What opinion about WLI would you not normally admit to?

[LittleMissContrari]

Do you have an unpopular or unpalatable opinion?

Mine is that if you can't do the maths, you probably shouldn't be messing about with the dosage.

Oh, after nearly 18 months on this board I have a lot. All based on many, many posts I’ve seen.

That someone who won’t Google a reputable source or read the patient information leaflet and wants it all explained to them by MNers isn’t in a good position to decide if the drug is for them.

That someone who gives more credence to individual anecdotes about side effects than the scientifically robust published data genuinely has no understanding of how to evaluate risk.

That it’s unethical to encourage someone to take a potent drug if they post here asking to be talked into it.

Mine is the same as yours OP, I hate click charts, and get ragey about people mixing up mg and ml. If you cannot work out doses for yourself and record accurately, precisely how much medication you are taking, you should not be deviating at all from the prescription. It’s ok to ask for help to double check, but then repeat the calculation until you understand it and can apply yourself.

also possibly controversial, I believe anyone who is a grown adult with any overweight BMI should be allowed to take it with the same checks etc. there is often judgement on here that it should be reserved for the very obese. I was over 30 bmi when I started, but don’t judge anyone who fibbed to start it to lose ‘just a couple of stone’. Just a couple of stone can make a huge difference to health and isn’t necessarily easier for someone just because they don’t have 10 stone to lose. I hope to try coming off the meds once at goal but if I had issues in the future would rather not wait until I got so big and unhealthy again, if I could nip it in the bud sooner.

That a lot of people are relying too heavily on the appetite suppression while not actually changing their diet/approach to food, and that they’re missing the greatest opportunity WLIs actually provide.

I have this issue with DH as he hasn’t changed his diet really, he still eats pretty poorly but just a lot less of it due to the suppression. That’s not really setting himself up for success for the future. I’ve changed my whole diet and approach to nutrition and fitness and am now off and have been for some time, maintaining fine. I don’t know what will happen if he comes off.

Mine is definitely that it's unethical to suggest that people who don't qualify for a prescription-only medication should have access to it by deceiving providers, and even worse to explain methods of doing so.

Mine is the absolute hopelessness of so many people.
Where should they get it?
Should they take it?
Will they get side effects?
How can they tell a pharmacist from a beautician?
How much does it cost?
Wtf is wrong with all these people?

Do have found my people 😁.

The ml/mg mix up drives me bonkers (I am a pedant in many other ways in life!)

Agree with the inability to google anything, look at proper research.

Also the maths/clicks stuff.

Same as @SilenceInside. Plus, not reading the FUCKING LEAFLET!

I agree with all of the above. I have "messed around" with doses from pens, but I am capable of calculating the doses accurately and keep a spreadsheet plus Shotsy app record of every shot from every pen over the last year+ that I've been on MJ.

I also now share pens with my husband, but use them as vials with separate syringes, not needle tips that can potentially backflow. He started after me with his own prescription, but as he had less weight to lose, he was on maintenance long before me. As he is on 2.5mg (not 2.5ml!) for maintenance, I just order the level above the one I need. Eg I order a 12.5mg if I require 10mg for myself.

I also don't use the official dosage steps, but move up little by little, often 1mg or less increase every few weeks, max dose ever was 10mg. It has worked for me. Minimal side effects, 100lb weight loss achieved and now at target BMI 21.

I'm not a poster girl for following the rules absolutely, but have a legitimate prescription from a legitimate source, was a qualifying BMI 38 at the start, and have never increased doses faster than the schedule, only slower.

Goady?

I'd never take WLI myself but I hope (hope!) That the medical long term damage is negligible and far outweighed by the benefits of weight loss. It would be heartening to see the end to this awful obesity that blights so many.

If I have an unpopular opinion (though I suspect very popular) it's that it shouldn't be free on the NHS

I don’t think this thread is for non WLI people who will inevitably tick off the bingo card - or am I wrong @LittleMissContrari ?

Mainly that I don’t think anyone should lie to a prescriber to get it, but that’s hardly controversial.

The other, perhaps rather MN niche, thought is that those of us on Mounjaro, including me, sound exactly like teenagers wanting access to puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones.

@Nevertrustacop - there’s a lot of that helplessness in general though… see all the threads on how do I book a holiday or talk me through what to do when I get to an airport.

I agree with @perimenopoppet - that it should be available for BMIs lower than 30.

my strongly held belief is that it should be viewed as a lifelong drug.

I couldn’t belive my colleagues complete stupidity when she said she’d brought some of Facebook. It didn’t come in a pen, she had to make it up from the phial. She’s unbelievabley rigid at work about some things. She could have been injecting anything. She also really doesn’t need it in the first place!

If I have an unpopular opinion (though I suspect very popular) it's that it shouldn't be free on the NHS

I agree with this. Anyone who can afford to eat enough to be obese can afford WLI instead. I’m on them myself and the savings on food more than cover the cost.

I've taken them and they worked very well for me but I think they are causing a lot of problems with gallbladders through rapid weightloss that isn't being well reported on.

Waiting lists for gallbladder removal have skyrocketed and lots of travel insurance companies aren't now insuring people awaiting gallbladder surgery because there are so many.

I think there has been a bit more media attention on pancreatic issues.

I think they are a great tool but really need to be monitored more in terms of how fast people are losing weight/going up doses to reduce the risk of causing other problems.

@Iudncuewbccgrcb I’d be interested in learning more about the gallbladder removal numbers, could you say where you’ve got that information from?

I was envisaging members of this board and hadn’t even considered non-users. More of a moan than goady.

I appreciate that it’s a light hearted comment, but while there is a risk of misuse amongst a small number of people who are underweight, the majority of people taking WLI are doing so because they would benefit from losing weight and most of us are searingly honest about our issues.

It is very different from young people with rapid onset gender dysphoria being filtered down an irreversible pathway without looking differential diagnoses, sexual abuse or trauma being considered.

That’s not true. My food shopping bill hasn’t changed much (I do have teenagers!)

There are all sorts of reasons for obesity. I gained 3 stone over a short period because of steroids. I was never able to shift it. I’m on medication that makes me hungrier, and makes it very hard to lose weight.

Those who think it should not be perscibed on nhs, does that include people with diabetes?

That most people who think they can take it for a while, lose a load of weight then "finish" on mounjaro and keep the weight off are deluded.

Quite,.or those who put on weight due to steroids /anti depressants etc.

I think the NHS should pay for it to treat diabetes, but not for weight loss.

I know it’s a really unpopular view but I actually think it would help more people in the long run than the NHS continuing to only pay for very small numbers of people.

Lots of people have very strange psychology about paying for things they think the NHS should pay for. I have heard several people say they will wait until the NHS pays for their WLI when they are obviously never going to be in that category. Clarity that people need to pay for themselves would I think increase the numbers using it. Of course this is just a theory, I have no evidence.

@TryingToFlyAway there are already hundreds of thousands, probably a million people or more on weight loss injections privately in the UK at the moment. The uptake has already been huge. I don't understand the idea that the limited numbers that may now have access on the NHS, at NHS prescription cost, will somehow stop people from accessing the injections privately?

1.5 million people with private WLI prescriptions according to this article

https://www.thepharmacist.co.uk/clinical/cardiovascular/around-1-5-million-uk-citizens-used-weight-loss-jabs-in-march-2025/

The words 'golden dose' or 'bonus dose' make me want to tell people to grow up. If you're relying on this to be able to afford the pen then you shouldn't be using it in the first place.

Scamalamadingdong pharmacies and their dodgy referral codes. Would pharmacies dish out referral codes for money off the pill, incontinence pads or thrush medication??? Hey folks, I've got an itchy vag. If you have one too use my code 'itchyfanny10' and we'll both get a discount on the next tube of vag cream.

Veteran user of a year. I use a different name on the threads BTW.