I can't keep the weight off without mounjaro and can't afford it

[MzMJ]

I just feel so defeated.

I have a lot of mental health issues and feel my eating ties in with that very seriously.

This has been a lifelong issue with me, from my early teens and I have tried everything from slimming world, to personal trainers, to bootcamps, VLCDs, keto, therapy and hypnosis.

In 2020 I had a gastric sleeve and lost a good chunk of my weight but didnt progress like most people with a sleeve did.

Then I found mounjaro and i felt normal for the first time in my life.

Reached 9st and so many of my problems went away from mental health to physical issues that I had from sleeve.

Ive come off it 3 times now and gained everytime.

Go back on it and everything is great. No food noise. No food obsession. No reflux. No gastric issues. My head is a lot calmer etc.

But i just can't afford it, and now the price is going up.

Im just so sad :( It really is a miracle for me.

Don't apologise.
Those of us who have been on MJ for a while know very well its good effects on lots of things we weren't expecting it to affect.

I think you should try Wegovy.

It’s going to be either switching to Wegovy and/ or trying to find a way to save or make the extra money somehow like a side hustle or 2nd job. The NHS isn’t likely to take over this prescription I’m afraid. Although a very few people can now get it maintenance for people at target via a private script is going to be a low priority vs helping new users. A lot of people do have to supplement NHS care in various ways for things that aren’t available like additional rounds of IVF, long term psychotherapy or ADHD meds. It’s a shame that it is this way but that’s the reality that the NHS increasingly cannot fund everything even if it is of proven benefit to people.

I feel so sorry for you OP.
I hear you loud and clear.
I completely 100% understand why MJ works so well for you.
It's beyond depressing that the NHS prescribing guidelines for MJ for obesity cut out tens of thousands of struggling people who don't fit the criteria.
It's a travesty.

I don't have a bariatrics team unfortunately, at the point I had the surgery I was told It would be upto a 6 year wait as Covid had shut all the weight management services. So out of desperation I went to Turkey.

I have lost 3 stone on Mounjaro and like you been affected by some really positive effects. It is a real worry thinking about how to meet the increased costs.

However, 9 stone is quite a low weight as is 9.7 and perhaps you should think about your new normal. Instead of worrying that it has all gone wrong, think about some of the key learning you can take from being on MJ eg the importance of protein in feeling full and build that habit into your everyday routine. It may be that you never really go much above 9.7 ever again, but if you do, try Wegovy or counting steps, or calorie controlled diet or intermittent fasting or 5:2. Good luck!

This is the weight when i come off Mounjaro after being on it succesfully.

I keep going back upto 13st+ and I am short

Sorry i dont know a lot about Mounjaro but Juniper came up on my FB feed, it said if you were over bmi 22 you could switch to them and save money. As I say I dont know a lot about wli but intrigued as a former anorexic who feels too heavy but this just came up and gave a cost comparison. It might be worth a look? (Apologies if not suitable)

I doubt Juniper will be cheaper than what the OP is currently paying, they are usually one of the most expensive options.

@MzMJ are you getting any treatment for the ADHD aspects of your diagnosis? Has anyone suggested medication for it?

Oushk and Cloud at least support month on, month off maintenance plans for 2.5 and 5mg, which could help you with cost. You might need to titrate down to those, If you use the fifth dose, you can do five weeks on, three weeks off, or stretch out to 10 days between doses.

Do you do much exercise? That’s been the key to maintenance for me now I have been off MJ for a few months. I really enjoy food still but I work out pretty much every day, a mix of high-intensity cardio, endurance cardio and strength, for an hour or more because that gives me some leeway with my calories and building muscle is excellent for the metabolism. Muscly bodies burn more calories, and lifting itself causes increased calorie burn. I can eat fairly indulgently now in terms of having cake several days on the trot, or a hot chocolate every day from the cafe, and stay stable at 21.5BMI because I’m so active.

And I feel for you, OP, because there’s a lot of research showing that the weight loss stuff is really the tip of the iceberg for GLP-1s. I imagine some of the other effects of MJ that are currently being researched around neurological benefits etc are perhaps contributing to your better health and outlook too, so it’s not just about the weight loss for you, it’s likely MJ is contributing to a stabler mood. It’s very unfair that this price increase has come so rapidly and dramatically.

I pay £140 for 4 weeks of 0.5mg. I've found you don't have to up the dose as much on wegovy, the effects last so much longer than what mj seems. All my friends on mj have to take huge doses whereas wegovy you only need a small amount to suppress appetite. Well, that's what me, my wife, sister and vest friend have found. Some have stayed on 0.25 the whole time and feel no need to go up, me and my friend are on 0.5 and can barely eat 800cals a day. The main benefit though is obviously the price isn't going to rise any time soon so, win win x

I never went above 5mg and mostly stated on 2.5 of mounjaro.

I am recently diagnosed ADHD but known for years so not discussed medication yet.

That's so interesting. Thank you for explaining.
You say you're on 0.5mg
I'm on 15mg MJ
What would be the equivalent Wegovy dose be if transferring over from 15mg MJ?
It's interesting what you say about needing to go up high in MJ doses to get the effects. That's true of me too.
So if Wegovy is really effect and cheaper than MJ, why is everyone taking MJ instead of Wegovy?
Sorry OP, I'm not meaning to derail your thread, but this sounds like a good alternative for you too - do you agree?

I am getting irritated by this bizarre 'football team supporter fanboi' attitude about Wegovy from some posters.

Wegovy 0.5mg is the second dose, most similar to MJ 5mg and not remotely equivalent to MJ 15mg.

Just like MJ people's response to the medication and doses varies. Many of us on MJ have got to goal weight and never gone above 2.5 or 5mg. Some people need higher doses and there is no way of predicting who will or won't - just like Wegovy. (Nor incidentally is there any inherent superiority in needing a lower rather than a higher dose. It is just how our biology and bodies are different).

From clinical trials it is looking like a 7.2mg dose of Wegovy is the the closest to MJ in effectiveness, and that is still in trial and not released yet. The highest dose currently available is 2.4mg, and that is the closest equivalent of a 15mg MJ dose.

Don't forget to factor in that the Wegovy price is for 4 weeks, whereas a Mounjaro pen does 5 weeks. Do the maths carefully.

Mounjaro is supposed to have you lose more weight.

I tried saxenda years ago and had an awful reaction to it.

I may look into wegovy but its still the same price, roughly, as 2.5mh Mounjaro and I couldn't keep taking that financially

Did you not see all the conditions that op mentioned the drugs removed? As well as the weight loss? When are people like you going to realise that for most of us on mj, the drugs fixes things that are broken that made us ill and gain weight?

Op had a gastric band and still didn't lose weight. Meaning it's more than likely ops weight was caused by something wrong with her body that MJ has healed. No lifestyle changes are going to make a difference.

Op can you not afford the 5mg even at the new price? Are you taking mj at all now?

There are rumors that the prices won't be as bad as we all think. So fingers crossed it isn't terrible

I also have hashimoto and I know there is no way I could come off it and not gain the weight back.

I got up to 15mg and have started to work my way back down now. Current on 10mg and still maintaining. I realise you only got up to 5mg, but maybe you could even maintain on 1.25mg? I plan to try and get down to 5/7.5 to try and make it more affordable.

Is that a typo, the BMI of 21? If not, then hopefully I can get it too as I have hypertension, pre diabetes and ADHD but gave a BMI of around 21-22. I also have a lot of inflammation from endometriosis and IBS as well as chronic back pain.

I wonder if WLI will soon be a cure-all because they help with so many ailments.

That poster has been on WLI already so this is maintenance dosing, not fresh dosing. You can switch to Wevovy as a maintenance customer. She won’t have started for the first time on WLIs at 21 BMI. That’s against regulations. 27 BMI with associated health conditions or 30 otherwise and then ongoing maintenance dosage at a healthy BMI.

It may well be that in the future it will be prescribed for other reasons.
At the moment, you would only get if at BMI 22 if you had been taking it before. Some prescribers will allow you to have quite a long gap (I think up to 12 months) within which you can start again - on a low dose obviously.

@Helena2000 @dontcomeatme

I also have similar questions regarding WG, as I'm considering this. I've seen the higher doses to be £200 a pop, so it's comparable to MJ, so I don't understand why people are saying it's cheaper...?

dontcomeatme - your response has somewhat answered this. Have you taken MJ previously to compare? When you say the effects don't wear off as quickly as MJ, what are the effects, is it the same reduction of appetite?

Helena - some pharamacies can point you to the equivalent dose of WG and you don't have to start from scratch, I know pillsorted are doing this. I think MJ was more popular because it targets two hormones not just one, and less side effects. There's a new drug in trials Reta...(something or other) which targets three hormones and is extremely strong.

People are saying its cheaper because MJ is expected to rise in price by 170%, so in a few month time WG will be hugely cheaper. At the moment they're comparable.

Me, my wife, best friend and sister are taking wegovy and are still on the lowest doses. My dad, neighbour and aunt are on MJ and have had to continuously up the doses due to appetite coming back. It could just be our individual bodies, or maybe it says something about the doses perhaps? We all vary in height and weight so it's not related to that.

I also feel sad OP because I'm not going to be able to afford mounjaro either and its changed my life

I liken it to the film 'Awakenings' with Robin Williams. They were desperate for help, they got it and lived a brilliant life on the drug but then it had to be taken off them and they deteriorated and went back to how they were before. Sadly.

@dontcomeatme May I ask about side effects on W please? I’m thinking about switching, not just because of the price increase but MJ doesn’t seem to agree with me that well. I was hoping W would work better but maybe I’m clutching straws. I’m a bit worried because many are saying side effects are worse on W. Anything you can share very much appreciated. Thank you

I haven't really had any. Both my wife and I have a headache the first few days after the jab, which is resolved with normal pain killers. After my sisters very first jab she was sick, but hasn't ever been since. To be honest I think she put that sickness episode down to nerves and her fear of needles!
We all have huge appetite suppression and the food noise is completely gone. Sometimes I get a dry mouth but I think this is because I'm the worst at remembering to increase my water intake.
My sister said never ever drink alcohol on the jabs she was absolutely ill after a night out. Again this could be due to lack of calories plus alcohol, or a side effect of the medication.
Both my wife and I have dealt with very minor dizzy spells, but we both believe this is due to the drastic reduction in calories. They lasted for the first few weeks and that's it.
I can't really think of any serious side effects any of us have dealt with? All been pretty plain sailing so far x