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.

Mounjaro is the best thing that’s happened to me ever. A cure, finally. No more crying in the hotel room before weddings or refusing see friends because I’ll ruin my diet.

Mine does. They call me up on a video chat every couple of months.

It’s much easier to buy cocaine than mounjaro btw. You get free delivery within the hour and no one asks for a photo.

@AInightingale there is a huge criminal black market in fake medication which is one source of people getting weight loss injections. Of course what those injections actually contain is not known, and could be dangerous and unhygienic. Very silly to buy from this kind of black market supplier. Then there are people who illegally sell on genuine medication, and then a small number who use the less rigorous online pharmacies and make a concerted deliberate effort to mislead.

I have pcos. I know the struggle of weight loss. The weight loss jabs suppress appetite. They don’t do anything magical with metabolisms. Many people have success losing weight initially. It’s maintenance that is a struggle. People who go on extreme diets will never find success. Lifestyle factors need to be totally addressed. My appetite has completely transformed in recent years. I genuinely thought I would need to get psychological help for my food cravings. But I found that changing how I viewed food ie it’s literally just fuel actually lead to my appetite decreasing naturally. My body adjusted. This artificial tool to reduce weight loss is just not the perfect solution that it is being marketed as. Good luck to everyone on a health journey. But with most things shortcuts are really just longer and more harmful in the long run.

The rules are bmi over 30 or over 27 with certain conditions as the people who make them have decided the risks of this are greater than the risks of weight loss injections. I'm not sure why people think their opinions or random anecdotes trump the actual data. They're an incredible health intervention on a population level. They will mean people you care about will live longer, healthier lives. This should be something to celebrate

muscle growth and bone degeneration and lack of nutrition

I would assume this is people who aren't overweight enough to need it and end up not eating properly or exercising. That seems pretty obvious to me. Those doing it properly by eating smaller but nutritious meals and keeping active shouldn't have a problem.
So the injection itself isn't the issue it's how people use it. Your misunderstood what they're implying then come to spout it as gospel like you know something no one else does when it isn't that hard to work out what they meant.

Still time to ask for this to be removed.

But WLI does not = an extreme diet. It may involve, for some, a significant change in habits (though as many have attested, they ate healthily before) but the point is that those habits become ingrained and normalised over the months and so as you gradually reduce a dose, you can.maintain. there will always be idiots who competitively under eat, or lie to get the meds but so long as they are adults, maybe we just need to accept that. We let people drink, smoke, eat MacD, drive fast cars, ski off piste, jump out of planes, climb Everest. If people want to abuse these meds and are paying for the privilege, maybe let them. The answer is not to withdraw a revolutionary and game changing drug suited to the issues that 21st Century living has presented us with.

Mine too. He messages and asks relevant questions. Every so often we have a video call before the order is processed.

Any patient/HCP relationship is subject to the patient being honest.

Then that is an iresponsible pharmacist. Mine is great.

The data says otherwise. People gain the weight back when stopping the jabs. Switching your appetite off artificially is not a long term solution imo.

I think in most cases, the benefits are outweighing the cons. There will always be disadvantages- it’s not a wonder drug. On the whole however, it is benefitting most people’s health. I think PP who have highlighted it as more of a tool to aid weight loss, curb appetite and reset it are on the mark. WLI need to be combined with small, healthy, balanced meals and some exercise. It’s a tool in your toolbox. Thus, it’s how they are used. Not that they exist.

But it could help with creating better habits

I think yiu have a very simplistic view of how WLI work. They do not simply supress appetite.

Pretty sure @BeginingoftheendforWLI didn’t understand the news report - the concern is about people buying WLIs on the black market, from salons and such, not legally from drs and pharmacies.
It’s such a non story, of course Drs are worried about people taking drugs that aren’t prescribed for them (and possibly aren’t what they think they are!)

People eat less in them. I have a close friend and she forces herself to eat. Shes been a size 20 since her first child

Yeah but you said it was an over the counter medication which it is not. OTC meds has a specific meaning in health care. Nobody forced you to do it.

In modern health care, lots of medicines are prescribed remotely, including on the NHS.

Remote WLI prescribers cannot just set up shop on a whim. WLI have gone through a lengthy assessment to be approved for prescribing in this way. Prescribers are regulated professionals with a lot to lose if they don’t follow specific standards.

If someone wants to get it online from India, or Temu or whatever then hell mend them as my mother said.

But they have …

They probably change the bedpans.

@Lolare why is it a choice between committing to lifestyle changes or taking WLI? For most people on WLI it’s both, and the taking of the WLI enables the long term lifestyle changes.

If they only needed to lose a stone or two, how were they getting their hands on the injections? I know a few people on them and they had to provide evidence of their BMI before a prescription was issued.

My SIL has lost between 3 and 4 stones and her back and knee pain are practically gone. She doesn’t need to use her inhaler as often, which is excellent. So, yeah she looks absolutely beautiful but she is also much much healthier.

Go look at the data for ANY diet. WW, slimming world, keto, 5:2, whatever. The only way to keep the weight off is to retrain the body and mind and WLI help to do that. None of the "proper" methods of losing weight are immune from the same issue. The idea that WLI are cheating, that you can jab and then go eat pizza and lose weight is bollocks. Just as with all the other methods, you have to build good habits and then stick to them. If some people fail at that that is not the meds' fault. For many people, what it has done is improve lots of other health conditions and their confidence so they CAn join a gym, start running or whatever.

Exactly. All the people I know who are on it are gym bunnies now they have the confidence to get out there, exercising and running, doing weights and loving it.

They’re a medical marvel. I suspect, one they become generic (cheap) most of the population will be on them. The cost saving to the NHS is going to be huge.

It is quite amazing how many people are suddenly so, so concerned about people getting too skinny, loss of muscle mass and all that. You never hear that when someone loses weight by other means - and it's the calorie deficit that can cause muscle loss, whether it's with or without GLP. Nobody asked about my muscles when I was doing WW, 800 kcal diets, fasting, meal replacements or all the other million ways to lose weight.