Reasons a gp will prescribe WLI on nhs?

[SocksOnTheWrongFeet]

I'm overweight just over 13st 5ft 3
Been on 1300 cal for 8 weeks only lost 4lb. I do 10000 steps minimum a day. Rarely sit down and always on the go.

I have varicose veins which I'm struggling with doing any extra exercise. And perimenopausal .
Likely periphial arterial disease too she's referred me to cardiovascular?
I would like the wli however I simply cannot afford it.

GPs don’t prescribe them for weight loss. It’s done by a referral to the specialist weight management service and only after several tiers of approach have not worked eg diet clubs, coaching, dietitian etc. You would likely not qualify for the specialist weight management service. But of course there’s no harm in asking your GP in one of your appointments about the possible arterial disease.

GP may refer you to specialist weight loss clinic. They can't prescribe though.

I asked. I’m 18 stone, high blood pressure, high cholesterol.
Was told no, only if diabetic which I’m not.

The Gp refers you to the NHS weight loss service but I can’t see them prescribing it for you with what you’ve described . What other ways of eating have you tried as just reducing calories doesn’t necessarily work for everyone.

Your BMI is 32 you may , only may have 1 co morbidity.

I suspect you won’t qualify for referral to local tier 3 service at all ( check on line ).

currently , as of end June gps/ commissioned services will be able to issue for bmi over 49 with 4 co morbidities.

in the kindest way you are not going to be eligible for nhs treatment. Start saving , asking for birthday funds etc.

I'd check your TDEE against the calories as well just to make sure you're in deficit whilst you are saving.

Regarding paying privately, I’ve found I recoup the cost of my WLI through reduced food costs so you may find it’s cheaper than you thought.

They are starting on the NHS soon, you can see the criteria here https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/PRN01879-interim-commissioning-guidance-implementation-of-the-nice-technology-appraisal-ta1026-and-the-NICE-fu.pdf so to start with is BMI 40 or more plus four out of a list of five co-morbidities. They will in most places be done by other staff in primary care, not the GP, and many areas are concerned that NHSE has hugely underestimated the number who will be eligible.

Please don't waste a normal GP appointment asking for these - we have no flexibility. In theory a tier 3 weight loss clinic can prescribe at NICE levels (I think BMI 35 and one co-morbidity) but in reality none of them are likely to have any resources to do it.

How are you achieving 1300 calories? Are you cutting fat, cutting carbs, intermittent fasting, skipping random meals, or having smaller portions? Generally you have to choose an approach.

DD2 has been using Slimming World for the last 4 weeks and has lost 4kg. DH has lost 4.6kg just through having the meals I'm cooking DD2 for dinner and having his usual diet for breakfast and lunch. Slimming World is low fat, low sugar, high carb and protein.

I've joined the low carb bootcamp on here before and lost 9kg relatively painlessly. It's almost polar opposite of Slimming World in that it's low carb, low sugar, high fat and protein.

WLI don't always give the amazing results you might think. DM has various conditions and is disabled. She's used Mounjaro prescribed by her GP for months, but although it brings her blood sugars down, it doesn't give her any appetite suppression and she eats just as she always did, so her weight remains the same.

My GP advised me that they'd been recently told to even stop referring people to weightloss services are they at full capacity & can't take any more.
Already stated by PP, but getting WLI via NHS is probably many years away from happening for the majority of us as demand will far outstrip resources & I wouldn't be surprised if the planned criteria is changed again to reduce eligibility.

It can work out about 23 to 24 quid a week.. I've just got a 10mg at 25 quid a week..
When you use the pen for 5 doses it works out not too bad, and the money you will save by not having take away, no 3 bottles wine over the weekend, no £5 Costa, no cheeky macdonalds, no couple quid on chocolate mid week etc.. whatever your unhealthy food choices are..

Might be ok if you think about it that way..

As someone who has just come out of a Tier 3 weight management clinic (and been in one for 2 and a half years!!) they won’t prescribe Mounjaro at all unless you have type 2 diabetes. Despite my pleading! I’ve been buying it myself and now I’ve been discharged as I’ve lost 4 and a half stone, solely through self-funding Mounjaro. The NHS weight management service is next to useless in my opinion, unless you think getting a call from a nurse every 6 weeks asking you what you’ve eaten that week is helpful.

My bmi was 50, I've tried jumping through hoops over last 4 years to get to tier 3 (initially thinking surgery was last resort and then hoping for wli after last year's announcements). Not only is our area only doing them if you have 4 serious comorvidities but like a pp they've closed access to tier 3 so I wasn't even on a waiting list. It will take years.

In 5months though I've lost 4 stone and I'm very nearly not morbid. It's been amazing and life hanging and I think someone like me at very morbidly obese is who in time it should go to... But we've paid and it's at cost as we're low income but it's been worth it. We may not do a proper holiday this year but the kids have a much healthier mum.

Yes completely agree with this.

I totally agree with this. I was spending the same amount on crap food a month, I’ve barely noticed a difference paying for the medication now I’ve kicked my pizza addiction.

It’s not even as simple as diabetes type 2 means you get the jabs. It has to be badly controlled for my diabetes service to consider it.

I have type 2, but I don’t qualify because I control it fairly well myself, despite being many stone overweight. So I pay privately.

Sorry but your chances are low.

Slimming world is 20g of sugar per shake.

I made the mistake of trying them, was having more sugar daily than I'd had in years. Put on weight.
This was whilst on WLI!

Sorry just woke up... Was thinking of Slim Fast - ignore me!!

The wli have given me incredible results tbh and helped with inflammation and it feels like I've actually needed the drugs to regulate things in my body so it can function and lose the weight.

But for me it's come at a cost - I've had a lot of the side effects which with my health is worth it but wouldn't have been for me for just a couple of stone (but not everyone gets side effects). I'm still very tired after my jab.

Cost wise we've not recouped the cost of them from food as we aren't particularly high income so couldn't afford all these takeaways people say they've stopped having! We're also prioritising UPF free as much as we can do actually are spending more on food for better bread, lots of fresh fruit etc...

Not a chance in hell that you would meet NHS criteria for funding as others have said.

Why the sneery comment about “all these takeaways”? Several people on this thread have said they recoup the WLI injection costs through food savings and only one has mentioned takeaways. I haven’t eaten a takeaway in years.

@GrapesOfSloths It honestly wasn't meant to be snidey - probably wrong choice of words on my part. I meant it depends what you spent before.

From being around the wli boards here and elsewhere it genuinely seems like a lot of people DO recoup their costs - because they used to spend more on food. Whether that it takeaways (lots of people have a "Friday takeaway" -- its not at all unusual and wasn't a put down. Lots of my normal weight friends do!) Or used to spend more money eating out or maybe they brought wine as some people now drink less.

We genuinely aren't in that income bracket. Someone who say has a takeaway each week and then doesn't will obviously save money. Or someone who eats out regularly but goes from eating 3 courses or 2 courses to just eating a starter or 2 will save money.

If you're someone that buys lunch at work or commutes and so buys coffee/snacks then yes they could well save money.

What I meant was that we didn't do that in the first place as we aren't in that income bracket - so we haven't actually saved money on food -it has cost us more.

But I do think that a lot of money genuinely do recoup their costs based on what people post. May well not be takeaways -could be eating out or lunch/snacks that they're no longer doing but it is the general theme.

But it isn't everyone!

And possibly because if we had the income we would eat out once a week or have a takeaway once a week as it would be fun with the kids! Even if I'm not eating much - I'd still do it if I could afford it so not seeing the judgement around takeaways/eating out tbh.

I know a few people who are on them or have been offered them from the GP, all are diabetic being offered them for control of their diabetes.

I get them privately and have lost 55kg in approx 15 months, its been life changing and I feel so much better. My BMI was 55, I've still go a way to go but it feels much more achievable, I think another 30 and I'd be a normal BMI. For what its worth, I now spend very little on food, so I consider them to be part of my food budget. I've only eaten 3 takeaways this year and very few meals out where I'd do both several times a month so yes its expensive, but affordable for me. Lucky I know, but I also see it as an investment in my future health

I get MJ prescribed on the NHS. My GP was VERY clear that he was prescribing it because I have T2 Diabetes which wasn't controlled even after taking two medications for it.

I was overweight but not obese when I started it. My BMI was about 27.3 as far as I can remember. I'm not particularly interested in the weight loss but I am very keen to control my blood sugar due to potential complications of diabetes.

The GP went through all the clinical guidelines with me and did say that he was prescribing solely for my diabetes issues NOT for weight loss. He must have repeated it about 5 times during my consultation.

I've now been taking it for several months and have lost weight. I've gone from 11 stone 7 to 9 stone 10. But, far more importantly, my blood sugars have dropped right down to almost non- diabetic levels.

It's a medication designed to treat T2 Diabetes, not obesity. So if you're not diabetic, the NHS won't prescribe. I don't necessarily agree with that decision, but it's how it is at the moment. I know the NICE guidance is changing but you still won't fit the criteria by the sound of it.