To think I should be allowed weight loss injections?

[Chalk111111]

Firstly, I think it’s a great thing that people are able to use this medication to gain control over their weight, and I think the bar set for getting them on the NHS is ridiculously high and it should be given to anyone who is obese. All those years people spent banging on about how much obesity was pressuring the NHS and then when we’re given a medication to tackle it they don’t make it available!

So I’m not confused about why I can’t get it on the NHS - I shouldn’t be able to - but why can’t I pay for it?

My BMI is 24 and I’d like to shift a stone and a half/two stone. I’ve fluctuated between this weight and a stone lighter for about ten years. I used to be able to shift half a stone at least but this time I’m really struggling.

I keep getting adverts about weight loss injections so I thought I’d have a look. Filled in the questionnaire and it says my BMI isn’t high enough for a prescription? But surely if my starting BMI was, say 35, I’d be allowed to stay on them until my BMI was 21/22, which is what I’d like? So why can’t I pay for them to lose a couple of stone?

@Chalk111111i can see why you think it’s unfair that I can take it at 24 but you can’t start it but where do you think the boundary should be where people can’t be prescribed it?

FYI my supplier won’t prescribe it to me if my BMI is below 22.5. You losing a stone or two would probably take your BMI to less than that wouldn’t it?

"Eat less, move more"

albert einstein😀

It fucks your pancreas if you are not obese to start with. Notwithstanding the fact that it doesn’t just drop fat. It affects, muscle and bone density.

You have a healthy BMI> If you want to lose weight stop eating as much.

Thanks - I didn’t know that.

Actually this supplier will supply formerly obese
people down to them having a BMI of 20 but controls increase as your BMI falls
https://www.thefamilychemist.co.uk/maintenance-therapy-on-weight-loss-medications-wegovy-and-mounjaro/

1.5 stone would take it to 21, I’ve just checked. I hadn’t realised suppliers stop supplying it at 22.5. I think I just thought it was 19 as the cut for being unhealthy.

If only you’d been a medical practitioner. They wouldn’t have had to develop weight loss medication at all.

Eat less and move around more.....

This is topical!

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/jun/26/weight-loss-diabetes-jab-users-report-pancreas-problems?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Gosh lots of tetchy people around but I totally get you op and why you want the jabs. But the pancreas thing is worrying.

Why is your problem our problem. If you’re that desperate, OP, why don’t you just lie on the online application and say you weight 180kg instead of doing our heads in. Or there are even unscrupulous chemists who have been found to accept even people with a BMI of 20. Disclaimer: do not do this.

FFS a BMI of 24 is a healthy weight. Do you have an eating disorder?

Agreed. It does seem a very low number getting side effects given the millions on them, but even so.

I’d probably never have got them, I’d be too afraid to inject myself probaby. It was more curiosity about what I’d be prescribed and what it would cost, then was surprised when it was just an automatic no.

Been at the wine?

I know it is. It doesn’t mean it’s where everyone feels comfortable or that wanting to lose a stone or two equals an eating disorder.

You probably will be able to in time.

Have you actually been to a weight loss clinic and seen a doctor about it? If not, try that.

What an odd response. Which bit did you not understand? That you can lie about your BMI? Or that some online pharmacies are unscrupulously sending weight loss injections to people with a BMI of 20?

If you know that your weight is completely healthy, then there’s something wrong with you if you want to be thinner.

Feeling "fat" when you're not is often linked to body image issues, like Body Dysmorphic Disorder.

Oh I know calorie deficit works, I’m doing it and it’s working. I don’t agree it’s a “little” self discipline - it is taking a huge amount, every single day. And I’m here scrolling cos I can’t sleep cos I’m hungry. For some it is easy to stay slim/lose weight, and if you’re like that I don’t think you could ever understand how hard it is

I’ll bite to this.

ive underlying conditions (that actually allowed me to start Monjaro despite the BMI of 30 needed, as the condition under NICE guidelines means you can start with a lower bmi however discussing this with a GP who is under pressure with 10 min appt is hard).

bmi is just a guide. I am (was) overweight , no diet or exercise worked for me. BMI does not take into account your bone structure, and actual viceral fat or the risks associated. If I had wider hips and shoulders with that amount of fat my BMi would have been over 30.

i had to go private. She specialises in endocrine disorders. I have to pay for the injections. She insists on strength and conditioning or she won’t prescribe. But she also takes into account the actual amount of body fat you have, the impact on hormones decreasing, and menopause etc.

if you loose weight too quickly she won’t prescribe. If you aren’t strengthening she won’t prescribe. I have a lot of respect for her understanding of hormones, potential or actual conditions, impact on brain and body function etc.

I so wish for many women that GPs had that slightly longer appointment, that they had time and training to understand that hormones, weight, skin, diet and exercise are all interrelated. And that some conditions mean a helping hand is needed. And overall should help.

i do get some people want weight loss injections for societal/ vanity/ self esteem etc. I genuinely didn’t care that much, I was fine until I realised my ‘not overweight’ weight was causing a lot of my physical and ‘mental health’ reasons (hello peri with underlying conditions).

so don’t be so judgemental please. A small dose of Monjaro has helped my ‘I’m full’ button reset. Has helped me not want anything fatty or sugary or carb heavy, I crave protein and vegetables. I’m losing weight slowly (1-2 lbs a week). As it comes off I’m able to exercise more.

i didn’t have a bmi of 30, but this has helped me so so much when nothing else has.

and ultimately I’ll be stronger, fitter, healthier. Hopefully that would of outweighed the cost to the nhs in the state i was before.

You can’t argue with stupid

Don’t be daft. A stone lighter and I’m less bloated, my clothes fit better, I look better. If you think everyone in the healthy range should be happy with their body or they’ve got a mental health problem then I suspect you aren’t in that range.

I’d Imagine it’s because someone who was previously obese, and therefore used the drugs, has already done/risked the damage to their pancreas etc (but it’s worth the risk because we know that obesity definitely damages one’s body).

Then the reason they aren’t taken off them is because it’s impossible to stop everyone taking them as soon as they hit a BMI of 24.9 ie in the healthy zone?

I think like any medications it should be kept for need - there's going to be side effects and we may not know the long term effects.
If they made it over the counter then the NHS would ultimately end up with the fall out if it makes people unwell, and I'd also be concerned about it being easier for people with eating disorders who are underweight using it potentially as another aspect.

I don't think that's necessarily true. I feel better as a size 8 than a size 10 (health wise too with finding activity slightly easier) despite size 10 being a perfectly healthy weight. I also find I'm more in shape and physically find things slightly easier since losing that weight gain from pregnancy. And I wasn't at all overnight, I'm aware of that, but I'd assume that carrying that extra stone was what made me feel tired out a bit quicker because its still extra weight to carry around even if it's in the healthy range.