A UK TikTok user has gone viral for sharing the harsh reality of going cold turkey from the weight-loss jab Mounjaro.
Freya, known on TikTok as @freyatheblondieee, said she was forced to pause her weekly injections while waiting for a new pen, and it resulted in her hunger spiraling out of control.
Other netizens related to Freya’s experience, with some sharing similar stories with the weight-loss jab.
Highlights
- UK TikToker Freya went viral after revealing what happened when she stopped taking Mounjaro.
- She described a sudden return of intense hunger and loss of control after pausing the medication.
- Experts say the experience of "food noise" is common and can be managed with gradual withdrawal.
Going off Mounjaro triggered extreme hunger for Freya, and many could relate
Image credits: freyatheblondieee
In a viral TikTok video that has garnered more than a million views and over 20,000 likes, Freya, who is in her mid-twenties, stated that she completely lost control within hours of missing her weekly dose of Mounjaro.
“Take this as a sign to NEVER go cold turkey from Mounjaro,” she wrote in the on-screen caption. “I would have done very sinister things for this burger. My hunger is out of control. I want to punch everyone who is not food in the face.”
Image credits: freyatheblondieee
The TikTok influencer stated that she wasn’t trying to quit the dr*g, just waiting on her next injector pen.
“Having issues getting my next dosage, which is the only reason I'm cold turkey right now,” she told her followers. “I think drastically dropping is far too risky for weight gain.”
Image credits: Peter Dazeley/Getty Images
She also revealed she had been on a “high dose,” making the abrupt break even more intense, according to the Daily Mail.
Users flooded the comments with stories of post-Mounjaro “food noise”
Image credits: freyatheblondieee
Freya’s comment section quickly filled with people echoing her struggle. Numerous commenters shared that they also experienced intense hunger, cravings, and rebound weight gain after stopping Mounjaro or similar medication.
One follower wrote: “I gained three stone in six months after I stopped it. Went to Turkey, had the (gastric) balloon.”
Another added: “The hunger that comes after it is awful. I’ve put on a stone in six weeks. Waste of money.”
A third person joked, “I forgot to order my jab in time and was a literal feral person. This made me laugh so much, but equally terrified to come off.”
The shared experience many were describing is known as “food noise,” which is a term for the near-constant mental chatter about food, hunger, and cravings.
Mounjaro is known to suppress this noise, but this also means that when the effects of the jab wear off, food noise could return with a vengeance.
Image credits: freyatheblondieee
Some saw the break as an opportunity to rebuild discipline, but doctors urge caution
Despite the overwhelming accounts of cravings and weight regain, several Mounjaro users shared more hopeful stories about what happens when they stayed consistent after stopping.
Image credits: freyatheblondieee
“I was absolutely starving when I came off it,” one person wrote. “Took so much willpower for a couple of weeks, but now I’m eating just like I was when I was on it.”
The commenter stated that they lost three stone on the medication, and another two after stopping. “You just have to push through until the hunger passes,” the TikTok user stated.
Image credits: freyatheblondieee
Another agreed: “Been off it three days and I’m definitely eating more. But this is where willpower comes in. I’ll never be the 26 stone I was last year.”
Medical experts stressed that the safest way to stop taking medications like Mounjaro is under the guidance of a healthcare provider.
Gradual tapering, instead of just abruptly stopping the medication, can help the body adjust and reduce the risk of extreme hunger or rebound weight gain.
Food noise is not just in your head, says a leading obesity expert
Image credits: freyatheblondieee
Professor Giles Yeo, a geneticist at Cambridge University, has previously explained the science behind “food noise.”
In an interview with the Daily Mail, he described food noise as a complex interplay between the brain’s hunger, fullness, and reward systems.
“Food noise is a manifestation of appetite, and appetite is rather complex. I like to conceptualize it as a triangle. Appetite sits in the center and the three points are hunger, fullness and reward. All three talk to each other but use different parts of the brain,” Yeo said.
Image credits: freyatheblondieee
“If you are really hungry, even simple foods like bread or cheese taste amazing. But if you’re full, the only things that can tempt you are those with a high reward factor, like sugary or fatty foods. That’s the ‘dessert stomach’ effect,” he added.
Social media users related to Freya’s experience, with many stating that they also ended up bingeing after they stopped their use of Mounjaro
