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.

I think in many ways they have been great for many people and I'm not against them on the other hand I also don't think you are wrong that some sort of proven negative long term effects may emerge in time.

@SilenceInside There is no other treatment other than prevention, and how one would do that is completely unclear.

My point is that severe calorie restriction whether done medically, surgically or via lifestyle intervention is not benign. Yet before there were these goady threads, there were pages upon pages of women telling other women to eat less and move more as that was the 'healthy' option. But calorie restricting at the level needed to treat obesity is going to be increasingly recognised as a bit of a double-edged sword, no matter how you do it.

I don't think GLP-1 agonists have created a new problem, I think they have made an old one legible.

I'd rather die of muscle wastage or whatever having been fit and well enough to run around after my kids than die of a preventable cancer because of being such a fat ass.

There are loads of posts I could reply to on this thread, s someone who started MJ in November I’ve found it fascinating.

But what I would say to this particular PP and those on a similar vein of thought is that we don’t all have the headspace or willpower to transform how we think about food. I am hoping the MJ helps me with that. Before I could never stick at calorie counting, now I am. Not because I’m eating less, but because I don’t have the food noise. The most relatable post I ever saw on here was a person saying that they knew how to lose weight and what habits they had to introduce, but mentally they just couldn’t do it. MJ gives you that mental space to be able to start new habits which you will then hopefully stick with when / if you stop the drug. I was already exercising a lot but I’m using my time on it to try and get into new habits and eat better so that I find it easier to maintain. Some people can eat better and introduce new habits on willpower alone - I just couldn’t and if I could have done then of course I would have rather done that than spend a fortune each month.

I watched that bbc article and came away with a different take. Interesting what confirmation bias can do, isn’t it?
The majority of the article was about the benefits of the drugs in reducing the effects of many serious health conditions, including obesity obviously. Yes, there was mention of people obtaining doses when not qualifying but it certainly wasn’t the main thrust of the piece.
They also pointed out that an estimated 2 and a half million people in the UK are on the jabs. Doesn’t sound to me as if they’re going anywhere anytime soon, other than to be succeeded by tablets, perhaps.
I am so fed up of the bollocks and scare-mongering about the jabs. There’s a lot of ignorance being spouted on here too, once again. Anyone who stops any sort of weight-loss programme runs the risk of regaining the weight if they’re not vigilant. One of the main benefits in my experience is that, when you’re very overweight, the prospect of losing enough to make any sort of material difference is just too overwhelming. To have a helping hand with appetite reduction is HUGE. I’m now at goal weight (and maintaining that) and exercising more than I ever have in my life because I’m lighter and therefore can do it!

This echoes the BBC piece about loss of muscle and bone density. It IS a concern.

https://news.liverpool.ac.uk/2025/01/02/weight-loss-drugs-help-with-fat-loss-but-they-cause-bone-and-muscle-loss-too/amp/

There is a lot of research going on at the moment, how these jabs can help arthritis, MS, heart conditions etc. We may see this medication being expanded. And with tablets on the way, who knows where this may be going. Let’s hope the research brings positive results.

Yes, the article says "Research shows that up to one-third of this weight loss is so-called “non-fat mass” – this includes muscle and bone mass. This also happens when someone goes on a diet "

Hahaha, you’re funny OP.

Did you believe the story about Robbie Williams “going blind” from using it too??

It is indeed, but this is also the case with traditional weight loss methods, as the article alludes to. When one is already obese, there are often no risk free options.

I have lost 2.5 / 3 stone since June 2024 on Orlistat (weight loss tablets prescribed by Boots Pharmacy). Absolutely nothing else worked prior to the pills. Spinning classes multiple times a week, running, healthier eating - nothing. The tablets seem to have kicked something into gear and the weight started falling off slowly but surely.

I very much have to still eat healthily, and spin or run every day, as the pills aren't magic - but I am so much healthier now, lower cholesterol etc. Being overweight definitely has enough risks of its own. I for one feel and look so much better.

True, but the whole point of WLI is that they ensure weight loss is far more rapid and far greater. So muscle loss is going to be rapid and greater too.

This would be a stronger point if it weren't so often wheeled out when someone has said something dim on the issue.

I’ve lost 4 stone and now have a bmi of 21 which I’ve maintained for nearly a year.

I eat really well, better nutrition than ever - 3 healthy meals a day or 2 meals and a few snacks of an evening. I walk every day and lift weights twice a week.

Im fitter and more energetic than I’ve ever been. Im also happy - i was depressed a lot of the time before as i ate crap and didn’t exercise and that detrimentally affected my MH.

Your “friend” is talking bollocks.

You do realise WLI’s don’t cause muscle wastage/loss of bone density? That is caused by lack of exercise, and would be the case with any person who didn’t exercise.

It seems a very strange thing for someone who must be quite intelligent to say?

@ThisTaupeZebra I’m not severely calorie restricted on WLI, it’s not an inevitable consequence although I’m sure some people experience that. Losing a lot of weight might not be benign. I don’t think that’s really an issue when you are already obese, which is most definitley not a benign position. It is a highly risky position to remain in. Losing weight via WLI is the overall less risky decision to make rather than remaining obese. I am overall healthier as a result and my risks of various serious health issues are massively reduced. So it’s a non issue for me, this idea that losing weight is somehow too problematic.

Yeah, do people really not get this?

It is “wheeled out” because it is becoming tedious the way anyone who dares to question the long term safety of these drugs is shot down on MN and attacked. I say that as someone who can see the positives of why people want to take them - it’s the cult mentality/don’t you dare question them mentality I find disturbing.

@HereforonedayonlytoavoidStrangerThingsspoilers I think if people had some kind of basis for thinking that there will be some as yet unknown long term issue they might be met with a reasonable response. But it just seems to be wishful crystal ball gazing rather than based on any kind of reasoned position.

There are plenty of medical studies already highlighting issues, including the one I shared a few posts ago.

It's becoming tedious seeing it claimed when people have made objectively not sensible posts.

Like OPs. This is an article broadly covering the positive impact of the drugs, and she started a thread based wholly on speculation. She then followed it by claiming that a post saying someone was concerned about the long term implications of the drugs without saying why was talking sense. When actually, that depends on what their concerns are.

Basically, yours is a point that would be better made if applied to a poster who's got something more useful to say than OP.

I think there should be some kind of regulator who could balance the risks and benefits of drugs and decide the conditions under which they should be prescribed based on the sum of the evidence. Maybe a mumsnet Aibu poll?

It’s not a “cult mentality” - it’s people getting - (rightly) pissed off at ignoramuses spouting easily debunked statements as “fact” when we - the people who have been taking them, have researched every bit of info about them and are effectively experts on them
know it’s a load of bollocks (there are threads on here every day going on about muscle wastage).

We just like to put you ignoramuses straight, that’s all 🤷‍♀️

You only have to google for about 10 seconds to find the information you need which is: all fast weight loss will cause muscle wastage and the onus is on the taker to do some weight lifting/exercise. It is much more dangerous to be an obese person who doesn’t exercise.

And if it turns out that scientists prove that there really is a risk from taking WLI’s (so far there is absolutely no evidence to suggest this - just it seems some very lazy journalism) il take my chances thanks!

There are plenty of medical studies highlighting new positives too. None of the medical studies that apparently highlight future issues have resulted in any change to the advice on WLI or the prescribing criteria from the MHRA.

Is there something about these medications that particular concerns you above and beyond any other relatively recent medication?

Thank you for proving my point. You might not like what OP has posted but she’s absolutely entitled to raise any question she wants to about WLI. Users do not have the monopoly on debating them.

You’ve just proved my point with the name calling.