AIBU to ask GP for weightloss jab?

[FriendlyFriend]

Im 43, bmi 37, 5ft 8inc, size 18. Ive recently had my over 40s health MOT at the doctors and ive got high blood pressure and cholesterol (they text and want me to go in a statin). Ive not really discussed my results properly yet with them as we keep missing each other on the phone.

i saw the GPs will prescribe it for those classed as obese (me) and have high BP.

morally should i? Could i use this opportunity with the weight loss jab to change my lifestyle/habits?

It shouldn't cost £200 a month - maximum more like £150, or less with special offers/codes. I know that is still quite a lot, but you could have a look at the weight loss injectables board here on Mumsnet where you will find a lot of information and some codes to get money off a first purchase.

Definitely ask. Ask for it to be recorded in your notes that you asked. You won't get it as there is not the funding but ask anyhow.
When you don't get it complain and escalate your complaint. The NHS isn't proving these drugs even to those they know would benefit. That is a funding issue for NICE and the government to sort out and both are very swayed by public opinion so make your opinion public.

Its not £200. Around £100 for the first month then £150 roughly thereafter. You can shop around and use discount codes to bring the cost down too. GP will never prescribe it.

The nhs isn’t prescribing it for weight loss at the moment, are they?

I have two friends who both would qualify for weight loss drugs in clinical terms, and have been through the tier 3 programmes, but both have had to pay privately. Not sure what the reason is but the NHS doesn't seem to be prescribing regardless of whether the criteria is met, certainly in our area.

thats interesting what your saying about the price. I know my health is important and me being around and alive for my kids is essential but i cant justify skrimping on life whilst spending £200 a month on myself. If i can get it slightly cheaper thats great. I wouldnt have so much mum guilt.

i have no room in the house to exercise. I barely get time outside the house where im not rushing picking kids up/going work (full time) plus my kids are too young to leave on their own but flatly refuse to walk with me to get exercise! Its frustrating. Because im always rushing and dealing with stuff singlehanded, i put myself last all the time getting the kids sorted. Sometimes i sit down at 9pm and eat a pizza from the freezer because i just havent the time, skip breakfast because kids make me late, shop sandwich for lunch 😞 etc

life is so hard being everything to everyone. H is useless and doesn’t help one bit hence splitting up

Moraly? What have morals got to do with it?

You sound like an ideal candidate.

Talk to your doctor by all means. I enquired when I was BMI 42 and they said I needed two comorbidities such as diabetes, high blood pressure etc which I didn't have. I have funded myself and lost nearly 5stone and BMI 37 I asked again and they said nothing has changed in the funding they have. They offered me a free gym membership tho which I gratefully accepted. So I am funding myself still.

Have you considered joining the Slimming World? Lots of support for only about £5 per week.

Whats the moral issue?

Obesity is your medical condition

However as others have said you are likely to be either dismissed or offered something else like Orlistat (or whatever its called now) and it wont be effective or a weight loss programme that runs at times when you're at work and theres no other way of accessing it

Ask but dont get your hopes up

I hate to say this bluntly but if you want to be alive and healthy as your kids grow its worth investing £150 per month on yourself now. Don't make excuses. A gym membership and some added healthy eating would easily be £150 per month but the drugs work better and you don't need to spend time away from the kids like gym classes etc. I'm on mounjaro- I'm a month in and I've gone down a dress size. I've changed nothing about my lifestyle but I'm eating loads less and I have loads of energy. DO IT!

Here's a link to a website that lists current prices for suppliers:

https://www.missmounjarouk.com/post/glp-1-comparison-charts-14th-october-2024

The current cheapest is The Care Pharmacy at £119.99 for the first month (2.5mg), then you could swap to another provider for the next month (5mg) such as The Family Chemist for £128, and so on. The prices do get higher for the higher doses, but you can still swap suppliers and get referral discounts each time. So that's around £30 a week, which doesn't seem excessive for making a potentially big difference to your health.

Your GP cannot directly prescribe it. No GP can unless you are diabetic

They could possibly refer you to a weight management service who can prescribe but you have to comply with the programme including dietary advice etc you don't just straight away get the jab.

So yes you would be unreasonable to ask your GP to prescribe no you would not be unreasonable to ask for a referral to a weight management service.

this was my experience. I had morbid obesity, (BMI 37) high cholesterol and hypertension but no pre diabetes. So I did not qualify. I did the tier 3 weight loss referral and did the year long program. I took mounjaro ( funded myself) and have lost 20kg. I am no longer hypertensive, and have normal cholesterol. My BMI is 29.1

edited to add. The weight loss has taken 7mth and about £800

@FriendlyFriend You'll realistically get it (and that includes the different dosages) between 120 and 210 from different reputable companies. Unless you regularly chase discounts and spam your codes to get one, that's the general amount you'll be looking to pay each month - more or less. The higher you go, the more you pay unless you get discounts so the higher price is mainly for the high doses.

Here is a comparison site for the price list with discounts and without discounts. That should help give you an idea of what you'll be spending.

https://monj.co.uk/

Ive tried all options eg slimming world, WW, starving myself, calorie counting etc. im just stuck. I hate where i am. I lose a bit then put it back on. Its crap. So depressing

Without being harsh, they are all excuses and speaking as an obese person, I know them all!. Yes you might not be in an ideal position to exercise more and eat healthier, but that only means you have to work harder at it.

You can take morals out of it, no-one has the right to judge you anyway. The GP can either prescribe it or not ( quite a few different opinions on if this can technically happen, I don't know what's right).

Really when you think about, there's a mental health reason why every obese person is the way they are, and every obese person knows about healthy eating and exercise, so we either tackle the mental health side or make these jabs widely available through a clinic people can visit if they have a certain BMI.

I don't like the idea of every fat person like me taking up a GP appointment to plead their case for NHS funded weight loss jabs. I think that could go wrong very quickly.

I just made an appointment yesterday to ask my doc. If she says no, maybe I'll try and scrape the funds together. I could do it, although it'd be tight.

Why do you have a moral objection to even asking?

Really when you think about, there's a mental health reason why every obese person is the way they are

Is there? How do you solve that then? I'm fat, I've come to terms with the fact I'm fat, but I want to be less fat.

I don't like the idea of every fat person like me taking up a GP appointment to plead their case for NHS funded weight loss jabs. I think that could go wrong very quickly

I don't understand what you mean here. I'm more annoyed about those that make appointments for things like their finger hurts, or even worse, those that make appointments and never show. Why would having a ten minute appointment to get weighed and ask your GP "go wrong", or how could it?

I might sound snarky but I'm genuinely interested in your answers, maybe I'm just coming at this from a very personal perspective but I don't understand what you mean!

I think people object to it being “the easy way out” of being obese. You should do it the hard way like everyone else etc. people dont want their nhs tax money going on someone not willing to work at losing weight etc.

i dont think they are excuses. I live in a tiny terrace. No floor space to exercise for toys furniture etc. i cant physically drag my kids outside, they get enough exercise yhemselves but dont want to go out with me in the evenings. My nights are filled with bath times, tidying house, taxi-ing the teens (we live remote), making their tea, bed times. I work 9-5. With traffic and school runs we’re out the house from 745am to 545pm.

So in other words you want to continue with your unhealthy lifestyle and diet, and have a magic drug to make you lose weight?

Why don't you just eat well instead?

(And I say this as someone who is on statins and a size 18)

Its just hard having around 7 stone to lose, trying to chip away at it and not seeing any results. I have tried over the years honestly, i feel really shit about it all

@FriendlyFriend I understand exactly your situation and empathise with you, having felt pretty much exactly the same about my (different but similarly stressful) situation.

I am beyond fed up with people going on about "excuses" or the inane chestnut of "why don't you eat less and move more". It's unhelpful and ignorant, imo.

I work in a GP and we refer people to the weight loss clinic who prescribe the injections if you meet the criteria, the GPs aren’t allowed to prescribe it. I would ask for a referral, there is a bit of a waiting list once it’s been done though.