Juniper? Bolt? I don't know how to choose

[CaptainCarrotsBigSword]

Hi all - I think I have pretty much made the decision to start with WLI this year. I have hit 120kg, I have struggled with weight forever but I am now in my forties, on antidepressants and hitting perimenopause and the weight has really piled on over the last twelve months.

I just don't really know where to start. How do you choose a provider? Is mounjaro worth the extra ££?

I am not well off so the financial aspect of it is a big deal to me. Bit at the same time I really need this to work and to have a significant difference - really I want to lose about 6 stone which is why I have decided it has to be WLI.

Can anyone help me navigate this?

Well done on making the decision, not an easy one to take. Given the difference in price I would suggest starting on Wevovy and seeing how you get on. I started in Oct 2024 when there wasnt much of a difference in price but MJ was more effective so I went for MJ. It has been brilliant for me and I have lost 32kg and gone from morbidly obese bmi 35.4 to normal BMI 23.6. Lots of other health improvements also. Am still on MJ but considering a switch to Wegovy as it is so expensive! I never went past 7.5 so if you need the higher doses it is more expensive again! It is really important to completely change your relationship with food, I would suggest tracking calories and water, cut out upf entirely and minimise refined sugar intake. Best of luck with it.

Have a look at https://monj.co.uk for a price comparison list for Mounjaro, and also https://igovy.co.uk for a price comparison list for Wegovy. All the suppliers listed are GPhC registered.

It's worth being aware that Juniper and a few others are a subscription service who also provide additional things like coaching, apps, digital scales etc. Fine if you want all those things, but it's worth knowing what you are signing up to and how to cancel if you don't want to continue with them. For most pharmacies, you usually get a new customer discount for your first order, but then the price will go up to the full retail price for the second and subsequent orders. If that's too expensive, it's easy enough to change to a new pharmacy and get their new customer discount.

Wegovy is cheaper at the moment, as the prices for Mounjaro went up a lot in September last year. On average on the clinical trials, people on Wegovy highest dose lost around 16% of their starting weight compared to around 22% for people on Mounjaro highest dose, at the end of the trial period. So not a big difference, and obviously people's individual response will vary greatly.

You can certainly lose 6 stone on Wegovy, as you could on Mounjaro. So, if finances are tight, you could give Wegovy a go and see how you get on with it.

The comparison sites are posted above, go to these to find the cheapest supplier.

You can go to any pharmacy on that list, they are all properly registered. Some are prescription based but that makes zero difference in my option. Like all subscriptions, you can just take the discount then cancel the subscription- none of these pharmacies will insist you stay past the package you pay for. Therefore I'd just go for the cheapest.

If I were starting afresh I'd start on Wygovy - just because its cheaper. You have probably heard of the American brand name for Wygovy, which is Ozempic. Same drug. So lots of positive press that it works.

Mounjaro is a bit like a 'second generation' of WLI. That doesn't mean the original generation WLI drugs aren't effective tho.

I’ve been on both and had similar results. In fact I got to my lowest weight on Wegovy (I have always gained between drugs)

My latest is a change to Mounjaro because I started gaining on Wegovy and didn’t want to up the dose any more. I am losing again now but this did come with a reset to my diet at the same time. I think Mounjaro does a bit more to my willpower (for avoiding snacks) but they are similar in stopping me from overeating on large portions at meals.

I have chosen my providers based on low base price - I am not that in to vouchers - and looking long term at their maintenance policies. I didn’t want a subscription or coaching. I do want to be able to speak to a human if I need to.

Swift Doctor are really good and their website is easy to reorder from. I used to like Bolt but now they seem to have technical issues whenever I try to order from them.

Thanks so much! I will look at those comparison sites.

Sounds like I can at least give wegovy a go first.

I am leaning towards using juniper as I honestly have completely forgotten how to eat healthily - I have a fussy eater husband and two fussy eater children and I have got in the habit of eating crap with them. Getting access the recipes and support etc seems like it might give me a better chance? And then I can always switch to a cheaper provider down the line once I've found my feet.

I am so scared of paying out all the money and it not working though 😩

It works for the vast majority, even if it takes a while to get going. There’s no reason to suspect it won’t work for you.