Mounjaro in NHS

[Beccaboo77]

I am looking to speak to my doctor about Mounjaro , I really struggle with loosing weight my BMI is 33 so I am in the obese scale
any advice ?

What are you currently doing?

If you do an internet search for your NHS area and "weight management" you should be able to find out what services are on offer in your area.

In my area, there are programmes you can sign up to directly that are lifestyle related, eg a digital coaching app, access to "wellbeing" advisors who offer tailored advice, support and motivational interviewing.

Then if that isn't suitable they also offer an NHS Digital Weight Management Programme which is a 12-week online behavioural and lifestyle programme, but to access that you need a BMI of over 30 and either diabetes and/or high BP.

If your BMI is over 40 then you can ask your GP to refer you to the "Tier 3" weight management service, which may mean access to a dietician and perhaps eventually being offered bariatric surgery. There will be waiting lists for the referral and then for any treatment.

It depends on your NHS trust as to what they offer, so you need to find out about yours. As you can see, your GP is likely going to tell you about the first level of assistance, so apps, wellbeing advisors, or similar.

What your GP is definitely not going to do is to prescribe you Mounjaro, or any other prescription medication for weight loss.

It’s unlikely you will get it in the NHS. Have a look at monj.co.uk for the all the providers and prices.

Do you have any medical issues linked to your weight (high Bp, type 2 diabetes)? As it will only be prescribed on the nhs if there is something as well as the weight that would be helped with weight loss

GPs are not permitted to prescribe mounjaro for weight loss. All they can do is refer to tier 3 weight management clinic, this is uk wide.

when at tier 3, it has an average 8 month wait list post referral you need to engage in their program first, this is one to two years long, depending on what they put you on.

if this fails, they will move to next steps, for most people this is still bariatric surgery. Mounjaro will be rolled out in the summer via the clinics, but they say 12 years to get found everyone, only 300k folks a year, and those will be the ones with signficant health issues, bmi over 40 or 45 and obvs longest on the clinics patient list.

so id advise paying privately, otheweise accept you’ve a several year wait on your hands.

Sorry op and to get referred to tier 3 it is bmi of 35 with significant health issues or 40 without, so it is unlikely you’d get a referral.

I started MJ with a BMI 41.9. All my GP said was ‘well we all need to lose a few pounds’ and asked if I had tried Weight Watchers and that I had to watch my blood pressure and to be careful about diabetes. I wasn’t offered any access to NHS weight management progs.

It was at that point I knew I had to sort it out myself privately.

What I have noticed on my NHS records is a monthly weight and BMI entry which they are getting from my MJ provider. These are being logged on my NHS record as test results!!

i have a family member who has just been reffered to tier 3. She basically had to cry and get angry in the doctors and she’s got significant joint issues due to her weight, and a bmi of 42, sadly she thinks she’s popping along to the clinic, no wait, and just going to be given the drugs and she will be magically thin in a few months, She’s very pleased. It’s hard to see.

The gp basically said “im not allowed to prescribe them it is against the nhs rules , its only the tier 3 clinics, but I can refer you” factually true, but not the whole truth, far from it,

I guess as explaining it would be years and overwhelmingly likely to be offered surgery, would be not met with something positive. And you can’t even be referred unless you’re actually eligible for the bloody surgery, it’s their pathway.

Thank you for all your replies .. I really did some reading up on it and side effects and decided against it as it worries me to much x

What on earth did you read? A lot of people get upset tummies, but for almost everyone this can be managed with diet.