The weight-loss jab side effect no one warns you about: Kaylee lost three stone on Mounjaro but developed this exhausting and scary problem... and it's also caused by other common drugs

Like most people who start on weight-loss medications such as Wegovy, Kaylee Lennon had heard about the potential side-effects, including sulphur burps and diarrhoea.'But I was willing to risk them,' says the 39-year-old, who's struggled with her weight for most of her adult life. After having tried endless diets, to no avail, last summer she started using Mounjaro injections, bought from an online pharmacy.Weighing 15st (95kg), at 5ft 2in, she was determined to lose five stone and finally achieve her target weight of 10st (63kg).'I felt really big and I just wanted to lose weight so I was willing to suffer the side-effects,' explains Kaylee, who works in a call centre and lives with husband Chris, 44, a scientist and their two children in Stockton-on-Tees.Kaylee soon began losing weight and while she initially suffered some gassiness and acid reflux she otherwise felt healthy.'Within a week or so I'd started losing weight – I was thrilled,' she recalls.By last Christmas she'd lost 3st and paused her medication over the festive season in order to enjoy a social life. By New Year, some weight had crept back, so she restarted the Mounjaro injections.Within a few days, she started coughing, however. At first it was only occasionally – drier weather also seemed to trigger it – 'but then it started happening more and more until I was coughing all day long'. Kaylee Lennon found that she had persistent bouts of coughing that became longer and more extreme over time after using Mounjaro Kaylee hit her target weight after six months of using the weight-loss jab and found that her cough vanished within days of stoppingAt first, Kaylee put it down to a cold or flu. But as the weeks passed, the cough persisted – and the bouts became longer and more extreme.The hacking cough made work almost impossible, and affected her sleep, her social life and forced her to cancel appointments for a millinery business she ran in her spare time.This lasted for months. She added: 'My throat was so dry. I had an unquenchable thirst and had to drink cups and cups of water – but I still coughed.'I had to turn my head set off at work as I was hacking so much and gasping for air and needing to drink. It was exhausting and scary,' she says.As she didn't have any other symptoms, Kaylee consulted a pharmacist, who suggested glycerol cough medicine, which is usually given for dry, tickly coughs. This helped a little but did not solve her problems.'I was coughing all day and night which was exhausting,' she says.After six months, she stopped using the Mounjaro jabs after hitting her target weight.'Within days of stopping, the cough vanished,' she told the Daily Mail. Dr Simon Taggart says that although the majority of patients on GLP-1 medications do not develop a cough, some doAnd then she went online and 'read lots of other stories from people who'd taken the jabs and also developed extreme coughing'. Some said they coughed so hard it made them vomit.A cough is one of the most common side-effects seen with a whole host of commonly prescribed medications.For some, it's a minor disruption that's outweighed by the broader health benefits of the drug concerned, but for others it can disrupt every aspect of their working and social lives.One example is ACE inhibitors (or angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors) – taken by millions of Britons for high blood pressure, heart failure and heart attacks – which work by stopping the body from producing a hormone that narrows blood vessels, improving blood flow.But the tablets are notorious for causing an almost constant cough as they can also lead to a build-up of chemicals that irritate the lining of the lungs and airways.Some studies suggest up to 20 per cent of patients on ACE inhibitors – such as ramipril or lisinopril – develop a persistent, dry cough and up to 30 per cent of those quit taking the drugs, or ask to switch medication, as a result.Meanwhile, beta blockers – another class of blood pressure medication also taken by millions – can also be cough triggers, especially in patients with respiratory conditions such as asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, an incurable condition (often smoking-related) where the lungs are damaged and breathing is difficult.That's because the tablets – such as bisoprolol – can cause bronchoconstriction (or tightening of the smooth muscles lining the airways) in patients with underlying chest illness.Even eye drops that contain beta blockers (such as Timolol) can cause coughs, wheezing and breathlessness. This is because, despite being administered directly into the eye, the drug also passes into the bloodstream and gets pumped around the body to the lungs.Yet a cough is not a commonly reported side-effect of Mounjaro (tirzepatide), according to Thorrun Govind, a pharmacist based in Birmingham. Indeed, although the Mounjaro patient safety leaflet contains a detailed list of common and rare complications – including bloating, burping, fatigue, flatulence, dizziness and low blood pressure, which affect up to one in ten users, there is no mention of a persistent cough.However, people with type 2 diabetes who were taking GLP-1 receptor drugs such as Wegovy or Mounjaro were 'more likely to develop chronic cough than people using other second-line medications', according to a study published last November in AMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery by researchers from the University of Southern California.The research, based on the medical records of about two million adults in the US between 2005 to 2025, revealed that within the first five years after receiving a diabetes medication prescription, those taking GLP-1 drugs were more likely to develop a persistent cough than people receiving other treatments for this condition.Dr Simon Taggart, a consultant chest and general physician at Spire Manchester Hospital says that although the majority of patients on GLP-1 medications do not develop a cough, some do.'We suspect it may have something to do with the way the drug works on the stomach to delay emptying which may increase the risk of GORD (Gastroesophageal reflux disease). This is where stomach acid flows back up into the oesophagus and causes heartburn, leading to coughing,' he adds.Coughs are a known effect of GORD – Indeed studies suggest that acid reflux-related coughs account for almost half of all unexplained chronic coughs.And many heartburn patients suffer so-called 'silent' reflux, where a hacking cough is the only significant symptom they experience.The Mounjaro leaflet states: 'Acid reflux, or heartburn, is where stomach acid comes up into the tube from your stomach to your mouth.'Dr Taggart says that a process known as microaspiration, where small amounts of acid 'creep up the gullet, and spill over to the larynx where they cause irritation and coughing' may also cause cough in some people taking GLP-1 drugs.He adds that in general, if a patient develops a cough while taking a drug it is better to ask their health practitioner to switch drugs rather than lose the benefit of the medication.Dr Taggart also says that while certain drugs such as ACE inhibitors can cause coughs, they are generally rarely caused by medication alone.He adds: 'If the cough stops with cessation of drug therapy then it is reasonable to assume that it was the drug.'If not, and particularly If you are, or were, a smoker and the cough has been going on for three weeks or more, you should get a health check and request a chest X-ray. It is always best to speak to a health professional in these circumstances.'Kaylee says: 'I am so glad I lost the weight and have lost a third of the old me.'I've had to buy a whole new wardrobe and feel fantastic.'But the cough did mar the experience – even if I'd known about it I would have taken the jabs, but people need to be aware it could happen to them or they might think it was something more serious.'Eli Lilly, the manufacturer of Mounjaro, was contacted for comment and said it 'takes any reports regarding patient safety seriously. Regulatory agencies conduct extensive independent assessments of the benefits and risks of every new medicine and Lilly is committed to continually monitoring, evaluating, and reporting safety data to ensure the latest information is available for regulators and prescribers. 'We encourage patients to consult their doctor or other healthcare professional regarding any possible side effects they may be experiencing and to ensure that they are getting genuine Lilly medicine.'