Ozempic getting popular?

[Onand]

2 separate friends told me today they are on Ozempic. 1 I can understand why because she has struggled with weight for a few years now and dieting doesn’t work for her but the other has gone from a 10 😑 to a 6 😐.

I know of others on it too but they’re wealthy clients o it’s not as surprising they’re on it. Is it actually being used more than I naively thought and not just for Hollywood types? I didn’t realise it was so easy to get. Is it safe?

Already slim people are daft to take it. It has side effects.

I don't know anything about these drugs but when I popped into the Weight Loss Forum, I was a bit disconcerted to see the entire forum taken over by Ozempic or Wegovy discussions. I only want to lose half a stone via the "usual" methods.

Yes, it's like botox, so many people on it but don't always admit. It is a wonder drug for obesity tbh and the results are amazing. Not everyone has awful side effects although of course some do.

@Onand Yes it's safe. GLP drugs have been about for years in various guises.

The 10 to a 6 friend has lied to get it, because you are required to have a BMI over 30.

Seems like it. My mum had to change diabetic medicines and was told she should start Mounjaro (?) Which is similar to Wegovy/ Ozempic but the rich people haven't got round to buying like the others so there's not a shortage like there is of Wegovy/ Ozempic

I think you can get it if you're less than bmi 30 but have other health issues like high blood pressure etc?

This! It really irritates me, I think their should be separate forum for weight loss injections. I have no interest in taking them, and it seems like 90% of the posts are about Ozempic, Wegovy or Mounjaro.

They have horrible side effects and you can't take them forever. They don't seem appropriate for people with smaller amounts of weight to lose.

Ozempic doesn’t have any side effects for me and has been very helpful in getting me to change my lifestyle and manage my weight. In Australia you can get it pretty easily.

I meet all the criteria for Ozempic but according to my GP it isn’t being funded in my area of the country.

What criteria do you need to be approved?

I didn't think any of the injections are NHS funded for weight loss yet, only for diabetes. The majority of people are paying privately for it at around £300pm. I'm paying for weight loss drugs which are working but I'm on the cheaper tablets rather than injections. I've lost 2st in 4m.

I agree that the WL board should have separate section for medicated weight loss.

I asked Mumsnet for a separate board on site stuff for injectables a while ago. But I don't think enough people asked for it.

I'm pretty much pro them but think the weight loss chat is being consumed by those threads. But maybe they should stay combined because they point people in rge direction? Idk

As in crossover information.

The NICE criteria are listed here: https://healthmedia.blog.gov.uk/2023/09/04/accessing-wegovy-for-weight-loss-everything-you-need-to-know/

It seems that a lot of people with private prescriptions do not meet these criteria. I do meet these criteria, however I am unable to access treatment through NHS weight loss services in a timely manner. It would take at least two years on the NHS pathway. I have posted before about NHS weight loss services which, in my area at least, are not fit for purpose.

I am fortunate to be able to afford a private prescription. It costs me about £180 every four weeks. I have also made big changes to my eating and I now have a regular exercise programme. I am losing weight steadily and have almost no side effects. The one side effect i do have is that my previously high blood pressure is now in the normal range. The risks to my health from being morbidly obese with a BMI over 40 are far higher than the risks presented by taking a weight loss medication.

I don't usually post on the WL boards as people seem very obsessed about what they are eating, how much they weigh etc and I find some of it borderline eating disorder territory so I tend to avoid them.

This is definitely going to exacerbate the divide of being fat/thin with being poor/rich. I’m also amazed how many people are on it, but £200 a month would be way beyond my means. I am complete agreement that the weighloss boards should have a subsection for ‘medicated weight loss’, such as there is for Fasting/Slimmimg World/Low Carb.

I think it probably needs it’s own forum @mumsnet

You can buy it over the counter, tbh I think it’s great that it works so well for so many people (barring side effects). I’m delighted people are buying it for themselves, tackling your weight on your own means less pressure on the NHS in the longterm.

Already slim people are being foolish though.

Another vote for it to have its own page.
I’m much more a fan of helping people develop healthy lifestyle changes that are sustainable with only using meds as a total last resort. That doesn’t seem to be the case anymore.

I think most people have tried and failed to get their weight under control over decades. I doubt people are taking it as an easy option, more like they really struggled for years and this is a last resort. Does it matter how it’s done as long as peoples health and wellbeing improves?

I have also recently found out about two friends that use it. I feel like it's talked about alot in the media.

A year ago I don't think I'd heard of it.

The friends using it were both over weight but not hugely so. Both have always struggled to be as slim as they would like. They have had good results and look great.

I was surprised to learn it takes a while to work and doesn't lead to instant rapid weight loss as I'd imagined.

One works in pharma and has no worries about taking it. Likened it to how viagra came about.

Personally I'd be concerned that although it has been used for years as a medicine, and weight loss is a known side effect, the long term impact of using it for weight loss only, without diabetes, hasn't been assessed (I don't think).

Agreed. I don’t think posts like that are helpful or true. I think a lot of people on these weight loss drugs for the first time are actually able to start developing healthy eating habits because the drug has taken away that constant food chatter. I say this as someone with a normal BMI.

I think the weigh loss boards should be separate too.

Wrong.
Mounjaro
It's exactly the same drug as Ozempic at higher doses than prescribed for diabetes.
Mounjaro is not prescribed for diabetes, it is prescribed for weight loss. So the "rich people" have nothing to do with Ozempic shortages because they are prescribed for different things.
Facts eh?

@tobee You can be prescribed it down to 25bmi but only if you are already on it. But you can only start on it above 30 BMI . So you will not be prescribed it to start with if you are only half a stone over weight .

@montysma1 Mounjaro and Ozempic are not the same drug. Ozempic is semaglutide, while Mounjaro is tirzepatide.

It’s Ozempic and Wegovy that are the same medicine, with Wegovy being the weight loss version.

In the US, they use the names slightly differently- Mounjaro is the name for the diabetic form and Zepbound is the weight loss one. In the UK, Mounjaro is used for both I believe.

@LaWench It's literally nothing like £300 per month. It can be found for about half that.

I'd love a separate board, keep it all in one place so the rest of us can have the weight loss board back!