To want to get weight loss injections on the NHS?

[BrumMama]

Please share any experiences you have had - I am especially wondering what the timescale is between approaching GP and actually beginning injections.

I am 99% sure I meet the criteria (high BMI and cholesterol) but I have struggled with eating disorders in the past (bulimia and restrictive eating) will this rule me out?

Despite having a good understanding of nutrition I just can’t shift the huge weight I have gained in eating disorders recovery. Thinking this might quiet the food noise in my brain and offer a solution?

I take Mounjaro for diabetes. I really would not recommend it with an ED history. I can't say it would never remove the urge to binge, but the ways it affects appetite and feelings about food are tricky and could be dangerous. It's possibly less dangerous for you than it might be for a history of anorexia (which in my mind would be a flat contraindication. By the way it is possible to have anorexia and not be thin) but I am really not sure it would be worth the risk. Also, if you did binge on this, it would be outright dangerous. Your stomach doesn't empty the same way on the meds.

Thanks for this recommendation. I have just decided to go on the jabs and am wondering why there is such a discrepancy in prices for Mounjaro.
Does anyone know if they are all from the same manufacturer (Eli Lilly)? Or are the cheaper options produced by different manufacturers?

How can some be so much cheaper? Are they some sort of off-brand/fake Mounjaro?

My type 1 diabetic consultant referred me to weight loss clinic. They told me no injections, but offered me bariatric surgery. Which I don't want, it's awful. How can that be cost effective? Say no to injections but offer surgery. Baffles me.

@MakkaPakkasCave not fake. Just new customer incentives/discounts and being very competitively priced. All the pharmacies listed on the comparison site linked are fully registered and regulated.

I go on Monj each month to get the best deal. Think I’m paying about £120 a month and currently on 7.5. Just need to be prepared to send all the details again.

I tried to get it through my gp

first challenge was getting an appointment 🤣

that took about three weeks, then I was told that the best way to get the jabs was private (I did expect this , but I don’t really have the money so I thought I would try )

they then referred me to the weight loss clinic. The doctor said this part would take about three months (just waiting to be referred) then they put you on diet ect and can take years to get to the jab point.

I am currently on the list to be referred to the weight loss clinic,

however after my initial gp appointment I ordered the jabs privetly (£110 for the first jab)

13 weeks later and I’m 25lb down and my bmi has dropped 5points .

still not got the nhs appointment 🤣

But you don't want to binge, that's the beauty. I was a lifelong binge eater, I haven't binge since I started. I get uncomfortably full after a medium size meal now.

Ha ha good luck with that!

They are doing with weight loss injections what they are doing in many areas. That is effectively not covering them on the NHS so it forces as many as possible to go private. It’s really very easy to reduce waiting lists by simply not providing services or making sure there is an horrendous wait time. Especially if you do this for things that people really need now eg weight loss, ear wax removal. Hopefully OP it will drop in price and you can sort it yourself.

Great to know, thanks so much!

It is annoying all do discounts and be easier It just be the same price and choose one

basically you need to check the list each month as they do change prices and then go with the chemist with the lowest price in the strength you want

as they get higher they do cost more

2.5 and 5
7.7 and 10
12.5 and 15

usuallg paired in same price so if dithering whether to go up it’s with say getting a10 instead of 7.5 as same price usually

if find suppression too much then can syringe .4 out to get a lower dose

.6 is a full dose of whatever strength

so yes a little hassle to resend pics and put weight in etx but worth if saving £30/40 a pen

with bonus you get 5 a pen

Just for what it's worth, I have no previous ED & until I had my first baby 12 years ago was always a healthy weight (apart from in childhood where I was heavy) and I'm on MJ. I've lost 3 stones since October & its been like a miracle for me - really suppressed my appetite etc- but - I'm not sure it's given me a healthy relationship with food tbh. It would be so so easy for my eating to become disordered as I now feel guilty if I have 3 meals a day. I'm terrified the weight will go back on & I am really careful not to over eat. Which may just be what normal people do, but I do feel it could push some people into an ED. I paid for mine privately & have eaten well & exercised the whole time. I've also been off it for 9 weeks & lost another few pounds.

I paid £109 for first 2.5mg as has blue light discount and a code. 100% it is the proper Mounjaro from Eli Lilly...says it on box and pamphlet info etc

Personally I don't shop around for the cheapest and feel, due to this I get really quick delivery. Also once your BMI lowers if you've stuck to same supplier they'll support you all the way down to healthy BMI.
I also don't mess around with the golden dose. I think this is asking for issues.
OK some might say I must be made of money as I'm willing to do above.
.no, I'd rather stick with a company I'm happy with and also take it as per guidance.

I'd say monthly meetings with a nutritionist IS 'actual help'. The NHS ones I work with are fantastic. Good luck with it.

I have seen a nutritionist on the NHS but it was more around metabolism, how weight loss isn’t just calories isn’t in vs out like most people believe and breaking barriers to fear foods which I have done successfully.

This has seen me go to 15-16st (I really try not to weigh myself) despite having what I feel are pretty normal eating habits. Just at a bit of a loss as what to do really and obviously this isn’t an viable option on the NHS and not really an expense I can justify

Mounjaro has been life changing for me. 6.5stone down in 8 months. I’m now reducing to a maintenance dose. I’ve stuck with the same supplier and benefited from some referral codes, I’ve had prompt response to any questions and feel well supported. A colleague has changed pretty much every pen for the cheapest price and now finds herself in the situation her bmi is now borderline low and companies are declining her order, most times she needs to argue to get a prescription and send them all sort of proof of her previous use but she is worried about being cut off before she is ready

So my experience with NHS weight loss seems to be much different than other posters on here.

So...got an appointment w/ doctors. Had to have blood test to.make sure i was OK for referral and then was referred due to weight and high blood pressure.

Referral was made to tier 3 weight loss and company called oviva. Got access to app and nutritionist and had first call with them to discuss habits, ideas etc. This was within 3 months of referral but they said ita usually quicker but they were catching up on backlog. They okayed me for wegovy injections. Had call tonight with q&a around the medications, how to administer etc, and the prescribing team will call within 4 weeks with jabs sent out for the next day. I have access to medical team and nutritionist for 2 years (and obs the injections) and they have checkins with me around every 1-2 months.

OP, I don't know how it would be with the ED, and I suppose it depends on when it was. Thisbis probs why it's better going through the doctors but please don't be put off with talk of 2-3 year delay, that was not my experience whatsoever and I'm talking from my real life experience rather than 'someone I know'. I believe there may be differences dependant on which ICB u belong to, but judging by the call tonight, there were people from all over

I would really caution using these with a history of eating disorders. I use Mounjaro and have lost a significant amount of weight but I’ve had a disordered relationship with food and my body in the past and can feel myself being addicted to the thrill of losing weight. It’s making me think about my end point and how to sustain it in a healthy way.

I have a history of disordered thinking around food that's - thankfully - never got 'too bad' (I know it's all not good and I'm not minimising the impact of disordered thinking about food, but I would never have met the criteria for e.g. an eating disorder even though the thinking and some of the behaviour was the same) and honestly I would steer clear if I were you. It has really brought back (and exacerbated) that way of thinking for me in a way I've found quite upsetting because I thought I'd moved past it.