Half a million on weight loss jabs

[Sadteacher]

Front page of The Times today! I wonder if we will be asked more how we have lost our weight now it is becoming more common! My friends still talk about them like they are something only celebrities use.

I had awful side effects on Mountjaro and they made me really unwell and miserable. I think a lot of us quietly quit and slink away rather than advertising it. They absolutely do need to do research into the side effects, including whether or not they will cost the NHS money dealing with them. It's a bit cynical to assume negative stories will be funded by the food and drinks lobby! I would just be a normal person who was badly affected by them. There are probably a lot more of us as the numbers trying MJ etc grow.

The NHS criteria for eligibility is currently set very high as they don't have the budgets or resources to give it to all people who genuinely need it. Nothing to do with supply from manufacturers.

Not meeting the current NHS criteria does not mean someone's obesity is not a significant medical issue they shouldn't resolve privately.

Ok, I think maybe you’re confused or Ill informed, mounjaro and wegovy/ozempic are different medications. And there is no known shortage of either.

where are you in the country and what drug?

I sympathise, but their need is less immediate and supply issues are affecting people who have no other way of coping. I don't pretend to understand where the supply hitches are, but I do from firsthand experience know they exist right now.
I was just trying to raise awareness.

I am neither ignorant or confused about the different drugs - but they all come in pens which have to be manufactured. I am told that is an issue.

If a person has a prescription they have every right to get it filled. Doesn't matter if that is diabetes medication, heart disease medication or weight loss injections. While I sympathise with the difficulty you're having, I don't think it is reasonable to tell others to not get their own prescriptions. We are not responsible for each other's heath - we are responsible for our own.

It is not, the vials were for a short time but it was addressed. The medications themselves were for a time but it's been declared as 'over'. If the NHS has issues in their supply chain that's not being affected by people buying it privately. What's your real issue?

@Laneylane81 are you in the States? We are mostly in the UK and there are no supply shortages.

My real issue is that I am having problems getting my NHS precription filled by pharmacies. I can only report personal real experience. And I have been obese myself so I do sympathise with the implications for health and self-respect.
How dare you imply I am lying.

You have an NHS prescription for Mounjaro in the UK and you are struggling to obtain it?

JemimaTiggywinkles · Today 12:52

If a person has a prescription they have every right to get it filled. Doesn't matter if that is diabetes medication, heart disease medication or weight loss injections. While I sympathise with the difficulty you're having, I don't think it is reasonable to tell others to not get their own prescriptions. We are not responsible for each other's heath - we are responsible for our own.

Of course we are, and I wasn't addressing people in genuine need on the NHS. If they are getting it privately their need is not quite so great, however much they feel it.
I am in the UK and pharmacies are struggling to fill my NHS precsription for Ozempic.

Private WLI users don't need insincere or ignorant sympathy. Your issue is with the NHS supply chain not us.

The damage of obesity disease on the body is a very real and present reality, not just a future concern. Most private WLI users have been obese for a long time and their bodies will already be damaged by obesity, whether it has been diagnosed yet or not.

Over 30,000 people in the UK die from obesity related conditions every year. Private WLI users are literally paying to save their own lives.

I will accept sympathy for having to pay for WLI, I will not accept sympathy from someone implying I don't deserve to treat my disease even when I am paying for it myself!

I agree @Jabtastic I think there is probably some ‘glossing’ over of the side effects going on. I have no evidence of that before anyone asks. It’s just my personal thoughts and anecdotes I have heard. I believe that I can’t take any of the jabs as I have gallstones? I understand gallstones are very common so surely some of those on the jabs must have gallstones? How is it affecting them? Anyway knowing my luck the jabs would probably finish me off altogether. Good luck to those it’s helped and is helping.

I work in a private hospital that offers weight loss surgery as a speciality. The surgeon has had no new enquiries for over 9 months now. Luckily that was a very small percentage of what we did anyway and we are very busy with ‘loose skin’ plastic surgery following injection use.

The side effects are not glossed over. They are listed in detail on all the patient info, online and on the paper leaflet. It is very clear that gastric side effects are common (1 in 10). Look at the WLI threads and you will see plenty of side effects being discussed. There is ongoing research which will include any side effects, and no doubt updates to the patient information if any new ones are identified. Gallstones are an issue in general for any weight loss approach.

Private WLI users don't need insincere or ignorant sympathy. Your issue is with the NHS supply chain not us.
The damage of obesity disease on the body is a very real and present reality, not just a future concern. Most private WLI users have been obese for a long time and their bodies will already be damaged by obesity, whether it has been diagnosed yet or not.
Over 30,000 people in the UK die from obesity related conditions every year. Private WLI users are literally paying to save their own lives.
I will accept sympathy for having to pay for WLI, I will not accept sympathy from someone implying I don't deserve to treat my disease even when I am paying for it myself!

My sympathy is not insincere. I would love it to be easily available for everyone.

Can you not see that manufacturing chain affects ALL supply chains and not just one?

I am in the UK and pharmacies are struggling to fill my NHS precsription for Ozempic.

So you think those on Mounjaro should hold off on ordering their prescription, then the manufacturers (Eli Lilly) should hold off on producing Mounjaro so that they can help the different manufacturers of Ozempic (Novo Nordisk) to get a hold of the materials, which are in shortage, to make Ozempic pens?

It's not just Ozempic pens.

What other pens from other companies are in danger of being in shortage, as you say, due to pen materials being in shortage at Novo Nordisk?

Can you not see that there are currently no "manufacturing" supply issues to private patients which makes it clear the issue is an NHS supply chain/funding/contracts issue.

What do you think private users stopping their own life saving treatment will do for the NHS supply chain/funding issues? Your issue is with the NHS who should be managing their supply and contracts better.

Private patients "taking one for the team" and accepting the ongoing significant life threatening risks to their own health will not resolve the issues you are facing with the NHS.

Are you saying that people taking one type of prescribed medication that uses one type of injection pen should stop taking it to reduce supply problems for a different prescribed medication using a different type of injection pen?

@SilenceInside doing the Lord’s work as usual! Thank you.

@1clavdivs Bingo anyone?

Well if she has she'd get it for free. However she pays for it and is quite open about the fact she is taking it for weight loss.

You can see that the claim that most WLI users are taking anything away from diabetic patients is bonkers. It doesn't make sense.

We should add "The side effects are never talked about/glossed over"/ "You're shut down by posters if you talk about the side effects" to the bingo card as I've seen such posted a few times now by those who're clearly making it up in their heads for some reason.