Do you agree there should be more checks before drugs are prescribed.?

[RedHillLady]

There has been a lot in the media recently about how the current system is too weak and needs to be more robust.
I think we are going to see increased regulation soon and I see that as a good thing.

Exactly

People were against abortion pills by post because Dave might get his friend Sharon to get them, so he can give them to his girlfriend surreptitiously....

People will always exploit a system, but don't punish the thousands of people who use the drugs sensibly

My supplier requires

questionnaire
weekly weigh ins
photo every 2 months
and informs my GP

that is plenty

But not all do.

Yes I agree and was just thinking this today.

I'm someone who lied about my weight to get mounjaro. It was easy. Way way way too easy.

I like mounjaro, it's working, and if checks were harder and I couldn't get it, I'd be gutted.

But

I'd have to just suck it up.

And ...

I am aware of the massive dangers to people with eating disorders. I don't have an eating disorder now. I'm just a bit fat and want to loose 3 stone to be in middle of healthy weight range again. Mounjaro is the only way I can do that as I've tried absolutely everything else.

However, I had an eating disorder in teens/20s (a v long time.ago now!) and I absolutely 100000% would have got hold of mounjaro then if it had been available, and that could've been very dangerous. At a BMI of 18/19, age 19, I thought I was fat. I would absolutely have used any GLP 1 I could get my hands on to try and get to a BMI of 15 or so. That is terrifying. There 100% will be girls (and boys) out there right now that are desperate to loose weight which are already thin. Mounjaro can and will kill them.

I absolutely think GLP 1s should only be available via a prescription form a doctor that has seen you face to face, weighed you, knows your history and can screen for eating disorder. I understand NHS is not able to pay for them all - but if you could pay for it after a sign off from your GP (like we pay for many prescriptions - this would just be a higher fee), I think that would b best.

IMO online pharmacies are a terrible idea. I can't believe they exist actually.

I imagine more people will just try and obtain it from unregistered companies. There's loads about.

It was much easier for me to get Mounjaro than HRT. Wonder why that is!?

There are masses of generic options coming through the pipeline so no, I don’t think it’s going to be harder to get a prescription. I fully expect most adults to end up on this medication and I see it as a reliable solution to societal obesity.

I bet the fast food/processed crap companies are shifting themselves.

I wonder if they'll ever allow it to people with a lower BMI as a preventive measure against overweight/obesity.

Hrt has known higher risks.

What I'm amazed at is how many people are willing to lie to get the drugs and/or then take then in a non prescribed way.
People on the whole wouldn't do that for other drugs, would they?

Those drugs don't help you lose weight though.

We live in a society where being fat is ridiculed and shamed. Lots of people say how much better they are treated when they are no longer fat.

I can easily see why people might fib. Fat people are demonised in society.

Society is not some ethereal concept. We are society. Every one of us as individuals are society. And a large percentage of society are overweight or obese, so we demonise ourselves.

and the point the poster raised is these are serious prescription meds, not some inefficient appetite suppressant you get down Holland and barrat.

people not only lie to take them, they also take fakes, mess with the doses. There is a woman right now on another thread who has injected more than 3 times as much as she should with an insulin needle. She’s also using the drug well after the use by date.

And they wouldn’t do that for other prescribed drugs, but for some reason, a small number of people behave in an utterly reckless way to get thin and/or save money doing it,

the desire to do that is their issue, not society;s. Society does not force people to behave in dangerous ways, that’s on the person.

Yes, I do. Take five minutes and look on tiktok to see the amount of people starting at healthy weight ranges taking this medication to lose 10lbs. They lie on their forms, say they're shorter than they are to get it prescribed.

"The human touch" is what led me to finally bite the bullet and sign up with SheMed in the end, they have people on the end of the phone guiding you through each step and you have a live weigh-in and blood test. I still think it's not as thorough as it should be, but it's better than nothing.

This medicine is being used by people who have crippling body dysmorphia and as a tool to enable eating disorders and it really makes me worry that they've gotten hold of it at all!

"The human touch" is what led me to finally bite the bullet and sign up with SheMed in the end, they have people on the end of the phone guiding you through each step and you have a live weigh-in and blood test

The pharmacist at Medino rings me, and is at the end of the phone if needed.
My GP does yearly blood tests anyway.

SheMed doesn't let you use the bonus doses so you're wasting money IMO.

Why do people call it the bonus dose or golden dose?

call it what it is - the scrag end unmeasured remnants of a prescribed liquid medication that may or may not be sterile enough to safely put into the body

No. Either we are adults and are responsible for our health and our decisions or we are not. Those who are going to abuse the system will anyway. There is always a black market for all medication. Most people will not want to abuse the system and they should be treated like responsible adults who are capable of making informed decisions for themselves.

may or may not be sterile enough??

I am no particular fan of people abusing medications but what makes you consider that a fifth dose may not be sterile enough?

To be fair most folks do measure it using an insulin needle. The question as a pp said is why do you feel it isn’t sterile?

Every time you break the seal there is a risk of introducing contaminants, the risks are minimised if the pen is used in sterile conditions exactly as prescribed.

I’m not sure what else you want me to explain

But the insulin pens are sterile? What is not sterile?

I think the schemes they used to do where pharmacy would prescribe worked well. Where they would do blood pressure etc and check medications (with other medications for counter indications). I appreciate it may not be practical but knowing family on this drug for diabetes and the side effects. It's is worrying how accessible it is online without more rigorous checks.

Jesus wept

breaking the seal allows the potential for contaminants to be introduced. Once the seal has been breached the pen is no longer considered sterile

this is just word games and I ain’t playing

i note nobody is answering the question I asked though

I am sorry that your understanding of science being explained to you equates to 'word games'.

I doubt that any answer to anything you disagree with would fare any better.

Wow. How rude.

Lol so it’s totally fine to use it four times but the fifth time there’s suddenly contaminants in it? Okay then.