Can Mounjaro Cause Pancreatitis?

Pancreatitis is a condition in which the pancreas becomes inflamed. The pancreas is a small organ that sits behind the stomach. It releases insulin to regulate blood sugar and enzymes to help you digest food. Pancreatitis causes severe abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting. 

Pancreatitis is a serious condition. If not treated properly, pancreatitis can be life-threatening. That’s why people are paying attention to reports of people developing pancreatitis while taking Mounjaro.

Mounjaro is an FDA-approved injectable medication that’s used to treat Type 2 diabetes. Mounjaro is the first in a new class of medications which lower blood sugar levels. Mounjaro can cause side effects like nausea and vomiting. But the relationship between Mounjaro and pancreatitis is less clear. 

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Here’s what the science says about the link between Mounjaro and pancreatitis.

Does Mounjaro cause pancreatitis?

Right now, there’s no clear evidence that Mounjaro directly causes pancreatitis. But people taking Mounjaro may be at an increased risk of developing pancreatitis.

Before new medications are approved by the FDA, manufacturers must complete clinical trials to show that their medication is safe and effective. In clinical trials for Mounjaro, people reported pancreatitis when taking the medication. But this was very rare. It’s also hard to say whether Mounjaro directly caused these cases of pancreatitis. 

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Why don’t experts know for sure? 

There are a few reasons why the link between Mounjaro and pancreatitis isn’t clear.

There isn’t enough data yet

To determine if a medication is causing a rare side effect, it must be studied in a big group of people. So far, clinical trials haven’t included enough people to show whether a rare side effect was just a coincidence or truly related to the medication. 

More studies are needed to see if pancreatitis rates are different between people who take Mounjaro and people who don’t. And those studies can’t be completed until enough people have taken Mounjaro for an extended period of time. 

The other thing to keep in mind is that people with a history of pancreatitis weren’t included in the initial studies. This means that the risk of developing pancreatitis while taking Mounjaro might be higher if you’ve had pancreatitis in the past. But it’s impossible to say for sure since this wasn’t looked at during clinical trials. 

Cases of pancreatitis could be due to something else

Even if someone develops pancreatitis while taking Mounjaro, that doesn’t mean the medication is the cause. 

Pancreatitis is most often caused by gallstones, alcohol use, or high triglycerides (a type of fat from your diet). Only about 5% of all acute pancreatitis cases were because of medications. In one study, over one-third of cases of pancreatitis were idiopathic (the cause was unknown). This means that it’s possible for someone taking Mounjaro to have pancreatitis for reasons other than the medication. And many of these reasons are more common than pancreatitis caused by medication use.

Who is most at risk for medication-related pancreatitis?

With all this uncertainty, how do you know if you’re at risk for developing pancreatitis while taking Mounjaro?

Some things that can increase your risk of pancreatitis include:

• A history of gallstones or other gallbladder problems

• Having relatives who had pancreatitis

• Taking other medications linked to causing pancreatitis, such as azathioprine, thiazides, furosemide, estrogens, and certain antibiotics

• Alcohol use disorder

• High triglyceride levels

• Having a BMI over 30

If you have risk factors for pancreatitis, you should discuss your risk of developing this medical problem with your primary care provider or endocrinologist before starting Mounjaro. 

Should you take Mounjaro if you’ve had pancreatitis?

You can take Mounjaro if you have a history of pancreatitis. If you have such a history, your primary care provider or endocrinologist will help you assess the risks and benefits of Mounjaro. Together, you can determine if taking Mounjaro is the right choice for you. 

What should you do if you’re experiencing symptoms of pancreatitis?

If you develop symptoms of pancreatitis while taking Mounjaro, seek medical care right away.

Pancreatitis symptoms include:

• Pain in your upper abdomen that may radiate (travel) to your back 

• Nausea and vomiting

• Fever

• Not being able to keep down food or drink

• Fast heart rate

Most of the time, people who have pancreatitis need to be treated in the hospital. If pancreatitis is severe, you may need to be treated in an intensive care unit (ICU). 

Your care team may ask you to stop taking Moujaro if you develop pancreatitis. Right now, it’s not clear whether it’s safe to restart Mounjaro if you’ve developed pancreatitis while taking the medication. So if you develop pancreatitis, you may need to switch to a different type of diabetes medication. 

Why trust our experts?

Written by:

Tracy Norfleet, MD, FACP

Dr. Tracy Norfleet is a board-certified Internal Medicine physician, health expert, and physician leader with over 20 years of experience practicing adult medicine. Dual-certified by the American Board of Obesity Medicine and the American Board of Lifestyle Medicine, Dr. Tracy possesses a wealth of knowledge and expertise in both traditional medical practices and innovative lifestyle interventions for chronic disease management and reversal.

Edited by:

Patricia Pinto-Garcia, MD, MPH

Patricia Pinto-Garcia, MD, MPH, is a medical editor at GoodRx. She is a licensed, board-certified pediatrician with more than a decade of experience in academic medicine.

Reviewed by:

Christine Giordano, MD

Christine Giordano, MD, is board-certified in general internal medicine. She received her medical degree from Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and completed residency at Thomas Jefferson University.

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