Mounjaro

[Anonymous79]

Now I know something similar to this has been asked but I'm going to ask it a different way. So I could stand to use a little weight (mainly because of fatty liver and elevated triglycerides) and my doctor asked me If I wanted to try this Mounjaro injectable because supposedly it works very very very well for weight loss (off label). My question is two pronged:

1) I'm not diabetic so I'm not exactly sure how this would be documented in my file at my doctor's office as far as a diagnosis for the prescription itself (in the event the FAA ever asked me to provide a copy of my treatment records)
2) This medication isn't covered by my insurance but the manufacturer has a promotion to where you could fill a prescription every month for a year for $25 bucks without insurance.

So basically from what I understand the FAA has access to the insurance codes or something but if say someone took this for 6 months, lost the weight they needed to lose and then got off of it (assuming you could quit taking it after you reached your goal weight) then what are the odds that anyone other than the patient and doctor and the pharmacy would ever know you were even on it because it was never filed under insurance. I mean I guess the FAA could randomly ask you to provide them with prescription records but the odds of that seem extremely low.

Also, I currently do hold a 3rd class medical that is valid until 2023 so if I went on the medication I'd be off way before my next exam and looking at the Form 8500 i don't have a condition that I'd need to report other than just being overweight so technically I don't have a disqualifying medical condition that would make me unfit for flight but I also know that this medication isn't on the FAA approved list as of yet.

 

[Jeff Oslick]

Since you have a 3rd class medical, you could go Basic Med (best to do that exam before starting the new medicine, so it is clear you are operating under Basic Med, not your current Class 3). Diabetes is not an SI situation under Basic Med, so any insurance code for it wouldn't matter unless you later went back to have a Class 1, 2 or 3 medical.

 

[eman1200]

good thing this isn't deadly. otherwise you could call it "killa mounjaro"

 

[Anonymous79]

Since you have a 3rd class medical, you could go Basic Med (best to do that exam before starting the new medicine, so it is clear you are operating under Basic Med, not your current Class 3). Diabetes is not an SI situation under Basic Med, so any insurance code for it wouldn't matter unless you later went back to have a Class 1, 2 or 3 medical.

I guess the question for me would be is since it's not going to be paid for by insurance then there would be no record of it in the database. I talked to the doctor's office and they said it would be charted as obesity treated with this medication off label and would clearly state that it was being used off label and not for diabetes since I don't have diabetes. I guess it is more of a "hypothetical" at this point as to how would it ever be discovered short of an incident requiring investigation because the only people who'd ever have a record of it would be the doctor's office and the pharmacy but not the insurance company.

 

[Lindberg]

You seem to be on the correct track with respect to reporting. There will be records of you taking the medication, but the idea that the FAA goes digging through medical records for no reason is a boogyman. Nevertheless, I gather from your post that you plan to honestly and correctly fill out your next medical application.

One wrench in your plan, though, is that it appears the FDA approved this drug only this year, and the FAA considers new drugs to be in its "Do Not Fly" list until a year after approval. If you follow that, it means not flying for 5x the half-life of the drug after each dose.

 

[Anonymous79]

You seem to be on the correct track with respect to reporting. There will be records of you taking the medication, but the idea that the FAA goes digging through medical records for no reason is a boogyman. Nevertheless, I gather from your post that you plan to honestly and correctly fill out your next medical application.

One wrench in your plan, though, is that it appears the FDA approved this drug only this year, and the FAA considers new drugs to be in its "Do Not Fly" list until a year after approval. If you follow that, it means not flying for 5x the half-life of the drug after each dose.

Ultimately I think it would help to speed up the process of the weight loss significantly but for me I'm more inclined to take the slow route and just eat a little less and exercise a little more. It just seems that as I've gotten into my 40's it seems harder and harder to drop weight but I guess that isn't a struggle that is mine alone. I am by no means morbidly obese however my liver doesn't like it when i carry even 10 pounds more than I should and the enzymes reflect that. I think my doctor is probably trying to he helpful but I'm just not sure it's worth the risk of it being discovered and well it looks like this is a once weekly injection so not flying for 5x the half life would put me on the ground for a year so I guess it'll probably just be upping the intensity of the workout and pushing away from the plate a little sooner.

 

[GaryM]

I started intermittent fasting a couple of months ago. Not the 5 day/2 day version, rather the 8 hour/16 hour version. That is, I eat what i want during an 8 hour window each day, and consume no calories during the other 16 hours. To my surprise, I'm finding it easy to follow; all I really miss is that spoonful of sugar in my morning coffee. What time we finish dinner each evening determines when I can have lunch the next day. I think what makes it easy for me to follow is that I'm not counting calories or changing what I eat (though that would probably help, too). All I have to pay attention to is my watch.

I've been losing 5 lbs/month consistently for the past few months, so it's a sustainable rate.

 

[Lindberg]

Ultimately I think it would help to speed up the process of the weight loss significantly but for me I'm more inclined to take the slow route and just eat a little less and exercise a little more. It just seems that as I've gotten into my 40's it seems harder and harder to drop weight but I guess that isn't a struggle that is mine alone. I am by no means morbidly obese however my liver doesn't like it when i carry even 10 pounds more than I should and the enzymes reflect that. I think my doctor is probably trying to he helpful but I'm just not sure it's worth the risk of it being discovered and well it looks like this is a once weekly injection so not flying for 5x the half life would put me on the ground for a year so I guess it'll probably just be upping the intensity of the workout and pushing away from the plate a little sooner.

You can do it. I took about 18 months to lose 35lbs, and I am so much healthier for it. Lots of aerobic exercise and just don't eat crap. I started with intermittent fasting, and that was ok, but honestly it was cutting out sugary junk and fast food and not drinking calories that made it possible. Exercise is good and necessary, but you can't outrun a crappy diet!