to feel uneasy about what this means long term rather than surprised by the weight regain itself?

[HazelMember]

I’ve just read a BBC article about research into weight loss injections like Ozempic and Wegovy showing that people who stop taking them tend to regain weight quite quickly.

I’m not shocked that weight comes back. That happens after most weight loss attempts whether they involve medication or not.

These drugs are increasingly talked about as something people might take for years or even indefinitely. That raises questions for me about what happens when someone cannot afford them anymore, when supply changes, when side effects become an issue or when a person simply does not want to stay on a medication for life.

If stopping leads not just to regain but to a fairly rapid rebound, it feels less like a temporary aid and more like something that is very hard to step away from once started. That sits oddly with how casually they are sometimes discussed.

AIBU to think the real issue here is not that people regain weight after stopping, but whether we are quietly normalising a treatment that may be difficult to discontinue once begun? Or is this simply the reality of managing a chronic condition?

Pharmaceutical companies are basically legal drug dealers. THEY WANT you to get addicted.

I would think that they will be more easily available on the NHS in future.

Of course, they want a guaranteed income stream to protect profits & keep jobs.

I think you’re being disingenuous. And you didn’t answer my question about statins.

I took the tablet form for 3 months and lost two stone. Ive regained about 8lbs albeit very slowly. I thought Id go back on the pills and four days in, I got pancreatitis. So I can never take the meds again.

Back to faux keto and working out for me!

Which is why it should be available on the NHS

This worry about unsustainable 'treatment' applies to lots of things that many of us have to purchase or source privately because the NHS doesnt supply it or wont do it in a timely way. See therapy as another example.

You’d probably count me as ‘naturally thin’ but like your friends, it takes a lot of hard work to stay this way. From what I’ve heard other people say, I have all the food noise going on, but cope by having quite a restrictive and controlled diet and some pretty unhealthy attitudes to food, exercise and myself.
If they are now saying that people could stay on WLIs for life once they’d reached a healthy weight, why can’t people like me take them? I’d love to take a drug that stopped the constant battle that’s going on in my head.

I agree OP. I think they are great for tackling obesity but long term use of any drug should be avoided if at all possible and with obesity it’s important to tackle the underlying causes (societal I mean - as a pp said - pushing unhealthy foods alongside the WLI isn’t great!). Or even therapy if over eating is a trauma response.

of course the pharmaceutical companies have an incentive to keep people on them for life so why would anyone address the underlying causes of obesity

It’s shocking that this is shocking to anyone. There are no shortcuts to good health. It takes effort and discipline. I say this as someone who is overweight and enjoys food, but healthy food and exercise. It’s obvious this was always going to be the way things played out, but I think a lot of people are committed to believing it will be easier than it is (but it won’t).

Many of the drugs are under patent, which is why they're so expensive. Once those patents expire it'll be possible for other manufacturers to make generic versions so it's likely there will be cheaper options available. That's why the big companies are trying to come out with new versions, so they can get the new patents and keep making money.

Did I say there was any surprise?

I think it's a leap to say the OP is being disingenuous. I have similar thoughts about WLI, and that's coming from a place of living alongside someone on long-term SSRI meds. Should they not have taken them? Not at all - SSRIs saved their life. Are there serious implications and side effects of long term use, and significant issues weaning off them (should you not want to be on them the rest of your life) - yes. Ergo, SSRIs shouldn't be handed out like lollies whenever someone is feeling a bit sad.

I can be in support of medication treatment for serious depression while also being concerned at the potential for unintended long-term addiction (for lack of a better word, coming off can be a real bitch if not impossible, and no one tells you about that at the beginning) and the very real side effects, meaning my overall position is that both these issues should be weighed in the balance every single time a potentially long-term medication is prescribed. It doesn't mean people shouldn't use the "wonder drugs", more that the decisions made around them should not be taken as lightly as they seemingly are.

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If people doing anything diet wise be it slimming world, weight watchers or wli, if they don't change habits and return to eating rubbish in large quantities then gains will be expected. It's not isolated to wli.

It's a shame it's not available more on NHS but that's on its knees so not surprised. People who want to afford it will change spending priorities as it'll be important for their health.

As for side effects they're very rare, caused by what you eat and are treatable.

These articles are everywhere and are sensationalised aiming to panic people into believing there's no hope after losing weight so the only option is to stay on them.

Yeah, definitely being 24 stone, incredibly unfit and terrified of having a heart attack was a much better choice! I’ve lost 11 stone on MJ over 18 months. I’m now training for an ultra marathon, I’m bloody fit and I have completely and utterly transformed how I view food. Before it was something nice to stuff my face with, now it is fuel. What I eat and when I eat dictates how efficient my running is and how good my recovery is. I’ve been working back down the dosages (12.5 was my highest), mainly as when I was upping the distance running wise I was struggling to eat the required calorie intake to fuel it. If I can come off it then I of course would, but if I have to be on it for life then it is worth it for me. It’s absolutely transformed my life.

I'm on them and dont disagree.

The real solution is preventing obesity in the first place.

I'd like to see a lot more energy put into preventing childhood obesity / encouraging stable weights....
because ime if you are a fat child you are fat /struggling with fat for life.

There will be pills available for £20 a month in a couple of years

This has always been my aim. I will have hopefully lost 5-6 stones while on WLI and I may have another stone to go when I come off them, or I may be at goal and have to maintain it. Either way, it will hopefully be a lot less daunting task than what it felt like with six or seven stones to lose..

If people doing anything diet wise be it slimming world, weight watchers or wli, if they don't change habits and return to eating rubbish in large quantities then gains will be expected. It's not isolated to wli.

Yes of course but the article says:

People who come off slimming jabs regain weight four times faster than dieters

What about bipolar or schizophrenia (other psychoses)?

Im of the opinion that the panic is led by food producers and manufacturers/supermarkets so that people think they wont bother losing weight at all and keep eating food they dont want or need, keeping profits high.

People are already on them longterm. For diabetes. You want them to stop?

My DH is on medication for high blood pressure longterm. Should he stop?

That’s the first one for the bingo card as soon as anyone mentions WLI

What are the stats about the amounts, is it that they regain faster but regain evreything they lost, or more than they lost or less than they lost and how does that compare to SW and WW and Jane plan and keto and all the others?

Don't know. You could try and look it up I guess.