How many different providers have you used?

[NoNewClothes]

Question for those who’ve been on WLIs for a while - how many providers have you used?

Also I’m wondering if there’s likely to be Black Friday sales, is it a daft idea to stock up?

I think about 5 or 6 different ones over the last 15 months. I have just ordered my next pen with a (small) Black Friday discount from my current provider. I already have one open pen and one unopened pen, so this will give me a reasonable stockpile.

I am on a stable dose, have been on 10mg for months, so am happy to order another 10mg. I don’t anticipate needing to move up any time soon.

3 I started with MedExpress in June but switched to Lotus during the August ‘pendemic’ due to MedExpress’s absolutely dire customer service. Lotus were great but I switched again to Swift Doctor after the price rise kicked in because they were cheaper. Swift Doctor (like Lotus) are a maintenance provider and, so far, my experience with them has been good so no plans to move again for the foreseeable future.

two. I started with Shemed but when the prices went up it wasn’t viable anymore. I realised
i was already under the limit to start as I was close to maintainance so chose a supplier who was good for maintainance. Now with swift

I've stuck with the same one provider personally, just opted for an always lower priced one. I'm not motivated enough to swap around.

I am tempted to order early as they have had a BF discount available all week, although technically I don't need a pen yet.

6 providers in 7 months. I fully intended to just stay with the same one as it sounded like a faff but quickly realised that there is no value placed in loyalty with most of these companies, others than a few outliers it pays hugely to take the 5-10min extra inconvenience of doing the photos etc each time. Although I’m fortunate that I could have afforded not to swap, I am also not so flush with money that it’s not worth the small amount of extra time and effort of swapping to save literally 100s of £ over a few months.

I was also very grateful of my strategy when it came to the pendemic as being on the books of a few suppliers made it easier to place multiple orders quickly. I think unless you are only in a position to order month to month that getting a bit ahead of yourself with pens is very sensible as then if there is ever a delay or shortage you don’t run the risk of a gap. The dates tend to be years ahead so I like to have one pen open and 1 full one in hand minimum 😂 although I’m hoping to try coming off next year for a bit with the back up of Swift to restart within 12 months if needed.

Five I think since Feb. Stuck with one throughout and also purchased elsewhere at the same time. Have four 10mg pens unopened and currently taking 7.5mg from a 12.5mg pen.

If you go to a new provider can you order even if you have just ordered elsewhere?

Yes, they can’t share your information with one another, the only time this could be an issue is if your GP practice noticed the multiple notifications from different pharmacies and raised concerns but given how overrun they all are this is very unlikely. I ordered multiple pens in August ahead of the price hike and nobody ever contacted me to question. You do also have to consider that if you stockpile, when do you stop? as you can’t just take a 6 month break to use them up then restart with no explanation (unless still meet the starting criteria).

One, medexpress. Never had any issues and the effort of shopping around isn’t worth it to me. I just pay for it and it comes the next day or so, and I don’t have time or inclination to compare.

@monjmaintainer thanks, yeah I'm not sure but saw Bolt was really cheap at the moment but I do have 2 pens in fridge currently. I am hoping I can come off it when I am down to goal weight then have reverse dieted for a few months but obviously I dont know if that the case. I imagine there are decent deals regularly.

one - since July 24.

I didn't go for vouchers/codes etc. I picked the supplier with the best price without codes/vouchers and stuck with them.

No complaints & I don;t feel like I've paid more - maybe I have though.

5 different suppliers over 6 months. Have a collection of unopened pens. Ordered from Med Express, Medicine Marketplace, IQ Doctor, Chemist4U and Get a Drip.

I’ve always used the same provider, I found a discount code sometime ago and use it for each order - it always works - I keep several pens in hand but I can have a break in ordering of up to 12 months when I reach my target BMI if I choose to continue with MJ on maintenance

https://monj.co.uk is useful for a quick comparison, and I have not found swapping to be particularly time consuming or a hassle.

I definitely paid more than I could have by staying with Asda at the beginning instead of swapping, as they were one of the more expensive ones back then, after the new customer discount for the first order.

Thank you, just about to order my second pen - £60 is worth the faff to me, spent longer on this forum reading about providers than it will take to me change 😊

Edit to say that I may wait to actual Black FRIDAY tomorrow, though it’s seems like sales have been on since the start of November!

I have just ordered with Lotus for my 3rd pen, 1st 2 with Med Express. Lotus sound great for maintenance as their programme is down to BMI 20 I think, I have been told that MedExpress are funny after BMI 24 so that worried me a bit. Lotus do loyalty points and also £40 referral vouchers so there will always me a bit of discount with them but obv not £40 off (unless suddenly a load of my friends start doing if 😂).

I use Voy. I don't think they are the cheapest but the service is very good. Can't stock up as I haven't told my husband so my pen is stored in my knicker drawer 😂

I’ve used two, started with MedExpress then moved to Medicine Marketplace. Can’t really fault either of them for their service even during the pricing bollocks in August.

This thread is giving me anxiety. All these people stock piling medication. It’s the sort of thing as a nurse we would not be advising.

Also little attention seems to be paid to temperature of storage!

@thankgoditssaturday can you explain what the issue is with having multiple pens? Many pharmacies let you buy three pens at a time, so expect you to have a “stockpile” if you do that. And what is it on this thread that concerns you about storage temp?

The poster who stores pen in knicker drawer? 😱 obviously the 1st one is fine as you can use it for 30 days out of fridge but unless it arrives the exact day you need it then surely it needs to be in fridge.

My drinks fridge is 0-10° so easy to store pens between 2&8° if the dial is around the middle.

I agree re the multiple pens, Lotus have the option of buying 2 at a time once you have been on it for a month so it must be fine. Simple Online pharmacy do wegovy in 3 month batches even for 1st timers.

I completely get that. We’re so used to not operating in a free market system as regards medication.

I know that I’m fully capable of judging how to dose & store.

However consider over the counter meds, nothing stops you from going to multiple pharmacies etc etc. There are no safety mechanisms to prevent that, and mostly people manage fine.