Do you have questions around medicated weight loss and weight-related health conditions? Ask ZAVA’s medical expert - £100 voucher to be won

[CeriMumsnet]

Medicated weight loss treatments are a major topic of conversation on Mumsnet right now, with many of you sharing experiences and finding support across the talkboards. We’ve found that lots of you have questions around starting medicated weight loss treatments when living with weight-related health conditions like diabetes and high cholesterol.

That’s why we’ve invited ZAVA’s medical expert, Dr Clair Grainger, to answer your questions and share general medical insights around this topic.
Share your question on the below thread and Dr Clair will be online in a few weeks with answers. Everyone who posts by 12 August will be entered into a prize draw to win a £100 voucher. (T&Cs apply).

About the Expert
Dr Clair Grainger (MBChB, MRCGP (2017), DRCOG) studied at The University of Edinburgh from 2004 to 2009. She has worked in hospitals throughout Edinburgh and London before completing her GP training in North Middlesex Hospital in 2017. Clair is a Clinical Lead doctor and has worked at ZAVA since 2018. Her clinical interests include obesity management and women's health.

What questions should you ask to make sure the treatment you buy on-line is genuine, safe, medication?

Could weight loss injections help with my high blood pressure?

Any research you could provide for people who have been successful with WLI's post treatment 1 year plus - re side effects and maintining the end weight without a maintenance dose please ?

A loss of 1 to 2 pounds a week is seen as good progress, but any plateaus are seen as 'needing' to go up a dose, but would it be best long term to loose slower with a 2.5 dose rather than needing a 10 dose to keep the losses going - is your body really coping better with slow losses, and is it better to back down your doses if you do choose to have a high dose towards the end of your weight loss journey ?

I've been taking this for ten months and it's been life changing for me.

I have chronic migraine and my attacks have also halved in this time. I read a lot about other health issues being positively affected by Mounjaro especially where inflammation is part of the condition.

Do you think the evidence base for Mounjaro is going to see it prescribed more widely in future?

If you lose weight with medication then become within healthy weight ranges so stop the the medication, are you able to go back on it while a ‘normal weight’ or do you have to put on a lot of weight to be approved again?

How can you prescribe maintenance doses while rejecting people for being the weight of the people using the maintenance doses?

One thing that deters me is people finding that the pricing is unpredictable , they buy a few doses then the price shoots up. I also see posts where people say they get reduced doses by promoting the product to family and friends etc then getting discounts off their own medication. This seems very unethical when we are talking about medication. Are there any providers that don't do this? Do you think the government should legislate to stop it

Another question, I have a rare condition, it seems people with it are getting approved, what is the process. Do you speak to specialist first, or GP, or the prescribing company?

A third question - having experienced bad side effects of another medication and they weren't picked up till I was quite unwell, how are thinks like pancreatitis monitored for when you are taking the drugs? Are there companies that provide better monitoring and support with this than others?

Finally, it seems that a maintenance dose is required for a long time or people just regain the weight. Are there things we can do while taking the meds to improve our chances of staying slim once off them? I don't want to be dependent on expensive jabs indefinitely

And another question, finally, a long time ago I was actually anorexic, is this a risk factor for taking the jabs?

I can answer this - yes it is a huge red flag and so most online based pharmacies will not prescribe to you. The usual recommended pathway from reports is to see a pharmacist in person ie at your local pharmacy, where they will have discussions with you and decide whether they are prepared to prescribe for you or not. They are better placed to monitor you every month to see whether disordered eating and behaviour is recurring.

Do you carry out a mental health assessment on the potential clients to check if they are wanting to loose weight for the correct reasons , for themselves and they are able to take the slow losses as positives and not looking for a quick and unhealthy large weight loss, which would be poor for health.

Thanks, that's really helpful to know. I can see it would be hugely risky. And that's one of the many reasons why I find it grim when there is judgement on some threads on here now towards women who aren't using the injections

Are these medications safe for people with autoimmune diseases? Also,are they known to triggerany inflammatory response? Thank you!

Can you help with this one, I have heard a lot of reports about taking WLI's and hair loss - I already have hair loss due to menopause, but would not want to loose any more if I took the WLI's, or is this just a side effect of loosing too quickly. TY

I can see that the current approved weight loss injections are really helping people, many of whom have had a pretty much lifelong battle with their weight. How do you see the meds helping people longer term? Will they / me have to stay on them always? Will the food noise and willpower issues return if the meds are no longer taken? Will people be able to move to a daily pill such as the one being developed by Eli Lilly bethe next step? Sorry, that’s several questions!

What are the contraindications for people with kidney disease?

I wondered if there are pre-existing conditions which would rule you out from being able to take this medication?

Do you think that you should prepare your body before taking the WLI's, drinking water, changing your diet to eat cleaner and up your protein, and if so would this reduce the symptoms associated with this treatment ?

Can I adjust my goal weight ? My provider has given me a weight loss goal of 1 stone higher than I think I should be (I am 5 foot 2 and was 13.8 and they have a goal of 11.8)

Do you offer support for the symptoms, I have heard so many stories about the nausea and constipation - or would you be able to give a diet sheet to give recipes which would give the best chance of reducing the symptoms ?

Do you request evidence of your weightloss - so it does not get too low, I have been on WLI's for a few weeks now and apart from the initial photos and photo of me on the scales, I have not had to provide any evidence (I know these can be altered - but at least there is more of a duty of care from providers) ty

Maintenance is the worst fear for me - when the food noise comes back - can I reach out or restart should my cravings become too much - love the confidence I have with just 20 pounds off - and when I reach goal I want to stay as close as possible to this.

I have high but not dangerous blood pressure - would a you take this into account before prescribing - but again people could circumvent this by not being totally honest with their medical history I suppose.
I want to loose weight but mainly to reduce my health condition - do you monitor blood pressure and want readings for those with these conditions ?