Ozempic or no?

[Johojo]

im massively overweight
I hate taking medication but I don’t want surgery due to the risks and considering ozempic? What is everyone’s experiences

I love how everybody has jumped on blaming greedy fat people for being greedy and using up all the semaglutide. You do know it's only in short supply because of the company who has the license to produce it won't let anybody else make or distribute it? You can buy the same drug for a fraction of the price produced in china (no it's not contaminated, cut with something else or going to make your eyeballs fall out) where is it readily available. It's being sold at massively inflated prices.
I am not overweight but if I was you can bet I'd take it. The health issues that come from obesity are numerous and all medications have a risk factor, for example the pill can cause blood clots and breast cancer but the odds of it happening are small. If you genuinely think it causes tumors in everybody who takes it then you're bonkers, it literally wouldn't be given to diabetics if it did or sold over the counter at all.

Even if people get results they're usually overweight etc again in 5 years' time. This is because people who've been obese have to exercise more than average and eat less calories to keep it off. Obesity causes changes to the person physically.

They may also have various genetic propensities to it.

You're wrong, and you're part of the problem.

People who struggle with overeating and obesity feel shame and misery every single day. Because of the judgement of people like you, and we internalise it, and we believe it.

If 'lifestyle change' worked, I wouldn't be spending all this money on Wegovy. I am a well educated, well off, intelligent and successful woman who has 'struggled' with weight for her whole life. I thought I was lazy, and worthless, because I couldn't keep to any 'lifestyle change', even though I knew exactly what I needed to do. Fuck off with 'impatient'. You have no idea what you're talking about.

Wegovy has enabled me to realise that most people are not starving ALL THE TIME, are not thinking about food ALL THE TIME, are not able to eat and eat and never feel full. (We now know it's a hormone - GLP-1). Taking Wegovy has enabled me to make the changes I needed to make to my diet and overall consumption and it has transformed my life. After 40 years of thinking I just wasn't trying hard enough.

So you know nothing about whether the OP should or shouldn't take it, or what his/her current mainframe may be, but MY GOD if someone is so desperate to lose weight that they're considering taking a new medication, don't tell them to make 'LIFESTYLE CHANGES', because I promise you that they have tried, and they already feel like shit, thanks.

I think they should all just join the ranks of short term fixes.

I started Nov 22 at 19 stone 10 today I’m 16st 11.5lb it hasn’t been an overnight transformation and coupled with my own efforts. I would also say I’ve had a good 5 month break due to stock issues over time. Both brands I used have gone out of stock now so it gives me little faith to move onto brand no 3 such as this.

My diabetic uncle allegedly said he got Ozempic and it made him vomit.

@cordialzempy where did I write anything about laziness?

I agreed with you that diets don't work, and said that lifestyle changes do. Am I wrong? There will obviously be some outliers, but generally lifestyle changes do give positive results. I have experienced it myself. I guess it only works for me then.

I won't 'fuck off' with impatience, as you so kindly wrote, because it is true. Most humans look for the easy way out, not just with weight loss but many other things.

@Guttedme Some people maybe get puking at first and then give up very quickly. If he'd stuck with it he might've got over that side effect- most side effects of any med are at the start. If I were you and could afford it I'd probably try installment 3. What are these brands? I thought there weren't any generic versions yet. I got ozempic online from a site with doctors etc- will PM the link if you like and you can see if they have any. x

Whenever bariatric surgery or weight loss drugs come up there is always someone bashing these as quick fixes, or the wrong way to lose weight etc.

Do you realise that there is no medal at the end of this? People should take all the help that is available to them. Yes, it is very important to make lifestyle changes, this is repeated several times prior to gaining access to these interventions. The only thing I think that needs to change is these online clinics because it’s beneficial to do this under care. As a standard people should at least be required to have proper conversations whether in person or virtually with a doctor.

If your weight puts you at high risk for diabetes, pre-diabetes, heart attach, stroke, then I vote YES

But if you're a bit over weight and could tidy up your diet, then I vote NO. There are risks (small risks?) for gastro problems, pancreas problems, thyroid cancers..... If you can, cut out biscuits, cake, bread!

Nothing wrong with bread (and wholemeal is actively good for you), or with cake or biscuits in reasonable amounts.

I eat a lot of my meals with bread as I prefer it to pasta or most other carbs (except maybe oats )

Couple of things always come to mind on these threads

The righteous indignation about people who are obese using it to avoid type 2 diabetes, in favour of people with type 2 diabetes (who got diabetes by being obese....)

The righteous sneering of how awful this drug is, messes you up, terrible for the body, awful side effects, you'll eat normally again once you come off,,,,,, but what about those type 2 diabetics who are on it, how come all of that doesnt apply to them. My OH is on this drug, to cut his appetite and manage his intake. He got type 2 diabetes by being overweight and eating rubbish. He is slim now but has to live the rest of his life on meds.

OP have you researched all the surgical options, there are lots of different options like balloons and reversible sleeves these days

Exactly @soupfiend

The righteous indignation of people who are obese using it to avoid type 2 diabetes, in favour of people with type 2 diabetes (who got diabetes by being obese....)

I asked my GP for it, to avoid all the weight related issues, but at 5 7, and 14 and a half pound, I'm not fat enough. So, I'm having to buy wegovy

Type 2 diabetes can also be genetic. I was diagnosed 15 years ago, my Dad was type 2 as was his Mum before him. So please fuck off with the "only fat people get diabetes" justification. I have got severe gastric issues due to Metformin use and am likely to have to go onto insulin because my GP can't source Ozempic to try. I've got diabetic neuropathy and retinopathy, even with well managed diabetes. It is a miserable and serious condition to live with and constantly manage.

Diabetics have been well and truly thrown under the bus with the private prescribing of these drugs. If this was a cancer treatment, there would be public outrage.

@FruitBat53 Of course not all type 2 is weight-related. Getting older is also a risk factor in itself. My dad got it in his 40s/diagnosed at 50 after a health crisis, and he was always lanky. My sister got pre diabetes but was able to get on top of it.

Sorry to hear you're struggling. I would change GPs as they should be able to get some. Maybe they're choosing to give it to some people and not others.

I lost just over two stone on Wegovy/Ozempic in four months.

I didn’t get any bad side effects aside from slight nausea sometimes. All the “food noise” stopped and I just didn’t feel hungry.

I have stopped because I have gone from obese to normal BMI and it’s expensive. I will try not to regain excess weight and have other strategies in place to support that (MFP/increased exercise) However, if I had to, I would go down the same route again with semaglutide.

The peptide semaglutide is not in short supply--the patented pens are in short supply.

@PerfectTravelTote the thread is about ozempic which is licenced for those ONLY with type 2 diabetes. It is licenced to help improve their diabetes It is not licenced for weight loss.
There is a shortage of ozempic in the Uk as people are using it for weight loss so people whom have type 2 diabetes have been unable to get it.

Wegovy (same drug semiglutide) IS however licenced for weight loss so people who are obese (BMI >35) but do not have diabetes or have pre diabetes can have a prescription for the above. The weight management teams are now prescribing this

@porridgeisbae this is the problem why people with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes cannot get the drug as people are buying it for weight loss. It hasn't got a licence for weight loss.
Hopefully now Wegovy is available, private sales of ozempic will fall and ozempic will be available again as predicted later this year

@bakebeans As far as I know when stocks are up again then the NHS will start prescribing it for weight loss (again?) The current stop on doing so in the NHS is solely because of the shortage.

NHS doctors can prescribe off label meds.

@porridgeisbae the NHS are not meant to be prescribing for weight loss. If patient has type 2 diabetes overweight and poor control then yes but not for weight loss. Wegovy is the one for weight loss not ozempic