Why are we not being vocal about the miracle of weight loss jabs. ?

[AboutVattime]

I started Mountjaro in April at 15 stone 10
I am now 11 stone . Which is my goal weight for my 5'10 frame. I have maintained that for 2 months having started regular exercise that I really enjoy - as well as ZOE healthy eating /cooking which I enjoy equally.

When people say to me 'Wow ! You look amazing (I'm not daft - they mean you don't look fat anymore) .. how have you done it . I am truthful and say 'fat jabs' .. and expand if they don't understand.

However , I have noticed on all the gazillion threads in here about weight loss injections, people are reticent to be honest . .. "my DH knows but haven't told anyone else " .. is a common remark . But WHY ???

Obesity is a life threatening condition. Like Dementia , cancer , liver failure etc etc .. if anyone had one of those conditions and found a drug to help , would they keep quiet or shout it from the bloody roof tops . ?

Or is the old adage true . Fat is a feminist (female) issue ? and we need to pretend it isn't ?

I'd worry about knowing such despicable people and admitting to it tbh.

Or should people just think for themselves and educate themselves? Just because they're selling it doesn't mean you have to buy it..

What do you mean? These drugs have been around for a long time now, very rare to get long lasting side effects. Whereas obesity leads to premature deaths.

Why are you concerned if it doesn’t affect you negatively… but you will benefit from decreasing NHS spending on obesity related conditions. Oh and a more economically active population!

What is it that is driving this huge spate of MounTjaro enthusiastic posts, discount codes etc in the past 48 hours?

Could it be the success of it from people's personal experience and the desire to keep buying it for successful weightloss/maintenance? People do shout from the rooftops when they discover something brilliant. This isn't a new thing.

The world is full of people to lazy to exercise and too gluttonous to eat less though unfortunately

@WhiteLily1 if you responded to those adverts and filled out a consultation with your accurate medical history, provided ID and photos of your physique you would not be prescribed them unless you met the criteria. That's exactly the same as the very many other medications you can get from private online providers, including Viagra, PrEP, Melatonin and so many others. Anyone could give false information for any of those medications and be potentially prescribed them. It is a general issue for online private prescribers.

If you think that Mounjaro, Wegovy, Rybelsus and so on are significantly more dangerous than those other drugs, then there is an argument for requiring private prescribers to do more detailed checks before prescribing. Like a mandatory video consultation rather than relying on photos.

The people you know who are not obese but taking this medicine have obtained it fraudulently and illegally. Either by buying it illegally from an unregistered supplier or by actively choosing to present fraudulent and misleading information. They have chosen to act that way at their own risk. That is nothing to do with people who have been prescribed weight loss injections after accurately completing the consultations, providing actual photos of themselves and complying with the prescription requirements.

And what you decided to omit in your copy and paste:

"What's the latest with the shortage of GLP-1 RAs?
There is still intermittent supply and shortages of some GLP-1 agonists including Ozempic, (injectable semaglutide), and some of these are expected to run into 2025. But there is now good supply of Rybelsus (oral semaglutide) and Mounjaro (tirzepatide).

Since March 2024, people in England and Northern Ireland living with type 2 diabetes can be offered Mounjaro if they are unable to access Ozempic, Trulicity or other GLP-1 medications. Recently, this also became available in Scotland".

Once again, Tirzepatide (Mounjaro) is not Semaglutide (WeGovy).

I've only ever mentioned Semaglutide in my posts, but since you mentioned another one prescribed for treating type 2 diabetes, here's the full list:

• Dulaglutide (brand name Trulicity)
• Exenatide (brand name Bydureon)
• Liraglutide (brand name Victoza)
• Lixisenatide (brand name Lyxumia)
• Semaglutide (brand names Ozempic, Rybelsus and Wegovy*)
• Mounjaro

*Wegovy is only licensed for weight loss, not glucose management in type 2 diabetes.

And here's the update from 21st June 2024 on diabetes.org.uk:

Why are there supply issues with GLP-1 RAs?
The NHS is currently facing supply issues with GLP-1 RAs, a range of drugs used for managing blood glucose levels in people with type 2 diabetes.
The global shortage in supply is partly due to a surge in off-label prescriptions of the drug Semaglutide being issued for weight loss which is outstripping supply.
Previously (since the summer of 2023) all stocks of GLP-1 RAs had to be reserved for those already using these medications, meaning that thousands of people who could benefit from these medications were not able to access them.

And under the heading "My healthcare professional has stopped prescribing my GLP-1 RAs why is this?" the second (of three) reasons given says:
"There may be supply issues, meaning that your medication is no longer available or likely to be out of stock for some time. There is a national shortage of these medications. Healthcare professionals are going to be reviewing people for alternative treatment where needed."

But yeah, you go ahead and tell Diabetes UK they don't know what they're talking about. 🙄

You are right, it has absolutely nothing to do with patients who legitimately are the BMI range to receive the drug.

But it has everything to do with how the drug is promoted and distributed, which from the recent sample of threads on MN the marketing tactics are questionable to say the least.

Well you all are the ones seemingly concerned for obese people. Is berating them online what you'd rather do or attacking the root cause?

Obese people are thinking for themselves and finding their own way to solve their obesity problem but it's not good enough for the perfect people. So help them solve it a different way by protesting against the awful food the govt makes easily available. No? Or you'd rather keep preaching the same "eat less move more" message online?

I don't know enough about them. Lots of threads saying how amazing they are. Lots of threads saying it's hard to stop without piling the weight back on. The threads about maintenance doses I don't understand. Once the weight is lost if it's too hard to not pile it straight back on then injections are not a sustainable solution. I think injections probably have their place for severe weight issues as the health risks of carrying that amount of weight outweigh the unknown long term risks of injections, but I think long term use needs to be approached with caution ( although price alone may limit this). Ultimately they are a form of diet, and diets often yo yo, which is why diets ultimately don't work. What does work is habit changes and lifestyle changes over time.

To clarify, I have never once commented on her weight to her face, I compliment her, I ask if she wants to go for a run with me, then just say "ok no worries" when she says no, I don't berate her. We laugh together all the time, and get on well. So no, I do not vocally judge her to her face. She knows she's too big and I know she's had open conversations with our mum about it. But yes we all collectively know why she got so big, not from some trauma, she just likes food and doesn't like exercise. I would argue that many people also have this simple reason as to why they got big, it doesn't always have to link back to a trauma or a genetic condition. All of us I'm sure are lazy at points, but some just continue on that trajectory and it runs away from them.

not only that but they dress it up as concern and worry for our health

@NamechangeRugby and that's an issue for the GPhC and other regulators to address. There are some suppliers whose behaviour around advertising prescription medication is tipping into inappropriate, especially around social media groups and posts. I don't use any of the suppliers that push discount codes, or referral codes and that have an active social media presence for that precise reason. I don't want any involvement in that. I would report any behaviour that I think breaks the rules around this. I hope that other people do too.

The OP has not mentioned a particular supplier, she's talking in general terms about the medication not about a particular supplier. When people post discount code begging posts, they can easily be deleted or moved by reporting to MN.

When I say education I don't mean "which ozempic should I take," there are plenty of steps they could take before that. Surely we all the know the govt don't give a shit and money trumps health. So protesting them will be utterly pointless. We all need to educate ourselves on healthy diets and exercise, not just follow govt guidance like a herd of sheep.

My quote is inthe exact same page you quoted. This is the actual link incase people want to read fully instead of the convenient shoddy copy and paste you're doing to prove your point.

https://www.diabetes.org.uk/about-us/news-and-views/our-response-serious-supply-issues-drugs-people-living-type-2-diabetes

You're insistent on talking about Semaglutide (Wegovy) when the weightloss threads here are filled with Tirzepatide (Mounjaro). You likely have no clue about Mounjaro since you keep talking only about Semaglutide that's rarely used for weightloss in the UK (except as a side effect for people with diabetes who take it).

MJ has been approved for weightloss as well as diabetes and is easily available in the UK for that. I'm sure most people here who're talking about weightloss medication, including the OP, are talking about Mounjaro but keep bringing up Wegovy to prove a point that no one is making.🙄

Don’t flatter yourself! I’m just thankful my sister is nicer than you

@Flopsy145 do you really think that the vast majority of obese people aren't aware of what a healthy diet is and that exercise is beneficial? Really? Do you think we're all ignorant idiots? What do you think you could educate me about that would mean that I would lose weight - tell me quick and I can start losing weight right now!

Boots website says the whole consultation ordering and paying takes 5-10 mins. It’s just so easy to put in whatever data you want.
It won’t be just people who are even overweight injecting these- people who are a normal size 12 and want to be a size 8. Very easy to fill the form in and fake the photos. Easy to get a mate to get some for you.

In June a young girl was very poorly in a&e after using boots for weight loss online and lying. This is just the very start of this with these drugs.

www.chemistanddruggist.co.uk/CD138263/It-terrifies-me-Girl-landed-in-AE-after-buying-Wegovy-from-Boots#:~:text=“This%20could%20be%20%2D%20but%20is,raise%20it”%20with%20the%20regulator.

(Sorry if I’m repeating others as I haven’t read the whole thread) But surely the reason lots of people aren’t talking about the jabs is that because for many people they aren’t a miracle? Either because they can’t afford them or because they have bad side effects with them (as do many weight loss drugs to be fair).

And while obesity is a killer issue - it’s usually a slow killer and there are other, potentially safer ways, to tackle it. If it was a miracle drug instead for say, cancer - then of course we’d all be talking about it and getting angry if it wasn’t available to everyone who needed it 🤷‍♀️ Because any potential side effects would be outweighed by people’s survival. I’m sorry but I just don’t view obesity as the same.

And I do say all this as someone who was morbidly obese for many years and in lots of ways it ruined my life 😢 so it’s not like I don’t have sympathy for people who are struggling to lose weight . Over a very very long period of time I have slowly gone from a BMI of 48 to 29 - so I now wouldn’t be eligible for the jabs anyway, but I’d very likely refuse them if I were. (I was offered a gastric band on the NHS at my heaviest but I refused that too).

My belief is that there is a reason people get obese- and if you don’t tackle the underlying reason then the weight will just go back on eventually. I hope to keep losing weight naturally - even at only a pound every few months till I eventually get to a weight that I can maintain long term. I personally don’t want to risk getting obese again and that means finding a way of eating I can keep up permanently. I just don’t see how drugs can help most people with that, but I am genuinely glad they’ve helped you

The private and nhs supply chains are also, once again, totally separate in the UK. A shortage in one is not because of movement or fulfillment of another.

Not quite why she isn't getting that Semaglutide, wegovy etc is naff all to do with Mounjaro either.

Ah, AngelicKaty, here they go again, gloves come off. Anyway, I'm not stooping to your ridiculous level that shows you don't really have any more intelligent thing to say when your lying by omisson has been found out. Try following the thread and posts. We are talking about Tirzepatide (Mounjaro), not Semaglutide. You're derailing with your unnecessary and ignorant posts about Semaglutide.

I have no idea either. Just littering the thread with nonsense about Semaglutide.

You're not getting it, are you love. There is no shortage or supply chain issues of Mounjaro which is a totally different drug, in either of the UK supply chains.