So if your friend lost 5 stone in 6 months .. would you wonder how ?

[AboutVattime]

Just inquisitive.. my best friend has always been obese. About 22 stone. I have worried about her health silently for a very long time.. she started Mountjaro in April and is now 14 st. I am completely thrilled for her . Her blood pressure is now 'upper' but not ' see your healthcare provider' .. her heart 'murmurs' have ceased.. I am worried that when she come to the end of her treatment she's will just gain it all again. It is without a miraculous drug.. she has struggled to afford...she is incredibly good with money and financially planned every inch of her journey so that her treatment equalled less than her cost of food consumption.. but only in the short term ( she planned 8 months but goal in 6)

My AIBU is ..I see the amazing difference , she is so happy for the first time in a long time after years of weight watchers, slimming world, Cambridge diet.. low carb, NHS gastric band..(15 years ago which helped but only ever got her to 16 stone before piling it back on) .. she has found one of the Mountjaro providers who will prescribe a maintenance dose...

But she can't afford it long term. It will be £189 per month without a discount.. AIBU to say I can pay this for her. She is my very best friend . I love her new found sense of self confidence.. and don't want it to go.. the money is not an issue for me . I am extremely comfortable and struggle to spend. However would love to help someone I love very much.

Just for complete transparency I had crept over into 'unhealthy' zone as also had osteoporosis in knees. Also took Mountjaro for 2 months and know how incredible it is. I have kept it off for 5 months without a maintenance dose .. it just reinforced healthy eating recipes for me . . But I haven't been morbidly obese

Or just may be I'm concerned that people are using drugs in their body unnecessarily that can have life threatening side effects and don't address the real issue, because as a pp said, if you can't normally regulate your food intake you may well be on drugs for life.
The side effects of this drug, blocked bowel (leading to needing a stoma), thyroid cancer, gallstones, etc etc. Not to mention what does restricting the blood sugar level in a non diabetic long term do? We don't know.
People are being peddled this drug when long term the resolution lies with restricting and moderating your own food intake.

There is some sanctimonious bullshit in this thread. Whiffs of 'well I just quit smoking cold turkey, you're just weak & I'm wonderful' 🤮

Second sharing on this thread.

I used to think smug shit like this. Then I got a severely disabling illness this twas triggered by a bad case of covid

And?

I am dyslexic. Assuming you are not, if we took the same exam and I was given more time would you be saying ‘well I can do it. My study of one says it can be done in x amount of time so everyone should be able to’

I dunno. There were ancient societies where having a hugely obese king or queen was seen as a good thing. The Venus of Willendorf is thought to be more than 29,000 years old.

The title here makes me think this is an ad.

Well it’s a very generous offer and i’d do the same if it came to it for my best pal of 40 plus years who is very overweight, and has been for some years but now we are fast approaching 50, it’s starting to affect her a lot. I do wonder if she will (or is, we don’t discuss her weight as its a sensitive subject) go on this. I do think she needs to do something, she’s got a lot on her plate with young kids and sick elderly parents, and a job) so things like slimming world she struggles to make the meals and cook family dinners.

The risks are very small

About one hundredth of taking paracetamol
(Paracetamol is a very dangerous, very common drug)

Birth control pills have more side effects

There are law suits underway at the moment. A quick Google or even a read of the small print will tell you the risks.

Common Mounjaro side effects include digestive distress, such as vomiting, diarrhea, constipation and nausea. More severe side effects of Mounjaro include acute organ failure, pancreatitis, diabetic retinopathy and gastroparesis. Animal studies show an increased risk of certain thyroid cancers.

I get that weight loss is a very emotive topic. I completely get why individuals would love a miracle cure.

Notice the Op has not come back to refute the claims that they are not entirely who they say they are.

Weight Watchers in the US is now offering a medical program. It may be less expensive.

My sister and I are 2 sides to a coin. I struggle to maintain even a minimal amount, not even reaching the minimum my doctor wants as healthy. (My doctor wants me at 124-138. This month I weighed in at 121.) My sister struggles on the other side with diabetes and near obesity. Even with insurance paying for part of Mounjaro she was struggling cost wise.
We got her into the Weight Watchers program, it's partially funded by her insurance. I gave her a 3 month gift of membership. Weight Watchers reinforces the healthy eating that she needs.

In relation to the your cancer more recent studies (I think it was a Swedish study) contradicts that it raises a risk.

The risk of thyroid cancer is mentioned as some mice developed thyroid cancer during trials. There have been no instances of thyroid cancer in humans (yet). Obesity, however, has been proven to increase the risk of getting cancers such as;

Endometrial
People with severe obesity are seven times more likely to develop endometrial cancer
Esophageal adenocarcinoma
People with obesity are 4.8 times more likely to develop esophageal adenocarcinoma
Gastric cardia
People with obesity are twice as likely to develop gastric cardia cancer
Liver
People with obesity or who are overweight are twice as likely to develop liver cancer
Kidney
People with obesity or who are overweight are twice as likely to develop kidney cancer
Multiple myeloma
People with obesity or who are overweight are 1.1–1.2 times more likely to develop multiple myeloma

Concern. Gotcha.

This is the issue.

Yea lawsuits are underway.

that doesn’t actually mean anything. Gastroparesis, as an example, is more common in diabetics anyway.

Filing a lawsuit doesn’t mean there’s merit in it.

But quite frankly non of that changes why obese people become obese. It’s not a choice between just turning off a switch or Mounjaro. If people could turn off the switch, don’t you think they would do that instead.

Like I am sure most alcoholics would just switch off being an alcoholic if they could.

She had probably saved a proportion of the money on food if she was a binge eater. However, she will likely need a maintenance dose for life. I have found with a similar drug that it does become less effective with time but if it stops you returning to morbid obesity it is worth it.

Amazingly, I’ve still not had Covid. At all. Despite working the whole pandemic on a clinical site.

Maybe my diet gives me some sort of improved immunity.

You’re the real life Superwoman clearly.

Would appear so.

My diet was was very healthy and so was my lifestyle. It's just weirdly ignorant to even assume it wasn't.

@ItTook9Years Weight loss increases the risk of gallstones which, in turn, can cause pancreatitis. It may just be a risk of the weight loss caused by the drug.
Interestingly people who lose weight on other diets, like Weight Watchers, Slimming World, etc also have those increased risks but nobody records them so we have no way to compare if the risk is higher with GLP1s or not

All hail thee! 🙌🏼 Super diet and super immune to illness and obesity.

Define healthy.

I don't think that you should make this offer because it will affect your relationship. No good deed goes unpunished and at some point this will come between you.

Your friend will find £189 a month if she wants to. With her much improved health she can do some overtime or work a second job.

I have read about a couple of people who stopped taking the weight loss jabs because emotional eating was their coping mechanism and it took that away and they missed it. Your friends weight journey belongs to her alone and you should stay out of it.

If you want to treat your friend with much less chance of it coming between you take her on holiday or something... although I have read many threads on here about friends who go on holiday together and then can't stand each other so even that is not a safe bet for your friendship.

Not immune at all. As I said, I lost 3 stone (unintentionally, just happened as part of being more mindful about what I eat and when). The weight was there to lose.