To consider mounjaro?

Ridiculous. I'm 5 ft 3.
Ive used Wegovy to go from 14 st 3 pds, now 10 st 9 pds. It's taken a year, and I'm now weaning down to try and come off. To want to start it at your weight to lose a few pounds is stupid and disordered.

DH hasn't found that. He's three months in. What bad side effects did you suffer from?

4lbs a week at OP's BMI? On 2.5? Not going to happen.

The side effects are awful op.

Prescribing guidelines for HRT include questions about hysterectomy etc.

Prescribing guidelines for weight loss drugs include questions that would mean some people who do qualify on BMI grounds can’t be prescribed them.

Beyond that, it’s impossible to cater for all individual circumstances and data analysis has clearly been done which has concluded that the use of a BMI cutoff is reasonable approach, albeit a very broad-brush one.

So what are the actual relative risks @HotCrossBunplease, as opposed to the hypotheticals? (Also noting that the use of the blunt instrument of BMI has not been addressed).

An individual's relative risk may be very different to the general population. E.g. someone who has had a hysterectomy has a different set of risks from HRT than someone who still has their womb.

Because safety where drugs are concerned is all about relative risk.

Let’s say that Mounjaro carries a 5% increased risk of cancer (it doesn’t, this is just for illustration purposes).

And let’s say that obesity carries a 20% increased risk of cancer.

Someone who is not obese would be silly to increase their cancer risk by 5%.

Someone who is obese would be sensible to reduce their cancer risk by 15%.

That doesn't answer the question. Medically, why is it safer for someone with a BMI of 29 - who used to be 30 - to take these drugs that someone who is BMI 29 but has never reached 30?

Both are likely to be overeating. BMI is not a precise measure. It's a pretty arbitrary cut off and will be questioned as time goes on (IMO).

Saying "obesity is a chronic condition" is meaningless. "Chronic" just means "Chronic diseases are defined broadly as conditions that last 1 year or more and require ongoing medical attention or limit activities of daily living or both." No one is checking if someone has had a BMI of 30+ for more than a year before prescribing weight loss jabs.

Lots of people report weight loss from week one.

The reason it's safer for people who were formerly obese to take it than people who were never obese is because obesity is a chronic condition - those who were previously obese are more likely to become obese again, so again, it's worth the risks to keep us at a healthy weight whereas if you've always been a healthy weight/only overweight you aren't at risk of becoming obese again.

There is no rationing of supply. Why on earth would the manufacturers want to do that?

Or people take a maintenance dose for the longer term

I think this is a really good point and one I have pondered previously. I’m mainly thinking about American celebrities like the Kardashian family etc who took weight loss injections when they were likely not obese in BMI, to drop a dress size. I’m basing that off their appearance though, I suppose it’s possible they had obese BMI.

I know everyone in the UK is bound by the same restrictions, including private prescriptions, so “slimmer” UK celebrities are probably getting theirs via deception.

However “slimmer” overseas celebrities seem to legitimately be able to obtain it privately and I wonder how/why this is possible. The different approaches in different countries is interesting.

What I find interesting is appetite, for some minimal even if exertion high, for others wild animal
level of ravenous & all shades in between.

I dunno why everyone calls them weight loss drugs. They are basically just an appetite suppressant, and that concept has been around for decades. I should know, I lost about a stone on Mounjaro, it was great to get me out of the obese BMI zone but I stopped because I never felt hungry and was having to force myself to eat. I’m now back to having to use willpower to eat less, but I am more motivated because I enjoyed the weight coming off when I was using the drug to suppress my appetite.

OP if eating less is not already helping you lose weight then Mounjaro won’t make any difference. And you’d have to lie to get it anyway, which is not cool.

Aside from your BMI not being high enough, it's pointless taking Mounjaro for one month. It doesn't work like that. You start at a low dose, then build up to the weightloss dose. It's not a "one month and done" quick fix.

Agree with some of the other comments. If you can continue to take it safely once your BMI is below 30, why would there be additional health risks if your BMI is below 30 to start with? Also - as everyone keeps saying - BMI is not the be-all and end-all.

I think it's about rationing supply. I have a very healthy lifestyle by any measure but would benefit from losing some weight. Genetic factors, age, menopause etc. are all working against me. I predict a broadening of the criteria in the near future. Generic versions of these drugs are coming so the price will plummet.

@User14March interesting to see where it goes, if risks are minimal I can’t see why it won’t become available for lower BMIs.

@GettingStuffed so people lose weight on it, stop taking it because they lose their obesity related risks, if they gain weight again because food noise and cravings return, they wait for obesity related risks to return, take the injection again to lose… so stuck in a loop?

It hasn’t been linked to thyroid cancer in humans as yet.

You can be legitimately be privately prescribed metformin for weight management & some take re: longevity.

Basically once you stop taking it it's very easy to put on the weight again.

And kidney damage. It's really only for people where weight related issues outweigh the mounjaro issues

@Isitfridayyetsophie it seems the risks are fairly minimal there are risks re: botox too but now mainstream for aesthetics. Time will tell.

How do you plan to get it?

I understand you can only get these injections if you have a BMI of over 30, there are possible side effects to the medication but the risks of being on medication is lower than the risks caused by obesity.

What I don’t understand is if people on these injections get down to a healthy BMI, surely the risks of obesity have gone, so how is a maintenance dose justified and how is it any different to anyone else with a healthy BMI looking to manage their weight? I’m asking in good faith, a family friend is looking into taking them and this is one thing that puts her off, she thinks she’ll stop taking them and she’ll put weight on again.

OP, It wouldn’t surprise me if the rules changed (depending on research of long term use)but for now your BMI is too low to be legitimately prescribed them.

I know those legit prescribed privately at 70-75kg and 5ft 3 ish starting out & of more now 60kg ish & 5ft 3 on the ‘journey’ that started heavier. A bit of guesswork but pockets of affluent London & SE IME/IMO. Menopause & trying everything first not budging.

Odds are in time will be available legitimately to ‘overweight’. Everything everyone has said is sensible but menopause makes it almost impossible for some to get to & maintain a healthy weight especially if dealing with ravenous hunger & stress. 5ft 3 is short & your hunger doesn’t get memo all you can have is sometimes circa 1,200 cals a day to play with or gain & metabolism slows.