What do we REALLY think about the weight loss jabs?

[Newbabynewhouse]

I've put this on AIBU rather than weight loss jab because I want a neutral audience rather than people who are all using the jab.
What are peoples thoughts on the jab? I'd love to hear from someone educated in the medical field about whether these are actually safe for people without diabetes.
I'm obese and I have lost a stone so far by dieting although it's taking me a long time! I know if I keep trying hard I can lose what I need to. Lots of people I know have started dropping weight from using the jabs and I am tempted however, can't shake a feeling that there's something not quite right.
What I mean by this is... these jabs have been around for years for diabetic people, so why have they only just been 'released' to people despite obesity effecting the NHS for years?
I know a woman who fainted in work the other day with gallbladder issues, she's on the jab.
Also, I'm going to sound a little conspiracy theorist now, but, isn't it odd these jabs became popular straight after people starting refusing to have more covid jabs..?.. I'd love to hear from people with a bit of background info or medical professionals to tell me whether I'm overthinking or if I'm onto something?

I lost 8 stone through diet and exercise. No medication. Yes it was hard and it was slow going but I was motivated and stuck with it. I do find it hard to believe that people say they cannot loose weight without the meds unless of course there are mobility issues. I do feel these injections are almost like an easy option these days

I agree with both of these people. A lot of people ive seen using them are in their 40s/50s and have been fat all their life so suddenly losing an extreme amount of weight is going to make them look older because of the loose stretched out (now baggy) skin. However these people have dreamed of being thin their whole life and probably don't care about looking old or any side affects they are living off the buzz of being thin without having to work on the mental mindset ordeal.

I'm no expert but I wish they had existed when my mum was in her 40s and her weight ballooned to about 20st. She might not have spent her last few years bedridden, incontinent and dying of a heart attack at 70

Personally they’ve been life changing for me. I have under active thyroid and piled on 5 stone when it went wrong when I was preg with my eldest. I’ve then spent my whole adult life trying different diets. Some would work for a while but never past a Cpl of stone. Over the years my weight got steadily higher after each diet. I’ve never (genuinely) been a big eater but can never quite get a hold of it. Last 5 years I have his ate healthily, calorie counted and exercises. Since new research is saying how bad all these diets are for us till you get to the position I am. Only diet I ever had any success with was keto but that’s not sustainable long term.

started the jabs a year and a half ago and they do work. I’ve been on them and lost 4 stone last year, had a few months off and I’ve gone back on them. Genuinely they work miracles for those like me that has tried hard all her life. I know it’s being overused these days by people who just want an easy fix and have never tried properly but if it helps their health what can we say.

I sniff journalist being lazy

But you're presenting your own anecdata of one.

Plastic surgeons wouldn't refer to "Ozempic face" if they weren't seeing it.

Oh, and gallbladder removal is quite a common result, well-discussed among people working in hospitals. Obviously not everyone is affected that way.

Honestly people can shoot me down all they want, but I’m sceptical for most people. If your health is dangerous as a result of your weight, and you haven’t been able to lose weight through dieting, then I think there’s a place for it.

If you don’t have health issues due to your weight, I think you risk adding health issues through the jabs.

They're also not sustainable so you need to be prepared to be on them for life. Most people are overweight due to food intake - these people need to be aware that if they stop the jabs, they will likely regain, potentially the weight will distribute weirdly.

If it’s to counteract another drug which may stop once a healthy weight has been reached, then I can see the benefit.

People think it’s a quick win and there’s no such thing.

You could test your theory out on me if I were willing to try them

I have an allergic reaction to all vaccines
The thing that they put in it that makes your body sensitive to the illness that triggers your immune system , doesn’t trigger my immune system. So effectively I get the thing that I am being vaccinated against.

So if the Covid vaccine ( which I never had ) was in these jabs, I would get Covid.

Playing with fire if this is what they are doing

Personally I think worldwide governments are on a mission to reduce the worlds population

Covid might not have been planned but it sparked the idea.

They treat the symptoms not the cause. The very fact that there are people who believe they should be on them for life is testament to that fact.

Weight loss needs to be about lifestyle change after the rapid loss if you have a lot to lose. Not about having to take drugs to not face the factors which have led you to be overweight in the first place.

IMO they’re the latest weight loss fad. 20 years ago it was the Atkins diet, which did work but which also had its drawbacks, and which still led to people regaining the weight because the psychological support just wasn’t there.

The truth is that most people who are looking to lose a lot of weight want a quick fix to look great now, but without thinking about the long-term work they need to put in to stay there.

If you’ve lost several stone on the jabs there is 0 reason why you then can’t maintain a healthy diet to stay there. Nobody should be seeking to stay on drugs for the rest of their life once they’ve reached a target weight.

And the health effects are very real. Of all the people I know who have used the jabs, they have all ended up spending time in hospital with various issues. Gall bladder/pancreas/other bowel conditions. It’s simply not good enough to say that “oh well all drugs have side effects,” when these are so much more pronounced than the daily drugs people take for other issues.

It’s totally understandable why someone with serious weight issues would resort to taking the jabs to be able to start to deal with those issues. And if you’re seeing results it’s also understandable why you might want to overlook the very real health consequences.

But these companies aren’t in it for the health of people, they’re in it for the money, and the weight loss industry is huge. And for the most part, ineffective in the longer term.

If the NHS is going to be funding these jabs, it needs to be funding a treatment programme which also involves maintenance once the jabs stop. And they absolutely should stop at some point.

For some people like me who are disabled and have metabolic issues they are very useful. I lost 6 stone on it over 2 years and 2 pounds a week. Its increased my mobility and improved my metabolic response. I am in remission fron diabetes and high blood pressure.
I work full time so had to pay for it and it wasnt cheap. I have probably spent thousands.
I was one of the lucky ones who had no side effects at all. A lot of people have awful side effects and a few have died so you need a really thorough assessment from a specialist bariatric consultant before taking it.
I paid for that assessment as its not available on the NHS. I dont believe the GLP-1 companies who sell it to us do a proper thorough assessment so I paid to have one and to have the pros and cons discussed.
The consultant told me I need to stay on it possibly for life on a low dose so I had to factor in that cost longterm.
Ive kept the weight off.

The risks associated with type 2 diabetes or obesity outweigh the risk of the jabs. However, there is increasing use of them in the population who aren't obese or diabetic, so these people are subjecting themselves to unnecessary risk. The jabs cause you to lose a higher proportion of muscle and bone density than losing weight without them, so if you are taking them and not doing plenty of resistance exercise, you are possibly fucking over your future self.

'They' are the government. Number 10 North was set up on 20th of July, on the same day as the moon landings. Who knows what those astronauts brought back on their shoes?

@Never2many Well aren’t you the preaching one? So what if I take them for life? What’s it to you. You do make certain changes but many of us struggled with diets and are not sporty - so we put on weight. Now it’s gone and I feel pretty healthy. I intend to keep it gone and how I do it is my business.

Never too many....the consultant I saw told me Id probably have to stay on it for life due to my metabolic issues. Id rather follow my consultant's advice than someone elses personal opinion. This is the problem with mumsnet. Responses are often based on posters opinions rather than scientific fact which is why I chose to see an expert ptivately.

It's not available without a doctors approval (not legally anyway) a doctor will approve your friends online orders.

I don’t think there is a conspiracy but I don’t think it’s as easy as some have made out.
My husband is on Wegovy and yes his weight is down significantly but also he’s got the worst upset tummy, lost so much muscle, is tired and miserable. He takes the jab and then sleeps the afternoon, they aren’t an easy weight loss option at all! I couldn’t take them and function if I had those side effects.

My opinion is that they are a literal lifesaver for many and a fantastic step forward for public health.
I do also know that there is a huge, and growing, number of people misusing these medications and I fear that the impact of this is a potential timebomb. What I find frustrating about these discussions is in a lot of cases an absolute refusal by many taking the jabs to even acknowledge that issues exist.

(For context I’m a type one diabetic (so wouldn’t get jabs for weight loss along anyway as it’d mess up my control) and have lost 3 stone through calorie counting so don’t have any real skin in the game at this point. I would echo what a previous poster said though about being clear when we’re talking about ‘reversing diabetes’ that we’re talking about type two - there’s a lot of misinformation out there about diabetes but in discussion like this the distinction is really important).

I’m on them, a very low dose and lost a stone very easily and because I haven’t upped the dose losing weight slowly now.

Not many of my friends know, so it’s been interesting to hear some of their opinions, one has what I suspect to be an ED and hates them. I suspect it’s because she’s always worked so hard to be underweight, now what she considers an achievement is undermined. There is generally this undercurrent that it’s an odd thing to do, and I don’t really understand that.

At the end of the day if you’re overweight it’s better to not be, my cholesterol was high, I doubt it is now as my eating is very clean. Aches and pains are better. Health wise I’m going to be benefited by being a lower weight. I don’t want to be super slim, size 12-14 absolutely fine by me as getting older now and know for frailty reasons best to have a cushioning! My face isn’t gaunt, and it won’t be, because I haven’t whacked up the dose. It’s been gentle, doable and generally feeling really good health wise.

You also need to do considerable work with weights to stop muscle wastage and have an excellent protein rich diet. It takes planning and hard work its not just a matter of sitting on your sofa and sticking needles in yourself. I joined a gym and swim 3 times a week as I am limited as to how much I can walk and sport is out of the question because of my diability.

Absolutely not this. I replied earlier to this idea. They exactly target the cause rather than the symptom. The cause is hormonal. That's the whole point of them. They support a healthy diet in people and you can't lose weight on WLI if you don't change your diet.

Yes Im just one story. Pop on The WL boards and see hundreds more. Yes all anecdotal but real and from people actually on them, not 'everyone i know', 'sue in the office' etc.

Whenever someone tells me they are on one I assume they are shifting themselves non stop.

Most of us get them through the post without our Dr approving. But they are coming from tried and trusted approved pharmacies where a trained and qualified pharmacist is prescribing them, and in many cases a letter then goes to your GP. It's very well regulated - unless someone takes Reta, in which case the opposite is true.

I think we need to fix our food and our environment. The fact obesity levels were tiny even 40 years ago compared to now tells us something.

This is one of the most ridiculous things I’ve never read on MN, and it’s a crowded field.
How does someone taking WLI affect anyone except the person taking them? I lost 4 stone through diet and exercise alone a few years ago, and I couldn’t care less if people use WLI to lose weight. It takes nothing away from me.
Obesity is a massive problem, and any tool people can use to help them combat it is a good thing in my book.
I can’t imagine what sort of person you’d have to be to resent other people losing weight because they had it easier than you.