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?

It's part of a way bigger issue, I've known people recently attend with cardiac drugs (no use at all for other conditions) and ADHD shortages have been going on a while. This explains some https://inews.co.uk/news/cancer-epilepsy-asthma-patients-risk-drugs-stock-3103381

They are. But it takes a while to increase supply of any new drug. Components, factories, warehousing, logistics etc. There was a shortage last year, it's now much less so, but there will still be some delays as the popularity grows.

WOW, I am absolutely horrified at the complete lack of knowledge around this subject. Tirzepatide and Semaglutide are (effective) treatments for both diabetes and obesity, but neither group NEED these drugs to stay alive. You are quite right that Type 1 diabetics NEED insulin to live, but Tirzepatide and Semaglutide do not contain any insulin whatsoever. People taking these drugs for weight loss have absolutely ZERO bearing on the availability of insulin. None at all. They are completely different things.

You are right.

DD works in a pharmacy and the prescriptions are going to standard size people as they have lied to get private prescriptions, they aren’t cheap either.

I agree with you - it’s disgraceful.

Unethical prescribers shouldn't be prescribing the drug

If someone is within the normal weight range and has diabetes then I think they should be offered it above someone who is obese.

If the are obese themselves and that’s why they’re diabetic then it’s two threes and a six.

Flame me now but being obese isn’t an illness and it causes all sorts of complications including diabetes. As you point out, people need to exercise more (and stop eating as much!) I know people will be aghast at that but it’s true. Calling obesity an illness is a smack in the face to those with real illness such as cancer, where there is literally nothing they could do to prevent it….

I don't actually believe in the concept of fatphobia but if I did this thread would be it. The disdain and disgust for people who are fat and can't just willpower their way out of it is grim.
obesity is a curse on society. It's an awful way to exist. I'm completely opposed to the beliefs of the fat positivity movement. Disgust at fat people is mainstream. Yet people also hate obese people trying to become not obese through medication. Make it make sense.

This is a narrative we do hear from the media, but in real life, haven't heard anybody say that they couldn't get their or their parents' diabetes medication.

America has so many private clinics that docs can prescribe as they see fit, but in the uk I believe the GPS have to answer to somebody wrt what they prescribe. Not each individual prescription, but overall stats.

There are shortages of hrt in my country though! I have to cut the big patch in two. So annoying that they can't just make more!!??

Why Dont they make more wegovy or whatever its called? That's my question.

GPs don't prescribe wegovy. And they are making more - but it's obviously patented and only made by novo nordisk which until oxempic took off in 2022 was a small company and it takes time to increase production on the scale to meet current demand.

If someone is within the normal weight range and has diabetes then I think they should be offered it above someone who is obese.

In this case, the person wouldn't be able to access Wegovy (the weight loss licenced version of semaglutide), and therefore, 'fatties stealing it from diabetics' is irrelevant...

If the are obese themselves and that’s why they’re diabetic then it’s two threes and a six

type 2 can be caused by obesity but there is other stuff in play as well. Genetics for a start. Lots of type we who have never been overweight.

Calling obesity an illness is a smack in the face to those with real illness such as cancer, where there is literally nothing they could do to prevent it

obesity is a cause of cancer so your logic doesn’t stand up, does it? And obesity is recognised as an eating disorder. It is way more complex than just eating less.

You don’t have any control over diabetes but you do over losing weight. You cannot class them as the same level of illness.

It’s like many things in life now. People want a quick fix without putting in the effort.

If you think injectables are a quick fix and no effort you've sadly misunderstood

Can I just say that I am overweight myself and nowhere near fatphobic!

There is so much incorrect misinformation on this thread my head is spinning.

1. The weight loss drugs that are prescribed for diabetics are only for type 2 diabetics. They aren't prescribed for type 1.

1. People using these drugs for weight loss aren't taking Metformin or insulin related drugs.... If you can't get these drugs then it's because of NHS funding /stock levels... Nothing to do with weight loss drugs.

1. People cannot go screaming to their drs until they prescribe the weight loss drugs. How ridiculous! At the moment hardly any obese person can get injectable weight loss drugs on the NHS. To get it you need to go through the three stages of the weight loss program...which takes years... Even then, it's near impossible to get it.

1. The only people able to get these injectable drugs on the NHS are type 2 diabetics that are obese. So if there is a shortage on the NHS, it's from diabetes getting all the stock.

1. Weight loss drug stock is bought by private companies to sell to the private market. People on the injectables for weight loss drugs do not take from NHS stock. It's is separate and NOTHING to do with the NHS.

1. Most obese people are already pre-dibetic a few steps aways from diabetes themselves.

I'm sorry op, but the information you have been given is incorrect.

Thank you for the clarification.

@DracoDormiensNumquamTittilandum
"GPs don't prescribe wegovy. And they are making more - but it's obviously patented and only made by novo nordisk which until oxempic took off in 2022 was a small company and it takes time to increase production on the scale to meet current demand."

Just a quick point on this. Novo Nordisk are not a small company.

They are huge in medication/drugs. The vast majority of insulin pens in the UK are from Novo Nordisk, along with loads of other diabetes drugs/products.

They produce around 40% of the world's insulin, they are huge!

This. Preventative treatment might help stop some people getting diabetes and other chronic conditions that would impact on the health system. Their health issues are important too.

Who says they haven't? Most people wouldn't take medications with potential side effects without trying other things first.

For the record, I have never taken these drugs and have no interest in doing so, so no skin in that game. I do know people who have struggled though.

This!! 1000% the diabetes argument is so frustrating- as the people who are taking it to manage their weight are trying to stave off type 2 diabetes! It's all the one problem this medication is treating. There's no division between 'deserving' diabetics and undeserving fatties

Happy to be corrected on this point. The size and scope of the company was given as a reason why there's was such a shortage last year but maybe they went from a medium sized company to a massive one. Either way, it takes time to increase production on that scale.

You make no sense

Lol I was just writing a reply to aunt Mabel but she's been deleted. What a horrible person.

Just realised my numbers are all gone! Woops