It looks like the weight-loss injection craze isn’t going away any time soon.
From today, it’s become legal for GPs to prescribe the Mounjaro jab to users, adding to the estimated 500,000 people who are already using it and Wegovy to lose weight.
Mounjaro is an antidiabetic drug which has boomed in popularity because of how it works as an appetite suppressant. It’s already the dominant weight loss drug on the market, which is delivered via injection with a multi-use pen.
Among users, one subject in particular is dominating Reddit and Twitter forums: the subject of the mythical ‘golden dose’. Or, as it’s sometimes called, the ‘magical fifth dose.’
It refers to the leftover liquid left over in the injection pen after the prescribed four doses it contains. Each injection pen contains four doses of liquid, plus a bit extra, which means there’s often a small amount of liquid left over afterwards. And now, social media forums are booming with stories of users trying to get that last dose out, either by injecting it, or using syringes to extract the leftover liquid to inject later.
Can you use it? The consensus is clear: no. Surprisingly enough, it’s not safe practice either.
Including extra liquid is standard practice when it comes to many injectable medication. It’s meant to provide a buffer amount that lets users carry out flow checks (check the liquid is leaving the syringe correctly before injecting) and ensuring that there’s always enough for four doses if a little extra gets injected by mistake.
Attempting to go ahead and use the leftover medication therefore creates a risk of underdosing (and therefore impacting your weight loss) journey, or overdosing, with all the side effects that come with it (nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea).
Even more importantly, many injectable pens like the Mounjaro one have an expiry date – often one of four weeks, which is how long the doses should last for. Using it after that runs the risk that the needle you’re using will no longer be sterile, while attempting to extract the leftover medication could also result in introducing germs into your next ‘dose’.
Though that extra ‘golden dose’ looks tempting, it’s best to steer clear. And if you feel like the dose isn’t working currently, speak to a GP.
