OCONOMOWOC — An Oconomowoc veteran reached out to our Lighthouse team to expose a problem many diabetics are facing: a nationwide shortage of their preferred medication.
For Matt Dawson, Mounjaro is a miracle drug.
"For me, this was like a light at the end of the tunnel,” he said. “’Wow, OK, I can actually take something. It will control my blood sugar. I feel great. I'm losing weight.’”
He started taking Mounjaro six months ago for its intended purpose, type 2 diabetes.
"I was getting really good results,” he said. “Then you turn on the morning news channels, the Today shows, and things like that and you see all these A-listers dropping weight, and all of a sudden everybody's on the bandwagon."
Dawson says Mounjaro’s sudden popularity for weight loss makes it nearly impossible for him to get refills. No matter where he calls, from the VA to every local pharmacy he can find, Dawson says he can’t find anyone who has it in stock.
“What happens when you had to go off the medication because you couldn’t get it,” TMJ4’s Ben Jordan asked.
“All hell broke loose,” he said. “Dizzy spells, lightheaded, blurry vision, heart palpations. I'd love to see them have a massive quantity and take care of everybody, but I need this drug. It's not a want it's a need."
After Dawson’s second stint of going multiple weeks without the drug, doctors temporarily transitioned him to another diabetes medication. But Dawson says it isn’t nearly as effective.
Adding to the frustrations, each time he hops on social media, websites and clinics promoting the drug for weight loss pops up. Dawson says the problem is you have to pay a premium.
"The only way I can get it is to shell out the money out of pocket,” he said. “So it's four hundred dollars this month, what's it going to be next month?"
Kyle Beyer owns North Shore Pharmacy.
"There's thousands of pharmacies attempting to buy it,” he said.
He can attest to how difficult it is to keep Mounjaro in stock. His pharmacy only provides the drug to customers with diabetes.
“Are you alone in this struggle to get Mounjaro?” Jordan asked.
“Not at all,” Beyer replied. “It’s one of those where the next question out of a patient's mouth is ‘Well, do you know who has it?’ And the truth is, we don't. Large chains, independents, regional chains, health systems they're all running into this same problem with procuring enough doses."
Mounjaro’s website shows an ad on its main page that highlights its weight loss capabilities. It says customers lost up to 25 lbs while acknowledging in smaller print that it is not a weight loss drug.
TMJ4 reached out to the company that makes Mounjaro. Eli Lilly has yet to respond to our interview request.
Its website says, “At Lilly, we want everyone with type 2 diabetes to receive the treatment that they need.” It goes on to say, “Due to the unprecedented demand for these medicines, some patients may experience difficulty when trying to fill their prescription….’
"The manufacturer needs to step up and take care of the diabetics,” Dawson said.
Dawson hopes sharing his struggles catches the attention of Eli Lilly as well as the online websites that he thinks are keeping it out of the hands of those who need it most.
"If there's people who are hoarding it, stop it! Stop them,” he said “At least until they get the supplies up or they can manage everybody."
Eli Lilly’s website says availability will be limited through at least the end of this month as it works to add manufacturing and increase supply.
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