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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Anyone taken weight loss injections and regretted it?

157 replies

itsallfoggy · 13/07/2025 18:36

I feel losing weight wouid help me build my confidence and get life back on track but im
just really scared that something awful will happen. I am very close to ordering online. I need to lose around 2 stones. It just won’t shift. Please share your experiences. Thank you ☺️

OP posts:
Thread gallery
5
TheInvisibleLife · 14/07/2025 07:56

There are some very common side effects eg diarrhoea and some very rare side effects eg pancreatitis. You have no way of knowing what, if any, side effects you will have before starting the medication.

That's why it's very important to weigh up the risks and side effects of obesity first and to get it prescribed by a reputable provider - and only if you meet the criteria.

When taking the medication, you should eat a healthy and balanced diet with plenty of protein and you should exercise with a focus on strength training to maintain as much muscle mass as you can. You shouldn't drop to an extremely low calorie intake. Steady weight loss is better for your body than rapid weight loss, which is a risk factor for gallstones (but so is being overweight).

More people have a positive experience on WLIs than negative, but it makes no difference if twenty people tell you how wonderful it is and you're one of the unlucky ones who pukes for five days straight and needs a rehydration drip.

PutThe · 14/07/2025 07:58

What awful things are you worried about OP, and do you think the risk of those is higher than staying 2 stone overweight?

Also just to double check, do you definitely qualify? You need a BMI of 30 if no comorbidity or 27 if you have a condition that weight loss would assist. Sorry if this is patronising, it's just there've been posts on here from people who were considering it who didn't actually meet the prescription criteria. Two stone was enough to make me obese but it wouldn't if you're tall.

Wowzel · 14/07/2025 07:59

I lost 15kg on WLI which is slightly over 2 stone, main side effect was hair loss. Because of my height I had a bmi over over 30, it's now 24.

I don't regret it at all, but know it will be a battle to keep the weight off

PutThe · 14/07/2025 08:01

SilverGlitterBaubles · 14/07/2025 07:15

My concern is how people come off the jabs without putting the weight back on. Those I know have had initial success with weightloss with the jabs but they have not embraced healthy eating or become more active. If you are solely reliant on the jab to reduce your appetite and you do not change your diet and exercise habits then surely the weight just pile back on as soon as you come off it.

Yes. However, this is also true of weight loss with diet and exercise. Obese people who lose weight in this way are more likely to put it back on than not. If OP is obese, and I realise she's not confirmed that yet, there is no method of weight loss where this isn't a risk.

Motnight · 14/07/2025 08:02

Agix · 14/07/2025 06:59

You can eat less for free. You don't need to spend money on the injections or a personal trainer or any of that nonsense.

Just eat less. If the weight doesn't come off, you're eating too much.

Calorie recommendations are too high for most people, including calorie recommendations for weight loss. It's very likely you need to eat quite a bit less than you've been told to, to lose weight. Yes, even less than the doctor recommends.

All the weight loss injections do is force that really low calorie intake, by making you not want to eat. But you can do it for free.

It'll seem an unhealthily low amount of food, but it's just what the injections would make you do too. People act like to have to pay 100s per month to be "allowed" to eat so little, but you can actually do it for free. If anyone questions why you're eating so little, you just tell them you're on the injections. You don't actually have to be. Save your money and just eat much less. It'll do the exact same thing.

How to say that you don't understand obesity without saying it......"Just eat less". Do you think that Op hasn't figured that out herself?

Febnewbie · 14/07/2025 08:03

I didn't have a huge amount to lose either - 2-3 st (BMI of 32 because I am short and not aiming for a low BMI) - but like you, it wasn't coming off.

I wavered for a while and in the end what I did was set myself a deadline - try to lose weight without them for 2 months and if that didn't happen, I would take WLI.

I ended up on WLI. That has been slow going but it is coming off in a way that it just wasn't found to otherwise

PutThe · 14/07/2025 08:05

Motnight · 14/07/2025 08:02

How to say that you don't understand obesity without saying it......"Just eat less". Do you think that Op hasn't figured that out herself?

Show quote history

There's no evidence of that poster having thought full stop.

Thingyfanding · 14/07/2025 08:06

Inthebleakmidwinter1 · 14/07/2025 07:27

@Agix oh my god have you considered becoming a specialist obesity advisor for the NHS? I’m sure they could do with your insight.

Who would have thought ‘just eating less’ was the solution! How simple! @agix you should definitely write a book.

susiedaisy1912 · 14/07/2025 08:08

Nope. Best thing I’ve ever done for my health. I’ve bought from a reputable source and used it properly sticking to all the advice about hydration avoiding fatty rich food etc and I’ve lost over 5 stones in a year. Still have another 2 stones to loose. I feel so much better.

SilverHammer · 14/07/2025 08:10

Ballinluig · 14/07/2025 07:40

So I have lost nearly 7 stone on them, with 1 stone to go. I can honestly say I have not had a single bad side effect beyond feeling uncomfortably bloated the day after I take the injection. I never went up to a particularly high dose which I think helped. I am now tapering off them, and my calorie intake has increased but I am still losing weight. It’s actually surprised me to see how much I can actually eat and still lose weight. I don’t feel I eat that little on them now, perhaps 1500 - 1700 calories a day (I am a short, only moderately active woman) but before I was eating more like 3000-3500 calories a day, so it’s a large deficit by comparison. It’s a lie to say I’m not anxious abut regain - of course I am, but that would be true no matter how I lost weight. It’s not something you can do for a bit and then go back to your old ways, and my eating has now changed drastically (not so much in what I eat, I always ate healthily about 80% of the time, but in portion control). I think the thing that keeps you going is motivation, and I have to say that WLI have changed my life. Not from an aesthetic point of view as I’ve never been one for thinness = attractiveness, but I am now eligible for fertility support, I don’t have the headache of shopping in specialist places and only online, I spend much less on food, I don’t chafe or sweat excessively, I fit comfortably in chairs and on airplanes and trains, my BP is normal again, my cholesterol levels are healthy again, my skin and hair are better, I have a LOT more energy, things that I used to have to plan for and give a lot of thought to I can just do now. I was on a dog walk with my husband and I badly sprained my ankle - he was able to give me a piggy back the whole way back to the car. It’s things like that which have given me my life back. I felt I was a prisoner in my own body before, and now I feel I have freedom. Ultimately, I would never tell someone to go on them - but I would never want to impart fear onto someone as they have given me so so much.

As for gallbladders - you are at higher risk of developing gallstones and needing your gallbladder removed if you lose a lot of weight (and quite quickly), but also if you are overweight. I can only speak anecdotally, but I know four people who have had their gallbladders removed - two of them are very overweight, one of them lost a lot of weight with a gastric band, the other was a healthy weight but just got them, it happens! For what it’s worth - at 7 stone down in a year, my gallbladder is fine!!

That’s interesting to know. A friend lost her gallbladder after going on an extreme diet and losing weight quite quickly. I didn’t realise it was common.

Geneticsbunny · 14/07/2025 08:12

Have you considered hrt? I started putting on weight but was able to lose it by being more careful about what I eat once I was on hrt.

Ballinluig · 14/07/2025 08:14

SilverHammer · 14/07/2025 08:10

That’s interesting to know. A friend lost her gallbladder after going on an extreme diet and losing weight quite quickly. I didn’t realise it was common.

Show quote history

It wasn’t something I had heard about until my gastric band friend had hers out, but apparently before they’d even fitted it she’d been warned that it is a potential risk! Like all things, getting it out wasn’t great (well actually she said the op was fine, but the gallstone attacks beforehand were horrific) but you weigh up the pros and cons and make your decision!

00deed1988 · 14/07/2025 08:16

I have no regrets, it is the best thing I have done, but had 9 stone to lose. I am over 5 stone down now. But for me the risks of being that morbidly obese outweighed the risks of the injections.

Radioundermypillow · 14/07/2025 08:17

Agix · 14/07/2025 06:59

You can eat less for free. You don't need to spend money on the injections or a personal trainer or any of that nonsense.

Just eat less. If the weight doesn't come off, you're eating too much.

Calorie recommendations are too high for most people, including calorie recommendations for weight loss. It's very likely you need to eat quite a bit less than you've been told to, to lose weight. Yes, even less than the doctor recommends.

All the weight loss injections do is force that really low calorie intake, by making you not want to eat. But you can do it for free.

It'll seem an unhealthily low amount of food, but it's just what the injections would make you do too. People act like to have to pay 100s per month to be "allowed" to eat so little, but you can actually do it for free. If anyone questions why you're eating so little, you just tell them you're on the injections. You don't actually have to be. Save your money and just eat much less. It'll do the exact same thing.

I'm not sure its that simple! The WLI affects your brain and takes away the food noise, so then it's totally easy to eat 1000 cals a day. If you are menopausal and eat 1000 cals a day without drugs you'd be constantly thinking about food which makes it 100x harder, not to mention miserable.

Flannelfeet · 14/07/2025 08:21

I got the weightloss injections prescribed in my local chemist on Wednesday, start it today. My bmi is 28 and I didnt qualify for them on the grounds of being overweight but I qualified on the grounds of a health condition. I have to go up to speak to the pharmacist every Friday to be monitored as, like you i want to lose 2 stones. Why not look up to see if your local chemist do private medical care and speak to them about it rather than ordering online? If anything it will be far better to have a health care professional there to speak to and guide you through.

ThatLoudBear · 14/07/2025 08:27

I don't regret MJ one bit.
I have gone from 92kg at the beginning of last December to around 67 this week.
I have come off MJ this month, as I could no longer afford it, due to changes in familial and financial circumstances.
During my time on MJ, I have also upped my steps, joined a gym and introduced positive changes in nutrition AND around eating habits.

sonoonetoldyoulifewasgonnabethisway · 14/07/2025 08:34

I lost 10kg in 6 weeks on them, I went on a strict 1200cal diet eating mainly protein and made myself quite ill, hypoglycaemia. I came off them, re educated myself and started again (I put 2kg back on in the 6 month break) I am now going into week 4 after restarting and I am down 4kg, I have another 7 to go. I have stayed at 2.5mg as this is working for me. This time, the only side effect I have had was a bit of diarrhoea and a dry mouth, but i'm drinking a minimum 2ltrs water per day.

I got mine from Simple Online Pharmacy and paid £88 plus postage so £92 in total (with a referral code)

I am your age and it was a complete struggle to lose any weight, I had tried everything else and I just couldn't shift anything, I was miserable and felt like a ball. This gave me the boost I needed, I am only going to be getting one more pen as I think that will get me to where I want to be weight wise.

I have a code if you want it, just message me and I can send you it

SylvanianFamiliesBalcony · 14/07/2025 08:36

No regrets here, it's magic stuff. Lost around 20lb in 5wk so far. I do get some stomach/bowel pain around 12-24hr after the jab each week but it passes quickly.

PurpleChrayn · 14/07/2025 08:36

A stone down here and no regrets.

JustPinkFinch · 14/07/2025 08:37

I know someone who got pancreatitis after rapid weightloss and was very poorly. Long before WLIs - he had a MH crisis and struggled to eat. Not entirely sure what the mechanism was, but at the time, the docs suggested his rapid weightloss was the issue.

I hear the concerns and worries OP. My view as someone on MJ is I am staying on as low a dose as possible, and I am making sure I eat 1500kcals a day. I also make sure they are really nutrient dense calories too. Rapid weightloss is a no-no.

It's been life changing, and I say that as a veteran weightlifter with plenty of muscle mass. Resistance training never helped me control fat levels (my diet was too bad), but I stick at it for my bone health and its other benefits, esp now I am going through menopause. Waffling about this as some advice you've had suggests resistance training will solve your problems. It's not enough without a diet overhaul, and many of us can't do that last bit without help.

florenceandthemac · 14/07/2025 08:40

Bimblebombles · 13/07/2025 18:42

I'd spend the budget for injections on a personal trainer and do some regular strength training a couple of times a week. Building lean muscle mass is the key for long term weight management and hormone regulation I have found.

Fully agree with this.
I’ve seen so many people using the injections but with no exercise, they’ve lost weight but aren’t in ‘good shape’ that would come from strength training.
Plus, strength training helps protect your body/bones in later life. I believe the weight loss jabs can have a negative effect on bone mass, greater risk of osteoporosis etc. So I’d suggest strength training even if you do choose the jabs

Bananacoffee · 14/07/2025 08:40

They're life changing for many and even with the risks improve their health and lives markedly. However for the sake of 2 stone I agree with a PP about looking into a PT- you want to be building muscle as well which helps as you get older with all sorts of things. This isnt a just eat less and move more post as obesity is much more complex than that and WLI are an amazing tool to support weight loss; but as you dont have a lot to lose really id be wary of the risk benefit and also if youd be eligible.

Cucy · 14/07/2025 08:44

The biggest downside is the weight gain afterwards.

It is easier to lose weight on these than other diets but you are much more likely to gain the weight back afterwards compared to other diets.

You will need to be on a strict diet and exercise regime when you stop these injections anyway (which is very difficult as you’ll be starving and craving food lots) and so you need to weigh up whether just doing the strict diet and exercise is better than taking the injections and then doing it after.

Roseblooms · 14/07/2025 08:48

It is easier to lose weight on these than other diets but you are much more likely to gain the weight back afterwards compared to other diets.

@Cucy Is there evidence to back up this claim? I thought most 'diets' led to weight gain after? I would be interested to read it as I am about to start MJ as I have high cholesterol and need to lose approx 2 stone, having tried most other traditional methods now on HRT I cannot shift it.

Disturbia81 · 14/07/2025 08:53

Ballinluig · 14/07/2025 07:40

So I have lost nearly 7 stone on them, with 1 stone to go. I can honestly say I have not had a single bad side effect beyond feeling uncomfortably bloated the day after I take the injection. I never went up to a particularly high dose which I think helped. I am now tapering off them, and my calorie intake has increased but I am still losing weight. It’s actually surprised me to see how much I can actually eat and still lose weight. I don’t feel I eat that little on them now, perhaps 1500 - 1700 calories a day (I am a short, only moderately active woman) but before I was eating more like 3000-3500 calories a day, so it’s a large deficit by comparison. It’s a lie to say I’m not anxious abut regain - of course I am, but that would be true no matter how I lost weight. It’s not something you can do for a bit and then go back to your old ways, and my eating has now changed drastically (not so much in what I eat, I always ate healthily about 80% of the time, but in portion control). I think the thing that keeps you going is motivation, and I have to say that WLI have changed my life. Not from an aesthetic point of view as I’ve never been one for thinness = attractiveness, but I am now eligible for fertility support, I don’t have the headache of shopping in specialist places and only online, I spend much less on food, I don’t chafe or sweat excessively, I fit comfortably in chairs and on airplanes and trains, my BP is normal again, my cholesterol levels are healthy again, my skin and hair are better, I have a LOT more energy, things that I used to have to plan for and give a lot of thought to I can just do now. I was on a dog walk with my husband and I badly sprained my ankle - he was able to give me a piggy back the whole way back to the car. It’s things like that which have given me my life back. I felt I was a prisoner in my own body before, and now I feel I have freedom. Ultimately, I would never tell someone to go on them - but I would never want to impart fear onto someone as they have given me so so much.

As for gallbladders - you are at higher risk of developing gallstones and needing your gallbladder removed if you lose a lot of weight (and quite quickly), but also if you are overweight. I can only speak anecdotally, but I know four people who have had their gallbladders removed - two of them are very overweight, one of them lost a lot of weight with a gastric band, the other was a healthy weight but just got them, it happens! For what it’s worth - at 7 stone down in a year, my gallbladder is fine!!

This is fantastic, well done! You are exactly who it is for and the fact you had no side effects show that the medicine is meant for an obese body chemistry.