To be concerned at the number of people lying to get weight loss jabs?

Well a really quick google shows that semaglutide is a cancer risk.

IMPORTANT WARNING:
Semaglutide injection may increase the risk that you will develop tumors of the thyroid gland, including medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC; a type of thyroid cancer). Laboratory animals who were given semaglutide developed tumors, but it is not known if this medication increases the risk of tumors in humans. Tell your doctor if you or anyone in your family has or has ever had MTC or Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia syndrome type 2 (MEN 2; condition that causes tumors in more than one gland in the body). If so, your doctor will probably tell you not to use semaglutide injection. If you experience any of the following symptoms, call your doctor immediately: a lump or swelling in the neck; hoarseness; difficulty swallowing; or shortness of breath.
Keep all appointments with your doctor and the laboratory. Your doctor may order certain tests to check your body's response to semaglutide injection.
Your doctor or pharmacist will give you the manufacturer's patient information sheet (Medication Guide) when you begin treatment with semaglutide injection and each time you refill your prescription. Read the information carefully and ask your doctor or pharmacist if you have any questions. You can also visit the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) website (https://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/ucm085729.htm) or the manufacturer's website to obtain the Medication Guide.
Talk to your doctor about the risks of using semaglutide injection.

Where are you getting this info from op?

Turns out it clearly IS an envy thing. How about being happy that people who have struggled with obesity (and people can become obese for various reasons) are able to lose weight when everything else has failed? And take less of those hospital beds someone upthread was moaning about. This is great news at both individual AND societal level. Pitiful that some people can be so envious and spiteful.

I do think there should be tighter controls on it as it is a drug and there’s teenage girls getting their hands on it at a time when there’s also social media pressure and an increase of disordered eating

The other thing that concerns me as a healthcare professional, is the amount of diabetic patients that aren’t able to get their prescription filled due to shortage of supply due to all the demand for its weight loss in the general population. I know those overweight are at risk of multiple co-morbidities, diabetes included. However it’s my general opinion, unpopular or not, that diabetics prescriptions should be prioritised to manage their diabetes due to the risks to them

@ThePure
Indeed
I've spent all my adult life making sure I don't become overweight. I don't care about the weight loss part but it strikes me a very wrong that I will not get the apparent extra benefits of these drugs as I am not overweight.

I don't see what there is for individuals to be concerned about. If you don't want or need the drug then there's no issue for you personally. If you do want/need the drug and you can't get it prescribed then you will find another dealer to give it to you. Some of those are regulated and some might not be. It's up to individuals to do their own due diligence.

I think the faux concern (and it is) grates but if randoms want to wring their hands and post on chatboards about it it they can crack on. What's to 'debate' exactly? It's the pharmaceutical/medical industry that needs to be on top of this if they have concern for the public who use these drugs.

The drug's users have even been sharing ''codes'' on MN - presumably for money off.

The dodgy pharmaceutical manufacturers are clearly offering incentives to push their wares.

@HeySummerWhereAreYou that poster is simply wrong about how these drugs work. If you want to discuss them, accuracy is surely important?

We do t have to give photos or any evidence here from an online clinic I use in Australia. It does surprise me that they just take my word for my weight each fortnight. I think people take drugs of all sorts they shouldn’t every day though and this is no different unfortunately.

@SilenceInside You do you hun.

@HeySummerWhereAreYou these injections have been researched and trialled extensively. They are also already used for other treatments like diabetes. There are no serious long term side effects, we're talking after years of use. This is the same process as any other "new" drug that's developed and brought into use.

Why do you think that this process is inadequate or has failed for these particular treatments?

Blimey, the people pushing this weight loss drug have definitely got into YOUR head! Even your username is a tribute to it.

And you call it ignorance - I call it common sense.

Of course people could end up in A&E by taking a prescription medication they acquired through deceit by not sharing an accurate medical history.

What an idiotic statement to make. I could do with losing a stone but take a medication that’s almost certainly contra-indicated with weight loss jabs.

''This reminds me of the dodgy doctors who, in the 1960s-70s, made fortunes by dishing out amphetamine prescriptions to dieting women. Now the dodgy doctors work at online pharmacies; no need for discreet kitchen-table referrals. ''

THIS!

Parent's neighbours had a stick thin daughter who used to shop at Biba - her mother told my mother that the daughter was accessing amphetamines from Harley Street doctors privately.

The gaunt Whippet like figures of Twiggy &c were helped along with amphetamines.

I've tried both Oz/Wegovy and Mounjaro and I have literally no side effects with Mounjaro, and have also never heard about any long term side effects. In fact there was a news article yesterday saying:

"Research has already found that semaglutide – also known by the brand names Wegovy and Ozempic – reduced the risk of death in people who were obese or overweight and had cardiovascular disease.

But fresh studies have found that Ozempic has impacts beyond what was originally imagined for the drug. People who took the drug died at a lower rate from all causes, not just from cardiovascular causes, researchers discovered.
“Semaglutide has far-reaching benefits beyond what we initially imagined,” said Prof Harlan Krumholz of the Yale school of medicine. “It’s not just avoiding heart attacks. These are health promoters. It wouldn’t surprise me that improving people’s health this way actually slows down the ageing process.”

https://www.theguardian.com/science/article/2024/aug/31/weight-loss-drugs-ozempic-slow-down-ageing-process-study#:~:text=But%20fresh%20studies%20have%20found,from%20cardiovascular%20causes%2C%20researchers%20discovered.

These drugs aren't brand new, they've been around for several years now and long-term studies are being published all the time. They are having a massively (pardon the pun) positive effect on people's health - and potentially life-long results too (although obviously those studies need more time to be sure).

The officially and carefully prescribed medicines aren't 'full of crap' nor are they dangerous when used according to the specific guidance given.

Using the injections is not life threatening.

You don't know this. You do NOT know the long term effects!

.

Well I'll bite about the envy thing

I have never really been overweight
Top end of healthy BMI and thought I was at times but never really overweight
I am chronically unhappy with my weight and body image though. I have never been thin enough by my own standards. I'd always prefer half a stone less, to get rid of cellulite, have great legs and a six pack
I have to work hard to maintain a weight that I am vaguely happy with. Exercise at least 3 days a week, walk everywhere, always use the stairs, limit unhealthy food, calorie count or fast for a while if my weight is outside my desired parameters
I don't frankly believe that in this obesogenic world we live in there are many people at all who maintain a healthy weight with zero effort certainly not into their 30s and 40s whatever they might say

It should not concern me at all that other people are achieving what I've always had to work hard for with drugs
I am genuinely happy for friends and aquaintances who have struggled and are now achieving success with these drugs.

But yes it does feel like it's cheating in some way.

And on a broader level I worry that it isn't addressing the real issues: the huge availability of UPF, the addiction to this stuff at an early age and cultural normalisation of eating to excess, our sedentary lifestyles glued to screens. Obesity isn't the only bad outcome of this stuff
Is it OK that we just carry on with all this stuff and take a drug to counteract the effects?

Tell people that an injection is a quick fix, as opposed to changing their eating habits to achieve the same outcome and they will come. People who prescribe should be able to distinguish between people who need it and people who don't fit the criteria, otherwise they shouldn't be able to prescribe ?

@oakleaffy you can't eat what you like when taking these injections. You really can't. They suppress your appetite and decrease your interest in fatty, salty, sugary foods. You feel full on much smaller quantities of food and stay feeling fuller for longer.

There are no serious long term side effects identified for either Wegovy or Mounjaro after long term large scale international drug trials on humans.

people are looking for a magic bullet so they can eat what they like and be a size 8 -10.

That just isn't true. A lot of ignorance on this thread. You still have to make an effort with the drugs, it just gives you a big boost. If you invest in the process you're not going to want to eat what you like but to make healthy choices and the drugs make that easier.

My pharmacist said there are so many faked and unregulated drugs out there- {Online} It's a big money spinner.

Re weight loss drugs- people are looking for a magic bullet so they can eat what they like and be a size 8 -10.

Goodness knows what the side effects of these drugs will be down the line.

@HeySummerWhereAreYou using the injections is not life threatening? And the expense is borne by the patient, no one else. That's a personal choice as to whether it's worth the money. People spend money on weight watchers and the like, Noom, Second Nature and many other weight loss schemes.