Instead of ‘I won’t be able to afford it’ why are people not considering Wegovy

[chowmeinz]

Just curious as I have read so many posts about how awful the price hike is - I agree. But, this doesn’t have to be the end for people who are not be able to keep going on MJ, lots will be able to try Wegovy if they haven’t already used it and decided it’s not for them.

I know it’s scary just now, I use MJ and will have to rework things once we know the pricing to see if I can still afford it but my next thought has always been ‘if not I will try Wegovy’

Lets not all be defeated before trying the other option.

If I had to sit down with someone and truly state what this drug has done for me I could list an arms length, but nobody has asked, not my supplier, not my gp, because really nobody cares,as long as they're getting their dollar. it's been like a miracle, not just for the weight loss but for various other things I never expected.
It highlights for me the way the nhs is set up to bow to the pharmacy industry and peddle their drugs at their will.
If I went to the doctor tomorrow and asked for tablets for depression, I'd get them, tablets for inflammation / arthritis I'd get them, for pre diabetic condition I'd get them, for high blood pressure I'd get them for pain from arthritis I'd get them, and indeed this was me before mounjaro, not to mention an unhappy fat blob.
Fast forward 6 months, nno longer a fat blob BUT no longer pre diabetic, no longer have inflammation, joint pain, I'm happy, blood pressure down, but iif I asked my gp for mounjaro because this is the reason for all of the above I'd get laughed out of the surgery.
So it proves to me that it's all about the dollar not the person if I stump up the £££to the highest bidder I get my drugs to feel the best I've felt in many many years, so the nhs was set up to provide for everyone it now provides the lining of the pockets of the pharmaceutical industry who own and manipulate it disgusting.
My husband is on acocktail of drugs, swallowing pill after pill after pill because they're the approved ones, my mother was the same, taking so so many pills some of which had contra indications but they were prescribed by different doctors, never checking what they are already taking, yet their attitude is why inject that poison, really!!! You couldn't make it up.
My feeling is that the drugs companies know how effective this drug is, not just for weight loss but for other things, and they want their dollar, or maybe it's to get folks like me back down the surgery and back on the drugs I was prescribed before, which elie lilly may also have manufactured. I can't be the only one to have ditched my daily cocktail of drugs.
Anyway rant over and I tried to communicate about switching to wegovy to various suppliers yesterday for maintenance and got screened out, depressing.

Yes this sounds like it

The main difference is in average overall effectiveness. Mounjaro is new, wegovy has been around for a while for other uses. I believe mounjaro works on two different hormones, whereas wegovy works on just one. MJ is on average somewhere around 20% body weight loss, whereas wegovy is 10%. But these are averages and will be different for everyone. You can continue to use hormonal contraception on wegovy, but not mounjaro.

I’m not really assuming that. We don’t know what will happen but what we do know os that only one of the options is having a significant price hike next month.

I’m with voy and they are offering wegovy as an option so I’m taking it. I can just about afford the increase for mounjaro but it would mean cutting back a lot of things and with the cost of living etc I’m already stretched as far as I can comfortably go. Going to go in at the 1.7 mg dose as that’s what’s been recommended and see what happens. I’ve lost 7 stone in mounjaro so only another 3 or so to go until I’m at my goal weight, so less effective isn’t an issue really. Though I have noticed a slowing in weight loss the nearer I get to my goal weight anyway.

My pharmacy has said a 4 week wash out period and need to start on the lowest dose if I want to switch to Wegovy.

I am maintaining now so really hope I can cope on 5mg as 7.5 is going to be just too expensive!!

You can use hormonal contraception on mounjaro, just not oral contraception.

Mirena, depo provera, and the implant are fine.

Same with HRT. Patches, gel, pessaries and mirena are fine but not tablets.

I lost weight on MJ & would be gutted if this had happened when I was still using it. If I need to go back on something, I'll look at Saxenda, as a European manufactured generic is available & the availability of generics should stop any one brand getting too expensive. Mysimba tablets, which are not a GLP but basically an antiaddiction medication, might also be worth looking at.

I’ve also heard that an unbranded version of Saxenda, the daily injectable Liraglutide, is coming on the market and will be considerably cheaper.

I wouldn’t mind switching to Wegovy, but I'm concerned once I finish what I have my BMI will be under 30 meaning I can’t switch across.

How much is wegovy? I pay £203 for my MJ

Wegovy doesn't work for everyone. I'm one of the 30% of people it has no effect on. I spent several months and hundreds of pounds on the top dose of wegovy after my supplier switched me from saxenda when there were supply issues. I very quickly regained the 4kg I'd lost on saxenda, wegovy had no impact at all other than causing very minor gastro issues.

That’s fair enough, but the question was really posed to those who haven’t tried it. Even if it ends up not being a good alternative it’s still worth trying for many, surely?

Wegovy didn’t have quite as good results as MJ, although the SEs are more or less the same. However, a recent trial using a higher dose of Wegovy (7.2mg) showed similar results to higher doses of MJ (20.7% vs 22.5%) and an application for use was submitted to the EMA on 5th July and is expected to be available in the UK soon. Wegovy is slightly cheaper than current MJ prices.

Because it will probably go up too

I mean so will most things we buy but that’s no reason not to consider it at this point in time. If you don’t want to because of something that hasn’t happened fair enough, but remember that’s what happened when you chose MJ and you took the chance

@SilenceInside I seen somewhere some providers are saying the washout period from MJ to W is only 1 week, and depending length of time, tolerance/side effects, dose on MJ they might consider starting patients at the 2nd dose level (can't remember what it was in mg), but agree for higher doses it will take some time to find their effective dose again.

EDIT - Just as I posted this a notification has come up from Oushk - they have sent out a table of what Wegovy dose they recommend depending on your current Mounjaro dose, prescribing history, medical history, current weight etc - so if you are on Mounjaro 10mg for example, stable on it for a while and tolerating well and meet the rest of their guidelines they suggest moving to Wegovy 1mg. For those on 12.5mg and 15mg they suggest 1.7mg - but ultimately it will be a prescriber decision.

@chowmeinz The biggest issue I would have is the potential for different side effects as it is a different drug with more side effects listed as common.

So while I expect W is in most peoples Plan C the focus is very much on preferred options of if they can afford to continue their weight loss/maintenance with, or perhaps try without MJ - it is not such a straightforward decision as just switch. Remember the news has only been out not much longer than 1 day.

How much is 5mg???

I started on wegovy a month ago and it's been working for me. I did it because it has better trial results for other health benefits and I was happy to lose the weight slower and get all the other benefits. I'm on the lowest dose with the only side effect being thirst and occasional nausea on the first day. It's working fine for me so far.

Agreed

Well for those of us on wegovy we are worried about a rush on supplies and wegovy running out, if loads of people transfer from Mounjaro. So this is worrying for me.
Also I expect wegovy price will go up too - supply and demand

I think all the private suppliers should honour the current price or massively reduce the price hike ( subside) for people that have been using it in the relative long term. The prescribers have a responsibility to those using the drugs. What happens if people suddenly stop? Where’s the duty of care?

The makers of wegovy are facing the same pressure from Trump, so the increase is likely to also be significant.

I'm almost at target, and have got a few months worth lined up so I am hoping that I can get to target and start titrating down before I have to buy at the new price. I am also hoping that once things have stabilised it may not be as bad as we fear. I can manage a few months on the new prices to titrate down and come off.

Me too

I’m not considering wegovy because it only contains GLP-1 (the bit that does slowed gastric emptying and appetite suppression) and notGIP (the bit that increases metabolism and adjusts response to insulin).
Ive eaten the same as I do on MJ for months at a time previously and only lost 4-5lb in 4 times the time it’s taken to lose 23lb on MJ so im assuming it’s the GIP that helps me.