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?

You’re seriously comparing WLI to Herbalife which is effectively a pyramid scheme? All ‘diets’ need to be followed for life, WLI are the same.

I don’t know what will happen in the future, regarding costs, but there is now a tablet form approved in the US, which should reduce the cost considerably. People know these drugs are expensive and most will try to budget accordingly.

It is your DH's decision surely whether he wants to stop or not. Is he not a grown adult?

Well, you seem to have a problem with people being on WLI "longterm". I just wondered if that applied to all other medications as well?

why do people get so angry and defensive about this?

Well I thought you were concerned about it in comparison to WLI, in comparison other types of weight loss programme, therefore arent you interested to know?

Because if the amount of regain, or proportion of regain is similar then Im sure you'll start a thread warning of your unease about slimming groups and other methods?

Or do you think people should remain overweight/obese, given most overweight/obese people have tried countless times and countless ways to lose weight and maintain that loss?

Some people really hate that the fatties can "cheat" their way to weightloss 🙄

Maybe OP isn't the "thin friend" any more...

I really don't know. Someone just asked if her DH should come off his blood pressure medication 😐

I assumed it was clear from my post that I support well informed, thoughtfully considered access to medication for people who actually need it. That includes WLI for obesity or diabetes. But not WLI for my 5kg or so I need to drop.

I'm not an expert in mental health conditions; I spoke to my experience only - which has shown me that long-term meds should be a fully informed, seriously considered decision. Sometimes even then they can make it worse - my family member had an agitated reaction to a particular SSRI which was by far the scariest thing I have ever ever seen - it took a long time to get the right mix.

Again - I am in support of meds where required. That doesn't mean going on them without thinking it through first, nor putting meds on a pedestal where they shall have no questions or accountability raised about use, side effects, effectiveness, and when they should be taken versus not.

Why do the defensive people keep using the term 'fattie'?

The vast majority of people would regain the weight if they stopped wli. I think that's why most are planning to use them long term.

Im sure you'll start a thread warning of your unease about slimming groups and other methods?

Do people have to start threads on MN in balanced ways to make sure all angles of every debate are covered fairly? Is this a new rule I am not aware of?

"defensive people", is it? 🙄

I'm not on WLI OP. You would approve of me. But I've seen the fantastic difference in terms of health that they have done for friends and relations of mine.

Because they are bored silly seeing the same threads over and over again, feigning concern about ‘long term effects’ and blathering on like an expert when in reality they know very little.

Another one for the bingo card.

What makes you think that?

All drugs a) cost money, and b) have side effects. The question is always whether the costs of taking the medication exceed the costs of not taking it.

So yes, for some people any health risk from lifelong use will be less than the health risk from lifelong obesity. For others, WLI may just be a short term medication to help get them to a place where they can maintain a healthy weight without it.

Obesity raises the likelihood of a whole host of health conditions (diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease etc) that reduce the life expectancy and health span of millions of people, and also cost the NHS and Govt millions (e.g. through disability).

If there is clear evidence of the benefits of reducing obesity on a population level, the drug may well become available on the NHS.

Yes. I’ve might some quite considerable money off my invests in WLI companies.

100%.

That sounds very muddled. There are countless diseases and conditions that require long term or life long meds if the patient needs it

You cited SSRIs and ADs as one example inferring that this is an illness that you can treat once and then come off the meds. But people tend to have a very different view about anxiety and depression than they do other MH disorders so this might be you, it might not be you which is why I asked.

The reality is there are conditions which will require life long 'treatment', obesity is one of them, you dont actually stop being considered as suffering from obesity once you are no longer obese, my bariatric nurse told me this, this is how baratric teams work with the disease.

Treatment may or may not involve meds but for the majority its likely to. Just like with prolonged MH conditions (and many other physical conditions)

Of course there is always a balance, its a given, it doesnt need to be said.

I think some of these questions are fair to ask.

I have friends on it, and it's been great for them, but it's extortionate. And these aren't rich people. So how will they come up with the money long term?

Some are now buying blag ones, which is worrying. Who knows what they're taking or what that money is funding.

Will it end up becoming the new yoyo diet for those that choose to come off it? Because Big pharma always wins in these kinds of battles, and they're not always on the side of greater good.

WLIs are not really comparable to blood pressure medicine or statins. These are widely available on the NHS, so cost isn't a factor in the same way.

I'm not bashing WLIs, I can see the benefits. But there are legitimate question that are worth discussing, surely?

Why concerned aobut WLI in this respect though and not other methods?

The vast majority of diets fail and most people put the weight back on and then some whether that’s a plant based diet plan or Atkins. I guess with wli you could stay on a low dose indefinitely so that might not happen for you. And I imagine the risks of a low dose of wli is less than the risks of becoming obese again. I guess it is a choice for those on wli to make, whether to go back to trying to rely on willpower and good choices in an environment where that is increasingly difficult or pay for peace from thinking about chocolate all the time.

No idea, it only seems divisive online.

In real life I have some friends on WLI and some friends who say no way, but there's no bunfight at all.

I don't get it 🤷

Presumably because this is a much newer method that we are still learning about?

Not every conversation is a criticism

Sorry it's muddled, I'm getting ready for work and don't have time for in depth essays on mental health conditions I clearly did not reference in my first post. Apologies if that isn't good enough for you.

SSRIs have been over prescribed for mild depression and the effects of this have become more known over the past few years. There are any number of investigative journalists who have addressed this. Did my relative need theirs? Absolutely. Would I go on them? Only if I was a deaths door (which he was). That is the result of seeing the side effects long term and watching 2 failed attempts to come off which mirrored any movie depiction of an addict coming off heroin. Are you told that in the doctor's office? Quite often the answer to that is no.

Again, people need meds for all types of reasons and conditions. However when a med becomes a social craze or reaches "miracle drug" status (available at a high price of course) - that is exactly when questions do need to be asked.

But hey what do I know - my obese sister did look amazing on WLIs for a while, however now she's dropped far too much weight with no medical oversight. No biggie, she was only bulimic in her teens, I'm sure she's just fine 🙄 she also can't afford it and was sharing needles at one point with someone else. But sure, again, that's fine, we cannot possibly raise any concerns at all about WLIs without being disingenuous or addressing every single long term condition and med out there. Silly me.

Yeah its a criticism, wrapped up as usual, faux concern, po faced responses from the OP, not actually wanting to understand anything.

People are bored of these attempts

And when various other plans and groups came out, not sure I remember (on forums over the years not just here), reams and reams and reams of 'concern'.

Many have spent a pretty penny on WW and SW, Jane Plan, Noom, the whole host of them over the years.