AIBU not to lend my sister money for weight loss injections?

[ListenToHer]

My sister has been overweight on and off for about 15 years. She has had times where she eats healthily, exercises and loses weight but then gives up and puts it all back on and more.

She would like to try weight loss injections which I was supportive of when she mentioned, but she has asked if I can lend her some money for them. Looking online this seems to be about £100-£300 per month. She says she could afford about £50 per month but no more.

My husband and I have always said we wouldn’t lend money to anyone again after it causing problems previously and we’d rather not lend her this. My husband thinks she should either save up for a while so she can pay for it or go back to healthy eating and exercise. I also worry that if she has to stay on it for life that we’ll be stuck paying.

AIBU not to help her?

eta, to anyone who has used it, are you staying on it for life? If so, is that a lowere dose so therefore would cost on the lower side?

Yeah don’t do this. She means give not lend.

logically your sister isn’t the type of person to maintain the weight loss given her history, so I wouldn’t make an assumption that a low dose will be enough for her to maintain it

Not to derail, but is this MMP a legitimate website - paying 310 from med express xx

Thank you!

It's actually not a high dose! I'm on 7.5mg (it starts at 2.5mg, then 5mg, 7.5mg, 10mg, 12.5mg and then 15mg), so i'm in the middle. I probably could get it a bit cheaper elsewhere but i'm happy with the pharmacy i'm with so i'm sticking with them. I am on mounjaro though, wegovy is significantly cheaper but it didnt work for me!

I have experimented with stopping for a bit and going down to lower doses, but the weight creeps on again, so this seems to be the dose that works best for me unfortunately. That said some people seem able to maintain on lower doses, but also some need much higher.

Honestly I think it’s a bit insane of her to ask this of you on an ongoing basis. 2 years until she pays back a different loan?? Would she then have so much additional money that she could start paying for the injections herself AND pay you back?

If you want to support her then you could gift her a month or twos worth but if you start paying monthly you will never stop

Even if you can afford it, why is it your responsibility to lend her money?! (No matter what she wants the money for!)

it won’t be a loan, in the sense you’ll not see the money back. Oh she might give you something but then she’ll have no savings and the next rainy day will happen. Just no, gift or not at all.

Id go not at all, as your dh isn’t on board. Tell her to speak to her gp. If she can’t get it on the NHS and you aren’t prepared to give her hundreds a month for the rest of her life, then she can’t afford it.

Wow, that's so cheap! I'm paying £270 for 7.5mg!

Everyone is different. I lost the majority of weight when on 5mgs MJ . I have continued on 5mgs and only have the jab every 10 days. So it is costing me about £200 every 5 weeks.I have lost about 3stone over 18 months.
It also depends on the relationship you have with your sister as to whether you are comfortable with paying.

I would do it then. I know it's not popular to help anyone anymore and just keep money all to yourself. I wouldn't hesitate to help a family member like this. It could be life-changing for them. I've been on them almost a year.

I don’t understand why you’re saying this. Most people I’ve come across on Facebook pages or Mumsnet threads are able to titrate down to lower, less expensive doses. A fair few people seem to have managed to come off it completely and maintain their weight loss for several months so far.
Personally I went up to the higher doses and wasn’t paying that much. I’m now down to the lower doses and spending £130 per month currently, with the aim of coming off completely soon.
But - it hasn’t been fast or easy for me. I haven’t had the loss of appetite or reduced food noise that this is known for. And while I initially lost quite quickly, the last bit has been sooooooo slow. It’s not magic.

No. Ne’er a borrower nor a lender be. It will just cause problems.
Put that £300 into a pension, that will serve you much better long term.

If you are paying £270/month for 7.5mg you are seriously overpaying. The cheapest is current about £180 with loads around the £205 mark.

I am using WLI, paying about £160/month for 5mg. I've lost just over 3 stone and don't need to move up at all yet.

Only 7.5mg! When I started it was only £99 a month and I lost all my weight on 2.5mg, i've had to go to 7.5mg to maintain. I have shopped around but I haven't found mmp, i'll have a look!

Does she want or need to lose weight? I needed to, have lost 3 stone on Mounjaro, it’s 275 a month for me at 10mg. I’d like to lose another 3 stone! Suspect it’ll be another year or so for me. Afterwards I’m going to try hypnosis, but for now, with the dual prong approach with Mounjaro I’m happy just getting slimmer and my health is also getting better .. no sleep apnoea, bloods back to normal, HbA1c back to normal … I’ve been overweight since my 20’s, 54 now so I’m seeing this as a life extending drug … and it is!

Thing is, someone might be able to afford it now, but could be made redundant tomorrow and be living off their savings next month, at which point it would be really very helpful to still have that cash sitting in the bank. In the current environment I would need to feel very secure indeed before agreeing to start giving away 3k a year that I probably wouldn't be seeing again.

Firstly, money + family/friends don’t mix well. If you do this, expect it to be a gift.

Secondly, if you’re not paying for something it feels free and you take it for granted/abuse it. She might be that person.

Thirdly, if something goes wrong you will have paid for it to go wrong.

Finally, just no. I would give money outright with no strings of it was necessary private healthcare by my reckoning. For someone who can lose weight through their own efforts: no way. She’ll come off it, weight will go back on and you’ll have lost thousands of quid.

It's different for everyone!

This has happened to more than one couple we know in the last couple of years.

I agree, you’d be mad to even consider it.

I would tell her to look into wegovy tablets. £59 intro offer for the first month and £100 - £119 for next few months. I’ve done well on them so I don’t think I will need to go much higher. Don’t lend the money. It just complicates things. It’s very different lending money for something urgent like a house repair needed etc.

If she wants to borrow money point her in the direction of a bank or credit card.

Realistically she’ll probably have to be on it long term so there’s not much point you paying for her to lose the weight unless you’re prepared to continue to pay for it. Unless there is a prospect it will become affordable for her to fund herself.

just to add, I’m not saying you should or shouldn’t pay but I think if you’re going to do it, you need to be in it for the long haul otherwise it’s not worth it. FWIW if I was very comfortable financially I’d probably do it - it’d be life changing for her.

Don’t lend her the money. I’m staying on it medium term at a very low dose. I buy a 5mg pen every 8 weeks so it’s about £80 a month for me now.

I’m maintaining on the lowest dose. 2.5 MJ