Ozempic Shortage

[mummydoris2006]

I have quite a few complex and chronic health conditions and am prescribed Ozempic each month to help with these among any other medications.
Recently Ozempic has become available to buy as a weight loss quick fix which has resulted today in me now not being able to get my prescribed medicine!
There is a national shortage and my nurse is out of alternative options because they've all been exhausted due to the Ozempic surge.
I understand how hard it is to hate your body and to have a lot of weight to lose but surely medical needs should come first?
I am only early 40's but take a cocktail of meds every day that help me function and still be able to work. These are carefully monitored, and through trial and error over the years keep me being able to live my life. Now I have to deal with the consequences to my health because of a new 'fad diet' in effect. Sorry, rant over ...

According to NICE there are 5 glp-1 receptor agonists available in the uk

I was going to start a similar thread.

I saw my diabeted nurse yesterday and she said I was a perfect candidate for semaglutide but none of her prescriptions are getting filled right now. She says it has excellent effects on blood sugar and weight.

She was really that the pharmacy across the road from the surgery can sell it privately but can't fulfill NHS prescriptions.

I hope something is done to ringfence some for the NHS so the people who need it the most can access it.

Does anyone know if they plan to increase production?

they are planning on introducing wegovy in the uk soon, which is ozempic rebranded for weight loss and prescribed in a bit higher dose. I’m hoping by splitting the diabetes medication use (ozempic) and weight loss (wegovy) out that it will ringfence the ozempic for people that need it and then shortages in wegovy only affect people taking it for weight loss.

But then weight loss is more profitable so who knows what the supply mix of the two will be, could be ozempic shortages due to wegovy being prioritised with higher margins than the nhs negotiated ozempic rates.

Seriously, some of the arguments on here are basically saying diabetes isn't a real illness, just eat a bit healthier and your blood sugars will be ok and being overweight is much more serious. When clearly the opposite is true.

'Yes I know diabetes is very serious. Both my parents have it, my father’s heart is failing because of it, all my grandparents died from complications related to it. People of my ethnicity are more genetically predisposed to developing it. I myself am borderline with pre diabetes. I could have easily gone to full blown diabetes by now if I wasn’t careful and wasn’t taking these new drugs, at my considerable expense. So maybe I should just not buy them privately, get diabetes then be a burden on the NHS for the rest of my life, and risk my future health? Would that make me more worthy of having ozempic?'

This is so dramatic. Ozempic is not your only option for weight loss.

Some people can but it doesn't work for everyone. For those that can'tnot having the medication means that are at risk of blindness, amputation and kidney failure. My DH has a pretty perfect diet for a diabetic and a very physical manyal job but still needs ozempic to control his blood sugars.

And the supply of all of them is impacted by knock on from the ozempic shortage

This hunt for ozempic with people justifying that they need it just as much as people with diabetes is really a charming example of late stage capitalism.

This is not about late stage capitalism. Barring a few really exceptional cases, people are not injecting themselves with ozempic to get Beach Body Ready.

For the most part, those people who are taking it for weight loss are taking it because they need to lose weight to get their BMI down and to feel better. Those are valid reasons to take the drug and so they do. Hardly a surprise that they are making themselves better when there is an option to do so.

@countrygirl99 thankyou. When @Hdhabvdhhebsb first posted I thought finally someone who is actually doing there own research but then their posts became more apparent that they were just trying to bait me.

I truly wish the 5 alternatives they state were available then maybe we wouldn't be in the mess we are now

@ATeamsvan did you seriously misunderstand my post that much? At no point did I bash elective ceaserans which incidentally I'm well aware what they are. I was showing an example of how we wouldn't do that just because they didn't used to be available, just like people saying well not everyone died before this injection is correct.

If you're honestly going to be that obtuse then it shows just how hard it is to educate people.

Forgive me my ignorance, but from what I understand, those pharmacies have bought the medication and are choosing to sell it privately, so regardless of why people are buying them, they wouldn't be available on the nhs anyway?

It feels the same as blaming an addict for using drugs and saying the dealer is just trying to earn a living!

I agree there is a problem but it's not individuals fault for buying something which is available to them. These drugs should be earmarked for the nhs to prescribe to whoever they feel needs them most. If that was the case, it wouldn't be a simple case of "I'm have diabetes so I can have it" but a decision made on individual needs.

Yeah of course the problem is higher up in the chain than the consumer. But that doesn't really help the OP when she needs her medication. I'm overweight and is quite like to try ozempic but obviously I won't, knowing there's a shortage for people who really need it. The problem is once you start taking it you have to keep taking it for weight loss so people who are using it for weight loss aren't going to stop, and will continue using it even bearing in mind the effects shortages will have on diabetics.

Not baiting, doing research.

Well it doesn't take much research to realise that the alternatives are in short supply as a result of the ozempic shortage. There have been multiple articles in the press that can be found with one Google query.

Yes I looked at that too but they are in short supply for everyone including those for weight loss, they can't get it either, so seems pointless having a thread blaming people who cant get it either 🤷

In…. Rodents.

OP you literally said "Sorry you can't have a medically needed c-section because someone is having an elective one" - I don't see how anyone could take anything from that other than you don't think there is a medical need for an elective section.

Wow

I utterly agree that anyone taking ozempic as a quick fix to lose half a stone ought never have been prescribed it in the first place
Personally as a pre diabetic with a father and a child with diabetes - when I hit 15st I knew I had to do something fast
I ought not have to justify paying for something but here goes ...

I've never weighed more than 9 stone in my life - peri meno and Crohns plus a terribly bereavement put paid to that .. I run, cycle and lift weights four times a week minimum - my diet is healthy, low carb and homegrown. Biggest vice is the odd bottle of rose once a month with a friend ...

I also have Depression, Anxiety, Arthritis, Insulinresistance,Antiphosphiloid syndrome and a history of dvt, high BP and Crohns disease
Oh and joint disorders from a life of running!
I am trying to save the NHS money as I'm almost certain to develop type 2 ..
The method of securing meds for other patients is not my fault -
Are we really morally wrong for trying to help ourselves and the NHS ?
FWIW - I have lost two stone in six months on ozempic and exercise alone ...

Argue with the pharmaceutical companies and Brexit voters - (supply chains!) - not with those of us who are responsible for our own health and trying to prevent a further health timebomb!

Hi, we are urgently looking to get hold of Ozempic for health reasons. There’s none in stock from our prescription. Does anyone know where the best place is to buy it privately ?

Well said. A great proportion of people with Type 2 diabetes have the condition because of weight problems. Quite why these same people should criticise those using Ozempic precisely so that their weight doesn't balloon into diabetes is unfathomable.

No, and if I did to be honest I wouldn't disclose it.

Well said.

I'm in the same boat, and it's frustrating.

Dh can't get it. He's now been prescribed trulicuty - dulaglutide.