Weight loss injection advice

[shimmyshake1]

I am very new to learning about weight loss injections and wondered if anyone can recommend the best brand of injections? Also what is the cheapest?

I am now 16st 3lbs which is my heaviest and I need to do something. I have autism/sensory issues so struggle with my diet and have complex issues. Also I always feel hungry even with lots of protein. Am I right in thinking the injections help you feel fuller?

If you are on a calorie controlled diet and the injections do you loose the same amount of weight as you would on just the diet or does it boost loss?

The MJ takes away the food noise/cravings/ feeling of hunger. It is like a miracle to me tbh.

So you just dont eat the amount of calories, thus lose weight. Without feeling hungry all the time.

I put myself on Wegovy a couple of weeks ago as it is a lot cheaper than MJ, but tbh it hasnt had the same impact for me though I am on a lowish dose, so I may go back to MJ.

Hi @shimmyshake1 there are two types of injections you can get privately in the UK. Wegovy which is the same medication as Ozempic, or Mounjaro which is a different medication, slightly newer and with two actions on your body rather than the one that Wegovy has. There are no other brand names in the UK at the moment.

Mounjaro is more effective, on average, with slightly fewer side effects. But it's more expensive than Wegovy. You can get either injection from various online pharmacies, and also from local independent pharmacies in person if they offer weight loss medication. The price can vary, but the medication is the same whichever pharmacy you choose. There are big names like Asda, Boots, Superdrug, Lloyds etc as well as less well known but still large online pharmacies like MedExpress, Pharmacy2U, Zava. So, shop around before deciding who to get a prescription from. There is a website called Monj.co.uk which has price comparisons for Mounjaro. There's a similar site called iGovy.co.uk which does the same but for Wegovy.

Yes, the injections help you feel fuller for longer and to eat less. You lose weight by being in a calorie deficit, and the medications help you to stick to that.

@SaltAndPepperNuggetsthats exactly what I need!

See that’s where I’m worried, finances are quite low so I’m worried if I can only afford wegovy and it doesn’t do a lot.

@SilenceInsidethank you, that is really helpful. I will have a look at the price comparison sites.

Is there any difference between the two on how much weight you loose? Is it just taken until you reach target weight or longer term?
Also does it hurt injecting? I’m not a huge fan of needles or pain.

In the clinical trials, people lost an average of 22% of their starting weight on Mounjaro over 72 weeks, on the highest 15mg dose. For Wegovy, in the clinical trials people lost around 16% of their starting weight over 68 weeks. So Wegovy is a bit less effective, on average.

That is on average though, and individual responses will vary a lot. Plenty of people will successfully lose the weight on Wegovy. For both medications, a small percentage of people find they don't really work at all.

Mounjaro is approved for long term use, so if you find you want to or feel you need to keep taking it to maintain your weight, then you can do. I am not sure if Wegovy is approved for long term, but certainly you can take it for long enough to lose the weight and then maintain for a decent length of time.

Nearly everyone finds the injections to be painless. I usually don't even feel the needle, let alone feel any pain. It's a really short (4mm) and very fine needle.

The Wegovy may work well for you = it is worth trying! I am on the lowest dose, but increased the amount by giving myself the equivalent of 0.75 and that is a bit better.

I am going to stay on it for another month at the higher dose. It is £85 for the first month and I think they have put a credit on my account so the 2nd month should be £99. Still a lot but cheaper than MJ if it works

The needle is so fine that I dont even feel it going in!

I lost 2 stone altogether on MJ in 3 months I think

Thank you both so much. You have been super helpful.

I’ve just done a bit more quick reading and it looks like you need to go up to full dose for maintenance on wegovy but on mounjaro you can choose to stay at lower doses if it’s working for you, looking at the figures on mounjaro 5mg is around 16% loss and 10mg is around 21% loss. Have I got that right? I’m going to compare the prices later but I’m wondering if just going to 10mg on mounjaro would be an option as I’d still loose more than wegovy but not be completely out of my price range.

You might well not need to go up so high on Mounjaro. I’ve lost over 5 stone in under a year and haven’t gone higher than 7.5mg. A lot of people are similar and you’ll find many on these boards who’ve lost far more without needing the highest doses.

It depends first on how your body responds to the medication, and second on whether you carefully follow the advice about a good diet and exercise to maximize your health and weight loss.

It's really hard to make those sorts of decisions without knowing how you individually respond to the medication. Some people never go above 2.5mg Mounjaro, some will need the top dose of 15mg to lose weight, and similar with Wegovy.

Regarding Wegovy, this article on the Asda Online Doctor site states that you can stay on a lower dose for maintenance on Wegovy if you need to:

https://onlinedoctor.asda.com/uk/wegovy-maintenance-dose.html

I stayed on 7.5mg Mounjaro for a long time, and then I've been on 10mg for several months now, still losing weight as I'm not at target yet. I don't plan on moving up to 12.5mg or 15mg at the moment.

People unfortunately react differently in terms of weight loss. I'm on 5mg MJ and have lost 4 and a half stones since mid-February, but I know someone who is currently taking 10 and hasn't lost much more than a stone.

It depends how you respond to the drug. I've lost 2 stone in 3 months on 2.5mg of Mounjaro. I'm also neurodivergent, and while I feel hungry on the 2.5 mg dose, I used to eat as a stim, and the drug has pretty much taken away my urge to do that.

I switched from mounjaro 7.5-10mg to 1.7mg wegovy on Friday evening. I have had really strong suppression that started within hours, not days like MJ, yet my energy levels are so much better, I don't have the low moods anymore and I'm more active.
I'd spent almost 14 months on MJ just working and too tired to do much else and no motivation and I'm so regretful that I didnt start wegovy earlier because of all the negative comments flying around.
The suppression on W is more consistent, I find it stronger and more stable than MJ and I don't get the low blood sugar symptoms. I'm at bmi 23.1 and want to lose another 3-7lbs or so ideally.
I do think most of the negative reviews are from those moving from higher doses of M to the lower doses of W.
I'd honestly recommend it as ive got my joy and enthusiasm back that id lost for over a year.
Why don't you try it first as it's so much cheaper? Then you could always move on to mounjaro if you aren't happy.