Do the injections work if you binge eat because you are miserable rather than hungry?

[Greaterwaterparsnip]

Just that. I read that they suppress hunger but what if you are an emotional eater?

There has been some early research into alcoholics and those with ADHD who are finding that GLP1 / GIP drugs are helpful in managing these conditions, and it does work on emotional eaters in helping them reduce their weight - what happens when they lose it is another case entirely, but as a weight loss tool it is good. Some prescribers will allow 2 years maintenance.

It will only work as long as people keep taking the drugs….as soon as the person is off them they will most likely regain the weight unless the person changes their coping strategies. Like many weight loss strategies, people are always attracted by the options that seem the easiest and it’s fairly clear that weight loss jabs are being abused by many dieters who were never the target market.

I do see the truth in this, but therapy hasn't cured me either. Thirty plus years of disordered eating and trying absolutely everything under the sun has only made me fatter from rebound weight gain. Three decades of yo-yo dieting, embedded in me before I even hit puberty. I have literally no experience of non-disordered eating. And I see people asserting that people like me have to tackle the root cause, as though that's never occurred to us. But therapy isn't any more a magic bullet than weight loss injections, and it's just as expensive and in my experience it's not a long-term solution either. I've come to realise there probably is no long-term solution. So I will just keep trying different approaches. But therapy doesn't fix everyone and it really isn't as simple as it sounds. So right now, I'll take the injections and keep working on my relationship with food and my body - right now it's just nice to have some peace from the emotional eating and a rest for my brain from the food noise that has dominated my entire life. If it doesn't last then so what, nothing else has either.

@AquaGlass of course, many struggle with eating disorders their entire lives…it doesn’t mean that it’s acceptable to widen the target market for injections and drag yet more people into a lifetime of yo-yo weight gain and loss.

I think the injections are a symptom, not a cause @bypeachkoala - they aren't to blame for diet culture but have arisen from it. They aren't drawing more people into a lifetime of yoyo dieting, that's happening anyway. The injections are making a positive difference in lots of people's lives - however long that lasts.

I've not had any side effects I'd consider bad. When I first started, I underestimated how much extra water I'd need to drink (I don't know the science of why but apparently it's a thing) so I had headaches at the end of the day and some mild constipation. Just enough to take a dulcolax, didn't need anything more than that. Most weeks I've not even had those effects.

Other than that, the only effects have been the intended ones- slower gastric emptying and reduced food noise. Sometimes i feel those very strongly the day or two post-jab, so I eat very little but most days its possible to eat three small meals.

I've not had any side effects at all. I've been a mindless boredom eater, and an emotional eater to some extent. In the time I've been taking Mounjaro I haven't wanted to eat any of my usual go-to junk food at all. No interest and no thinking about food constantly. It is a huge relief not to have a constant cycle of dialogue in my head about what food.

In order to lose the weight I need to I will be on these injections for a long while. By that time I am anticipating that long term habits will be set in, plus being a healthy weight will mean exercising and general increased activity will be more achievable. I think most people who takes Mounjaro who have a lot of weight to lose are very much aware of having to maintain healthy weight without taking the injections. I'm using some of my freed up headspace to make sure I'm prepared for that when I get there.

I have found it helps and it’s easier to ignore the I’ve had a tough day / week urge to eat. However, I am separately getting some therapy to unpick some of the underlying issues because now the food noise is gone I have the headspace to do it.

The lack of alcohol craving has been marked for me. I will still have a G&T but it hits me so hard I only want one.
I put on weight through terrible portion control and love of bread. Couldn’t resist a fresh crusty loaf and would have a slice thickly spread with butter while cooking.
Now if I do that I have no room for dinner so I don’t!

What I find interesting is the timing of hunger. I want breakfast and lunch but by dinner time I don’t want anything.
Minimal side effects and 12lb down in 9 weeks. Should be at target by Christmas.

I tell myself that when I get down to target I will have spent so much money and time I will somehow have willpower. I will throw away the size 16s and not be able to afford to replace them after buying a whole size 12 wardrobe.

It has for me. At its extreme no appetite or will to eat. Food noise gone but by end of the week and end of the pen the benefits lessen. So I balance calories across the weak- sub 1009 calories first half then a more normal 1400 at end (and higher if out for a meal). That is just naturally what my body does - I am not enforcing a calorie limit.

i have skipped a week 3x for personal reasons- I did find my calories intake went up to pre MJ levels so in my experience there is NO tail off. If you have a break of more than 1 week you have restart which backs my experience up.

Genuine question as I have a friend who is really down about her weight.
She loves her food, definitely over indulges and also has 2-3 bottles of wine a week.
My own habits sound more like those on the jabs, not a massive appetite, don't really enjoy snacking and rarely drink etc
She often describes my eating habits as the polar opposite of hers but sees them as unachievable for her without help.
I'm worried about what would happen after my friend stopped the jabs? I presume they aren't a long term option?

I have heard that they need to be taken forever for benefits to be maintained. As everyone here is saying, there is the hope that reaching a healthy weight will help reset relationships with food.

I'm seriously considering trying these. Can someone please tell me roughly how much they cost and how often you have to inject yourself? Also are any available on the nhs?

Basic question to you all. Are you buying the injections privately or prescribed via gp or consultant?

I'm mid peri menopause and need to lose 1.5 stones. Have really struggled to shed even with heavy exercise and cutting down.

Thanks.

Binge eater here @Greaterwaterparsnip for complex reasons stemming from childhood neglect.

I've not binged once and have had about 90% lessening of what they call "food noise".

It's liberating.

For me, it was like the switch between food and emotion was totally severed, a bit like a light switch. I just didn’t care about food or alcohol anymore.

I was on it for about 9 months and lost 4stone and then came off because I found I was pregnant.

im 26 weeks pregnant now, but none of my emotional eating has come back and although I take more interest in food now I’m off the jabs, I’m not using it as an emotional crutch.

it’s very possible though that for me, I felt shit and so I ate, then because I was so massive, I felt worse and it was a negative cycle that got broken by me losing weight and feeling so much better about myself.

I'm considering doing this. Do the injections hurt? Where do they go on your body?

To answer the qs on here - NHS unlikely to prescribe, the criteria is a BMI of more than 35 along with a comorbidity eg type 2 diabetes but right now this is an expensive drug and most people will have to pay for it.

It costs around £180-£200ish a month, cheaper if you get referral codes I think.

You inject into subcutaneous fat on the abdomen, thigh or arm. It doesn't hurt. If you've done fertility injections, it's very similar.

Mounjaro is more effective than Ozempic/Wegovy and supposedly has fewer side effects. Drugs are in the works that will be even more effective than Mounjaro - this is obviously big business for pharmaceutical companies. I believe patents will begin to expire around 2030 and generic versions will come on the market at much lower cost. It's entirely possible that some people will end up on them for life, just like people can be on other types of medication forever.

I've been on MN long enough to see the disdain in which obese/overweight people are held and how much some people love to berate them for costing the NHS so much money. Those same people come on injection threads to announce that these drugs are pointless or dangerous or the lazy option. It's almost like they don't want obese people to lose weight! But there is so much rapid development going on with these drugs at the moment, I think they're going to get more and more commonplace. It would of course be better if none of us ever got overweight in the first place, but that's something that's on the rise and doesn't look like it's going to be fixed any time soon.

Oh and online pharmacies are tightening up on prescriptions and asking for proof of a BMI over 30 before the first prescription - you have to send full body photos of yourself holding a piece of paper with the date on along with a dated scale reading to make sure that only obese people are starting the medication. Obviously, as you lose weight you can continue to get it on repeat until down to a BMI of 25.

There are risks to these injections - in my opinion, outweighed by the risks of obesity. But if you weren't obese to begin with then you'd be putting yourself in danger of health problems unnecessarily.

@AquaGlass is that the NHS criteria to be have a BMI of over 35? Or the companies?

My BMI is significantly over 35 🫣 so is it worth talking to my GP first? Not sure I can realistically afford it

NHS criteria @needtonamechangeforthis1 is BMI over 35 plus a comorbidity. Privately, the criteria is a BMI of 30+ to start.

You sound very dogmatic about the limitations of these drugs, @ByPeachKoala. Do you work in obesity/addiction research?

Lots of questions are answered on the first post of these ongoing threads:

Continuing Mounjaro...part 17 www.mumsnet.com/Talk/weight-loss-injections/5122095-continuing-mounjaropart-17

Your GP won't prescribe, @needtonamechangeforthis1. On the NHS it's available via tier 3 obesity clinic, which will have quite a waiting list.

Agree, so how to shift 10 lbs without going insane?

It's working for me. But I am with Voy and am taking full advantage of their councelling service.
I have a real person councillor who I can contact anytime (she will answer the following day if I contact her at night)
I have found this really good in shifting my mindset.
Also the longer you stick to a healthy eating regime , three meals a day then your body helps you keep to that in the future by your cecaidiam rythym and making new neurological pathways in your brain

This is my Voy code for anyone who wants to try it

joinvoy.com/r/U-cWiNeJVKDD