Scared about weight loss drugs

[Nicecuppatea2025]

I need to lose weight. 5 stone. I’m very fat. Would love to be able to tie my shoe laces without puffing.

I’ve read in the news about people dying from weight loss drugs. I’d love to give it a try but I’m shit scared very nervous about it.

Any thoughts? (Apologies for yet another weight loss jabs thread). And do I have to be referred by a doctor (I’m in the uk).

@Growsomeballswoman yeah I watched an interview with her niece and I don’t recall her saying her aunt had any underlying conditions either.

I think that was the early news, and the family were saying it. She was very ill and it wasn’t due to the drug, I’d have to search for later articles. But you can do that just as easily.

my gp also told me it wasn’t the drug.she had gallstones I think, that were undiagnosed and some other signficant issue that arose due to it.

I don’t have any strong feelings on others using them generally but I know for me I’m definitely glad I lost weight without them, despite how impossible it seemed at the time since my weight just wasn’t budging initially.

A younger friend of mine saw how much weight id lost and confided in me she was considering using ozempic or whatever and I just advised she speak to her doctor and then told her how I lost weight without the meds so she can make her own informed decision.

I would recommend BodySlims, the next course starts next week. It’s absolutely brilliant for body and mind and I cant recommend it highly enough.

If you follow Ger’s advice you will lose about 2 stone in the 10 weeks. I would try that first, as it does work. I have seen the results and it’s a lifetime change.

It’s not easy but anything worth doing is not easy.

It's for each individual to weigh up the pros and cons and decide for themselves.
If they scare you, don't take them then.

For me, I was at real danger of developing many life threatening diseases: heart disease, a multitude of cancers, stroke, diabetes. These have all been proved to be caused by obesity.
I'm now 5 stone down and have hopefully reduced my risk of developing any of these.

The death of that nurse has not been proved it was from Mounjaro. Yes she was taking it, but they can't say it definitely caused her death.

As others have said, millions are taking tirzepatide and if they were genuinely believed to be dangerous they would be withdrawn.

But, as I said, it's your decision.

BodySlims it’s not a slimming group btw, Ger doesn’t tell you what to eat, he is a motivational speaker and you have to walk every day. The walking has changed my life and I absolutely hated walking previously. Now I can’t wait to do it everyday because I feel great. It’s worth considering.

The weight loss injections are going to change thousands of lives and I am all for them once you are being monitored by a doctor and talking them as prescribed. They work!!

You have options. You can do it.

I'm in Sweden and we can only access weight loss injections as part of a weight loss programme. Public health pays for this private weight loss service (also available if you pay in the UK I believe).

www.eatit.io/en

I started the programme 4 weeks ago and am very impressed. I started losing weight easily before getting to the point where the doctor prescibes the drugs. So I'm continuing without for a while to see how it goes. Prior to starting I absolutely wanted the jabs as I just couldn't lose weight, but I was scared about taking them. Now I have hope that I won't need them.

The woman who died happened to have taken Mounjaro. There was a lot of doctors talking about it on the news at the time. She had pancreatitis - the doctors said she probably already had this condition brewing already and the Mounjaro might have escalated it but probably didn't cause it as she had only taken two low doses.

A bit like during the pandemic, when covid deaths were recorded - you got hit by a bus but your death still had covid as a cause if you'd tested positive within 28 days.

But if you're scared OP, then don't take it. There are other effective ways to lose weight with less risk.

I'm also worried about taking this although I'd love to.. How would you know if you had gallstones or pancreatitis? I've had random stomach upsets and have diverticuloses too. I'd love to try Mounjaro but am too scared yet the obesity leads to a high risk of other conditions.

I wish they would roll this out on the NHS for anyone with a BMI over 33 so we could be properly supervised and have pre-tests to rule out gallstones/pancreatic issues.

You'd know if you had a gallstone issue or pancreatitis due to sudden pain in the centre of your abdomen that isn't relieved by anything you'd normally do for trapped wind or whatever.

I think people are too optimistic about the level of supervision or testing that would be done if the NHS prescribed it to people. I doubt they'd routinely check for pre existing gallstones before prescribing to you.

The NHS is never going to pretest people for gallstones. It would cripple them. It's not a bllood test. You have to have a CT scan and spend 2 hours before, in hospital, drinking a vile contrast liquid stuff.

You've got to put it in perspective. No drug is without risk. Obesity is much riskier. You don't get news headlines 'woman dies of obesity-induced stroke' etc but it happens every day.

If you read the leaflet with even basic things like paracetamol, there's a list of risks as long as your arm.

Slimming world is crap.

I had my first Mounjaro pen in the fridge for 2 weeks before I actually took it. I was apprehensive to say the least!

But, my rationale for taking it was that I’m relatively healthy, it had been prescribed by a pharmacist who was very knowledgeable and thorough when gathering my medical information.

Risk of diabetes and heart disease outweighed the risk of the side effects of Mounjaro so when I looked at it in that way it was always going to be a positive.

I’m in a Mounjaro group chat and some of the people in there went to their GP’s and discussed starting and asked for a health check up before they started on it. For some people this included a gall bladder scan. Not sure if they had this done privately given NHS wait times.

You need to remember that Mounjaro isn’t a quick fix. You’ll see people having big weekly losses. This isn’t healthy or sustainable. I lose 1-2 lbs a week and am happy with that. Loss so far is 1.5 stones and been on it 10 weeks.

I don’t ever intend to regain the weight. You need to make changes to your diet and lifestyle to sustain the loss. Track everything you eat and drink on an app such as my fitness pal. It’s really important to hit your calorie, protein and fluid goals each day. Doing this will reduce side effects and risk of complications such as pancreatitis. Listen to your body, and always check with your GP re abdominal pain.

Order from a registered pharmacy, IQ dr are particularly good. They offer a video call prior to prescribing to discuss your concerns etc.

Don’t feel bad when you have an off day, treats and the odd takeaway are allowed! It’s still about balance.

Whatever you choose to do, remember you are doing this for you, and once you’re in that mindset you’ll do great!

This isn't true. It's a quick ultrasound scan for gallstones and you don't have to drink any thing in particular. And it doesn't take 2 hours.

I agree the NHS will never fund to check people for gallstones before prescribing WLIs though.

They really should require people to go for a gallbladder scan before getting the medication if that is the biggest culprit causing issues for people. I wouldn't be surprised if it was the reason that some of us get bad reactions because of undiagnosed gallstones.

It’s not the biggest issue, far from it, it’s a minor number of people. Spending millions scanning gall blabbers unnecessarily would be ridiculous

On the news this week they said 1/2 million people are taking it in the UK at the moment. Very few deaths where it is even mentioned (I think it's 10) and in all of them it is only a mention, not given as a cause.
With that many people taking it, there are bound to be a few who die of something during that time.
I decided the risk is worth it for me although I don't actually consier it much of a risk at all. The risks of being obese are much more imminent. I've been on mounjaro for 3 months and lost 2 stone. I already feel healthier, my knees don't hurt when I walk upstairs and my blood pressure is now normal (from borderline needing drugs).

I gained loads on slimming world, unlimited chicken thank you very much, I could eat two whole chickens a day.

I don't get this problem some people have with the fact that people may regain the weight after stopping WLI. Of course they may. It's exactly the same for diets (happened to me as for many of us) but no-one tell you not to go on diet.

This is an excellent, interesting presentation which is based on research. It’s 50 mins long. Well worth a watch.
it covers the effects on you heart, arteries, brain, fat cells, bones and death.
I have more chancing dying not being on it 🤩

It was absolutely true when I was tested.

www.nhs.uk/conditions/gallstones/diagnosis/

Drugs aren't the answer, well they are for short term but not long term.
A balanced diet, motivation, and exercise.

When I had gallstones 25 years ago it was confirmed by an ultrasound. Just like in pregnancy. No ct scan. No drinking coloured fluids.

aye right!!!

you don’t want to get pregnant - do you abstain from having sex or take the pill?
your man can’t get a hard on, does he abstain from sex or take viagra?
your struggling with menopause, do you go on an anger management course or take HRT?
your in pain, do you suffer or take a pain killer?
you want to stop smoking, cold turkey or Stick on nicotine patch?

It’s an absolute no brainer for me, been on it 8 weeks, down 20lb and my melons 🍈🍈 are now cherries 🍒. And before anyone asks what will happen when I come off, I’m on it for life!