait to talk to doctor tomorrow. Is this dangerous?
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HCStymie Says:
Re: Charles (# 23)
Some people have a positive cognitive reaction, others a negative or neutral.
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HCStymie Says:
Re: Bonnie Bon (# 8)
Might be too late but here is what I did for issues.
Mounjaro blocked my Adderall even tripling the dose from 40 to 140mb eventually didn't so anything. Except damage my brain at the full strength. Turned out no psychoactive meds could work for me. But it did not directly interfere with them. Instead it turned off signaling in the pre frontal cortex, which made my psychoactive meds useless. Which is probably the same issue you are having with signaling being turned off. (same for Ozempic or any other GLP-1 based drug)
You'll have to look into stuff yourself based on what I say as there isn't a single research article going all the way through. GLP-1 drugs won't even acknowledge there is a negative cognitive effect for some people. But I put together different research. Came up with a theoretical method of action and a drug to counter the negative effects. Then tried it and it worked better than expected.
Mounjaro can be positive, negative, or neutral towards brain cognition. Mounjaro is a GIP and GLP-1 analog molecule. Basically it acts like both of those in the brain but instead of a half life of minutes, it averages about 5 days.
Which causes an "accumulation" of Cyclic Adenosine Monophosphate (cAMP) in cells as the primary way it affects the various systems for diabetes ( appetite control, delayed gastric emptying, enhanced insulin release, attenuates insulin resistance, etc) .
But, cAMP in parts of the brain, it can enhance neurotransmitter release and signaling (those with a positive boost). or cAMP can activate Primary Kinase A (PKA).
cAMP-PKA will cause hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated channels (HCN) and potassium voltage-gated channel subfamily Q (KCNQ) channels to open which shuts down signaling in the Pre Frontal Cortex (PFC) . i.e. Those with negative effects.
Science is not far enough along to determine which effect will be dominant for a person, or if it will be neutral.
Intuniv (Guanfacine ER) is a selective post synaptic akpha-2A adrenoceptor agonist (makes it fire). Which prevents the HCN and KCNQ channels from opening. Which improves PFC communication. Plus the enhanced neurotransmitter release and signaling can make the combination with Mounjaro actually be positive.
My therapist let my try it (wanted to try guanfacine anyway). Guanfacine without Mounjaro was a negative experience for me for 3 weeks (had been off Mounjaro 5 months by then). Then added on Mounjaro. within hours the negative Guanfacine side effects started to go away. Within 3 days I was starting to feel in certain ways better than I had in over a decade. But still had Adderall damage to overcome. Was great for 2 weeks then declined. I think a very low dose of Mounjaro works best as it was when I was just starting. But, even no on 5mg with Guanfacine (titrated up to 4mg). My cognitive affective meds need the combination to be useful. So, still worth it.
As I am the only person I know of to but 2 and 2 together so to speak, then figure out Guanfacine. Then actually try it. It is just 1 unscientific data point. Might just work out of luck and have everything else wrong. So, if doctor clears you to give it a try, see if you benefit too.
The bad part....Guanfacine for me is very touchy and I do get a lot of the sedative effect until I get used to it. And at each dosage change. I am also hypersensitive to any thing sedative during the day naturally anyway so may be worse for me than most. But majorly worth it for all the benefits of the 2 meds. Mounjaro still controls my diabetes without issue. a1c down to 5.4 and fasting glucose 95. (before I quit Mounjaro at 5mg a1c was 5.3 and glucose 75 but may still be catching up).
And had really bad constipation for the first few months. Both meds can slow gastric mobility. Together they brought it to a stop practically. After 8 days of not taking a dump, I bought some laxatives. Took 2 more days and a couple doses to work. For a long time I was taking the stool softeners, osmotic laxatives, increased fiber supplement, and still required a stimulant laxative to take a dump every few days. Now I rarely use laxatives. Helped to titrate my dose an extra mg or 2 for a week or so then drop back down to where I wanted to be. Which got things moving better which kept improving.
Adderall already had some minor gastro issues which may have primed things for the other meds.
Adderall plus Mounjaro for me -> appetite suppression was probably triple Mounjaro alone. Not recommended but people should be aware incase they take or will be taking amphetamine based meds like Adderall.
Sorry for not posting links to support everything I said I did with actual research I based it on. Don't have the energy to sort through 2 or 3 hundred links in my Medical bookmarks folder. If you or anyone does choose to look into what I stated. I'd start with Wikipedia Mounjaro, cAMP, Guanfacine, HCN channel pages. Then look at the referenced research articles cited for the relevant parts of the wiki pages for more details.
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HCStymie Says:
TLDL. Mounjaro and other GLP-1 based drugs can have a positive, negative, or neutral effect on cognition. This is obvious by people posting their experience here and other forums. I think I figured out why. For those with a negative effect it shuts down neurotransmitter signaling in the prefrontal cortex of the brain. Which can have many effects from brain fog to depression and especially bad for those with pre-existing issues or psychoactive medications. For those with a net positive effect, it can enhance neurotransmitter release and signaling in certain parts of the brain. I theorized guanfacine may reverse the negative effect for people and when I tried it myself, I went from a devastating negative effect to a highly beneficial one. Which may just be dumb luck so is in no way scientifically conclusive.
Big pharma does not acknowledge side effects related to mental health / cognition but did do one study that tries to hide that it may be an issue.
That being said, Mounjaro blocked my Adderall for ADHD from working. And I found out GLP-1 based drugs can have positive, negative, or neutral effects on psychoactive medications. Psychiatrist curriculum was already to limited to help when I reached the max dose of Adderall so this issue there was no chance of them helping. Same with most neurologist before Mounjaro. After starting Mounjaro, there is no direct research on the subject and no doctors that could help at all.
So, again I was left trying to solve my own problems that doctors couldn't. I came up with a theory that explains how it can have positive, negative, or neutral effects based on existing research. And theorized about a drug that can counter negative effects for those negatively effected. And the therapist that took me 1.5 years to find allowed me to test my theory. And it worked!!! Obviously the self testimony of one person is no way scientific and proves nothing as there is no control group or way to prove it's not just dumb luck and a totally unrelated issue to my theory.
At first I assumed Mounjaro directly interacted with my Adderall. Later I realized the effect was on all psychoactive meds as it did not directly interact with them but interacted with the brain directly. Which psychoactive meds also try to do. I have been on the internet way to long already today so this is not going to be a comprehensive post with tons of links. You can look stuff up if actually interested. Maybe I'll get around to a full posting with supporting links and reference in an edit someday.
So, the high level version of my theory is based on this. Mounjaro is GLP-1 and GIP analog molecules. There is a lot of research showing one of the primary effects is to increase cAMP. Other research on cAMP shows that in some places it can enhance neurotransmitter release. In others it can trigger HCN and KCNQ channels that shut down signaling in the pre frontal cortex of the brain. And research is not yet able to predict which net effect, positive, negative, or a neutral may occur for individuals when cAMP is increased. So not only can that affect an individual person not on other medications. But can also block psychoactive medications as many work by increasing certain neurotransmitters or their signaling. Example, Adderall primarily increases dopamine, norepinephrine, and glutamate. Which increases the strength of the signal between nerve cells that utilize those neurotransmitters. If Mounjaro blocks signaling, it also blocks those neurotransmitters from working properly without actually directly interacting with the drug.
For those with a negative effect, this is basically the same issue you see with extreme stress situations. cAMP is increased, opens HCN and KCNQ. And signaling the PFC shuts down. And why people in high stress situations can not think straight and even appear confused. Theory suggests that this would cause someone to go on their natural base of the brain instincts by removing the higher order thinking and emotions of the PFC. I.e. Lion jumps out you don't break out your note book and do a list of pros and cons for which action to take. And you don't break down crying. You shut that off and punch, kick, climb a tree, run, your natural instincts and what is appropriate from evolution. Evolution though has not caught up with progress so brain shutting down when an assignment is late, boss is yelling at you, worried about losing your job if you can't get the proposal done in time which may lose the multi-million dollar contract and lose your home when fired since you are living paycheck to paycheck in debt trying to support your trophy wife or husband who doesn't work but has access to your credit cards. And would leave you before living in a car. Can't punch, kick, climb a tree, or run your way out of it and your PFC is shutdown and you are trying to function in a brain fog. Which Mounjaro can do without the stress. Straight to brain fog or other negative consequence. Leaving you wishing you were in the category where it enhances brain function instead. Also shown that it can increase ACTH and cortisol which is also happens in a stress response.
The details if you want to tell your therapist an make them squirm when they don't know what you are talking about. Mounjaro is a long acting Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) agonist. Which has the effect of raising intra and extracellular amounts of Cyclical Adenosine monophosphate (cAMP). Increased cAMP can enhance neurotransmitter release and signaling. In other parts of the brain it activates Protein Kinase A (PKA). And in these regions cAMP activated PKA (cAMP-PKA) can trigger hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated calcium channels (HCN) and potassium voltage-gated channel subfamily Q (KCNQ) in the pre-frontal cortex (PFC) which shuts down synaptic signaling and neuronal firing.
Extended release Guanfacine on the other hand is an alpha 2a adrenal receptor(a2A-AR) which inhibits the opening of HCN and KCNQ channels increasing PFC network connections and neuronal firing. For someone with a negative effect from Mounjaro, guanfacine already is prescribed to increase signaling in the brain by blocking those channels mentioned that shut down signaling. So not only does it improve signaling potentially beyond what a person may have before Mounjaro naturally, it may also compound with the already positive signaling effect in other parts of the brain with a net positive result. Which has been my own experience.
Obviously, other people can't all be expected to react the same way to a drug never the less 2 drugs that overlap on parts of the brain with positive and negative effects. But, this does allow the opportunity for a person with a negative mental health effect or psychoactive medication blocking to get the benefits of Mounjaro and even turn a negative reaction into a positive reaction.
One thing to note is the potential sedative effects of Guanfacine. And from my experience with Mounjaro and Guanfacine both taking time to increase to full potential at each dose in a matter of weeks. It can be a moving target especially if you take other medication who's dosses very. Also noticed that sometimes getting closer to my next Mounjaro inj. the sedative effect would increase in the last 3 days before it. Which sometimes I reduced my guanfacine in those days. But now, I actually take a higher dose of Guanfacine than I did then and that reduced the sedative effect from guanfacine. Which may be due to getting used to the med which typically reduces the sedative effect over time combined with increased PFC signaling which would be stimulating in its own right.
I started on Guanfacine 1 mg for 3 weeks while I had been off Mounjaro for about 5 months by then. Had sedative side effects which ironically also had reduced total sleep time and increase in BP and minor heart palpitations that I would notice when going to bed and hearing my heartbeat in the pillow. Started Mounjaro and within 12 hours the minor palpitations were gone, no more reduction in total sleep time, and the sedative effect was greatly reduced and kept improving. This is on my low dose of ADHD medications while healing my brain off Adderall. On day 3 I added some additional ADHD meds including only 20 mg of Adderall to be semicoherent for a telemed appointment. But I had a huge benefit and that dose was far far more close to therapeutic than my last attempt at a “functional” dose.
in explanation I went from 40mg Adderall to 140 mg Adderall plus 60mg Strattera trying to make it work when Mounjaro was blocking my ADHD meds. Eventually Mounjaro won and even that ADHD dose of medication was not even close to effective so I had to quit working. But the damage still occurred as if Mounjaro never blocked the ADHD meds even after I stopped Mounjaro 4 months later. Forced back to work and used other meds to offset Most Adderall. But that again exponentially increased long term accumulated side effects going back 17 years and am out of work fixing my brain.
As a comparison, 3 weeks on guanfacine, 2 days before starting back on Mounjaro, just to do one simple task on my computer that would take 30 minutes give or take, I took 400mg modafinil, 300mg armodafinil, 60mg Adderall, 100mg Strattera, 200mg caffeine, 1mg Guanfacine, and a bunch of supplements that add some cognitive stimulation. Net result was I couldn't get enough motivation to walk from my couch to my computer 10 feet away and get the task done. Instead I watched Netflix taking a few naps on and off during the day. 3 days after starting Mounjaro 2.5mg, with 1mg Guanfacine, 400 modafinil, 100 Strattera, No Adderall or Armodafinil, I was online for over 12 hours after my appointment and then stayed up longer watching TV. Over the next week and a half things still improved greatly and saw the first time since 2018 that I had any reduction in the negative anhedonia, energy, motivation, muted emotions Adderall side effects. But I also increased my dosage to 2mg and got hit hard with sedative side effects which is likely due to a dose increase sedation effects plus the increase of Mounjaro's effects on HCN and KCNQ channels as it built up in my system. And stopping even the smaller ADHD med dose I took for the next week getting caught up on many things on hold for a long time.
Also note that currently taking Guanfacine in a split dose greatly reduces the sedative effect for me, but I have many unstated mitigating circumstances other may not have.
Disclosure, I am just a guy on google fixing my own mental health issues and after a year and a half searching, am finally working with a therapist who has the knowledge and willingness to work with me. I do not have any professional credentials in related subject matter. Just opinions based on countless hours of google searches. And anecdotal evidence from personal experience. Which if any of it benefits a single person, it was worth the effort. Also not that it is 730am, I got up at 3:30PM yesterday after 5 hours of sleep and took 200mg modafinil, 250mg armodafinil, 3mg guanfacine, 20mg low quality brand generic Adderall probably equal to 6mg Good brand generic Adderall on top of my damaged Adderall brain so pardon me for the poorly written and organized post missing a ton of links I don't have energy to find right now.
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Donna Says:
Re: Bonnie Bon (# 8)
I was actually driving to a place very familiar to me with my daughter and grand baby in the car and my daughter said that I was saying where are we going. Nothing looks familiar and I don't remember driving the car over a bridge or parking in front of a store. I all of a sudden remember "waking up" sitting in the passenger seat after my daughter made me get out of driver seat. I remember that I couldn't remember and actually gave her directions to the ER. I have diabetes. It have never experienced this type of "amnesia" with low blood sugar or even fast dropping blood sugar. And I've been diabetic for almost 35 years. This was almost like amnesia. I thought I was maybe dehydrated since I had only drank 8 oz water the whole day and an egg sandwich for breakfast. But I came out of it without having anything to eat or drink when I came to. Scary crap and now I'm depressed and scared to drive and that it will happen again. I keep my grandson daily and keep making myself remember every thing about the day in case I forgot again.
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Charles Says:
Re: VerFree (# 1)
Yes, I take other medications.
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Charles Says:
Re: VerFree (# 1)
I’m wondering why my memory took a leap forward and the only change was Mounjaro injections. Also they were the starting smaller ones. Now, because of the shortage I am delayed getting the same level I was.
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Gina Says:
Yes, mine happened first 3 days and blurred vision. My doctor changed me to something else.
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Jwell Says:
I just started 2.5 dosage of it a week ago and noticed tge last couple days that I am super forgetful. For example, the waiter at a restaurant told me something specific about my order and as soon as he walked away, I couldn't remember what he said. Creepy. Things like that are happening. I'm glad to see it's not just in my head- no pun intended. But, seriously, I'd like to know this isn't permanent....
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