Eric Stonestreet Says Mounjaro Was a ‘Game Changer’ for Type 2 Diabetes, Weight Loss: ‘There’s a Pep in My Step'

People ^ | May 1, 2025 | Vanessa Etienne

[nickcarraway]

The ‘Modern Family’ alum tells PEOPLE that he was initially "embarrassed" about his type 2 diabetes and kept his diagnosis a secret from friends and family Eric Stonestreet used to think his health was “fairly good.” He struggled to lose weight like many people, but felt fine overall.

“I was just trying to maintain as healthy a lifestyle as I could without doing a tremendous amount about it,” he tells PEOPLE.

But in 2009, just as he landed his beloved role as Cameron Tucker on Modern Family, Stonestreet was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. “It was like this crazy happy moment cut with this diagnosis that I truthfully didn't take very seriously,” he recalls.

---

TOPICS: Business/Economy; Health/Medicine; Science
KEYWORDS: diabetes; diet; mounjaro; ozempic; weight

[Jamestown1630]

Do people have to continue taking these drugs, and what happens if they stop?

[nickcarraway]

That is a good question. There is one Freeper who said she will be on Ozempic for the rest of her life. There are problems if one goes off.

Also, alternatives to this are not being mentions. There is a company called Virta Health that has amazing rates of remission for Type 2 Diabetes. Dr. Jason Fung has books and videos on it.

[Jamestown1630]

The thing I worry about is that many people on things like this don’t seem to be really learning new habits and to live and eat a new way. So, when they go off the drug, for one reason or another, it seems many will eventually just wind up where they started.

[kaila]

I am on mounjaro. All this med does is take away hunger pangs. You still have to diet, I lost 22 pounds, still have to lose 20 more. If people go off it, they still have to keep up with dieting. Some people go on a low maintenance dose after the weight loss.

[faucetman]

Excellus BlueCross BlueShield does not pay for Mounjaro.

“you can expect to pay between $1,000 and $1,200 or more per month, which can add up to over $12,000 annually if you’re paying entirely out of pocket.”

PLUS required 24/7 monitoring device if you are already on insulin.

Ozempic has too many side effects, but Medicare does pay some of it, maybe most, I don’t know how much they pay.

Not for Me.

[Jamestown1630]

Good to know.

[Zuriel]

**The thing I worry about is that many people on things like this don’t seem to be really learning new habits and to live and eat a new way.**

My youngest brother took mounjaro for about 6 months, lost over 80 pounds, meamwhile ditching sugar loaded drinks and desserts. In the last 3 months since being off of the drug he has been able to resist the old eating habits, and has begun an exercise routine that he couldn’t do at 285 pounds.

My wife and I have kept each other in check, and are right about where we were when we met over 47 years ago: 125 and 180 (she’s 5’6”, I’m 6’1”)

[combat_boots]

Congrats

[SoftballMominVA]

I am on Mounjaro and will likely be for life. I am a Type 2 diabetic and this is the only medication which keeps my A1C at an acceptable level. The weight loss was also nice, but that stopped after 6 months for me. For now, the only side effect is an A1C below 6.

Given that my mother passed of NASH - and she never had a drink in her life - I am quite comfortable staying on this medication. Living to see my grandkids grow up is a gift I have she didn't. I'll also be on other meds for life, and that's ok too.

[Jamestown1630]

I’m very glad it’s working for you.

[1malumprohibitum]

I tried it and had to stop. I didn’t lose very much at all. Just a couple pounds. Developed stomach paresia ( paralysis). Made me very sick twice before we figure it out I thought it was food poisoning. I was sick as a dog and throwing up undigested food I had eaten two days prior. It took me quite awhile to get back to normal. I am glad it works for some but MY opinion is that it is potentially very dangerous especially if side affects don’t go away like a lot of people report.

[one guy in new jersey]

Darned if it isn’t a near lifetime of a continuously too-high daily carbohydrate load that quietly, and is it irreversibly?, conquers or overwhelms the body—the finely tuned machine of the body.

Fast and substantial weight loss after initial detection of the A1C aberration really seems to be essential. After that, it seems as if the types and quantity of carbohydrates can’t be policed or monitored closely enough, so as to prevent regaining the excess weight, and somehow thereby falling back into the destructive syndrome in which the cells of one’s body resume the unnatural state of being resistant to the body’s own self-produced supply of insulin, naturally borne by and circulating in the bloodstream.

RFK Jr. is definitely onto something. Americans need to overhaul their eating habits, pronto.

[AAABEST]

Too hard to just stop eating donuts, so people need questionable drugs.

Type-2 diabetes is self-inflicted.

[Vermont Lt]

On many plans for Medicare you will pay about $300 a month for it.

It IS very dependent on what plan you are on.

[one guy in new jersey]

“And I notice it walking through the airport with my bags. I’m just lighter on my feet. It feels good. I mean, everyone’s experienced that. You lose a couple pounds and you feel better,” he tells PEOPLE.

__________

Quote from Eric Stonestreet.

This is one way that one’s body that’s slimmed down, and is continuing to slim down, signals that one is on the right track, and should not “quit now” (”Don’t quit now!”) by returning to poor eating habits. Persistently better overall health, after the Diabetes Type 2 diagnosis, is possible, if one remains motivated. And, frankly, if one has others in one’s life that are there for support and encouragement.

[LeftiesBinWhinin]

I pay $47 per month on Humana after $300 deductible is met

[IAGeezer912]

I use the Abbott Labs Libre 3 sensor to monitor my glucose level in realtime 24/7. I learn whether or not something is healthy. It costs $10 per week.

[nickcarraway]

Not everyone who gets it is heavy, some people get it for others reasons, but obviously not the majority.

[Bernard]

I am on a United HMO Medicare supplement and paid $47 per month after a $340 deductible. I used Mounjaro for 7 weeks and had to stop because of a side effect. I lost 14 pounds and have put 7 back on since I stopped 3 weeks ago. I think the 7 I put back on was just replacing the fluid I lost from the side effect.

I also found my appetite was reduced, and that continues. One more change - I stopped carbonated diet soda and now drink a lot of flavored water (the squeeze bottle kind - sugar free, one squeeze per pitcher of water.)

I see my doctor next week to discuss whether to try Mounjaro again or maybe one of the others. Per the Nurse Practitioner, the deductible is a one time charge for the drug family. So if I switch to Ozempic or Wegovy there would not be a deductible. That's what I was told.