If you have polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)—which causes symptoms like irregular periods and excess facial or body hair—you might be wondering if a new weight-loss medication called retatrutide could help.
It’s essential to note that retatrutide hasn’t been approved yet, so it’s not currently available in the UK or anywhere else. But here we’ll talk you through everything we know so far about retatrutide and PCOS.
How PCOS affects your weight
Insulin is a hormone that helps your body to use the energy you get from your food.
But many people who have PCOS also have something called insulin resistance. This is when your body doesn’t use insulin as well as it should. Your body then makes more insulin to make up for it.
Insulin resistance can lead to weight gain, which can make PCOS symptoms worse. And, being overweight can also cause your body to produce even more insulin.
Is retatrutide good for PCOS?
We don’t know yet, because we don’t have all the test results. However, we do know that losing weight does help many people improve their PCOS symptoms. This includes people who lose weight using weight-loss medication such as Wegovy and Mounjaro.
If it’s approved, it’s likely that retatrutide will be right for some people with PCOS. It seems to help people lose weight and improve the way their body makes and uses insulin.
Retatrutide works by acting in the same way as three hormones that your body makes naturally. These are GLP-1, GIP, and glucagon. Together, these hormones work to regulate blood sugar, reduce your appetite, slow down your digestion, and help your body burn fat.
How does retatrutide help with PCOS?
We don’t know yet if retatrutide will help with the symptoms of PCOS. But we do know that other weight-loss injections have helped people to reduce their symptoms and improve their health.
Weight loss
Losing weight is often recommended if you have PCOS and you’re overweight. Even a modest loss of around 5% of body weight can improve insulin sensitivity, help regulate menstrual cycles, support hormonal balance and ease symptoms such as excess hair growth or acne.
Weight loss can also lower your risk of longer-term problems linked to PCOS, including type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and fatty liver disease.
If retatrutide is approved in future, early studies suggest it could be the most effective weight-loss injection so far.
Insulin resistance
As well as helping you lose weight, retatrutide might help your body make the right amount of insulin and use it better. Early research shows many people had better blood sugar control while taking it.
In a phase 2 clinical trial, 72% of people with prediabetes returned to normal blood sugar after 48 weeks on retatrutide. Prediabetes means blood sugar is higher than normal but not in the diabetes range.
Fertility
Your hormones can be affected by being overweight. Some people find that losing weight helps them to get pregnant more easily.
But if you are thinking of taking weight-loss injections, it’s important to discuss your plans with your doctor. You’ll need to stop them for one or two months before you start trying to have a baby.
It’s also worth knowing that Mounjaro can affect how well the contraceptive pill works.
Can you take metformin with retatrutide?
We don’t know yet, because retatrutide hasn’t been fully tested.
We do know that it’s usually safe to take other weight-loss injections such as Wegovy or Mounjaro at the same time as metformin. In fact, this might be recommended if you have type 2 diabetes.
However, you should always speak to the person prescribing you weight-loss medication about any other medicines you take. They can check that the combination would be safe and effective for you.
Retatrutide and PCOS: Side effects
Until the trials have finished, we won’t know all the side effects of retatrutide. But, from the data we have so far, it seems that they will be similar to those of Wegovy and Mounjaro.
In trials, the most common symptoms so far have been digestive problems, such as feeling sick, being sick, diarrhoea, and constipation.
There will need to be more research before we can know if the side effects are different if you have PCOS. But this hasn’t been the case for other weight-loss medications.
Side effects support at Voy
"If you're using Voy and you experience any side effects, rest assured that our expert clinicians are just a message or phone call away. They can adjust your dose, prescribe medication to ease your symptoms, or simply offer reassurance.
Everyone responds differently to weight loss treatment and we'll help you find what feels right for you."
Is retatrutide available for PCOS on the NHS?
Retatrutide isn’t available on the NHS for any reason at the moment. This is because it hasn’t been approved yet.
If trials show that it’s safe to use, it will probably be prescribed based on similar guidelines to Wegovy or Mounjaro.
This is usually based on your BMI and whether or not you have a weight-related condition, such as:
- High cholesterol
- Heart disease
- High blood pressure
- Obstructive sleep apnoea (when your breathing stops and starts while you’re asleep)
- Type 2 diabetes.
Weight management with PCOS
It can be harder to lose weight if you have PCOS and you might find that diet and exercise don’t work as quickly as you’d hope. This can be really difficult to deal with.
Weight-loss injections might be able to help you to lose weight. Although retatrutide isn’t available yet, there are other really effective options such as Wegovy and Mounjaro, which might work for you and help you to reach your health goals.
Our clinicians and expert coaches can work with you to create a personalised treatment plan that includes weight loss medication and lifestyle guidance. We’ll help you build a routine you can stick to and will be right there with you at every step.
Take our weight loss quiz to see if you’re eligible for the programme.
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