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.

MJ user here, 15st 4 at my heaviest, five feet 1, Fatty Liver, high BP, asthma, arthritis...now 10st 3, normal BP and liver, arthritis easier to manage. My GP has said weight loss medication will save lives and millions for the NHS with obesity related conditions that can be reversed.

Did you get yours with gp as I weigh alot more and still gp says only diabetes patients can

@healthybychristmas and @SilenceInside you've both misunderstood anorexia and what I said about Sharon Osbourne!

Think I'd better hide this thread, though, as it's getting a bit cultish on both sides and I don't want to witness the battle lines forming (again) 😏

Do you feel like this about every medical intervention or just weight loss drugs? Obesity is a disease that has a huge impact on your brain and body and I refuse to be judged for needing medical help to overcome it. I'd do the same for any disease. The drugs are only going to get better and that should be celebrated.

Save your sadness for the fact that so called evolved humans commit evil in every corner of our planet instead of the fact that medical progress gives us the opportunity to live longer, healthier lives.

No I've paid, not available on the NHS in my area. My GP was very supportive of my using it and said she would have prescribed it if she was able. That is quite an endorsement.

My area same they say it is if you have diabetes

Most people who become obese have no underlying reasons.
We just live in an obesogenic society
It's not deep
No mental health deep issue behind it

Evolution takes thousands of years.

Humans evolved to crave sugary and fatty foods because those are high energy; when food was scarce for nomadic hunter gatherers, eating the high calorie stuff rather than the lower calorie things full of fibre meant you didn’t have to eat as much to survive.
Sugary and fatty food was hard to come by but hugely rewarding.

Modern life means we aren’t exercising constantly, burning up large amounts of calories. We also have access to near infinite amounts of the sugary and fatty foods our bodies evolved to find delicious.

Economics are such in The West that food is insanely cheap by historical standards, sweet things and processed junk in particular.

In this situation it’s no surprise huge swathes of the population are obese. We’re living in an environment far different to that we evolved to cope in.

I don't have diabetes luckily but I know 2 people who are and getting it prescribed and doing well on it.

My only regret is I didn't do it sooner, my life is transformed, I feel and look so much better and my health has improved enormously. It really is a miracle drug.

@SilenceInside ive seen a number of people who have normal BMI (therefore excluded from the trial) taking it because they perceive themselves to be fat.
The image /bmi they have in mind would risk or be considered anorexia, so I think it’s probably a consideration.

I wonder why it is not on the NHS. Obesity is a terrible strain on the service - it seems a frontline way to reduce costs.

@DarkForces Absolutely, humans do commit evils everyday! And we have starvation and famine in many parts of the world.
Wish people have done better, don't you.

Similar thoughts have crossed my mind. The weight loss industry is worth billions.

Yes I do. One way to easily make the world a bit of a nicer place to be is not judging people who are overweight and bemoaning their lack of evolution.

My friend is on the trial for the pills.

@DarkForces my words have nothing to do with you. I don't know you and I don't judge you. I said 'ourselves', not separating people into groups. We are all the same.

@UncharteredWaters I was talking about obese people developing anorexia as a direct result of taking GLP-1 medications, as an identified adverse reaction from the various research trials that have taken place. It's a different issue than people who are not overweight lying to take prescription medication that isn't indicated for them, because they want to become underweight. They clearly already are suffering psychologically with anorexic type thoughts.

I think it will lead to addiction and yo yo users, and people being stuck on it and long term problems with eating and I could imagine seeing in a few years people saying it has ruined their lives. Nothing is without a price.

It's mainly because of supply issues. They're building new factories.

Novo Nordisk (Ozempic & Wegovy) is entirely responsible for the boom in Denmark's economy. Their home town is set to at least double in size in the next few years. They're expected to take over a large Belgian pharma manufacturer and have their eye on others. EU antitrust laws mean they have to be cautious with takeovers but, at the same time, it's in the Union's interest to keep Novo Nordisk competitive with Eli Lilly.

Eli Lilly (Mounjaro, Zepbound) is building new facilities in Indiana, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Ireland and Germany. Shares stalled in 2024 third quarter, but this seems to be because they were managing growth while waiting for Medicare approval (granted by Biden's government on his way out).

Why do you think that?

I mean, most novel medications will lead to a relatively small number of negative outcomes, so there's that, but addiction and long term problems with eating is precisely why some people are using MJ/similar.

What about this form of medication troubles you? Have you felt concerned about other new medications reaching the market?

I take Mounjaro for T2D (so it is paid for). it has really been excellent. I've lost 60 lbs and my A1c is 33. I can't eat a huge amount at one time, but I can eat a relatively normal diet. I haven't gone totally off sweets, but now I only want a small piece and not all of the time; I don't crave them.

However... my experience with Ozempic was not positive. It did control my glucose levels but I was constantly bloated (visibly so) and had terrible sulfur burps. I could feel how food wasn't moving down properly and was virtually on a liquid diet. I threw in the towel when I was unable to keep solid food down for several days. My doctor was concerned I would develop permanent gastroparesis, which is a risk of GLP-1s due to the delayed gastric emptying (and diabetes already carries a risk of gastroparesis). He agreed to try Mounjaro before giving up on GLP-1s as sometimes people react to one drug and not another, and luckily this was the case for me.

The drugs have been used for diabetes for some time. The oldest one, Byetta (exenatide) was approved in 2005. So we do have some idea of long term effects. However the side effects are not negligible and I do think the advice of not taking them if you only have a small amount of weight to lose and no diabetes is correct.

I must say I’ve scratched my head when I scroll past the ‘December starters post here’ topics for the weight loss jabs. I’m all for it, but no way would I start in December. I’d be happy to start 28th😁. I mean it’s not an overnight problem and what’s another month.

Which one has he take? Does he feel any side effects?

I’m sure you can purchase it on a private script or at a weight loss clinic . Not talking about you but in general I find many overweight people in this country expect it free on the NHS.

No, the medication is only prescribed to people with a BMI of 27-30 with weight related health problems, or anyone with BMI 30+