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

Off-topic but I do MJ and WW together and it works really well for me. But I agree it’s going to be different for everyone.

I agree with PP, wish the NHS had the funds and inclination to get ahead of it and prescribe to those who actually need it.
My starting BMI was 42.2 and the GP said ‘if you want them, buy them, it’s nothing to do with us’.
I go to the GP a lot for things have have reduced hugely since being on MJ -
• palpitations (not just GP, had a 24hr heart tracker),
• autoimmune disease (again not just GP, rheumatology)
• painful liver (again, not just GP, I once had 4 ultrasounds in a year for it which seemed very OTT!)
• omeprazole repeat prescription, although I now just buy it. But, hiatus hernia from having kids and remaining fat.

My point being, my fatness has surely cost the NHS a LOT and I’m only in my 30s. Imagine 40 more years at that rate. Give me the jabs!

That would be awful. The best thing about MJ for me has been freedom from SW and ww style diets that are designed to keep you reliant on them and going back and can cause disordered eating in itself. Being able to eat well and healthy now I'm on Mounjaro has been fantastic and I never intend to do a slimming club or diet again.

Totally with you here. A friend I know needs her gallbladder removed 3 months after starting to take the jabs, Dr said it was a direct result of taking the jabs (which she didn't need and she got online) and was a recognised side effect - she really regrets taking the jabs in the first place.

@spoonbillstretford I agree with much of what you say but dissagre about the side effects!!!

I've had most of them (I haven't physically been sick although had nausea for a few weeks) and have persevered. I was already eating a upf free diet and I have been meticulous about following guidelines for both mounjaro and found it easy to improve my diet. I've increased exercise due to the anti inflammatory effect increasing my mobility I'm the healthiest I've been in a long time.

BUT I've had a lot of side effevts to deal with. This isn't due to bad eating or misuse. It's a potent drug and many of us will be dealing with side effects as part of that. I was morbidly obese and now just obese (and still likely to be at the end of the year) - I'm a poster child for this drug and it's life changing effects but yes side effects. Blaming the person taking the drug just because you didn't get side effects really really isn't helpful. And another reason I think supervision is important with dealing with them.

Agreed.
Sounds like nonsense to me.
Reputable suppliers are far more stringent than some mumsnet posters would lead others to believe.

I agree. I see the pharmacist every month, he weighs me and takes my bp. A friend whose BMI is not nearly high enough buys it online. She wore her daughters gym gear for her photo to make herself look bigger, and lied about her weight.

If people are choosing to take these injections with no legitimate reason, if they get ill, it's their own daft fault imho.

I think the prescribers should team up with Weightwatchers and Slimming World (who are likely to go out of business) or launch their own similar services to have in person weigh ins in random school halls and church halls.

There are enough people on the jabs - it shouldn't be too hard.

Wow!!

So rather than support your friend with her ED, you would rather judge her and then throw in that her dh is ‘thinking of leaving her over it’
Rriiiggghhttt.

Of course he is 🙄

This thread smacks of a jealous overweight complainer that is irritated that all of her friends are slim and ready for the summer, and she is lashing out at the WLI for this disparity. Op honestly get a grip or order them yourself.

I'm taking it legitimately and I truly wish the NHS had taken the reigns and prescribed it generally to those morbidly obese before the rise of all the pharmacies doing it for profit took off.

The pharmacy I'm with is good in that from the start it's asked for video confirmation of weight (although not height...) and a form of check in each week although that can be self reported.

BUT even with all that I've seen people post on here who have added extra clothes to weigh, or made themselves heavier. And on the fb groups for that pharmacy it's clear some people are moving into disordered eating territory - chasing suppression, getting very hung up on what they do and don't eat, wanting lower and lower numbers and getting anxious about managing that... The ones crash dieting or trying not to eat anythinv

I'm genuinely conserned that that's with a reputable company that insist on ordering every 4 weeks. Most pharmacies you can choose your dose (and easily chase suppression/not eat) and it's almost just buy what you want off the shelf.

I think the unintended consequences will be disordered eating for many even if they were the right bmi to get it.

Added to that those only a bit overweight who should t be taking it.

Yes I absolutely agree the whole thing has taken off far too fast and unregulated.

The drugs are amazing and life changing but it worries me the way it's spread as NHS aren't prescribing it to very many and that it's become normalised to be on them and to chose your own dose and not be aware of the damage you can do, or disordered eating.

And yes even on these threads we see people who lie to get them. How many more people are out there using this drug just to lose a stone or so?

For morbidly obese people it is truly life changing and I so so wish the NHS had decided to prescribe for this group and it hadn't normalised just almost buying it off the shelf.

There was an item on woman’s hour a few months ago where a journalist had managed (without much difficulty) to buy it through someone doing fillers. She also spoke to other women who were obtaining it from illegitimate sources - one of them was singing its praises because it meant she didn’t abuse laxatives in an attempt to lose weight any more. I don’t think it’s a non-issue.
But like any illegal trade in prescription drugs, it’s not exactly simple and easy to stop. Although I imagine the bigger problem is people lying to online pharmacies, which as you say, are now a lot stricter anyway so that problem is reducing. There’ll be a limit on the number of people willing (and stupid enough) to inject themselves with something they’ve bought from some random guy.

I agree with you OP but you won’t get much support on here. MN seems to be full of people buying these injections.

You don't just sent a photo in of when you were chubbier though it isn't impossible to fake it. Most are doing video checks now so it's more difficult.

Anyone paying for the proper stuff from a genuine pharmacy isn't putting themselves at a massive risk though as they will be paying for the real thing and will be receiving advice as to how to take it.

It's not the same as getting from a bloke down the pub or a dodgy beauty place as your ridiculous mates probably will be. That is incredibly dangerous and you could be having anything.

I'm on 12.5mg and am BMI 25 now. I've lost weight slowly but steadily and will be staying on it until I get to BMI 23 then coming off it slowly. I got it legitimately as I have PCOS as when I started my BMI was 29. I have had hardly any side effects, which mostly seem to come from people being really unhealthy to start with, carrying on eating unhealthy food, not eating enough, or losing weight too quickly.

It’s already quite hard to get it from a reputable pharmacy online. Video checks, photos etc.
So I assume these people are using other sources online which are not legitimate. And of course those sources should be shut down.
But a lot of people seem to lump all sources of WLI together. Genuine pharmacies are not prescribing to people who don’t qualify.

I've had quite a few people tell me I was too thin to need it, but I actually had a bmi of 30 and have lost 15kg to get back to a bmi of 24. Sometimes looks are deceptive

YANBU, I know 2 people who absolutely do not need them at their current size and they bodge it so that they keep getting them.

One of them even had a gastric band put on years ago and is nowhere near being fat. I’m convinced at this point it’s just ED and body dysmorphia.

I don't understand how they are all doing this:- for example my online prescriber doesn't allow you to upload a photo, you have to take it there and then via their order page with their camera software. So no ability to alter. I know loads more now insist on video calls and I am expecting that soon from mine.

Part of me doesn't believe some of these stories. We get so many people on the WLI board starting threads full of lies because they hate the fact their fat friends are getting thin, and this thread feels like another dubious extension of that.

There are 2 different sources relevant here. Legitimate pharmacies that are really tightening up their procedures, and so I think it’s unlikely that your size 8 friend, even if they got it there previously, would be able to continue for much longer, and illegal sources, they are basically street drug dealers and goodness knows what muck she would be buying. And like anyone who takes illegal drugs, it’s risky.

Yanbu op, i have loads of friends in a similar position. Bmis between 23 & about 28 mainly, who don't qualify but go on line and get it. It's not hard.

I am bmi 25, peri & would love to shift 2 stone but am not risking my health. I also don't want to start something that i either have to stay on forever or pile weight back on if I stop.

In my Doctor's surgery monthly news letter recently they advised that our health board doesn't offer weight loss injections . They gave advice to anyone who sought these privately. This advice centered on possible side effects and implications of the injections on other health conditions. This, together with the increasing number of disaster stories reaching the press about women taking these injections, makes me very wary about them.
I think the women you talk about are risking their health and well-being but if they are stupid enough to do that there is nothing you can do about it.