Extremely hacked off by GP. Won’t prescribe Mounjaro

[Hakunatomato]

I have been self funding Mounjaro for the past year, and have a debt on credit card because of it. As a result, my HBa1c has gone from 19 to 5.5. I have lost almost 5 stones, now down to 16 .stones so effectively I have put my diabetes into remission as a result. I can no longer afford it because of the price rises and have asked my GP to start prescribing it. Their response is that because my blood sugar is now nearly normal they won’t do it, despite me having a bmi of 46. When I finish the course I have I now have to watch my good work go in to reverse and watch my health decline. All for the sake of the £30 a week is would cost my GP at wholesale NHS cost. If I put the weight back on again and wait while my blood sugar levels rise and I will have to apply again. I am so pissed off.. The relatively small cost as opposed to what the bills will be when my Diabetes returns doesn’t make sense.

Oh and congrats on your weightloss so far, you've done bloody brilliantly.

Well I agree with you and think it should be funded for more people on the NHS.

Have you looked at wegovy instead?

What are you on about? If you believe other people are getting a prescription then just "take the piss" in the same way they are and you will be sorted.

Are you for real? Do you believe that depression is also a choice, and people simply need to buck up? Do you think people with agoraphobia just need to get out more? Obesity is a complex condition and the connection between the brain and gut is more than a matter of ‘willpower’

Agree.

Can you move across to wegovy? Thats what Im going to do when my pen runs out and that is what my prescriber is recommending.

This isn't true. It doesn't just stop the cravings. It has a huge impact on blood sugar and people who can't lose weight following reduced diets with exercise find they can lose weight with these drugs.

There is medication that some alcoholics use to help with this. NHS prescribes it.
OP I think with your bmi it would clearly be advantageous for you to continue on Mounjaro and would save money overall for the nhs to prescribe it for you.

Exactly. The NHS can’t fund people being on it forever. People should have to contribute to it.

So for the last 12 months you have managed to reduce your calorie intake so much that you have lost 5 stone - well done! Now, you need to continue with the same diet as you've done for the last year in order to carry on with the weight loss. Maybe stop injecting as frequently just to top up once in a while.
Stop blaming everyone else!

What’s handed on a plate, if you “ take the piss” ?

Wow an interesting level of ignorance about diabetes and the costs of it here. Not to mention the drop in life expectancy. MJ does a lot more than you expect. This thread is pretty shocking.

Early stage / younger adults (diagnosis to mid-life): £1,500–£2,500 per year if well managed.
Middle age (~50–65): more complications start to appear, pushing annual costs toward £3,000–£5,000.
Older adults (>65): costs can escalate significantly, averaging £5,000+ per year, with spikes much higher if major complications occur.
Amputations cost £25k and are a pretty common side effect.
The cheapest healthcare is prevention not cure.

Well OP, you won’t be getting it on the nhs anytime soon, even though you feel you
are entitled to it …. So 🤷🏻‍♀️

Type 1 doesn't make you an expert on type 2 management. While it is possible for some T2 to manage with diet and exercise, it's not a fact that all we need to do is that. I'd be screwed without metformin, no matter how hard I ate low carb and exercised.

I don't think anyone using the word willpower has a clue that it's a largely meaningless moral construct, not, you know, an actual thing that you can magic out of thin air.

Too many people view obesity as a moral failing and that comes across in this thread..try harder, more willpower, don't eat shit blah blah blah. If it was that easy for people we wouldn't have the obesity levels within our population that we do. We don't just tell depressed people to try harder and cheer up.

This would’ve been better posted in the WLI board. You’re mostly going to get stupid “just don’t eat rubbish” comments on here.

I would second a PP’s suggestion of the Fast800 by Michael Mosley.

And exercise. Quite apart from the physical benefits, exercising has huge mental benefits. Plus you are less likely to mess up your diet if you’ve just spent half an hour exercising.

If you’re a novice, try Lucy Wyndham Read. Get some 3kg dumbbells and check out Growingannanas and Heather Robertson.

Surley for this drug to have been successful for you, it's about learning the habits that will sustain the weightloss? I don't think it's intended that anyone should be dependent on it forever. Or maybe that's exactly what the drug companies intend

Do you have to "become unhealthy again"?
Might there be other choices?
I am not suggesting it is easy, but becoming unhealthy again is not your only option.

Well said.

No it’s not ffs 😂

I do sympathise OP but I think you are being unreasonable.

I say that as someone whose Long Covid has really improved with mounjaro. Basically if I take MJ I can have a much better (and active) life. But I doubt it will ever be prescribed by the NHS for that. So I'm paying £150 a month for some normality at the moment.

The fact is that for loads of people it IS a magic drug - but that isn't sustainable for the NHS.