Mounjaro (tirzepatide, diabetes label)

What this page used to say

• 2026-09-13 — Mounjaro's schedule beside Zepbound's, and what its label says about stopping over side effects. Was: Same molecule as Zepbound at the same doses, on the diabetes label. Nausea, diarrhea, vomiting and constipation are the reason most people stop. They are worst in the first days after each dose increase and usually settle; a schedule held longer at one step is the standard answer, and it is a conversation with the prescriber rather than a reason to quit unannounced. Now: Same molecule and the same pen strengths as Zepbound, on the diabetes label, but a different schedule. Mounjaro goes up from 2.5 mg only if glucose control needs it, in 2.5 mg steps at least 4 weeks apart, and stops at 10 mg for children 10 and older. Gastrointestinal reactions made 3.0% of adults stop at 5 mg, 5.4% at 10 mg and 6.6% at 15 mg, against 0.4% on placebo, and most nausea, vomiting and diarrhea comes during dose escalation and eases over time. Side effects that do not settle are a conversation with the prescriber rather than a reason to quit unannounced.
• 2026-09-12 — Why Mounjaro and Zepbound cost different amounts. Was: Same molecule as Zepbound at the same doses, on a diabetes label. Which box it comes in decides whether insurance treats it as a required benefit or an excluded weight-loss drug — that, not the drug, is the difference in price. Now: The dose changes and the bill does not: LillyDirect charges $499 a month self-pay at every strength from 2.5 mg to 15 mg. Zepbound, the same molecule at the same doses, is priced by dose there instead: $299 at 2.5 mg, $399 at 5 mg, and $449 from 7.5 mg if each refill comes within 45 days. The label matters for insurance: Mounjaro is approved for type 2 diabetes, and a plan that excludes weight-loss drugs can still cover it for that.
• 2026-09-12 — What $499 and $647 mean on the Mounjaro savings card. Was: Capped at $150 of savings a month and $1,950 a year. Without coverage the same card gives $499 a month, capped at $647 monthly and $8,411 a year. Now: Capped at $150 of savings a month and $1,950 a year. Without coverage the same card lets you pay as little as $499 for a 28-day fill, with Lilly's savings in that case capped at $647 a month and $8,411 a year.
• 2026-09-11 — A refill condition Mounjaro's price does not carry. Was: Price conditional on refill timing. Now: Removed.
• 2026-09-11 — Mounjaro's label word for appetite. Was: reduced appetite. Now: decreased appetite.
• 2026-09-05 — Added the cardiovascular indication the August 2026 label carries. Was: FDA approved for type 2 diabetes. Weight loss is off-label use. Now: FDA approved for type 2 diabetes: to improve glycemic control, and on the label revised August 2026 also to reduce the risk of cardiovascular death, heart attack and stroke in adults with type 2 diabetes at high risk of them. Weight loss is off-label use.
• 2026-09-05 — The card's published expiry. Was: No published end date. Now: Ends 31 December 2026.
• 2026-09-05 — Changed the trial figure to the intention-to-treat result on the FDA label. Was: SURPASS trials in type 2 diabetes; weight loss is a secondary endpoint. Now: 11.9% — No percentage of body weight appears anywhere on the Mounjaro label, which has no weight-management section: every trial on it is a diabetes trial and reports weight in kilograms. This figure is worked out from the label's own kilograms — 11.2 kg lost from a 93.8 kg mean baseline at week 40 on 15 mg, in SURPASS-2 against semaglutide — and is an arithmetic step the label does not take.
• 2026-09-05 — Rebuilt the serious reactions as the label's section 5, in the label's order. Was: Five items: acute pancreatitis, hypoglycemia with insulin or a sulfonylurea, hypersensitivity reactions, acute kidney injury, gallbladder disease. Now: Eight, in label order: pancreatitis (5.2), hypoglycemia (5.3), hypersensitivity (5.4), acute kidney injury (5.5), severe gastrointestinal reactions (5.6), diabetic retinopathy complications (5.7), acute gallbladder disease (5.8), pulmonary aspiration under anesthesia (5.9).
• 2026-09-05 — Moved the label link to Eli Lilly's own prescribing information and brought the dosing schedule up to its August 2026 revision. Was: The main page, the dosage page and the side-effects page linked the DailyMed record 0818426a, a repackager's copy (A-S Medication Solutions) of the April 2026 label, MOU-0011-USPI-20260422. The dosage ladder had a fixed step to 5 mg at week 5 and maintenance at 5 mg to 15 mg, reached at week 5 at the earliest. Now: All three link Lilly's own label document, DailyMed record d2d7da5d, document MOU-0012-USPI-20260827, revised August 2026 and published on DailyMed 2 September 2026. The ladder starts at 2.5 mg and rises in 2.5 mg steps held at least four weeks only if glycemic control needs it, with no fixed week-5 step; maintenance reads 2.5 mg to 15 mg.
• 2026-09-05 — Added the label warning against sharing a pen between patients. Was: The serious reactions list did not mention pen sharing. Now: Never share a KwikPen between patients, even with a new needle (5.10) — sharing risks passing on blood-borne infection.
• 2026-09-05 — Updated what a pharmacy pays to the current NADAC survey entry. Was: $1,046 a month: 4 × 0.5 mL at $522.89 per mL, from an entry effective 17 December 2025. Now: $1,077 a month: 4 × 0.5 mL at $538.48 per mL, effective 2026-08-19.
• 2026-09-05 — Corrected the pediatric age on the maximum dose. Was: 15 mg once weekly (10 mg for children over 10). Now: 15 mg once weekly (10 mg for children aged 10 and older).
• 2026-09-05 — Added the maker's own pricing page to the sources behind the price. Was: GLP-1 weight loss cost 2026; FDA prescribing information for MOUNJARO. Now: Mounjaro savings and coverage, Lilly (self-pay $499 a month); GLP-1 weight loss cost 2026; FDA prescribing information for MOUNJARO.
• 2026-09-05 — Named the page the $499 was read from and what it requires, and dropped the claim that Lilly publishes no self-pay price. Was: Price note: "Read from Mounjaro's own pricing page on 24 Aug 2026: $499 for a one-month fill through the Mounjaro Savings Card". Drawback: "No published flat self-pay price, unlike Zepbound vials through LillyDirect." Now: Read from LillyDirect on 5 Sep 2026: $499 a month self-pay at every strength from 2.5 mg to 15 mg, single-dose pens, prescription required, taxes and fees extra. There is no cheaper starting tier, unlike Zepbound's $299 at 2.5 mg. The same $499 is what the Mounjaro Savings Card charges for a 28-day, four-pen fill if you have commercial drug insurance that does not cover Mounjaro; the $25 figure Lilly's savings page leads with needs commercial insurance that does cover it and is capped at $150 of savings a month, so it is a copay offset, not a cash price. mounjaro.com/pricing redirects to that savings page.

Every correction on this site, dated →