Sharing a bottle of wine over supper, a gin and tonic with friends at the weekend, cocktails on holiday – for Penny Whitaker, alcohol had always been one of life’s small, civilised pleasures.
The 45-year-old mother of three, who lives in Suffolk, had never given her drinking a second thought. It was moderate, sociable, and woven into the fabric of family life – something she and her husband enjoyed together and certainly not cause for concern. But over the past year, something has changed – barely perceptible at first, then impossible to ignore.
Now even a couple of glasses of white wine can leave her feeling unexpectedly low and emotionally brittle, triggering reactions she barely recognises in herself. And, to her shame, they have begun to spark the most unexpected and intense arguments with her husband.
Speaking to The Mail on Sunday under a pseudonym, she says: ‘We’ve always had a very steady, happy relationship. We’re not a couple who argue. But recently – and I’ve realised it tends to be after I’ve had a drink – I find myself becoming unexpectedly tearful and overwhelmed.
‘I take things personally. He might make a completely innocuous comment and I’ll react in a way that’s totally disproportionate. I end up saying things I don’t mean – things that are quite hurtful. The next day, I look back and feel deeply embarrassed. I have to apologise, and, to his credit, he takes it in his stride.
‘He knows it’s not how I normally am – it’s like a switch flips. But I do worry that, if it carries on, it could start to drive a wedge between us.’
So what has caused this unexpected shift?
Penny says it began after she started taking Mounjaro, the weekly weight-loss injection.
Weight-loss jab users have reported that their tolerance for alcohol has dramatically reduced, with even small amounts producing a stronger and less predictable effect
Katy Shadbolt lost two stone on Mounjaro but is now unable to handle drinking alcohol
Since beginning the treatment in July 2025 she has lost two stone, returning to the size 10 figure she had on her wedding day.
But while the physical transformation has been welcome, the effect on her relationship with alcohol has been anything but.
‘Before, a glass of wine would help me relax,’ she says. ‘Now it seems to do the opposite. I feel low, anxious and far more sensitive than usual. It’s as if alcohol no longer smooths the edges – it sharpens them.’
At a recent wedding, after just two glasses of champagne, Penny found herself far more uninhibited than she would have expected – something she only fully grasped the next day when she saw a video of herself on the dance floor.
‘My son is in the background looking absolutely horrified,’ she says. ‘I was mortified. It just wasn’t me – or at least not the version of me I recognise.’
For Penny, that moment confirmed what she had already begun to suspect. ‘That was the point I realised something had really changed,’ she adds. ‘Since then, I’ve stopped drinking wine altogether. I just don’t trust how it affects me any more.’
And it would seem Penny is far from alone. Other weight-loss jab users, speaking to this newspaper, have reported that their tolerance for alcohol has dramatically reduced, with even small amounts producing a stronger and less predictable effect.
For many, particularly women who once enjoyed moderate drinking as a way to relax, the shift can feel disorientating.
Katy Shadbolt, 42, has been taking Mounjaro for four months. But as well as losing two-and-a-half stone, she has also found herself unable to handle even a couple of drinks. The mother of one, who also has three stepchildren, used to keep her fridge stocked with rosé wine.
However, she admits: ‘I just can’t handle it any more. It feels like I suddenly don’t know my limits – even one drink can really hit me.
‘On more than one occasion, while hosting a dinner party, I’ve had to make my excuses and go to bed. Once, my husband had to guide me upstairs, as I was so out of it. And as for having a glass of wine with lunch – forget it.’
Katy, who runs the Mannings Farm Weddings And Glamping venue in north Essex, adds: ‘I am someone who loves being social. I always have a glass of champagne with guests when they arrive, but that’s impossible now – I’ll immediately find myself slurring and nodding off.
‘And it all happened so quickly – it’s been quite confusing.’
About 2.5 million people in the UK are thought to be using weight-loss injections such as Mounjaro, Ozempic and Wegovy – part of a class of drugs known as GLP-1 receptor agonists. Originally developed to treat type 2 diabetes, they work by mimicking hormones that regulate appetite, helping people feel fuller for longer and, in many cases, lose significant amounts of weight.
In the UK, around 2.5 million people are thought to be using weight-loss injections such as Mounjaro, Ozempic and Wegovy
On her change in tolerance since starting weight-loss jabs, Katy said ‘it all happened so quickly – it’s been quite confusing’
Clinical trials suggest obese patients can lose up to 15 to 20 per cent of their body weight, which has fuelled huge demand.
The NHS has already begun rolling out the drugs through specialist weight management services, with plans to expand eligibility over the coming years.
In a significant shift, last month health officials also confirmed the injections will be offered to some patients with established heart disease who are overweight – not just those who meet the threshold for obesity – after studies showed they can cut the risk of serious cardiovascular events.
There is also growing evidence that the drugs may dampen other compulsive behaviours. Early research suggests they can curb cravings for alcohol, smoking and even gambling.
While a reduced desire to drink has been widely noted, the extent to which alcohol tolerance itself may change – sometimes dramatically – has received far less attention. So what is going on?
Dr Maurice O’Farrell, a GP specialising in weight management, says many of his patients report a noticeably different response to alcohol after starting GLP-1 medication – often finding they become tipsy quicker, feel less in control, or experience a more unpleasant after-effect.
These drugs work in part by slowing the rate at which the stomach empties – a process known as gastric emptying. As a result, food and drink remain in the stomach for longer than usual before passing into the small intestine, where alcohol is primarily absorbed into the bloodstream. This shift means that users don’t feel as hungry – leading to weight loss.
But it can also alter not just how quickly alcohol takes effect, but how it is processed by the body – changing both the intensity and the quality of the experience.
‘The way alcohol is absorbed plays a big role in how it affects you,’ says Dr O’Farrell. ‘These medications slow digestion, so the alcohol stays in the digestive system for longer. People are also eating less, often without realising, which means they may effectively be drinking on an empty stomach – so it can hit harder and more quickly. So when patients drink, it doesn’t match what they’re used to.’
Some users also report that alcohol feels different – less enjoyable, more sedating or emotionally destabilising – though the exact reasons for this are still being explored.
Researchers have suggested that, in addition to changes in digestion, GLP-1 drugs may influence brain pathways linked to reward and impulse control – potentially reducing the pleasurable ‘hit’ associated with alcohol.
A smaller meal, or drinking on a relatively empty stomach, can further amplify the effect, leading to a quicker onset of intoxication and a narrower window between feeling relaxed and feeling unwell.
In practical terms, this means someone who was previously able to drink moderately without issue may now find the same amount produces a stronger or less predictable response – particularly if they are also eating less overall.
Taken together, these effects can fundamentally alter a person’s relationship with drinking – not necessarily by removing the desire, but by making the experience itself less predictable, and often less rewarding.
Another jab user mourning her previously easy relationship with drink is Rebecca Morris.
The 47-year-old mother of two says the injections have dramatically altered how her body handles alcohol, leaving her unable to drink in the way she once did, even when she wants to.
Researchers have suggested that GLP-1 drugs may influence brain pathways linked to reward and impulse control
She says: ‘I haven’t lost the desire – that’s what’s so strange. I still think, “I’ll have a glass of wine while I’m cooking,” because that’s always been part of my routine. But now, after just one or two glasses, I feel completely different. I become tipsy very quickly, and then suddenly quite emotional. It catches me off guard every time.’
Since starting Mounjaro in August last year she has lost two stone, but says the impact on her social life has been harder to adjust to than the diet itself.
‘I miss being able to enjoy a drink and know where I am with it,’ she adds. ‘Now there’s no margin for error – I can go from perfectly fine to feeling quite drunk very quickly. It’s not relaxing any more – it’s unpredictable.’
The change was brought into focus during a trip to Venice for a friend’s wedding anniversary.
‘We were having lunch in St Mark’s Square – it was one of those perfect moments, with the sun setting over the canals,’ she says. ‘But after just a glass of sauvignon blanc, I suddenly felt overwhelmed and unsteady.
‘I had to go back to our hotel early, which was mortifying. Everyone else carried on, and I just couldn’t.’
Experiences such as that have forced her to rethink her relationship with alcohol.
‘I haven’t consciously decided to give it up,’ she says.
‘It’s more I don’t trust how it will affect me. I feel like Mounjaro has stolen one of my pleasures in life. I can’t relax the way I used to and I just feel like there’s something missing.
‘Yes, I might be a size 12 instead of a size 18 – but I keep asking myself, was it worth it?’
