To think that if people can take Mounjaro forever for maintenance (which I support FAOD)

[Fragmentedbrain]

Why can't everyone just buy it when they feel the need?

Basically this means that people who lost weight in a different way are denied this long term amazing support tool while those who started off on it can keep using it. But if you purposefully regained a bit of weight to become "eligible" for the injections you could take them and then have Mounjaro available for life.

This seems very unfair to me.

You think thin people will get fat deliberately so that they can use a drug to help them get thin? Seems pointless

I think a person who has struggled all their life with their weight would put on a couple of stones to gain eligibility for a lifelong possible cure for that struggle.

I think the point is that even if you’ve lost the weight, you still have the long term, chronic health condition of overweight or obesity. Just because you’ve successfully tackled the symptoms doesn’t mean that the condition is cured.

I understand what you’re saying op. I think we’re still in the early days with these medications and I do think that they will probably be more widely available in the future.

It’s about the risk level. There is a lot of research which says people who stop taking MJ will put the weight back on and your body will continue to produce excess hunger hormones until they gat back to their heighest weight.

So the risk of stopping MJ is all the risks associated with being obese. Those risks are higher than someone who is overweight or healthy BMI taking MJ. But the risk of taking MJ if you’re not obese are high than being over weight.

I hope so. I know the media loves the rare horror stories but I think so many people would benefit (alcoholics and drugs users too).

Because there is no risk free drug, and you should only be able to freely buy drugs where the potential downsides are significantly offset by the upsides in the general population (eg paracetamol).

Once there is a class of people who only get a small potential benefit from the drug (ie not overweight people), the downsides become a bigger part of that weighing up decision.

Oh and supply and demand. Some people need these drugs to stay alive, some need them to be healthier. If some of the supply is taken up by those who just want some in the cupboard to use before a big event, then you’re taking away from someone else and the supply is nowhere near sufficient to support that yet.

It’s because it’s a medication for obesity, a recognised medical condition, not a quick weight loss fix.

There is a lot less risk in Mounjaro than many other things we do every day. Plus the control of legitimate supply means people seem to be going to "compounders" in madly illegitimate places.

That doesn't answer the question in the OP.

Because if you CAN lose weight or maintain your weight without a drug then you should.

Why? Bearing in mind for some people this means a lifetime of miserable relationships with food.

I think there is a group of people who are in the not-quite-obese weight range who struggle every day to control the desire to eat appropriately sized portions and make healthy choices, and who would benefit from reducing their bmi by 5 or 6 points.

eg Emotional eaters, people with heath issues who tend to gain weight eg thyroid problems or physical injuries, women post menopause, etc

With greater assessment of risk/benefit by a doctor, I think those people should be considered candidates for Mounjaro, if it’s available as a maintenance drug for others in a similar weight/health bracket.

I agree it’s illogical to keep people on Mounjaro indefinitely if they have hit a healthy weight. Better to come off the drug and see if they can maintain healthy lifestyle independently.

In both cases I do not think the NHS should find Mounjaro once the patient reaches a normal bmi

The thing about GLP1s, is they are prescribed for obesity. Obesity isn’t just being a little chunky, it’s major health issue inducing weight. It’s debilitating and costs the NHS billions. If you are 10 stone and wish you could easily be 9 stone, that’s a different issue… the people who are prescribed the WLI are the people who are prone to obesity and will probably end up obese again if they don’t take them. The jags are not without side effects and remember they’re not trialed long term, so could very well have consequences in 20 years. If you are overweight enough to need them take them, but I don’t know if it’d be more impactful than a generally healthy lifestyle if you are lucky enough not to suffer from obesity.

The reason that people who stop taking MJ will put the weight back on is because it treats the symptoms of obesity, but it isn’t a cure for the long term condition. Much in the same way that an asthmatic who came off their inhalers or someone with hypertension ceasing taking ramipril would see their symptoms come back.

Because it’s risk free.

It’s a medication.

If you’re a healthy weight without it then you don’t need it.

It is that simple.

What other medications do you think should be given to people who don’t need them?

I had fertility treatment - should we give that to people who can conceive without it? I then had HG, should we give antiemetics to people who can survive pregnancy without them?

The implication of your post is that mounjaro is cheating or easy or a cop-out. I don’t take it, I wouldn’t know personally. But that’s certainly not the perception of medical professionals. Much like how fertility treatment isn’t a cop-out way to conceive and antiemetics aren’t a cop-out way to get through pregnancy.

Yes it does. You asked why people can’t just buy it when they feel like it.

Do you feel the same way about other treatments for chronic conditions which successfully treat the symptoms but don’t cure the patient? (Ie asthma, high blood pressure, autoimmune conditions) If not, why not?

To get Mounjaro prescribed, you need to be obese. To get MJ on NHS, you need to have a BMI over 40. That’s not a ‘few stone’ overweight. MJ is expensive and about to get more so. MJ for life is currently cost prohibitive for many people.

I absolutely agree with you on this. I honestly can't see a logical reason why a maintenance dose when you're already slim is any different whether you lost weight the old fashioned way or by using the injections. I ALSO dont see the difference between a maintenance dose for those who have lost weight already and prescribing it for those people who are overweight but not technically obese.
But I know the gate-keepers will be along to angrily tell me I'm wrong.

I have considered it.

i lost two stone about 3 years ago. Sheer hard work and discipline. Miserable.

i still have 3 stone to go. 3 years later and i absolutely cannot get the scales to move. I lose and gain the same half stone.

it’s my life. What do I eat. Does this fit in my allowance. Do I accept an invite to a restaurant. My kids are getting fish and chips, do I have some? Or do I deny myself and watch them eat it while I sit there miserable. I can’t drink because not only can I not have the calories but it lowers my will power and I end up eating.

if i gained that 2 stone back i can get WLD and end this constant battle with food. Get my life back.

@Edddie but is being overweight risk free? I don’t think so there is a sliding scale from totally healthy weight to morbidly obese and as you slide up that scale, it increases risk of all sorts of health issues and complications: heart disease, cancer, joint problems to name but a few.

What we consider “normal” now would have been “overweight” for my mum’s generation.

Of course we’d like everyone to eat more healthily and take more exercise and not get stuck on yo-yo dieting for decades, but in my lifetime very little progress has been made.

Also agree with this. I'm not overweight but I am a recovering alcoholic. I'd love to see it prescribed for drug /alcohol addiction. Let's be honest - the risks of those addictions are generally even higher than the risks of obesity.

A high number of the looks conscious £ London ‘borderline’ crowd are all on, as described above, via private doctors & carefully monitored via bloods etc. Pounds on in menopause & assessed on case-by-case basis, not exactly a secret at our school.

If you are a couple of pounds off qualifying weight and many off your ideal weight, why not? I am tempted, I have been trying to lose weight for at least 5 years, and I just can't do it. The fact I am "overweight" does worry me, especially going into perimenopause. I can't quite get myself to lie about it, but there is part of me that thinks just put on that extra 6 pounds or whatever and get it and get down to a healthy weight.

To the OP, yes, it comes down to money though, doesn't it? And I wonder if there are implications of long term use we just don't know yet. But everything I've seen points to increased health outcomes from taking it - not just weight related either.