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Original poster

To wonder what happens when you reach a healthy weight on Wegovy etc?

130 replies

Milsonophonia · 02/09/2024 08:18

I have three friends who were mildly overweight who've used Wegovy. All are now looking very slim - one looks a bit frail - she's lost 3 stone. Two of them lied online about their weight to get it. Anyway, they are happy with their new thinness and the new reasrch that it's a potential wonder drug.

What happens when you stop? Do you get the anti inflammatory benefits forever? Or does everything on your body return to how it was - hunger back, no anti inflammatory benefits?

I'm constantly tempted - have a bmi of 29 and need to lose a good stone and a half - but can't seem to find anything about people who have stopped the drug.

Also I'm slightly worried one of my friends is going to disappear, as she's already thin but still taking it. Can you just take it forever?

OP posts:
Original poster
Milsonophonia · 02/09/2024 08:53

ApoodlecalledPenny · 02/09/2024 08:49

You do need to use the time on Wegovy to improve your eating habits and fitness. I started Nov last year, so I’m coming up for a year and almost at the point Boots will stop prescribing (I’ve used Boots all the way through). I’ve gone from 117kg to 73kg, and they’ll stop prescribing at 70kg. So that’s pretty soon.

I’ve not noticed increased bingeing as I’ve gone through, and I’ve gained muscle rather than lost it as I started going to the gym regularly. I couldn’t have exercised at my start weight, I was too big, but once I was about 15kg down, I had energy to start, and I’ve kept going.

At the end, it’s not a magic bullet, you still have to do the work of eating sensibly and exercising, and if you can’t/don’t want to do that then it is maybe a waste of money.

Obesity causes some inflammation- that should be reduced long term, but won’t stay reduced if you regain the weight - or it’s suppressing inflammation caused by something else.

Will it all go back on… I don’t know. Something like 90% of people on any diet put the weight back on, and doctors seem to say that people need to be on it long term. But no one’s prescribing it long term, at the moment.

Still feels better to me to lose the weight and give myself the chance of keeping it off. I am glad I did it. I started many diets over the years, and the difference this time is that I’ve been able to keep going to (very nearly) target weight.

Thanks for your reply and it sounds as though you've taken it seriously and done really well!

OP posts:
Original poster
Milsonophonia · 02/09/2024 08:52

Bornnotbourne · 02/09/2024 08:27

My partner has been off it for 3 months. He had a BMI of 36 when he started and it’s now 32. He’s just started binging again in the evening, he ate a bag of crisps and four muffins after eating 3 normal meals in the day. His obsession with food had gone away but now it’s returned. He started 112kg and went down to 99kg. I can imagine he’ll be back up by Christmas.
The most worrying thing about his experience with Wegovy is he has lost muscle mass and is now very weak.

My friend has also experienced loss of muscle mass. Tbh she's very slim now but looks as though she's been on bed rest for 6 months - no muscle tone at all. Presumably if you work on that though you can mitigate it.

OP posts:
ApoodlecalledPenny · 02/09/2024 08:49

You do need to use the time on Wegovy to improve your eating habits and fitness. I started Nov last year, so I’m coming up for a year and almost at the point Boots will stop prescribing (I’ve used Boots all the way through). I’ve gone from 117kg to 73kg, and they’ll stop prescribing at 70kg. So that’s pretty soon.

I’ve not noticed increased bingeing as I’ve gone through, and I’ve gained muscle rather than lost it as I started going to the gym regularly. I couldn’t have exercised at my start weight, I was too big, but once I was about 15kg down, I had energy to start, and I’ve kept going.

At the end, it’s not a magic bullet, you still have to do the work of eating sensibly and exercising, and if you can’t/don’t want to do that then it is maybe a waste of money.

Obesity causes some inflammation- that should be reduced long term, but won’t stay reduced if you regain the weight - or it’s suppressing inflammation caused by something else.

Will it all go back on… I don’t know. Something like 90% of people on any diet put the weight back on, and doctors seem to say that people need to be on it long term. But no one’s prescribing it long term, at the moment.

Still feels better to me to lose the weight and give myself the chance of keeping it off. I am glad I did it. I started many diets over the years, and the difference this time is that I’ve been able to keep going to (very nearly) target weight.

bluebellseeds · 02/09/2024 08:37

As soon as you stop and it’s out of your system (not very long), then all of the food noise will be back the same as before. Unless you make serious life-changing diet and exercise changes, then some/all of the weight will come back.

I’m not sure if it’s possible to be on a lifelong maintenance dose, if there is a pharmacy doing that then maybe someone will come along to say.

Bornnotbourne · 02/09/2024 08:27

My partner has been off it for 3 months. He had a BMI of 36 when he started and it’s now 32. He’s just started binging again in the evening, he ate a bag of crisps and four muffins after eating 3 normal meals in the day. His obsession with food had gone away but now it’s returned. He started 112kg and went down to 99kg. I can imagine he’ll be back up by Christmas.
The most worrying thing about his experience with Wegovy is he has lost muscle mass and is now very weak.