OK I'm convinced, weight-loss drugs are Incredible and will change the world

[AliceAbsolum]

DH has been on them for a couple of months and they've changed our lives for the better. He's an over eater/ mild binger and generally quite obsessed with food. Never managed to keep weight off.

Now he's happy, calm, doesn't think about food, eats like a 'normal person' and it's freed up so much space and joy in our lives.

Apparently in the future it'll be a pill you can either take that day or not, e.g. Most days but not Christmas day. Incredible!

Yes I know people get side effects and they don't work for everyone, etc. But I'm very impressed.
Apparently they also help alcoholics and other addicts as they work on the reward centre's of the brain. Amazing.

@Dietingfool Just a bullshitter, the pp is!

@KrankyKumquat They're so clueless, it's unbelievable.

It is reminiscent of the Covid days when anyone who died with Covid was interpreted as dying of Covid.

They all have their knickers in a twist because this the latest thing. They probably believe everything the Daily Mail say.

They will move their faux concerns on to the next new thing soon. Maybe the smoking pill? Maybe these people should just stop smoking…

so much false information and scaremongering on this thread 🙄

In The Uk GLP1s that are licensed for weight loss have to be prescribed by a registered HCP - that will normally be a doctor. There are some nurses and pharmacists who will have additional qualifications which allow them to prescribe some medications so some can do this. Pharmacists will then dispense the medication. The (legal and licensed) online suppliers have both prescribers and dispensers to ensure appropriate treatment is supplied (or not). Failure to properly follow these processes would be a serious breach of their licence and could ultimately result in their being struck off/imprisoned.

There are likely unscrupulous criminals who are prepared to supply these drugs (or fakes) to anyone who asks. Just like some will supply penicillin or morphine alongside heroin. To be clear, this is criminal behaviour. Irrelevant to the legal supply of medication.

Lots of patients will get side effects from GLP1s but rarely serious ones.

latest from mhra www.gov.uk/government/news/mhra-reminds-healthcare-professionals-to-advise-patients-of-the-side-effects-of-glp-1-agonists-and-to-report-misuse

I wonder how many of the people who are so ‘concerned’ about MJ have been told that they have a good figure… if everyone has a good figure how will they feel superior?

I’m also getting almost a jealous vibe off some people, which is so bizarre, why on earth would you be jealous of someone that clearly has a weight battle going on? Maybe it’s a financial thing?

Either way they want us to remain fat

I'm actually saving a small fortune on less cakes with coffee, takeaways, chocolate bars and alcohol. Not drinking at all at home and only have a couple when I've gone out, so the expense is probably cancelled out by rhe savings.
Amd also these drugs have been around for years just used for diabetics rather than weight loss. 1st FDA approved in 2005, so almost 20 years.

"with Mounjaro the side effects are actually minimal"

That's not true for everyone.

Look, these meds are great for many people, but like all medicines, they are not right for everyone. Just like penicillin is fantastic unless you are allergic or NSAIDS are fantastic unless they make your stomach bleed.

I reacted very badly indeed to mounjaro in terms of my mental health and a small group of others report the same. Some people get severe nausea and non stop vomiting as well as the pancreatitis and gastroparesis that are recognized as very rare possible side effects. There are people on some active threads now who have moved up to 10mg gradually over time and been very unwell in bed and have stopped taking the meds for a while or titrated right back down.

They may be the best thing ever for a majority of people, but like all medicines, they are not the answer for everyone. I so wish I wasn't still 5 stone overweight. I was incredibly motivated to succeed. But they made me feel so mentally unwell that I stopped within 3 weeks. That wasn't a minimal side effect.

Go ahead and say you had few side effects and neither did your acquaintances, that they have changed your life and are the best thing that ever happened to you and I will cheer for you. But don't claim there are no side effects and that those who are more hesitant, or tried them and stopped, automatically must have done kind of malign agenda or are stupid or ill informed.

The information leaflet in every box sets out the potential side effects and how likely there are. It tells you when to stop and seek medical advice. Like every medication that's authorised in the UK. It's not hidden. There's also additional packs produced by prescribers. I've never been more informed about potential side effects

I agree with @Sistertwo above.
There are commonly side effects so not true to say it’s minimal, it varies for everyone.

On balance it has been great for me so far but the gastro side effects have not been fun and I feel like I didn’t get the full impression of this when I was researching it on mn initially (that was back when everyone shared Voy codes on every thread and was nothing but positive about it 😆). I don’t regret going on it because of the distress binge eating and my eating and weight being out of control was causing me, not to mention health concerns from being obese. Also in my case strangely after about 6 months the gastro effects seem to have almost completely subsided apart from constipation (loose stools, nausea and sulphur burps seem to be no more even when I’ve increased dose slightly)

I'm reading with interest. I'd love to try, but nervous about long term health implications (if any). I couldn't just go and get some, I'd have to talk to my Dr first. My friend did it and lost stones, but put back on after stopping. I'm menopausal, and finding it impossible to get rid of the 2 stone I need off, for health reasons and vanity!

Don't rely on mumsnet. The actual prescribing guidelines and information about side effects are easily found. Latest at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/mhra-authorises-diabetes-drug-mounjaro-tirzepatide-for-weight-management-and-weight-loss#:~:text=The%20Medicines%20and%20Healthcare%20products,adults%20aged%2018%20and%20over.

If you decide to take it https://monj.co.uk has information about regulated supplier's prices. You'll then need to answer a series of questions and provide some evidence to get assessed to get the drug. They will then see if you qualify before prescribing and dispatching.

Fed up with people arguing for the sake of it: ‘minimal’ side effects does not mean in any form of the English language ‘no’ side effects!! It means that it has few side effects. This is especially so compared to Ozempic. This does not mean that noone will suffer them, nor that for those who do that they may not be significant FOR THEM. Anecdotal and indivual reactions are irrelevant. This is why SEs and reactions are logged and collated over years, across populations and only considered statistically significant when those same SE’s recur across those populations in high incidence levels.

The evidence of studies looking at 200k odd users of MJ shows better sustained weight loss 12 months after losing weight, compared to ‘traditional’ (ie non medically supported) dieters. MJ also has fewer (ie minimal) SE’s compared to other weight loss medications.

I personally get side effects from ibuprofen and can’t take it. Not a single person I know has those same side effects too, in fact noone I know complains of any, they are just grateful for the pain relief benefits. It doesn’t mean that the SEs are significant statistically or medically concerning, and certainly not enough that I would advise every other person I know not to take them.

If you don’t want to take them - don’t. But please eff off evangelising about them to those of us who are happily taking them, fully informed and medically supervised whilst doing so. It’s, frankly, bugger all to do with you.

I think in reality everyone understands the potential side effects, irrelevant of what side of the fence they sit on. It’s just an excuse for some to take against it, to find a reason as they don’t wish to admit the real one.

so far Trawling these threads it is primarily overweight people taking issue with other overweight people for taking the drugs. If you ask enough they admit their situation.

so it seems to be overweight people who desperately want to be slim, who want to lose the weight, and cant get the drugs for whatever reason, so don’t want others to have them, that instead of saying lucky you, I wish I could afford them, they poo poo it.

there is always a type of person who when envious of what someone else has will put it down…new car, oh I’m sure it’s leased. Bought a house, you don’t own it the bank does. Renovated your home. You’ve got shit taste. New dress. You look like shit. Attractive woman, it’s all smoke and mirrors, what’s the make up covering up eh.

weightloss injections are the same thing. Except they will be first in the queue come summer asking their gp’s to prescribe.

@Dietingfool I agree. And it’s women keeping other women down, which also effs me off. I’ve spoken very candidly to my friends about how I’ve lost my weight (but only when they’ve asked and been upset about their weight) and then I’ve encouraged them to read some research, speak to their GP and then explore it. It has been such a powerful supplement to otherwise frustrating efforts to diet/exercise, that I wanted friends to know the truth and I was so convinced in its safety I was happy for my son’s endocrinologist to put my 16yo on it. I trained in fitness in my 20s and worked in a gym for a bit, so despite it being a battle to maintain my weight, I have always been a healthy size 10/12 - I ‘know’ how to lose weight but it didn’t work any more once the menopause arrived. The drugs have mean that does again.

It has also made dieting/resuming exercise stressfree for my son. He does not have to obsess about his food because he is now eating less and has gone off sweet stuff. He has learned to assess what he is eating and to reduce his portion sizes naturally, which was really important to me as I didn’t want to risk him developing an eating disorder or have an unhealthy relationship with food. He just needed to lose weight and feel confident enough that he could join a gym and a martial arts club without feeling self-conscious.

He, like me, also rarely gets migraines now (they could be 2-3x a week so very debilitating) so we have mapped between us a sugar high/low trigger that means we may remain on low doses of these meds permanently as an alternative to the millions of other drugs we’ve been taking to manage them.

Like @AliceAbsolum I am blown away by the impact this medication has had on us as a family, on my relationship with my husband, the bond I have with my dogs who I can walk more often and further afield, my DS’s self confidence and improved health, and yes, my relationship with food and my body. My kids are both on the spectrum, the eldest with significant MH and additional needs. I need to be as healthy as I can be to be able to support them for as long as possible. These meds have made this feasible.

@CautiousLurker1
I'm fascinated by what you say about your son. What a fantastic breakthrough for him, it's making me feel a bit emotional.

@KrankyKumquat 😢 I get a bit emotional about it too when people keep ripping into those of us who use it. Silly really, I know!

Now with added guinea pigs.

Who knows what Lottie Moss was taking as she bought something on the black market...

My friend was bmi 50 and very obese her whole life. She is paying for the monjaro herself even though she qualifies due to diabetes but there is a long wait list where she lives.
She is saving money! She was addicted to food and bought a lot of take aways and binge ate. Her monthly food bill has gone from £1300 to only £250. She lives alone. I was flabbergasted she spent so much as that's more than I spend on us 4. Now I see the real reason She couldn't save to buy a house! She is 2 months in and lost 2 stones and is already feeling better and more mobile. She used to walk with a stick all the time and now doesn't need it! She is lucky she has no side effects and no nausea. It looks like a wonder drug and I hope it is. The NHS spends a lot on obese related health conditions.

This is actually hilarious!

to think a year ago, even 6 months ago, I wouldn’t have understood a single reference on that. Now I understand them all vividly haha

The Sharon Osbourne reference in particular is interesting because there is a culture within celebrities to blame illicit drug use (ie cocaine etc) or surgery on things like Ozempic or Mounjaro.

Scott Disick did the same - the Kardashians purposely showed him opening his fridge with a few boxes of Mounjaro conveniently placed for the camera on their reality tv show…to explain his changing appearance. He looked like death but blamed it on losing too much weight on weight loss injections…

it’s the lesser evil for people in the public eye to admit to.

@1clavdivs you are amazing! Thank you!

Fixed a typo, and I'm done.

I was just about to say our poor "It's a quick fix" got lost under the scales but you've just fixed it! Well done , it looks great. I believe we've had them all now. I hope 'they' (the fear-mongers) don't give you any more work.

So a woman who is not overweight, obtained Ozempic by deception, and took ‘a very high dose’ is the reason we should ignore the advise of clinically trained professionals (in my case, a Professor of Endocrinology at a major Uk teaching hospital)? Lottie Moss took a controlled drug illegally. No, I don’t give a shit.

Just as I’m sure you’re not as equally concerned by the 170, 000 people who are admitted to hospital EVERY YEAR for drug overdoses/self-poisoning? No, let’s focus on the handful of people who’ve misused and overdosed on Ozempic and stop everyone else from having it through legal, clinically controlled and regulated means. 🤦🏽‍♀️

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2767291/