To think weight-loss injections should be prescribed in person only. The scale of abuse must be shocking.

[Thisisdrugabuse]

Hear me out here. I have had 5 friends in their 30s and 40s tell me they're using weight-loss injections from online sources. Fine. Except one is a size 8 and another a size 10. Oh, it's so easy to get, just upload a photo of a day you looked chubbier a few years ago and change your height/ weight a bit. Out of my friends that recently told me they're taking it, the size 8 is on the highest dose. She looks ill. Only 1 is over a size 14 I'd say.

Am I being unreasonable

No-to think these medicines are not licensed for normal sized people. They might be at risk of osteoporosis, liver problems and who knows what else. It all seems dangerous and completely unregulated.

Yes- jog on op. These are important medicines helping lots of people and if people lie, that's their issue.

I'm waiting to start Munjauro after being prescribed for health reasons, not weight loss.
I've been waiting for two months as I can access until I have had a special appointment, for what is called 'Wrap Around Care' before NHS will allow someone to start these injections.
So it seems utterly ridiculous that people can lie and access these drugs privately.

@Thisisdrugabuse YES the friend's I know who use WLI all have tweakments . I wondered if they get them from the same practitioner

@zacsGrannybut that’s on the NHS - they are also worried about costs. Surely privately is different, also sorry but people need to take responsibility for risks etc. I honestly think there’s lots of envy towards those who can afford it privately. As I said I’ve always been slim but I’m lucky enough to be able to afford mostly private care and I’ve heard people disparaging that. It’s one of those things full stop

You don't seem to be as concerned with the exploding time bomb which is obesity. Most people are fat and a lot of people become unwell with it one way or another, or the other way round. If you genuinely work in healthcare I'd be worrying about that not about a few daft thin people.

@Thisisdrugabuseyoy don’t work in healthcare because if you did you would know that semaglutide has been used FOR YEARS with minimal side effects. Perhaps you work in admin in the NHS but definitely you’re not a clinician of any sort, as your words clearly portray. The good news is, you can be concerned as much as you want but people will continue to use it. So thanks for your misplaced concern (from someone who comes from a medical family)

@spoonbillstretford this post is about people who are NOT obese and therefore don't need WLI but those wanting to lose a few pounds for aesethic reasons & accessing them through dubious/illegal online sites. There are risks in taking any medication but can see how the health risks associated with obesity could outweigh any potential /unknown risk of the WLI and be a game changer for many (& the NHS) so I'm not anti WLI per se and I don't think the OP is either but is is being abused and I am worried how widespread this is if my local area is anything to go by.

Round here WLI are offered as a service (under the counter) by aesthetic practitioners, so there’s a strong correlation in that respect, these practitioners are all licensed prescribers who have stopped offering Lemon Bottle fat dissolvers and moved to GLP1s

@Ineedanewsofa ah so that makes a lot of sense as I think these women all use the same aesthetics person so yes if she's a licensed prescriber then presumably could easily get hold of the WLI. Makes you wonder how widespread this is 😲

The OP says WLI are not for "normal sized people" - I was only a size 12/14 and only in the overweight range but was prescribed it legitimately. Some of her friends may be obtaining it illegally, who knows, but it's faux concern and potentially legitimate use being mixed up with idiots buying it from dodgy beauty places.

@lechatnoir it’s also not Mournjaro as far as I understand, it’s a semiglutide (Ozempic) variant which comes in vials and has to be drawn up into a standard syringe and administered by the practitioner. One now books out a full day per week to WLI she has that many clients

To be prescribed them on the NHS you have to meet certain criteria, being fat alone isn't enough. If they reduced the criteria it would cost the NHS a fortune.

I think is you're obese and can not access them through the NHS then paying for them is OK.

I know of 5 people who are on Mounjaro, all of whom have lost stones in months. Why should they be deprived of jabs that are improving their health because a few bad apples have lied to get them?

Quite.

Not sure what you're getting out of this but I can assure you I do. It's been used i specific cohorts and very regulated. Not people who don't fit the criteria. There are some odd people on this thread. I find it weird you don't believe I'm a clinician.

Is she actually getting it through a legitimate pharmacy?

I don't know the ins and outs.

Really? I would expect this to be the first question a concerned HCP would ask a friend.

Actually in fact, I've just realised I never said I'm a clinician. But yes, I am. I just said I work in heathcare. Ive continually said its a fantastic medication for the appropriate cohort of patients. I'm not sure which medications it is and don't have enough details and so don't feel its appropriate to report via the yellow card scheme to the mhra.

I'm hoping that this thread get picked up by the mhra so they can see that this is a widespread problem and not localised to my area.

I started taking it in February and there are already a lot more hoops to jump through to get it.

photos are quite specific from certain angles with various levels of undress. You also have to upload a photo on the scales with only your feet on them.

Yes if you tried hard enough you could definitely fake these, but at the point you know what you are doing is wrong and any consequences are entirely on you.

One of the things that leaps out about the subject is that it's a massive money-spinner for whoever's selling it. There's a long, long queue of people who would take it up on the NHS (myself included). Look at the pp talking about an aesthetician giving it to clients. That's a lot of cash for not much work.

In my area the NHS is not currently accepting patients to be considered for WLI. If, in a hypothetical future, we get full NHS provision for certain BMIs or whatever measures they use, then a paid second tier for those who want to lose a bit of weight, that second tier has to make up the cash they will lose from the NHS taking it on fully. Can only imagine that's going to mean more of a wild west for lower BMI users.

As pp have pointed out, it's pretty safe, but I wouldn't want to be an eating disorder sufferer using this. It makes is very easy to be anorexic, very.

I get mine via a clinical study, starting with a BMI of 53.3 (now down to 42.9). It's taken six months to be gradually moved up to 10mg, and my GP has been informed of every change in prescribing, along with any reported side effects, I have to do an on-camera weigh-in every week and I've got a blood test to do next week to monitor any changes since I first started. It seems a bit of a faff, but there's support from a clinician if I need it, and I do feel that safety is paramount.
I know people who are buying it from random sources, though none of those were already slim when they started. They all seem ok so far but there probably isn't much support with side effects etc if they do come to need it.

Thank you for your post. This is incredible, well done. Just reiterating that my post is in no way aimed at people who need it. Good luck in your journey. An amazing trial to be part of. :)

Babycatface it is our business though as PP says. It may be seen as a wonder drug.but we have no idea of long term usage.Good old NHS to the rescue again.if it goes wrong.most diets fail as seen. Healthy eating is way to go .I am recovering from cancer atm .upping fruit and veg .I am not a doctor.but after gruelling chemo treatment it's beyond me how anyone could inject something unknown into their bodies.it needs to be accepted we are not all 1 shape of slim.if women were not seen as sex objects and as people we would not have this powerful diet industry. Women in other non western countries are accepted as more rounded esp after DC

There are official pharmacies who accept a photo. Just because you haven’t used one doesn’t mean they dont exist.

I'm on that study too. My GP called a couple of weeks ago asking what weight I was at and checking that all was well, asked about side effects etc. I can see from the NHS app that monthly letters are sent to my GP so they are fully in the picture.
The weekly check ins are a bit of a faff but I do feel reassured by them. The blood tests are an added bonus. I can see just how far I have come.

The post I was responding to was saying 'what happens when you come off it and pile the weight back on' and my comment about it being none of her business was referring specifically to that. Not to people illegally prescribing drugs at all.

Sigh... The risk of weight related issues is way higher than the risk of the jabs. I've taken them, i was slightly under the limit. They've been lifechanging. The risks are low - how about NOT making them harder to get, but adding compulsory information packs with supplement advice. Given how incredibly safe these medications are, I can't believe the negativity spewed about them. This medication is improving millions of people's lives instantly. Yes, you do save the cost of them in food as the takeaway, the impulse chocolate bar - none of that is appealing. A salad, with nice fresh healthy add ons IS appealing and much cheaper than the junk food. Instead of clamping down on people having this medication, let's focus on helping people use it well and take the right supplements. The pious anti-crowd are getting REALLY boring now.