Anyone taken weight loss injections and regretted it?

There's no evidence of that poster having thought full stop.

I didn't have a huge amount to lose either - 2-3 st (BMI of 32 because I am short and not aiming for a low BMI) - but like you, it wasn't coming off.

I wavered for a while and in the end what I did was set myself a deadline - try to lose weight without them for 2 months and if that didn't happen, I would take WLI.

I ended up on WLI. That has been slow going but it is coming off in a way that it just wasn't found to otherwise

How to say that you don't understand obesity without saying it......"Just eat less". Do you think that Op hasn't figured that out herself?

Yes. However, this is also true of weight loss with diet and exercise. Obese people who lose weight in this way are more likely to put it back on than not. If OP is obese, and I realise she's not confirmed that yet, there is no method of weight loss where this isn't a risk.

I lost 15kg on WLI which is slightly over 2 stone, main side effect was hair loss. Because of my height I had a bmi over over 30, it's now 24.

I don't regret it at all, but know it will be a battle to keep the weight off

What awful things are you worried about OP, and do you think the risk of those is higher than staying 2 stone overweight?

Also just to double check, do you definitely qualify? You need a BMI of 30 if no comorbidity or 27 if you have a condition that weight loss would assist. Sorry if this is patronising, it's just there've been posts on here from people who were considering it who didn't actually meet the prescription criteria. Two stone was enough to make me obese but it wouldn't if you're tall.

There are some very common side effects eg diarrhoea and some very rare side effects eg pancreatitis. You have no way of knowing what, if any, side effects you will have before starting the medication.

That's why it's very important to weigh up the risks and side effects of obesity first and to get it prescribed by a reputable provider - and only if you meet the criteria.

When taking the medication, you should eat a healthy and balanced diet with plenty of protein and you should exercise with a focus on strength training to maintain as much muscle mass as you can. You shouldn't drop to an extremely low calorie intake. Steady weight loss is better for your body than rapid weight loss, which is a risk factor for gallstones (but so is being overweight).

More people have a positive experience on WLIs than negative, but it makes no difference if twenty people tell you how wonderful it is and you're one of the unlucky ones who pukes for five days straight and needs a rehydration drip.

Yes the two people I know who now have permanent kidney problems were only 1-2 stone overweight and lied to get them.

I know, imagine the oracle of the NHS has been on MN all this time!

I tried Mounjaro for 2 months and stopped as the horrendous constipation just wasn’t resolving no matter how much fluid and laxatives I took to help.
\Couldnt wait for it to get out of my system. Maintaining a 25% weight loss with calorie counting and weighing weekly.

That said I’ve spoken to people who had no side effects at all and who say it’s changed their life.

I watched a Trisha Paytas podcast and one of the people working on it said they had to have their pancreas removed after using the injections they got really ill.

I tried Mounjaro twice and had horrible side effects both times. First was chronic diarrhea that kicked after after 4 days, second was persistent vomiting that kicked in almost immediately. I was bed bound with the vomiting.
That said I have friends who have had no serious side effects

So I have lost nearly 7 stone on them, with 1 stone to go. I can honestly say I have not had a single bad side effect beyond feeling uncomfortably bloated the day after I take the injection. I never went up to a particularly high dose which I think helped. I am now tapering off them, and my calorie intake has increased but I am still losing weight. It’s actually surprised me to see how much I can actually eat and still lose weight. I don’t feel I eat that little on them now, perhaps 1500 - 1700 calories a day (I am a short, only moderately active woman) but before I was eating more like 3000-3500 calories a day, so it’s a large deficit by comparison. It’s a lie to say I’m not anxious abut regain - of course I am, but that would be true no matter how I lost weight. It’s not something you can do for a bit and then go back to your old ways, and my eating has now changed drastically (not so much in what I eat, I always ate healthily about 80% of the time, but in portion control). I think the thing that keeps you going is motivation, and I have to say that WLI have changed my life. Not from an aesthetic point of view as I’ve never been one for thinness = attractiveness, but I am now eligible for fertility support, I don’t have the headache of shopping in specialist places and only online, I spend much less on food, I don’t chafe or sweat excessively, I fit comfortably in chairs and on airplanes and trains, my BP is normal again, my cholesterol levels are healthy again, my skin and hair are better, I have a LOT more energy, things that I used to have to plan for and give a lot of thought to I can just do now. I was on a dog walk with my husband and I badly sprained my ankle - he was able to give me a piggy back the whole way back to the car. It’s things like that which have given me my life back. I felt I was a prisoner in my own body before, and now I feel I have freedom. Ultimately, I would never tell someone to go on them - but I would never want to impart fear onto someone as they have given me so so much.

As for gallbladders - you are at higher risk of developing gallstones and needing your gallbladder removed if you lose a lot of weight (and quite quickly), but also if you are overweight. I can only speak anecdotally, but I know four people who have had their gallbladders removed - two of them are very overweight, one of them lost a lot of weight with a gastric band, the other was a healthy weight but just got them, it happens! For what it’s worth - at 7 stone down in a year, my gallbladder is fine!!

@Agix oh my god have you considered becoming a specialist obesity advisor for the NHS? I’m sure they could do with your insight.

Bloody hell! Has this definitely been put down to the WL injections?

My concern is how people come off the jabs without putting the weight back on. Those I know have had initial success with weightloss with the jabs but they have not embraced healthy eating or become more active. If you are solely reliant on the jab to reduce your appetite and you do not change your diet and exercise habits then surely the weight just pile back on as soon as you come off it.

What you need to do is accept that you need to go into a decent calorie deficit. I need to have between 1200-1600 a day to lose any weight. 1200 if I want to lost at a half decent rate! You can eat plenty of the right things for 1200 cals.

Oh, and I'm also awaiting gallbladder surgery (increased risk of gall stones from jabs).

I wouldn't say I regret it, but I am finding it very very difficult to keep the weight off. If I have any more than 1000 calories a day then I gain weight. I'm 4 months off the jabs and gaining 2 pounds a month. I'm sooooo hungry. Feeling sick and tummy pain hungry.

It seems most people have to stay on them for life, I don't feel like I can do that because a) I can't afford it b) I don't want to live with the exhaustion and c) I want to be able to go out for dinner and not insult the chef with the amount of food I waste on the jabs.

You can eat less for free. You don't need to spend money on the injections or a personal trainer or any of that nonsense.

Just eat less. If the weight doesn't come off, you're eating too much.

Calorie recommendations are too high for most people, including calorie recommendations for weight loss. It's very likely you need to eat quite a bit less than you've been told to, to lose weight. Yes, even less than the doctor recommends.

All the weight loss injections do is force that really low calorie intake, by making you not want to eat. But you can do it for free.

It'll seem an unhealthily low amount of food, but it's just what the injections would make you do too. People act like to have to pay 100s per month to be "allowed" to eat so little, but you can actually do it for free. If anyone questions why you're eating so little, you just tell them you're on the injections. You don't actually have to be. Save your money and just eat much less. It'll do the exact same thing.

Literally zero regrets. 2 stone down and one to go, it’s changed my life and I feel so much more confident in myself

You have to balance the risks OP. Are you actually obese with only 2 stone to lose? If you are obese and can’t shift the weight then that has long term implications for your health.

so consider: The likelihood of having a negative health outcome from obesity is relatively high compared to the chances of having a negative outcome to WLI is relatively low.

I’ve been on WLI for a year and have lost 35lb carefully and slowly. I’ve got another 30lb to go, so over 5 stone to get me to healthy BMI. I’ve had some side effects - 1 episode of vomiting, a couple of times of sulphur burps and maybe 2 times with diarrhoea. I’ve had no side effects now for over 6 months and I am in the highest dose of MJ I’m otherwise fit and well.

Why do something you’re terrified of? I’m very pleased to be on WLI but i was more afraid of remaining obese. Agree with the comment about booking a personal trainer.

Would you qualify with only 2 stone to lose as your BMI would need to be over 30?

If you lie in order to get the medicine (you may not be eligible if you’re only 2 stone overweight) the chances of “something awful” happening are much higher. If you buy it from a dodgy website (eg powder that needs reconstituting) the chances of “something awful” happening are high.