A mother who lost eight stone after taking the weight-loss drug Mounjaro says she has 'no regrets' despite needing emergency gallbladder removal. Emma McDonald, 38, from Oxford, began taking Mounjaro in June 2024 as a 'last resort' after gaining weight following the birth of her daughter in 2021. By August 2024, having lost two stone, she was struck by 'excruciating' indigestion-like pain.
McDonald drove herself to A&E, where an ultrasound revealed a large gallstone blocking her bile duct and cholecystitis, an inflamed gallbladder. If left untreated, cholecystitis can lead to life-threatening complications such as sepsis, gangrene, and bowel perforation. In October 2024, she underwent a cholecystectomy to remove the organ, and a biopsy showed it had been 'rotting' inside her body.
Despite the ordeal, McDonald continues to take a 7.5mg dose of Mounjaro and has reached 12 stone 9lbs and a size 12, down from 21 stone and a size 24. She said: 'I was told my gallbladder had gone rotten and Mounjaro was an exacerbating factor – but overall, I'm much healthier now so I don't have any regrets.'
New NHS England statistics show gallbladder surgeries rose from 69,745 in 2023-24 to 80,196 in 2024-25, a 15% increase. Experts have suggested a link between weight-loss jabs and gallbladder issues, as gallstones are a listed side effect. Women are two to three times more likely to suffer from cholecystitis than men, according to the National Institutes of Health.
McDonald wants to raise awareness of gallbladder problems in women. She now finds meat hard to digest since the operation but feels well overall and has no regrets about using Mounjaro to lose weight.
