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.

Greedy is such a horrible word....do you use the word greedy to describe alcoholics or drug addicts?

Exactly this. I can cut down to 800 calories a day and not lose weight. I've done it repeatedly, under the management of my GP. I lose about half a stone and weight loss stops.

On MJ I can eat around 1200 calories a day and lose weight. I'm prediabetic so the issue is that I have insulin resistance. Meaning it's very hard to lose weight regardless of calorie intake.

As you’ve successfully lost 5 stone, can’t you now adjust your diet accordingly to maintain a desired weight? Or are you wholly reliant on this drug to get you to your target weight? I don’t understand how it works, but surely you can’t be reliant on a drug indefinitely?

It's not that your GP "won't" prescribe it - they CAN'T based on the current rules. If it were prescribed for everyone who was obese then it would bankrupt the NHS. Yes, it would save them money in the long run but that doesn't magic up the money for it in the short term.

It's complex and deeply frustrating for those who would benefit but aren't covered under the current rules. Hopefully in time that will change.

As a diabetic I expect to be on a GLP1 drug for the rest of my life. These drugs are not just about weight loss for us diabetics, they work on blood glucose and insulin resistance.

Congratulations on your weight loss so far. However while I understand your frustration and possibly fear of coming off the jabs can I ask what you have been doing to help prepare for it? I am taking mounjaro, self funded ( I made myself fat so I am responsible for fixing that) and am using the drug to help me re asses my relationship with food and get back into healthier habits so that when I come off it I am able to continue in a healthier lifestyle and hopefully not be a burden on the NHS. I do believe that it should be available on the NHS as a tool to help but after a year of doing so well you should be in a position to continue without it.

You hate this country because it won't give you expensive drugs that you're not entitled to for free? We're very lucky to have an NHS at all and soon we won't because of the entitlement of people like you. Go and live in another country and see if you do any better. And btw this price rise is not pharmacies being greedy - it's a result of Trump's tariffs.

Did you miss the bit about her diabetes?

If it’s not about just eating less, I’d like to know why obesity is really a “modern” disease. Why can’t our bodies lose weight now days but we didn’t have this issue 50 years ago?

I am also on Mj since Feb I have reduced my BMI from 37 to 29.8 so far, the reason I began was, struggling to diet and a medical for work purposes was getting more of a struggle dr was kind and said 6 months and lose weight or there won't be another one also after blood tests Dr (not the same one) wants to put me on statins which I refused.

THe guidelines for MJ on NHS are quite tough and they will want you to go to weight watchers etc first, it would take som time for you to be prescribed MJ.

I have been hitting the gym, job is active anyway and I have been eating less and more healthy, no meal deals, fizzy drinks, smaller plates and much less alcohol

I haven't lost as much h weight as you, almost 2 stone 12Lb so far, the cost is creeping up but my intention is to begin dropping down the dose so I should come off it by Jan 26 then its will power.

remember its not your Dr's fault they can't prescribe right now its guidelines they have to adhere to, but you need to help yourself a little as well maybe?

If you'd gone to the gp in the first place you wouldn't be in debt now and could perhaps afford to continue them self-paid, while doing the behavioural work to ensure you can manage your diet without them.

You no longer meet the clinical need for mounjaro. This one is on you and time to take some responsibility.

I work in the healthcare sector and read an article in the trade press today that NHS England sent a bulletin to GPs 'warning them' not to prescribe to patients who can no longer afford Mounjaro.

Unless you meet current NHS eligibility criteria which is very strict, your GP is not allowed to prescribe. Some might, but they will be the exception.

Can you try and get a second job to pay for the private MJ?

Is the medication supposed to be life long? I thought it was just short term for a kick start to the weight loss and a chance to change eating habits.

But they obviously have a criteria for it and you don’t fit that criteria for them to fund it.

Maybe just don’t over eat?

If you stop taking it your diabetes might be knocked out of remission. But do you have three of the other 4 conditions? If you do, and you really can’t afford it then perhaps you do need to go back to square one (perhaps not gain the weight but demonstrate that without the MJ your diabetes will not be controlled.

if you don’t have three of the other conditions then I think you are being unreasonable as you would not have qualified at the outset.

The NHS funds large swathes of the population to be on medication for life. Many of those conditions could be improved with lifestyle changes

If you ignore the weight loss element OP is a type 2 diabetic, who has not been able to control it with diet or traditional medication. Mounjaro has stabilised her blood sugar, and massively improved her diabetes control. Reducing the risk of complications from poorly controlled diabetes, which costs the NHS a lot of money

If someone can't control their diabetes with medication they are prescribed insulin, they will likely be on that for life. Why is mounjaro any different? Its less complex to take than insulin. People get so angry about mounjaro because they don't want the NHS to fund weight loss, but we have been talking for decades about reducing obesity and the burden it places on the NHS

The GP will be bound by the prescribing guidelines, but I understand your frustration op. You have achieved great results that have huge implications in terms of your health.

The only thing you can do is to try and replicate your diet/exercise as closely as you can to what it’s been up until now. I know it’s not perfect, but it will at least mimic the habits you have been following whilst on MJ.

so entitled!

I totally agree OP but because you have posted this in AIBU rather than WLI the fat is a moral issue brigade will be out in droves.

People smoked more. There wasn't such an abundance of food available... We have more variety now, it's cheaper, it's everywhere, it's convenient....

I have reversed my hypertension, and my cholesterol levels as a result of taking this medication. I am staggered that a medical professional is condoning me becoming unhealthy again just so I can be prescribed the medication.

No, you've lost weight because the drug suppresses your appetite.
You can achieve weight loss by eating less without needing to inject yourself.

Injections are not there for life-long use.
At some point everyone has to stop using them and adopt healthy eating and exercise. It's your personal responsibility to manage your weight, not the tax payer.

You've done really well, so carry on with the sensible eating.

Time to put your medium girl pants on and take more responsibility for your health through diet and exercise. Mounjaro has got you started now it's your turn.

Which OP has successfully reversed. If she comes off the jabs and continues with a healthier lifestyle and the type 2 comes back then her GP can look at alternative causes for the type 2 that are not lifestyle based and prescribe treatment accordingly.