Is it the begining of the end for Weight loss injections?

[BeginingoftheendforWLI]

Just watched a report on BBC news, they did an item on a woman who had type 2 diabetes and was prescribed Mounjaro, doctors were impressed she managed to come off insulin within a month. She had some weightloss and now goes to the gym regularly.

Her doctor admitted that there was widespread concern in the medical field that people who were buying it privately for cosmetic reasons not for medical reasons could face some consequences in the future such as muscle growth and bone degeneration and lack of nutrition - they simply don't have this data at present.

Feel like this is going to be big news in the foreseeable future.

And in addition, some side effects are so rare that only show up once you have data from years of use.

The MHRA (and FDA and EMA and TGA and others) approve new drugs if they consider the data from studies show that benefit of the drug is greater than the risk. It doesn’t mean the drugs are risk free, far from it.

Your doctor should always say why they are prescribing you a medication and if you have concerns you should ask them whether there are alternatives. Your pharmacist will be able to tell you more about them when they hand them over and you should always read the patient information leaflet - they look scary but they’re a standard format across all medicines.

Those of us taking WLIs have done our homework and decided that for each of us, the potential benefits outweighed the potential risks. The vast majority of us taking them privately have obtained them from reputable online providers (Boots and Asda do them for heavens sake).

There are always humans who misuse medicines, whether it’s for a recreational high, body building or weight loss etc. The issue there is addiction, the illicit supply of drugs and the education of people on why we have medicine licensing and controlled manufacturing and supply chains in the first place. But generally those people have a much higher tolerance for risk than the rest of us.

This is like having a problem with people buying Dyson hairdryers (and getting very irate/upset to the point of starting threads frothing about it) because there are fake Dyson hairdryers out there that people can access in dodgy means that are then exploding in peoples faces.

And if people are buying something for £50 from TikTok when they know full well legitimately should cost them £180 then more fool them.

Do you see?

Fake goods are not the real thing and have absolutely nothing to do with the subject of WLI’s and everything to do with people taking stupid risks with their bodies to get something cheap.

Weird how some people are advising more risk-aversion and caution about people taking a "new" drug (that isn't new) than about the well-known risks of remaining obese.

Yes, if I wanted to make that point and be taken seriously I'd at least acknowledge that being obese is inherently risky in itself.

I find the weights in the pockets difficult to believe - I'm told that a current photograph in underwear is required, along with height and weight.

I was in the NHS BMI 'obese' category before losing two stones. I've now just edged into the NHS 'overweight' category - just under a BMI of 30, so I'm ineligible for the injections.

A consultant told me not to consider the injections, but to concentrate on lifting weights. (My age might be a consideration - I'm nearly 66.)

I wasn't seeing him about my weight - I'd mentioned that I'd lost a couple of stones and that was probably why I'd noticed a possible problem. He told me that he'd had an upsurge in women coming in because they'd lost weight too rapidly and had been left with lumps and bumps in one area. (He was running a breast clinic.).

I'll not quote his exact words. I did on another thread and caused offence. I'll reiterate that he was talking about dramatic weight loss in a short period of time.

I know people who are on Mounjaro and are very happy with the results. However, they were all in the 'obese' category and they all followed doctor's orders - they didn't aim to lose a lot quickly.

I would have tried the injections myself, were it not for the fact that I suffer from IBS and once I read about the side effects that some people suffer, I realised that it wasn't for me. However, it seems to me that it's been a life saver for some and it's not an easy fix - you still have to watch what you're eating.

The 800 cal blood sugar diet (Michael Moseley) lets you lose weight fairly quickly and loses the 'food noise' people talk about but I'm one of those that can eat and eat without actually feeling hungry. So WLI wouldn't work for me and is why I've refused them although eligible on the NHS. My problem is in my head. Although I wish I'd known about Slimpod at the same time. Plan now is to fight myself and go back on the blood sugar diet. I have the keto version of it now.

Surely with what you have described WLI would work perfectly for you?

MJ prevents you from being able to binge though so probably would be very effective for you.

It’s up to you of course but I think you’re mad not to at least try them if you’ve been offered them on the NHS.

I do have one very obese friend who hasn’t tried them and cites similar reasons although I honestly think it’s because she’s a food addict and is scared of losing the ability to binge eat. Is this what you mean?

have you tried telling them to just try to be happier and maybe take a walk?

Aside from smoking, there's nothing more damaging to your body than being overweight/obese. Nothing.

At my heaviest I was 5ft 6, 12st 8lbs and a portly size 14. A lot of MNers would insist that was a perfectably acceptable weight and dress size etc. Except is really wasn't. My cholesterol was creeping up and up. I had painful plantar facilitas in my right foot. I had a painful coccyx whuch made extended periods of sitting akin to torture. My fingers were permanently swollen and I suffered with uncomfortable, constant bloating (despite a tummy tuck 5 years ago). I looked and felt unhealthy, below par, frumpy and very far from my best.

Since (slowly) losing 3 stone on Mounjaro all of the above symptoms have completely disappeared. Cholesterol low. Zero bloating or swelling. Zero aches and pains. I'm a slender size 8/10 and have much more energy.

And yet still the Resentful Naysayers desperately try to put a negative spin on my experience. Their motives are totally transparent and risible.

How did you manage to get the medication as your BMI isn't obese?

My BMI was only just a hair's breath below BMI of 30 and I'm very small boned (wrist circumference is only 13 cms, which is the averahe wrist size for a 7 year old girl, and I'm only a size 4 shoe). Plus I'd also taken Tamoxifen for several years which had messed up my metabolism. So I had a face to face (video) consultation with the pharmacist where we discussed this and the bloating and joint pain etc.

I think using a BMI is a very blunt tool, really.

BMI over 27 and raised cholesterol qualifies.

I forgot that! Yes, my cholesterol was high too (and getting higher).

Why are you concerned? We have long term data, these sorts of drugs have been around for 20+ years. The overwhelming data is nothing but positive irrespective of weight loss for cancer reduction, adverse cardiac events etc. And sarcopenia can happy with any rapid weight loss, it’s not related to the peptide. And it’s quite simple to combat, eat adequate protein and resistance train

Obviously not no.

It is, however, just the beginning..

If you can eat and eat without feeling hungry then WLI would work for you because it reduce the food noise and your physical desire to eat.

You should do what you want of course, but 800 calories a day sounds potentially hard to sustain, so depending how it goes, you might reconsider, especially if you are overweight enough/have enough parallel conditions to qualify on the NHS.

Why are people so obsessed over picking fault with weight loss injections? No one is forcing anyone one to take them. A small minority are able to get them through the NHS and the others are using their own money to buy them privately. That's their perogative and it's none of your fucking business.

Fat people have been demonised for years, and now that they are using a successful tool to aid weight loss, they are demonised for this too. Ridiculous!

Mounjaro is great. Loved being on it. But it did end up with me getting an autoimmune condition which while noone can prove was caused by it I am sure was related. However for people v overweight I can’t see there is any downside when compared to being obese

I think its simple in your eyes that you should eat adequate protein and resistance train.

But for the average person on weight loss injections they have tried this multiple times and it doesn't work for them.

I suspect they are simply ordering a pizza or a doner kebab or a curry and just eating a quarter of it then congratulating themselves they have lost weight.

Then they wonder why their hair is falling out and they look unwell all the while complaining why people aren't saying they look great because of the weight loss.

@BeginingoftheendforWLI Wow. What a nasty and frankly ridiculous comment. Why don't you hop on a few of the threads on the WLI boards and see what people are actually doing? Rather than "suspecting" what people are doing you'd actually know. But then that wouldn't fit your presumption would it? Much more comfortable to go about in wilful ignorance and feel superior.

I think with that comment you've pretty much just given away your real feelings rather than the faux concern you started with.

Correlation is not causation.

You "suspect" do you? Based on what? Perhaps have a trawl through the many many threads here, one for each month going back to 2024, where people talk about the way they're eating and changing their lives. Before coming out with any more drivel.

Delightful stereotyping there, btw. "ordering a pizza or a doner kebab or a curry". 🙄

Nice of you to come back and acknowledge to a pp that she, in fact, has every right to be on WLIs after asking a very leading question implying that she doesn't.😉

Already did it once but mistakenly thought i'd cracked it and fell off the wagon spectacularly.