To be annoyed at the lack of treatment for diabetes as everyone is snapping it up for weight loss?

[lucie82]

Just as the title says really. Myself and other diabetics are having our meds chopped and changed because the pharmacy can't get hold of them. It would seem that they can't get hold of them as people are buying them for weight loss!
Why is everything all about an easy fix with weight loss? If you're taking "weight loss drugs" and not changing your diet and life style then surely once you stop taking them you will put the weight back on?

I’ve not heard of this? Please say it’s not metformin? My elderly DM has this for her diabetes and she’s not said anything , not that she would remember to tell me 😕

I had 7 stone to lose and currently calorie counting and moving more. Lost just over 2 stone so far. Have no intention of trying a quick fix as they never work for me.

Both diabetes and obesity are chronic diseases with significantly adverse impacts on health, and associated morbidity and mortality. These new treatments are absolutely revolutionary for weight management, with an effectiveness rivalling bariatric surgery without the associated dangers of undergoing major surgery. They are designed to be used in conjunction with lifestyle changes, but it is true that most people will regain weight once they stop, so strategies for maintenance regimens are now being established, as it is likely that for many patients they will need to be used lifelong.

I'm sorry you are having trouble getting hold of your medication but your chronic disease is not the only one that matters and deserves treatment. For what it's worth, Ozempic is licensed for diabetes management and Wegovy is licensed for weight management. They are both semaglutide, but the different licensing rules mean that obese people not using Wegovy would not free it up for you to use for you diabetes as it's not licensed for that.

Oh I totally agree with you.
And now they are having to issue health risk warnings because of the possible dangerous side affects when people use these drugs for weight loss.
Crazy crazy world we live in when appearance and being thin and looking young is the be all and end all. And in the medical world achieving these transitory goals trumps the needs of genuinely ill people.

No not metformin, that's the one I'm on at the moment.
I don't believe my chronic illness is more deserving than anyone else's, not my diabetes, my fibromyalgia or the fact that I'm fat.
My mum couldn't get her medication for 5 months and now her bloods are really high. I'm think I'm objecting to people using medication for weight loss instead of trying to actually change their lifestyle first.

Which medication do you actually mean?

Tirzepatide?

I can't remember the name of the one that my mum couldn't get hold of. I've heard that a lot of people take ozempic and another one just for the weight loss. Sorry my brain is fried and I'm having brain fog.

I'm think I'm objecting to people using medication for weight loss instead of trying to actually change their lifestyle first.

Do you really believe that's happening?

I take weight loss injections after yo-yoing my whole life. And you can't take them and keep eating shit, they help your feel full longer to stave off cravings but they're not magic!

As a result of taking them in no longer obese and at a significantly higher risk of comordbidites including 14 different cancers.

Obesity is a chronic illness and deserving of treatment too.

Your issue is with the NHS and pharma companies. There appears to be plenty supply to buy privately, meaning it is not an availability issue, it is a profitability one.

It's just one of my mates has injections and they eat like crap all the time.
It just seems a bit like someone taking anti depressants just to get some sleep (not sure if there is one that does that, just using a random example)
I would like to know if anyone else has had trouble sourcing their medication?

I've only once had a problem with getting semaglutide for diabetes, about six months ago - i don't know if it's more of an issue if you have the injections rather than tablet form.

@pbdr wegovy & ozempic are indeed different branded drugs, but with the same active ingredient, made by the same manufacturer; high demand for one is likely to result in shortages of the other. Popularity of wegovy means that it is taken by many who may be overweight, but not necessarily obese. With private patients paying £700-£1000 a month for medication and consultations, that's big incentive for resources not to be allocated to area of highest need.

It's all very confusing, profit shouldn't come before health.

They don't cost anything like £700-£1000. They cost £125-£200 a month and people get prescribed them because they have health issues from being obese and need to lose weight. If people don't also adopt a better diet and exercise they won't lose as much and won't keep it off. So it's a tool to help not a complete solution.

Ozempic being one of them..

I've only ever been on metformin, I struggled to get it once. A friend is on ozempic she's lost 6 stone and she is diabetic

Ozempic isn’t licensed as a weight loss treatment in the UK. Only diabetics can be prescribed it by their GP.

That's good to know thanks

It's just one of my mates has injections and they eat like crap all the time.

Well, they won’t be on semaglutide because that’s not how it works.

Ok. So one of your friends eats badly whilst on weight loss injections which are marketed for.. weight loss (not diabetes) and so you are mad at everyone else who is trying to tackle their chronic health issues??? Have I got that right?

I went on Semaglutide after over a decade of yo-yo dieting, barely under control eating disorders and obesity related illness, not because I'm too bone idle to try "diet and exercise" but because I'd tried everything else and done an absolute number on my body in the process. If it was as easy as "diet and lifestyle" no one would be fat.

I'm sorry you've struggled to get your medication, but I'm not sorry that Semaglutide helped me lose 5 stone and get healthy, and maintain the healthy lifestyle that I adopted while taking it even now I've been off it for a year. It's changed my life and made me healthier, is that not what medicine is for? Or am I not worthy of health and happiness because I'm not diabetic?

Yes struggling to get ozempic , it's amazing for getting my blood right, but just can't get it.

I was on bydureon injections for my diabetes, it is not one of the weight loss medications, but the pharmacy couldn't get stocks of it because of shortages.

I had previously been told I was an ideal candidate for semaglutide injections but the diabetic nurse was banned from prescribing it because of the shortages. I ended up being put on semaglutide tablets (rybelsus) which is not licensed for weight loss in the UK so it doesn't have the same shortages.

No that’s not what I’m trying to say. I may have been misinformed but I was told that a lot of people including family couldn’t get their prescriptions for their diabetic medication as the pharmacist told them there was a shortage due to people buying it for weight loss

Congratulations on the weight loss. But please stop trying to pick a fight, at no point did I ever say you weren’t worthy of medication

I'm not at all trying to pick a fight, I'm asking you to explain your opinion that your health is more important than mine, or that you are more deserving of this medicine than someone who is using it to manage their weight. You posted it, not me. If you didn't want people to disagree with you, perhaps you shouldn't have posted.

I perhaps should have worded it better. I wanted to know if other people were struggling to get their medications, I used the example in the title as one reason I've been told. I'm newly diagnosed and struggling to get my head round everything, and is very disheartening to hear that medications that help keep me healthy can't be sourced.