Obese but not interested In Mounjaro, I’m genuinely interested to know why.

[Vatsallfolks]

I have struggled with my weight since my last baby 23 years ago.. prior to that I was a standard size 10 and never really thought about weight.. but last pregnancy at 39 saw me develop an underactive thyroid AND an autoimmune disorder that required an astonishing amount of steroids .. long story short.. I went from 10st to 22 stone in 4 years.. I hated it. I lost my sense of balance , self confidence, health… blood pressure meds , cholesterol meds, knee injections, chronic IBS .. because of the steroids I was extremely lucky to get a gastric sleeve on the NHS . Took me from 22 stone to 16 stone and there I stayed until this miracle drug came along.

I did my research. I looked at the pros and cons . The cons of being obese FAR outweighed the cons and so I began. Financially I thought it would be a terrible struggle but in reality I save money . No more latte and a croissant for breakfast at the station . It’s taught me to be mindful of what I need to eat to be healthy by prioritising protein, good carbs and fibre..

Im now BMI 22 and 9st 5 and size 10 again .. since end of November.. I remain on a small maintenance dose of 5mg and after a I had a chat with my GP yesterday, I am happy to be there for life .

so my question is .. if you are obese with all the associated health risks AND you have the funds to prioritise your health but are not interested.. ( earring in mind these drugs have been around since trials in 1992) why would you not ?

The blindness risk?

Ive heard nothing about that so I’ll have to google it but I have known for years that Diabetes definitely causes blindness in some of those who are diabetic.

Risk of NAION Higher in Patients on GLP-1 Drugs for Diabetes or Weight Loss

@uglysexy as already mentioned, the recent review in the US that found that there was a possible increase in the risk of an already extremely rare condition called NAION which can cause blindness in the eye it happens in, is very very clear that there is no causative link found at all. Just a possible tiny increase in an already extremely rare condition, with absolutely no evidence that semaglutide is causing it over any other confounding factor.

Great question, OP.

Ive been on MJ for 7+ months now. I’ve lost 4 stone and gone from a BMI of 39 to 29.

more importantly, my visceral fat around my middle has gone from 23 (very dangerous/high risk) to 12 (top end of normal). That’s because GLP-1s correct ‘faulty’ insulin processes and address not just how much you eat, but how fat is stored.

I’m a 55 year old long term obese intelligent woman. Fat child, teen, adult, with episodes of dramatic weight loss via extreme dieting/fitness.

weight loss injections have been incredible for me. I’m so grateful they exist.

i expect to stay on some form of them for life - certainly long term.

Massive well done to everyone on this thread who’s turned they weight around 💕💕💕💕

Simply because I prefer to do it the longwinded way, and not spend money on it, lol having lost 3 stone in 6 months and on high dose steriods continually for years I wanted to see how much I could actually lose if I really did watch what I ate and walked a few miles a day, I am also on tabs apart from high dose steriods another of which puts weight on easily, I’m also nearer to 70 than 60. Good luck to everyone that loses weight no matter how they do it, each to their own

like @TheBroonOneAndTheWhiteOne - I don’t count calories and have found it so, so easy.

I know all about nutrition and calories from my 50+ years fixating on too much or too little.

Mounjaro has switched off my interest in food as an activity. I now only eat when I’m genuinely hungry, and push food away when my brain tells me it’s had enough (an actual miracle).

as I’m not often hungry i prioritise protein.

its the most simple weight loss method I’ve ever done.

The amount of work I’d need to put in to work out what to do, where to start.
The ongoing cost- how much per month is your maintenance dose working out at, may I ask?
The hope it will come available on the NHS or in tablet form, so I don’t have to think so hard.

I worry about side effects - I can't stand feeling nauseous
I really don't want to be taking it for the rest of my life
I really enjoy eating - it's one of the only pleasures I have left after giving up alcohol
I take a large amount of medication for health conditions & none of my specialist Dr's have been able to give me a straight answer on whether it would be safe for me to take - my cardiologist actually said he didn't have a clue if it's ok to take with my health issue

I couldn't cope with the feeling sick. While I could afford to do it short term, there would be no point as I would have to stop, one because of the money and two because I wouldn't be happy taking it forever! I know how to lose weight and have done many times before but I'm lazy and greedy I love eating crisps and sweets. I always pile it back on, I guess I just don't want it that bad. I know its disgusting but its the truth.

@mickandrorty that’s why I only managed 6 weeks- couldn’t hack the nausea or heartburn 3 days week and my diet became very dull trying to avoid it - it was either that or mainlining rennies and pepto b - doesn’t happen to everyone I know, but I certainly got it - I find I can still lose on strict cal control using the same principles, lots of protein, no snacks, low carb - but does mean I can eat homemade curry and cauliflower rice etc or chilli - which I couldn’t hack on MJ - I’m still losing at the same rate but I’m lucky enough to have good willpower and I don’t eat junk or cakes/biscuits /chocolate - so easy for me to resist them -

Why do you think you would get the exact same side effect as your husband? You have different bodies.

I wouldn't go near any weight loss drugs. I couldn't take the risk of having the side effects.

And as others have said it turns them off eating much at all , really only as fuel - if I’m honest I enjoy food ( but good spicy food in reasonable quantities ) too much to be able to do many many months of that - I do think it’s a really individual thing and will suit more those who really struggle not to snack and nibble and resist calorific options - because as others said it certainly switched out for me much desire to eat at all -

But if you are/ were obese you are OK with the proven side effects of that? Just trying to understand the logic.

@FortyElephants there is no oral version of Saxenda.

I still love eating, even more so now I can eat whatever I like, which I do. MJ has however completely cut out any desire for alcohol (and I was a daily wine drinker, who was worried about my alcohol use, so that is fine by me).

Weirdly, the only thing I can't eat on MJ is mashed potatoes. Even a couple of spoonfuls will have me feeling sick. Everything else I can eat in sensible quantities, so it's not really a huge sacrifice.

Just to add that I wasn't overly concerned with the side effects.
I was wary of course but from the research I had done knew that the dangers of being obese outweighed the side effects.

It was 30. I think you have to be a minimum of 27. My one is called Allurion, I think there are other brands of balloon but from my understanding this is the only one that is completely non-surgical.

I meant rybelsis

But you shouldn't need to be counting calories if you are on Mounjaro or Wegovy. The whole point is that you will no longer want (or be able) to eat large quantities of food several times a day so your calorie intake will kind of take care of itself. It might take a while for it to really kick in on the lower doses, but once you move up to the highest dose it becomes pretty effortless.

You could speed things along by trying to make sure you eat a relatively low carb diet, focus on meat/fish and green veg, ditch as much carby stuff as possible.

Because it would interfer with my cancer treatment.

I’m pretty chubby , my weight has gone up and down my entire life . I have briefly considered Mounjaro and may do again .However , I don’t really consider / think about my weight it’s not a huge feature in my life .I may do if it prevented me doing anything but I’m active and seemingly healthy.

And at 50 I have spent too many years seeing myself as an improvement project and I finally accept myself both mentally and physically and I don’t want to do anything to rock this boat now I’m finally in calm water .

I grew up with a sibling with anorexia huge addiction also runs in my family and I worry that any focus on weight loss could become a disorder/addiction .

I suppose to me why would I ? I’d prefer to live my life a few ( many)pounds heavier than get caught up again in the weight loss obsession .

Simply ,to me I’m grand as I am .

Simply ,to me I’m grand as I am

And I bet you’re indeed grand. But, at your age you don’t really want to be getting any older as an overweight person.

I can not take the risk. I considered it a few months back just as he started. I had two A level classes and a GCSE group. I could not do that to them.
I don’t need it anyway.
I am getting similar weight loss to people in a similar weight position without it. I’m not entirely sure what it would do to help me. My cost:benefit analysis is different to yours. It isn’t a miracle drug. It doesn’t even work for everyone.
Since his run in with WLI in February my husband has lost 30kg. It would be an unnecessary expense. Losing weight any quicker than I currently am wouldn’t be sensible in the long term. We don’t all need to do things the same way.