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.

I currently am on Wegovy, I started on mounjaro paying privately now I receive wegovy on the NHS via oviva. The main differences for me has been less side effects on wegovy, I did find mounjaro more effective in switching off food noise but food noise is not as bad a no medication on wegovy. Both give me constipation! I moved at the time because mounjaro wasnt available on the NHS and the cost was a big win. I dont have enough comorbidities to be entitled to mounjaro on the NHS under the current guidelines anyway.

Do you know something about the pricing?

It isn’t at the moment so I’m asking why it’s not an option for people now. If ‘they might raise the price’ is a reason not to start surely it would have been a reason not to start MJ either

Sorry what do you mean by ‘going mad’?

Assume pissed off at the price increase

Class action against the NHS?

I would support that, a medication comes long, completely effective for the vast majority, huge benefits to the patient and society (and the NHS) yet not available (not for the vast vast majority of those that need it)

They're on the back foot once again. Its like the advice for type 2 diabetes still hasnt caught up after decades of information about reducing carb intake, you still get diabetes nurses ignoring this and giving poor advice.

I started on Saxenda, lost weight quickly but initial side effects were brutal and the benefits started to wear off after 5 or 6 months. I had a break, regained a little of the weight I'd lost but then started on Wegovy. I had far fewer side effects and weight loss was reliable again. Then I started to notice the benefits of switching off food noise were not as good and switched to Mounjaro where I got to my goal weight in a couple of months. I've been on a 12.5mg maintenance dose for ages now and my plan is to start tapering down to save some money per month. See how low a dose I can take that still prevents me from gaining weight.

I honestly think I probably save most of the monthly cost in food I don't eat but I'd rather cancel other non essentials like Netflix before I cancelled Mounjaro. I'd be very reluctant to go back to Wegovy too as I didn't seem to maintain the benefits long term.

About the price rise of MJ and is raging.

The main reason for the price hike is that it has been much cheaper in the uk than in Europe or the us. Trump has said drugs must not be priced more in the us than in the rest of the western developed world. However he has done nothing to break the relationship between the big drug companies, insurance companies and pharmacies- which is the majority of the problem. The impact on the UK is irrelevant to him.

Lilly will be lowering the price in the US to meet that in the rest of Europe and our price is being raised so they don’t have lower it to meet that in the UK. We’ve had it comparatively cheaply until now. To note, it is still very profitable in the UK, so I have the tiniest violin out for them. In summary, our prices are rising to fix the broken systems in the US.

I am Type 2 diabetic, with PCOS and high blood pressure - a family history of Alzheimer’s too. Mounjaro is the perfect drug for me. I started with a BMI of 40 and now have a BMI of 25. I have stopped taking Metformin (I tolerated it but had side effects) and 2 blood pressure tablets and my arthritis and PCOS symptoms have stopped have cleared. I was going to have a knee operation (no longer) - I’m a healthy weight and one drug is covering everything else.

Im going to try to stay on Mounjaro, as I have 10lbs to go until by goal. Then I planned to stay on as low a dose to control blood sugar for life. I hope at some point the NHS will loosen their criteria ( not holding my breath) but until then I will go without holidays to keep on it. It is transformative for me. In 2030 (5 years) their patent runs out and others can manufacture it, so I would hope the price will really fall then.

Oh I see

I took Wegovy 2 years ago, achieved 2st loss. Switched to mounjaro as everyone said it was better and I had stalled. Lost nothing on mounjaro in 6 months and had zero affect on food noise for me 😪

Back on wegovy now and the losses are starting again. I had a break and started from the starter dose each time. I feel like I lost a year switching. I hear all your anxiety. I hope wegovy works for those who switch 🙏

I find wegovy side effects much easier to manage than mounjaro as well. Maybe I am weird. They are practically the same drug, mounjaro is meant to work on another element as well as the same thing as wegovy and is reported to achieve more weight loss in trials. Not my experience obviously!

I started 2.5mg Mounjaro in July and have only just stepped up to 5mg. I am going to move to Wygovy. It'll be easier for me to switch because I'm still at the start of my journey so not on the higher doses.

I've had an AI discussion with Claude AI on the subject. What is interesting is that my diet is now low sugar (in fact its almost zero sugar) and very low carbs. On that basis I don't need the extra action Mounjaro has over Wygovy, to do with insulin and glycogen, because I don't have much of a glucose spike anymore.

So I'm feeling OK about swapping. The issue will be finding a supplier that will let me swap without a massive break. I don't have "a supplier" that I use because I've been chasing discount codes and intend to kerp swapping suppliers.

Mounjaro has worked amazing for me, 22 weeks in and 33 pound down. Almost half way to goal! I'll be doing everything I can to keep affording it, going to try to work more, try to sell more on vinted. Wegovy may also work but I'm scared to risk it. The non weight loss benefits of MJ have been amazing eg some bowel issues I had have cleared up, my plantar faciitis went after years of pain, my periods are lighter etc, I'm not sure I'm willing to risk all that stuff coming back if I switch to wegovy.

I’ve tried all the WL injection meds and Mounjaro is the best so far. However, if I’d been in a better headspace Wagovy would have been okay, or I’d have gphad better results. I’d rather stay on Mounjaro.

I had a pen ordered but just cancelled because I’m going away and the order will be quite delayed due to a high demand of their stock before the price hike! I’m not paying £300 plus a month, so will restart with Wagovy when I return!

I believe Ozempic is another name for wegovy, it's the same thing

I am currently on MJ after trying Wegovy last year. Wegovy wasn't for me. MJ is working well for me, it's not a drastic loss but the weight is coming off. I really won't be able to afford it when it goes up. I'm barely managing now out of desperation and struggling with my weight for 20years. I definitely think the NHS should consider at least helping with the cost of it. It must surely be cheaper than the cost of all the illnesses that result from being overweight. IMO it should be an income based assessment to get it on the NHS. Those that can afford it in full should pay, those that can afford to contribute towards the cost and those that can't but need to have it for health reasons.

I thought that Wegovy/ Ozempic had more side effects.
My mother was on Ozempic and had the most awful side effects. Very loose bowels, releasing wind and the dreaded sulphur burps.
She switched to Mounjaro and feels fine and has lost loads of weight

For me, wegovy gave me non stop utis- it was a nightmare. Haven’t had one on Mounjaro. So I’m a bit gutted.

I’ve done six months on MJ and should be at a reasonable weight in another two or three. It took two to three months to build up the MJ dose and learn how to manage on it so I’m not kern to swap drugs now. I had wanted to ease off gently by lowering my dose for a couple of months but if the price triples I’ll just need to go cold turkey.

I was just posting about this in another thread. For me it’s that it doesn’t do everything Mounjaro does. It’s just an appetite suppressor, as I understand it - it doesn’t work on insulin resistance. I loved mj for the benefits other than weightloss as well - I’ll do a lot to try and stay on it. Also, the higher doses seem to be as expensive as mj is changing to be? Not sure it’s much of a saving? For doing less. And the reviews from others are quite poor.

I used Wegovy first, lost almost no weight, and had awful side affects. Mounjaro was like a miracle by comparison. They’re like chalk and cheese.

I understand they are different. But I was asking why people who haven’t tried it are not considering it.

But that is why. Because they are different. Because they don’t do the same thing. People wanting to stay on Mounjaro aren’t only thinking about weightloss / appetite suppression - they’re wanting to keep the insulin benefits. Wegovy doesn’t work on that. They’re very different drugs.

I understood your question but I guess lots of people who haven’t tried it know that many people on MJ started on Wegovy and it didn’t work for them. I’m sure people who can’t afford the price hike will be offered the option to try it. But I’ve never met or heard from anyone who had success with it while everyone seems to have success with MJ (bar the very few who have medical issues with it).

Im asking those who can’t afford to stay on MJ though, not those who are choosing it over W. Essentially why would they not consider W over nothing?