To ask doc for ozempic

[Walksbythesea]

I've been battling my weight all my life. Now as a peri menopausal woman, it's just standing still or creeping up no matter what I do.
I eat healthier than I ever have. I exercise. Im 22 stone and it's not budging. It should be easy at this size to shed some. It's impossible. I have a heart condition, pre diabetes (not been tested for over a year) chronic acid reflux, fatty liver and the list goes on. Losing weight would change my life. I just can't seem to do it. Lost 10lb in a year. It's soul destroying.

I can’t exercise atm due to back issues either.

My Doctor is fully aware that I am taking weight loss meds and is supportive, especially as my last set of bloods were greatly improved and my blood pressure is now normal.

The meds have switched off the monkey chatter. I am sure that many of you reading this will know exactly what I mean, and if you don't, then you really don't have the requisite experience to comment objectively.

Fine - pay for it yourself though. Also don't forget, after you lose all that weight, the access skin, you need to somehow also privately fund that. Good luck.

I’ve been overweight (5st over weight) and lost weight and sorry but you do have to eat less and move more, this is pretty much the concept of a weight loss drug that you eat less. Yes there are hormones involved that help you to want to eat less but eating less is the outcome. It is actually really not helpful to keep perpetuating the concept that food intake and lack of movement is irrelevant or low level in weight loss terms because eating less is exactly what you will do. It isn’t that simple but it’s the general principle. I have taken it but I went privately - Gp’s cannot prescribe it for weight loss in most areas as it’s not available in primary care and even in primary care, diabetics are struggling to get ozempic. Yes you can also factor in the cost of the drug to your weekly food shop. You will be eating less. However for those on a very limited budget it might not be an option at all

I've just said this on the other weight loss drug bashing thread but thats exactly the point @Menora- nobody is arguing that eating less isn't the answer or irrelevant for weight loss! The point is, for some people, its not a simple as just doing that. The drugs facilitate that for those people so that they are able to eat less.

OP I take the lowest dose of mounjaro and it's about £120 a month. I've lost nearly a stone in 3 weeks, absolutely a game changer but you're never getting it in the NHS
For those bashing weight loss medication, you do you, I've spent years battling my weight, and yes I may end up with excess skin but I'm happy with that if it means I'm healthy.
It doesn't magically dissolve your fat either, you still have to work at it, do exercise, eat less, cut out alcohol etc etc. all the meds do is help cut out the food noise and help support you to you develop better habits.
Once I get my weight down I WILL NEVER let myself get that way again.

Actually she has a point. I’m currently on Mounjaro it’s around £130 a month and I’ve pretty much saved that each month in food costs. I’ve cut down to two meals, by the time you’ve saved on extra treats here and there and a couple of takeaways you are pretty much even.

@sweetpickle2 I think it’s the general concept that it’s not acceptable to be upfront and say eat less or spend less on certain foods, i know this is hard as i also spent many years convincing myself that my diet was not the issue as to why I was overweight and I wasn’t consuming too much. Pretty much every day someone is around on a thread saying I don’t know why I am overweight I eat well, it must just be hormones but reality is that you are eating too much and I think addressing that is a good first step. It’s brutal but honest. Perhaps your hormones are contributing to it being harder to lose weight but if you counted everything you ate and worked out all your ratios of energy, it’s actually pretty easy to see how even slightly over eating can cause weight gain over a long period of time.

Unless your blood sugar level is monitored via a blood test and your thyroid function is tested prior to buying these medications online, yes it is like buying off ASOS.

im not against meds. At all, I took metformin to conceive when I was at a healthy weight, as I have PCOS. People taking them for diseases they don’t have, which at worst may make them ill or at best not work, under the promise of a magical new slimmer you in just 6 weeks (at the detriment of your kidneys)… yes I’m against. Again. Take it seriously.

I have a question about these weight-loss injections (as I am also obese and struggle to lose weight).
For those people who say it's not as easy as eating less and moving more, why is it that the injections claim to work because they reduce appetite?
I admit that I like eating and find it hard to stop if I am enjoying it (or am happy, or sad, or bored, or lonely etc.) and I have an emotional attachment to food. So it sounds like Mounjaro would be good for me as it will hopefully break the cycle of me wanting to eat all of the time.

But for the people who say they only eat 800 calories a day but nothing worked until they started on the weight-loss injections, what is it that worked for them? It can't be reducing appetite as they already eat so little. Is it something else?

It’s not a weight loss injection. It’s a treatment for type 2 diabetes. A side effect of which is weight loss.

https://www.diabetes.org.uk/about-us/news-and-views/ozempic-and-weight-loss-facts-behind-headlines

My Dad is waiting for an "urgent" diabetes clinic appointment because our local pharmacies can't reliably stock ozempic as it's being sold on private prescription for weight loss. Some people actually need it for medical reasons.

Then they need to make more.

It's not a case of volume of supply, it's a case that private prescriptions make more money than selling it to the NHS to treat diabetes which is what it is actually for. Suppliers making more won't change that.

Selfish people hoovering up a drug for an off label side effect is the problem.

It can help balance insulin resistance for those with PCOS is one example. For me, it's hoped it will help balance some other issues I have. It would be prescribed off license, but (without going into specifics) I can't have the surgery that would normally fix this issue, so we're looking I to other ways to help manage it.

Get it privately OP. I was on it for 6 months, spent £1059 in total and lost 3 stone. BMI went from 32 to 25. It was fantastic for me, it's changed my life.

Okay sorry it's not a weight-loss injection, but my question still stands.

I'm not trying to be funny, I have a relative who survives on leaves and can't seem to shift any weight. I presume there is something wrong as she couldn't eat any less if she tried.

But why are these injections so successful at helping people who already don't eat, lose weight, due to reducing appetite, when some people claim they aren't overeating in the first place.

Is there another element to it rather than just reducing appetite, is what I am asking.

Again, to ask those that believe the NHS shouldn't fund weight loss, do you believe the same for all medical issues caused by lifestyle? Smoking? Dangerous sports?

@justteanbiscuits thank you for your reply. That makes sense.

I really don’t think people who claim to eat 800 calories a day or just leaves and are significantly overweight are being honest and this is part of the condition of obesity in some ways, an inability to objectively view your diet in facts and figures. We all like to convince ourselves of certain things as it makes us feel more secure, like my MIL became veggie to be ‘healthy’ but has continued to gain weight and I see what she eats and it’s very different to what she THINKS she eats and she will even tell me what to eat (no thanks).

I am not against the drug but there is a lot of entrenched behaviours and attitudes that comes along with obesity, people get defensive as it’s hurtful to them to suggest the concept they might eat too much or the wrong things.

You may eat well all week but more calories than you realise so it’s good to take a step back and try to evaluate your intake objectively. or the weekend blow out, the cheat day. Or going to events and picking at a buffet and consuming alcohol. What am I really eating? What could I change?

Placing the blame entirely on hormones is not helpful to move forward. we can create our own issues by over eating, this is what happened to me. I had extremely high oestrogen and it was enhanced by being obese with a BMI of 38 and even ending up with surgery to remove my womb and giant fibroids. My gynae told me to lose weight to try help my symptoms but I didn’t listen and by then it was too late, I was trapped in hormonal obesity and the weight loss drugs were not even available then.

They are a good option to get yourself into a better situation

I have a relative who survives on leaves and can't seem to shift any weight. I presume there is something wrong as she couldn't eat any less if she tried

She's either wilfully lying to you or is totally mis-counting her calories.

If you took any 20 stone person, locked them in a room and fed them 800 calories of food a day and water only to drink, they would lose weight - probably very rapidly for at least several weeks. Yes, even those with hormonal issues. Even with zero exercise.

It ALWAYS comes down to calories in.

It really doesn't matter what you do to reduce the calories that go in. Theres no right answer. Go low carb, Keto, fast, Slimming World, Weight Watchers, diet shakes, calorie count (accurately), Fast 800 - whatever works for you and you, as a person, finds maintainable.

They ALL have the same end goal - reducing the amount of calories we shove in our mouths.

The thing I find concerning about the injections is what happens when you stop them? All diets have a high failure rate because it takes willpower. But the ones that succeed just never actually end the diet - they learn willpower and keep doing the 16 hour fast, or stick to 1500 calories or keep eating in a SW friendly way for LIFE and that maintains their loss.

These injections appear to be a switch flick where you take them and you suddenly have willpower/no cravings. Great - except surely when you flick that switch off and stop injecting yourself, you'll be back to where you started?

Sorry but your relative is lying. It is not physically possible to "survive on leaves" unless you are a Giant Panda spending just about every waking moment chomping on bamboo.

Your relative is eating more calories than they are using.

What "leaves" are they eating and what do they have with the "leaves" ?

What are their daily activities?

Have I understood this correctly? You have the pens prescribed privately and your GP is informed? Is there any way to obtain these without your GP being informed?

The prescriber I used gave the option of you giving permission for them to write to your GP or you confirm that you will inform your GP. I gave permission for them to write to my GP, I had no reason not to.

These injections appear to be a switch flick where you take them and you suddenly have willpower/no cravings. Great - except surely when you flick that switch off and stop injecting yourself, you'll be back to where you started?

Not back where you started. I was 3 stone lighter and hadn't snacked or overeaten for 6 months. I have formed new routines and habits. I am running and cycling and eating small portions. Pretty much everyone who takes it knows that maintenance is the hardest battle and we prepare for it.