I’m on my own now, can’t get another prescription!

[Unopenedpackofmenssocks]

Just thought I’d post with a bit of a cautionary tale and see if anyone else in the same boat.

Last year I lost about 8kg using Mounjaro over 3 months. I was 83kg and had a BMI of 30.4 so in the obese category but only just.

In November I was down to 75 kg. Goal weight was/is 65kg but I stopped the injections because I had a couple of big public speaking events coming up at work and I’d been having a few issues with diarrhoea on 5mg. I then decided that I wanted to enjoy Christmas with my normal appetite so didn’t re-order.

Continued to receive auto emails offering repeat prescription.

Predictably, I’ve regained some weight (about 3kg) and am now ready to get back to work on reaching my goal.

Tried to re-order but was rejected as apparently a 12 week gap means I am effectively a new patient so no longer qualify. They won’t re-prescribe unless my BMI goes above 30 again.

If I understand correctly, they’d have kept prescribing to me with a BMI below 30 if I hadn’t had a gap in taking it.

It is what it is I guess. I don’t regret stopping in terms of how I have felt over the last few months, but in retrospect I am wondering if it would have been worth the investment of continuing to order it but just not using it.

I’m now gearing up to shift that next 10kg without the help of Mounjaro but I am back to my old carb-craving ways!

It’s almost tempting to let myself gain enough weight to qualify again, but I know how silly that would be and I’m enjoying fitting back into so many clothes.

Anyone have any tips for losing/maintaining after stopping the injections?

Joe wicks body coach is great, he has an app and free videos on YouTube. Can do them all at home too. Yes my provider states can't prescribe if wait longer than 8 weeks, I've just passed 4 weeks, ordered early to avoid Xmas and I'm 29.5 bmi so I'm going to order soon, just not sure which dose to get. An aesthetics business which has a registered nurse prescriber was offering them, she has an advanced qualification, not sure if you can find someone like that and show proof. Have you tried other companies like oushk that have maintenance plans?

Also if you have a qualifying health condition you can get upto bmi 27. I'd definitely try a different pharmacy first as you can show proof of medication

Personally I'd just bump my weight up a bit on the online form. However, lots of people on here don't like the not being truthful approach so you may not be inclined to do that!

I find your post so interesting.

There are a lot of people who take these drugs that are v v anti anybody who is not obese taking them. Yet, they continue to take them for weight loss themselves when out of the obese range and even when into the healthy weight range. I wonder what some of these people would do and how they'd feel in your shoes.

I personally cant see that mounjaro would be more harmful for you now than it was a few months ago. Surely it is worse form your health to re-gain and then re-start than just re-start now at a low dose and titrate up.

Feels a bit unfair that because u had a break you could potentially face the rest of your life overweight, whereas someone without a break can get to a healthy weight and stay there forever if they keep paying for the injections

Have you tried cloud pharmacy?

They don’t do discounts but they will provide a maintenance and let you order even if within a healthy BMI providing you can show evidence of having been on the meds before.

I plan to do a month on and a month off, starting with 2 weeks on/off.

It’s tricky, I don’t think I’d have considered Mounjaro if my BMI hadn’t been obese and over 30 to begin with so it’s interesting that I now find my self wanting to use it while no longer obese. I guess I just got used to the ease with which my hunger went away. (I had zero side effects until I went up to 5mg and started to get diarrhoea). I’m also still most definitely overweight so not just looking to slim down for appearance reasons.

Qualifying health condition is an interesting one. I was diagnosed with fatty liver a couple of years ago, advised that it was fixable if I lost 10% of my body weight. Which is what I did, more or less.

I thought that my original prescriber (Med Express) did indeed offer maintenance prescriptions, but I think that it’s only maintenance if you’ve not had a gap in using the drug.

It’s hard, I really feel so much better for losing the weight but I did also feel a bit sad that I stopped enjoying food so much. Hence stopping over Christmas. I think in reality weight loss injections are not quite right for me as a longer term solution so I just need to sort myself out after a very welcome drug-assisted kick start. I definitely have been managing to make much better food choices even without the drug, but clearly not better enough to keep losing.

I agree that OP would benefit from going back on Mounjaro. But re your point about no longer obese people continuing to take Mounjaro - we are at much greater risk of becoming obese again than someone who isn't obese to start with. That's why it makes sense for formerly obese people to take Mounjaro for maintenance, and not for non obese people to start taking it.

Does that include people who have been obese and now overweight but want to start mounjaro for the first time?

It depends on a lot of factors - I don't think there is a hard and fast answer but if you've been obese for a short period and spent most of your life not obese your risk is probably lower than someone who has been obese for a long time and been at a lower weight for a relatively short period.

Anyone obese who has lost a bit of weight and then regained it will know how hard it is to maintain weight loss once you've been obese for a long time.

I can see the logic in that

How many providers have refused to prescribe to you? I think you should try the prescribers who have good maintenance policies (Oushk, Cloud are a couple) and see what they say.

I haven’t tried any others. It seemed sensible to stick to the one who already knew my history of prescriptions and that I was previously heavier. I’ve just taken a look at the Cloud order form and the questionnaire doesn’t have anywhere to explain if you have previously used Mounjaro, it just asks if you are currently taking any weight loss drugs.

To the pp who asked about previously obese people who lost weight without the drug, I don’t think that there is usually a place on the questionnaire to describe your weight history. When I first went on it with med express they just asked for my current weight and Cloud seems the same. So only a prescriber who has verified your original weight in the past through a photo will know that you were previously bigger.

I don't think that's correct. You will be able to provide evidence of each order you've made and it will be clear that in order to start MJ, you would have had to have a BMI of 30 (without other health conditions).

I would definitely phone and speak to prescribers before deciding that you won't get anywhere. Oushk for example offer 15 min maintenance video calls for £5 with a prescribing pharmacist.

It's fine if you don't want to go back on, but I don't think you can say yet that you can't because nobody will prescribe.

I went through the entire Cloud form and that option was nowhere. Possibly it would have appeared as an option had I selected that I was currently taking Mounjaro, but I’m not. There wasn’t even a box to fill in general notes about my circumstances.

It’s fine though, my post wasn’t intended to be a big complaint about not being able to get the drug. I’m clear I haven’t tried to shop around. If the prescriber who knows my history feels they can no longer safely prescribe, that is probably the safest option for my health.

It was more a post about sharing experience of continuing weight loss after coming off the drug I suppose.

Health express seem quite open to discussion.

I knew that you couldn’t go back on it if you’d had a break and no longer had a high bmi.

ive got a bmi of 28 ( was 35 when starting) and there have been times were the nausea was just too much and I’d think about coming off it. As I wouldn’t get a prescription for it again unless I had a bmi of over 30 I decided that coming off it wasn’t the right thing to do.

my original intention was to get to a bmi of 22.5 and then come off it, but tbh I’m very unsure of if I can maintain my weight without it and have resigned the fact that I will need to be on this indefinitely

I could have guessed this would be med express.

Try Oushk, complete the consultation on the website and if they don't accept you based on that send an email explaining with evidence of your previous prescriptions. They will respond and discuss what additional proof they need.

Sorry posted on your thread by mistake !

Hi there. You need to start your own thread, putting a concise version of your question in the thread title like “Wegovy after gallbladder removal?”. That way you are more likely to come to the attention of people with relevant experience. Your post is buried away in this thread, and it will also derail the main discussion.

I’ve had my gallbladder removed about 7 years ago and take Mournjaro.

have had no stomach issues and I’ve been on it since May.

Apologies my most recent post crossed with yours realising you were in the wrong one.

I think this is why people need to choose which online pharmacy they go through and not always chase the cheapest as some offer ongoing support for 2 years once you get to a healthy BMI so if you do gain weight they'll continue prescribing and not make you be a new customer again.

Surely all pharmacies have to abide by the same UK regulations around prescriptions? I imagine there is a regulatory prohibition on prescribing to someone under a 30 BMI after 12 weeks of not using it. Med Express suggested their hands were tied due to “licensing requirements”.

I'm with Ashcroft Pharmacy.
My BMI was 45 in August along with Type 2 diabetes.
I've had
4 x 2.5mg
4 x 5mg
4 x 7.5 mg
4 x 10mg and
1 x 12.5
Then l got Norovirus so stopped taking it for 4 weeks.
I have lost nearly 4 stone and my BMI is just at 31.
I spoke with Ashcroft pharmacy and they advised because it's been a gap of 4 weeks to start again on 2.5 and work up again.
I'm going to try and maintain at 5mg if not will try 7.5.
My new pen arrived today.
Although l qualified for it on the NHS my diabetic nurse and GP knew l was in a position to fund it myself so we went with that option.

I had a gap with med express as I spread a 7.5 needle out into smaller doses so they wanted me to go back to 2.5 which I won't do.
I am also on my own now and just trying the best I can as I don't want to be on it for life anyway so at some point I will have to do it.