When Ozempic first came out, the guidelines were for usage to be for up to 2 years. I can’t remember if I read the rationale for that but seem to recall it was in the guidelines.
Thinking back it was along the lines of Ozempic was to be used alongside lifestyle and psychological support to address unhealthy eating habits and psychological drivers for overeating. By the end of two years people were expected to be able to maintain these new habits and weight. Happy to be corrected there but that’s meet I remember reading.
Now we have Mounjaro and many users are saying it’s a lifelong medication similar to blood pressure medication or asthma medication.
From reading the weight loss injections topic there are lots of posters who believe they will take the drug for a few months and that will be it, cured of obesity.
Now many of those who have successfully lost several stones are saying that they will remain on these drugs for life because of course they stop working once you stop, just like any other medication.
There are plenty of threads from posters who have regained weight after stopping. A few posters say they have maintained their weight loss but these seem rare on mumsnet at least.
I know diets don’t work and wish that word would disappear beyond being used to describe what we eat eg vegetarian diet, Mediterranean diet etc. I’d love to see diet replaced with another word or phrase such as healthier lifestyle or similar.
The reason diets fail, or one of them, is that so many people drastically cut their food intake for a few weeks, struggle with hunger, lose a little weight and give up because it’s too hard to sustain that low level of calories, food and nutrients.
The focus should always be on eating a healthier diet, achieving a healthier lifestyle by including more exercise within your own capabilities, less alcohol, not smoking, plenty of vitamin D, good sleep and relaxation habits. It should be a holistic approach, not just eat less, move more. Eat better and yes, move more but it’s more than that. It’s a mindset of needing to change habits for life. Sure we all have times and events where we eat and drink more or don’t exercise as much for a variety of reasons but what matters is what we do most of the time.
With this in mind I’m thinking that the advertising should be changed to reflect this. Companies need to be more transparent about the medications so that people are fully informed that these drugs are not going to be a quick fix or magic cure like people seem to think or hope. I’d be so angry if I’d paid out thousands to lose weight and then when I stopped it came back on because the prescriber hadn’t been completely open with me. There’s been posters who have stuck to healthier eating and increased exercise but still gained weight after stopping.
There’ll be arguments for fully researching the drugs before taking but how many people have the time or understanding of research to be fully informed? Most will just trust what they read in the press or on social media and the pharmacist prescribing. Critical thinking isn’t applied or rather thinking about what happens after. It’s the instant gratification and not thinking of the long term consequences or the financial implications of having to pay out indefinitely or at least until they become available for all on the NHS. Not unlike that packet of jam doughnuts I really wanted to buy yesterday instead of eating a healthy lunch 
. Just to clarify I wouldn’t have eaten them all. Two of the five for sure though and maybe a third after the school run. I’m a terrible sugar fiend.
This has ended up all disjointed because I can’t go back up the page to edit as I’m typing. I’ll try once I get to the edit option. I have ADHD and my thought processes are all over the place and I go off on tangents. Sorry.
TL:DR Should pharmaceutical companies/pharmacies/doctors/pharmacists change their advertising and recommendations to say that WLI (weight loss injections/medications) are likely to be needed to be taken for life to control obesity due to the likelihood of weight being regained once stopping even in cases of maintained healthy diet and lifestyle due to the chronic nature of obesity?
I’m going to try and edit this now into some semblance of order but if it remains chaotic I’m sorry. It at least has paragraphs even if it does jump around like a flea at a fair.
Poll:
YABU: No, people who take these drugs should realise that these aren’t a quick fix and they need to stay on them long term, and be prepared for the financial cost.
YANBU: Pharmaceutical companies/pharmacies/ pharmacists etc should tell people they are likely to need to take this for life and pay for it themselves unless it becomes available to all on the NHS.