To wonder if there will be any fall out from skinny jabs?

[TheLemonGuide]

Everyone I know is now suddenly very slim. Okay, im exaggerating slightly, but genuinely, most of my friends who were previously overweight are all now slim thanks to skinny jabs. I am delighted for them! It seems unbelievable to think that a jab can cure this obesity crisis, but I am so pleased my friends and a couple of family members are able to live a healthier life thanks to this.

My only slight concern is, is this something that is going to be too good to be true? Do you think there will be any long term repercussions, or are we right to just celebrate this medication as a cure for something that so many have been battling for so long?

I recently went to a 6 course meal jazz night (in a costume I would not have been seen dead in when fat). Was really annoyed i hadn’t noticed prior to cooking as I expected a gargantuan feast and being unable to stand up at the end of the evening [hmmm, wonder how I gained the weight all those years ago].

It was spaced over the evening from 6ish to 930, so a couple of small courses, then a ‘scene’/performance, then another course etc. The main course was not huge, but substantial enough, and the other courses were really not much more than a few mouthfuls, so I was happy to eat it all over the course of the evening. I would struggle to eat a 2-3 course restaurant meal in the 2hours slots (ie within about 1 hr 15mins, allowing for oridering/cooking etc), but this set up was lovely.

It was pretty low carb, which has been a feature of my weight loss journey and maintenance approach. Carbs are still likely to cause illness/nausea if consumed in excess, so I just am not bothered any more.

I also know folk on the skinny jabs who have lost a lot of weight, but most have developed the 'ozempic face' ie they now look really gaunt and ill. Apparently it also leads to muscle loss not just fat loss.

That's more what I would've expected, notwithstanding I have no experience of tasting menus on WLIs so am guessing.

Maybe things like that might become more popular as the number of longer term WLI users who are maintaining grows. People who are already very familiar with how the drug affects them and have a stable appetite. Probably would feel like more of a risk if you were just getting used to a new dose and being strict.

If they are so safe, why can I not take them? I’m bmi 25 but the constant hunger and constant dieting to try to stay at bmi 25 makes me depressed at times. It’s a constant hunger every single day, even on binge days. I think it’s because I’ve lost 2 stone over the last couple of years and my body just wants to put that back on. I’m really hoping that if a tablet comes along, and the price comes down, I’ll be able to choose to get it.

@Theolittle you can. There are a few online pharmacies who will prescribe off licence to people with a BMI of 25.

Theolittle You can. Voy and Med Express are now offering it off label to people with a BMI of 25.

I think in the weight loss phase, when people are focused on getting to target, meals out are a real issue. It’s only been the last 9 months, really, that I have felt confident going out for meals again (and been surprised that I can actually eat). Been on maintenance for 18m, though and the hunger suppression is less acute, but the food noise and feeling fuller is still there to a large extent.

It means that I am not worrying and thinking about food before a big night, so can just enjoy it. I am happy to swap fries/carbs for extra salad or greens and to share a dessert or… can you believe it… just eat half. I used to feel self-conscious and worry they would look at the fat women pretending she doesn’t eat loads but I soon got used to just asking for what I wanted. My calorie intake has remained low as a result.

DH was very supportive/patient in the nearly 2 years it took to loose and start to feel confident I COULD maintain, but I could tell by the end that he missed the currys out. Now, so long as I have a side plate and a few tastes of the bits I like, he is happy as he understands that a post meno woman in her 50’s simply cannot eat as much as he does. He just wants to share a bottle of wine in a nice restaurant and chat. He could care less if he eats 2/3 of the meal or we leave lots. It takes time and confidence in your friends to know that this will be okay though.

Tasting menus, therefore, are excellent. Small portions that don’t overwhelm and it doesn’t look rude to only take a few bites, as the few bites left don’t look like a dreadful waste. Psychologically I think they are the way forward!

Because you have no clinical need to lose weight with a BMI of 25?

You may, however, have issues with food and an emerging eating disorder if you are that depressed and obsessed with feelings of hunger. I’d suggest GLP1 medications are not needed, but therapy may be useful.

They always look really expensive, about £100 to £150. I'd rather just have one meal for £20.

That is steep! I've seen some for more like £50 per head, albeit not with wine.

It's interesting to speculate on how restaurants and hospitality might change in response to greater WLI usage. There must be lots of us even now, and more to come, who still enjoy eating out and won't want to give that up. We're a market to cater for.

Because safety is a risk balance. They are safer that remaining obese and the risks that come with obesity, but they are not completely without side effects. If you don’t have the obesity risks then you are adding risk with nothing to balance it.

My opinion is that the jabs are like papering over the cracks treating the symptoms- not the cause chronic overeating is a 3 fold illness my hat is off to anyone who can treat the emotional and spiritual side of the disease with jabs bet lots of people on the treatment will go on to develop other addictions my daughter has had a gastric
band fitted 5 years ago and is still restless irritable and discontent it is probably good for people who have other issues as a result of obesity but ‘quick fixes can become costly long-term and the long term effects are not evident yet !

It’s not a quick fix for me. 18 months in and I view this as a necessity long term.

We have about 20 years of data on the drugs. We also have data on the long term effects of obesity. I think the benefits of these drugs are very likely to outweigh the risks long term.

No, tell me about it. Start a new thread on that topic. My friend who has a 30 year history of bulimia should not be on them, but she is. Most of her hair has fallen out and she was hospitalised recently with stomach problems.

I look forward to your interesting and topical thread on one of the huge array of prescription medications available online.

Well, that's odd that gallbladder problems are a listed adverse effect for WLI.

Well they can’t exactly list it on an imaginary ‘weight loss by calorie counting and exercise’ label can they, it’s also a risk of being female, but again no warning label to put it on, but it is still a side effect of weight loss.

It is on the NHS gallstones page:

Who’s at risk?

Gallstones are more common if you:

• are female, particularly if you’ve had children, are taking the combined Pill, or are undergoing high-dose oestrogen therapy
• are overweight or obese
• are aged 40 years or older (the older you are, the more likely you are to develop gallstones)
• have a condition that affects the flow of bile – such as cirrhosis (scarring of the liver), primary sclerosing cholangitis, or obstetric cholestasis
• have Crohn’s disease or irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
• have a close family member who’s also had gallstones
• have recently lost weight (from either dieting or weight-loss surgery)
• are taking an antibiotic called ceftriaxone

These tumours are also linked to the mini pill Desogestrel

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/in_the_news/5489394-depo-provera-contraceptive-injection?reply=150472209

Be that as it may, gallstones and gallbladder inflammation are known adverse side-effects of WLI, listed by the manufacturers (along with gastroparesis, ileus, pancreatitis, and so on).

You can get pancreatitis through drinking too much alcohol, or through an injury - but the pancreatitis on the warning list of adverse effects of WLI is specific for WLI.

My mother who had bulimia/anorexia got her hands on laxatives, a known medication abused by those with EDs. 500 a week. It was a contributory factor in her death. No regulation either. But I don’t see you asking for those to be banned or regulated more? Laxative abuse has been known about for more than 50 years in the clinical sphere. Yet nothing. If WLI were not available, your mentally ill friend would have found another method. Sad, but true. I lived with this all my life until mum died at 56.

Paracetamol, also easily obtainable despite supposedly also regulated (no more than 32 tablets per person, yet you can easily walk up and down the high street from chemist, to Jones, to the off-licence and supermarket and acquire hundreds every day). It is the suicidal ideators method of choice for this reason … and after decades of use, evidence suggests that is it NOT actually as benign an every day drug as people assume because people over 65y using it for arthritis pain management are now thought to be at risk.Recent study findings showed that prolonged paracetamol use was associated with an increased risk of peptic ulcers, heart failure, hypertension and chronic kidney disease.

So feel free to start a thread of your own about other ostensibly benign meds that are being abused by mentally ill people and contributing to illness and death. But please don’t sit there saying GLP1 s should be banned or further regulated when the issue is not the drugs but people who lie to get them (you are meant to declare if you have or have had an ED, so your friend lied), unless you also feel that paracetamol, laxatives and a hundred other drugs should be also,

Its also a listed known side effect of the contraceptive pill, HRT, lipid lowering medication and certain antibiotics. Should we ban those too?

I'm sorry, where have I or anyone else suggested WLI should be banned?

And from your other post/rant:

But please don’t sit there saying GLP1 s should be banned or further regulated when the issue is not the drugs but people who lie to get them (you are meant to declare if you have or have had an ED, so your friend lied), unless you also feel that paracetamol, laxatives and a hundred other drugs should be also,

What the actual fuck? I have not said anything about banning, or further regulation. It's a discussion thread. Where, you know, we discuss things.

I said ‘banned OR further regulated’ - which is what other posters on this thread are asking for and you have implied you in your post.

And don’t swear at me. Perhaps there is a medication for that. Rudeness and vulgarity don’t strengthen your position.

I have implied nothing. I was just remarking upon the one situation that I know about. Here is how the "discussion" went:

Poster 1: I think there quite a difference between a GP prescribing to someone who is obese with several co-morbidities and an individual buying drugs over the counter without any medical input?

Poster 2 responds: They are prescription only medicines so have to be prescribed by a suitably qualified health care professional (e.g doctor or pharmacist independent prescriber)

Me, poster 3: People, like my previously normal-weight friend with the lengthy history of bulimia, are just getting them off the internet somehow.

Poster 4 replies to that: You know this is a problem with many people suffering illness and a huge array of prescription medications though?

Me, basically: Yes. As we all know.

And while you are carrying on about rudeness, maybe check you aggression.

I was poster 2. You can get it off the internet but still is prescribed by a suitability qualified person and they ask a lot of questions. The person with bulimia is obviously lying about her history.