To think weight-loss injections should be prescribed in person only. The scale of abuse must be shocking.

Because they’re a fool. Or they think we are.

I had to do a video call with my prescriber and stand on the scales during it. There’s a detailed questionnaire which gets sent to your gp so if you’ve lied about it they can notify your prescriber and they’ve just added a requirement to prove your height either on video call against a wall measure or through the nhs app or stamped confirmation from gp or pharmacy. I don’t know where your friends are getting it from or if they have any co-morbidities which meant they could get it at a lower bmi but all private pharmacies are checked and processes reviewed externally so if there are any lax policies they will get tightened up at their next appraisal.

I know people doing the same. Not sure where they are getting them from, but they are. My friends daughter and lots of her friends (including one of the friend’s mum in their late 60’s) all taking it. If I asked friend’s daughter today, I bet I could get hold of some, even though I am not overweight. I wouldn’t, as I have a pancreas disease already and pancreatitis is a clear risk from WLI. Life threatening, and more painful than anyone can ever imagine - not worth the risk. If I want to lose some weight, i’ll do it the traditional way, less food, move more.

Maybe if it was easier to get on the NHS, the. People who really needed it could get it that way and these online pharmacies wouldn’t be doing such a roaring trade!

I was on the waitlist for the level 4 obesity clinic for 2 years. Finally reached the top a few months ago to be told that I had to attend 3 group sessions first. Hell for me as I am very shy and embarrassed about my weight. But I did it. Sent hours sitting through the first one, with them spouting the usual outdated nonsense such as low fat yoghurts, margarine, weetabix are good, butter, red meat, cooked breakfast is bad. We were then told that no weight loss injections could be offered in this clinic, only surgery….so probably 80% f us never went back and sourced our own injections online. Things will never get better until the NHS sorts out their joke of a fat-shaming obesity clinics.

Why?

This sounds so disordered.

Spot on.

I believe from some of the women on the boards here that the latest measures put in place consist of live videos whilst standing in a door way with a tape measure to prove your height, as well as a live weigh in and something like a passport picture as ID. Of course it’s no problem at if you’re using the WLI honestly and have been from day 1, which the greater majority of people are doing. And for those who aren’t? Let them get their WLI injections from wherever they want and if they become ill or die it’s entirely their own fault but it should always be made clear when it goes public where they sourced their medication, and if they actually needed or cheated their way to. Lets call them out for what they are - fools.

Im all for stronger measures being put in place to stop cheats from getting their WLI injections medication - but only because I don’t want to be associated with the fools in the first place.

I was talking to a young woman on a plane about this. She lived in London and worked in a media-type job where appearance is very important. I told her I was on MJ as I wasn't eating the food on the plane and she told me she was on it, too. She weighed 10 stone now - had been 11 - and wanted to get down to 9. She didn't know anyone in her friendship and work group who wasn't on it and didn't know anyone who, beforehand, was more than two stone overweight. She didn't get it from a pharmacy and neither did any of her friends, but got it from an aesthetics place. She had read up on how to take it but said a lot of her friends were starting on a high dose and taking it every few days, so completely abusing it and messing themselves up at the same time.

She also said she knew a guy who dealt in MJ - he was in cahoots with a pharmacist who could order it legitimately - the guy she knew was earning £75,000 per month from sales to salons etc.

I've been on it for a year and have lost 4.5 stone. It's been life changing and probably life saving, too. I think people with anorexia and bulimia will be all over the drug, though, and think it'll create disordered eating in some others.

I agree it should only be available in person but that ship has sailed. Too many pharmacies are making too much money for them to cave in on that. If the government wanted to clamp down it would be very easy to do so - they could close down 20 places in my hometown just today if they wanted to.

You absolutely still need nutrition advice and support on WLI drugs. I don’t weigh myself. My weight is immaterial to me (I’m a dress size 20 after 6 weeks on it and still rolling in fat - I know my BMI is horrific).

But I am on the boards here for support, and nutrition ideas for the days when I don’t feel like eating. If you use the injections and just carry on eating rubbish food, the weight WILL pile back on. Retraining your palate and food habits is a massive part of it. If you don’t drink loads of water, you WILL have horrid gastric effects. If you don’t eat on the days you don’t feel like it, you WILL become very ill over time. I can see Slimming World and WW being usefully redeployed.

I buy mine from an online pharmacy (well, pills not injections). They asked some health questions and download pictures etc.

My reasons is that when I brought up my weight concerns and asked about the effectiveness of weight loss medicine. I got a lecture about eating healthier (no questions about current lifestyle) and explanation on how none of the meds work so it is a waste of time and money. I know 3 overweight family/friends who was told no because they don't work. So I turned to an online pharmacy, taking a personal risk.

Our council also had this weighloss group and an online programme. You need a referral from GP. I tried to get there but GP had never even heard about it. Thankfully the nurse said that she will find out and then she called me that she is putting in a referral but it might take a few months for the doctor to sing it. So yeah, this is the state of 'traditional' methods.

'Lets ask Finch a question she can't say no to, that will win the argument'.

The OP is a work of fiction.

That aside, I am not suggesting people won't misuse these drugs. People misuse many drugs including painkillers. They also misuse alcohol, cigarettes & food.

But to suggest someone with a dress size 8 (who didn't start when they were obese) is getting these particular drugs in July 2025 via regulated online pharmacies is hard to believe. Anyone jumping through hoops to prove their weight right now to get it, will understand.

from what I’ve seen, depending on the prescriber, people who have lost weight on it and are now a healthy BMI (or at least under 30/27) are still able to purchase the medication. If it was that dangerous to take once you hit a certain bmi then this wouldn’t be the case. There are risks for everyone, no matter their weight, it’s just that the benefits outweigh the risks for obese people. If it can be used to help overweight people to prevent the issues associated with obesity then surely that’s a good thing? Obviously if you’re a size 8 with an eating disorder this can only be bad but there will always be dodgy sellers and people will get their hands on these things any way they can.

babycatface

but we are not talking about averages, every single person on this thread including the OP is talking about individuals

My individual calorie intake needs to be 1000 to maintain my bmi of 23, that’s just fact for me.

Actually, that's unlikely to be the case. I had my gallbladder out last year. My consultant said that they take years to develop so if I was looking at a cause, I should look way back.
Losing weight quickly can cause them (I put mine down to a vlcd diet I did 10 years ago) but so can being female and over 40 (not something I had much control over).
There's no evidence that WLI cause gallstones anymore than losing weight through other methods.

i have been on MJ for just over a year and have dropped from 105kg to 82kg. I am now just in the normal BMI range. did a body composition analysis and over half my weight loss was muscle, despite doing lots of exercise. So now I think I need a PT so that I look a bit more like Popeye and a bit less like Olive Oyl. So assuming I can add back on the muscle, I am then back in overweight category.
Anyway everyone says I look too thin now, but I’m guessing that was because I was chubby before. It’s hard to find the right balance. I get my stuff online and fudge the numbers a little. But I think these drugs will be like statins in a few years and everyone will be on them

It takes loads of effort to maintain health even with the injections. It took me over a year to lose 3 stone, not quite a pound a week at eating 800-900 calories.

i had to choose protein first every day, i had to choose intermittent fasting (eating only 7 hours a day). Luckily the injections manage to help my ghrelin so I could not drink alcohol or eat too many sweet foods.

it still took a lot of work but was only possible because of the injections.

I think this whole thing is very sad as well as extremely worrying. So much emphasis on size. A PP said that they were size 14 when they started - size 14 never used to be classed as big! It doesn’t help when some clothing sites label a 14 as XL! I have lost 4 & a half stone completely naturally & although I am still overweight for my height (11.5 stone, 5ft 2”) & seem to be stuck at that weight, I wouldn’t even consider MJ or anything like it.

Unfortunately being ‘a bit fat’ ie. 30+ BMI and obese is almost certainly already ruining your long-term health.

There's always a level of cognitive dissonance where people are worried about the side-effects of WLIs when being obese has massively increased risks of all sorts of health issues, including various types of cancer. Way more risks than the jabs in fact. Being obese is damaging to your health every day, whether you feel like it or not. That’s the unfortunate truth.

Woman at work buys it from the same person that does her lip filler.

For some reason you're an outlier with your TDEE. You must know it's not normal for it to be so low and therefore doesn't apply to the average woman?!

myumberseal

4foot 10. 8 stone. BMI 23. 54 years old. Normal for me.

I know a handful of young people in their 30’s on them, again not all that much weight to lose.

I started with an online pharmacy then moved to a real life one. I am massively overweight. Not gaming the system here. And the online pharmacy rejected my photos over and over again because I wasn’t wearing tight enough clothes. I don’t own tight clothes - because overweight. I managed in the end but could easily have uploaded eg my sister’s passport and photos to get it. I don’t really understand how they knew I am me. They also didn’t ask for proof of my weight.

Moved to an in person pharmacy so they can keep an eye on me and check my blood pressure and such. It’s only £5 more expensive than online.

I do think many people are using it recklessly, but the benefits outweigh the risks to so so many other people.

That’s your choice though. Not all overweight/obese people feel the same.

And it’s not “that stuff” - it’s a licensed medication. Do you still think of it “that stuff” when it’s used to control blood sugar in diabetics?

Also - can you see the irony in your post? you are taking synthetic hormones to prevent pregnancy which your doctor has raised concerns about with regards to blood clots - do you not worry about putting “that stuff” into your body?

Presumably the avoidance of pregnancy is more important to you than the risks from oral contraceptives. It’s the same for obese people - the risks of obesity outweigh the risks of MJ.

babycatface

are you aware of how critical that sounds? Did you read my post where I said my calorie intake needs to be 1000 calories every day for 40 years to be 8 stone (bmi 23).

could you do that? Every day for 40 years as a young active woman?