Regulators looking to cut off maintenance below 25 BMI

[Bigfatsunandclouds]

Oushk have said that they are currently trying to fight with regulators to stop people being cut off from MJ at 25 BMI.

Apparently regulators don't like prescribing below that and that basically means unless you continue to remain at 25 or above you won't be able to be prescribed even for maintenance.

This is worrying as many see this as a lifetime medication after years of obesity but at least to maintain at a lower BMI for a little while to ensure the weight stays off. This seems like utter madness - this is surely going to lead to yo yo use of the meds which seems counterintuitive.

BMI in a lot of cases is a stupid archaic measurement anyway.

Oh my goodness, is she still at it?

Sure there’s a few places called Lotus, their full name is Lotus weightloss. They’ve been going for 3 months now and are based in Wales

They told me they’re really keen to help people maintain either on or off the meds when at goal.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/weight-loss-promo-codes/5363880-ps20-off-lotus-weightloss-with-code-pro20-great-prices-free-next-day-delivery-and-offer-maintenance-easy-switch?utmcampaign=thread&utmmedium=appshare

Banned from Reddit? She’s doing well to get banned from there

I’ve read the report, and whilst I don’t disagree with any of the required improvements I don’t see many of the online pharmacies actually doing all the things they are requesting to be improved

I moved to Oushk in April. I was with Boots for my 1st year of MJ. I never had to provide a picture or verify weight and height with Boots (even after the regulations changed ). The online questionnaire was a bit longer than Oushk but only really to ask if I was planning to get pregnant or was on the pill. If I didn’t change dose all I had to do was send a message on their online system to say ‘I’m x weight, please can I have another pen’ . I certainly didn’t need to independently verify my weight and height!

the irony is I’ve had much more verification with Oushk. I’ve had a face to face with Hira, and a live video call to verify my weight when standing on a scale with my ID showing

So if this is the new expectation of the regulator, I would expect many more online pharmacies to fail.

What is the regulator expecting in regards to weight and height verification? A confirmation from the GP? That will be impossible to implement

@TheNinthLock Constantly at it. Chronically online, regurgitating the same old stuff repeatedly. Thankfully you can block on Reddit! Not sure if she got banned from here but I haven’t seen her recently, we would spot her writing style a mile off anyway.

I'm not sure how they're expecting us to prove our weight a year ago. I have a prescription history, weight loss log from my smart scale and body scans from the me360 app so hoping that'll do it. Not got photos as I couldn't bear them. I assume my old provider has them though

@SpecialToMe my experience with Oushk has been the opposite. A photo and a questionnaire for the first pen but no photo of the scales or phone call. Until this week’s video call with someone, I just kept reordering.

That’s what I’m saying was exactly my experience with Boots right up until April when I moved.

so I don’t see how Oushk are any different to many other online providers

on the things the regulator has called out, Boots would fail too from my experience

They started the video verification in March, asking current customers first via FB to do it ASAP. It became compulsory from 1st July for everyone. Before that we were supposed to upload photos every 3 months but not sure they were very good at chasing people who didn't do this.

I was reading this and was interested to see how much Oushk has grown, I did wonder if it might be difficult to keep the same standards with such growth etc

I noticed they mention here about looking to recruit several more prescribers and staff rather than having an established team as well

https://www.chemistanddruggist.co.uk/news/business/inside-the-online-pharmacy-growing-weight-loss-scripts-by-the-thousands-AQV4YX3LSBDUVKOZGORGCNMCJM/

Having read the enforcement notice, there is definitely a sense that they have grown too quickly and haven't expanded their safe prescribing capacity fast enough.

@SpecialToMeI think you are absolutely correct about other online Pharmacies and I can imagine a lot of them will be glad it wasn’t them, whilst doing everything they can to tighten up.

To be fair to Boots in your example, the updated guidance came out in February so although not best practice, their processes from last year wouldn’t have been against the GPHC advice.

@MrsFrankieHeck thanks very much. They look good. I’m going on holiday soon and have my next pen from Oushk coming next week. When I come back from holiday I’ll wait to see what happens with Oushk after their next visit from the GPhC. Interestingly, Lotus are registered with CQC.

Why are people still going on about how awful it is to take medication for life? Tons of people have to do this. For example, I have to take thyroid replacement medication for life.

The publicity around wli is often terrible. Because we hear a lot about people taking it who are celebrities and, the perception is, they have tons of money. But plenty of people are taking wli and paying a huge amount every month to do so as proportion of their savings or income. It's not something people take lightly . They are often desperate and the stats around these drugs finally offer people some good help. Having been largely conned by the diet industry for years

These drugs should be widely available on the NHS in the medium future because it makes sense to do so on a preventive basis for people with high bmi levels future health problems.

I'm currently looking seriously at applying to take wli. One reason I haven't so far as I'm nervous. But a large part is it's currently a large financial commitment.

Oh they were very persistent and chasing me. Emails and phone calls. I joined in Aprl and argues I didn't need them again in may June July etc. they basically said no photos no prescription so I've had to upload monthly. Now I've had the video call I expected that they would lighten up but now this has happened probably not. They are holding about £800 of my money in forward orders so I'll be with them a while yet.

@Doggymummar
Oh that's interesting. I've been with them a year so just did as I was told, when asked, but was unaware they were so strict generally. My May photo was just me, in the garden, in normal clothes with the dog centre-stage (he loves having his photo taken) and that was accepted so that's all I'm doing now although I understand they want a date too now.

I think your reply to my post says a lot more about you than it does about me.

You sound extremely out of touch with your body and its natural cues and feelings. Humans are supposed to feel hungry sometimes, and it’s entirely normal to have to think about regulating and controlling what you’re eating to an extent. Not in an eating disordered way, but more in a ‘do I want a cake or a chocolate bar today, rather than eating both’ type of way. Or thinking ‘I’m going out for dinner so will have a small lunch’.

Negating these natural feelings and instead being dependent on weight loss meds as you’re not a healthy weight feels a much more dangerous and risky option to me. I mean, just read this thread - the panic in a lot of posts that people’s supply is going to be affected is palpable.

Says the person who doesn't really know anything about obesity @CowboyFromHell .

This is hilarious, as if I haven’t used MJ and put in any effort.

FWIW I don’t need to learn how to be healthy. I need support in doing so. I have known for the past 30 fucking years how to eat healthily. Some part of my brain, possibly linked to autism, adhd and trauma, did not allow me to do it consistently. The MJ has switched something in my brain that allows me to eat a proper balanced diet every single day. It’s changed my life. Removing it will almost certainly lead to binge eating and weight gain, despite me knowing how to ‘be healthy’

The desperate need to have a go at people struggling has just made your ignorance shine here

Bit of a presumption there. I’ve was an overweight child and teenager, and only lost weight in my late teens.

And for the thirty years since then it’s taken me a lot of willpower and control to not become overweight again. I’m not saying a) that I’m inherently better or have more control than someone overweight or b) that the willpower I need to maintain a healthy weight is more or less than anyone else’s - I have no way of knowing this.

The issue is that once a body has been obese, it does not respond the same way at BMI 25 compared to a body that has never been obese does at BMI 25.

The never-been-obese body will not seek to desperately regain weight or store fat. Its metabolism will work - a bit of hunger, food arrives, food is processed.
By contrast, the obese body will be filled with now-empty fatcells which are all calling out to be refilled. The body will send desperate hunger cues continually. It will signal to the brain it is starving. Once food arrives, the metabolism will not process and burn the food. It will immediately store it as fat, and continue shouting for more food.

And that is why once obese, even at a healthy BMI, WLIs will still be needed.
The once-obese body does not play fair.

The inconsistent experience of Oushk is surprising. I joined end of March and have ordered four pens. One photo at the start and no video call.

My BMI is 22 and Im on maintenance

Interesting, thanks @HereIGoOnceMore

I looked for other "maintenance" pharmacies a couple of days ago and couldn't find Livewell at the time, looks like it is new. I guess Livewell had their enforcement notice last time they failed in similar areas to Oushk, but have changed to improvement now?

Hopefully Oushk will be able to make the same changes, but it makes me wonder if they are focusing in the right areas (Livewell don't have a way to confirm height either), if they were unlucky with the inspector they got, are maybe not being entirely honest what they were picked up on, or suffered with getting their processes across as Hira wasn't actually there for the inspection.

Time will tell, and not long as they only have 28 days to comply!

No chance!

At my age my guts are just about the only organ system that are still works.

There's no way I'd allow a surgeon to mutilate my gastrointestinal tract, when I'm already refusing to have my excess skin flayed off after getting down from BMI 59.5 to 25!