My doctor rang me to tell me off!

[Willowy2]

I'm just posting to have a little rant!

I've been in MJ for 18 months. Started at a BMI of 30 and mu BMI is now 20 and I'm on a maintenance dose which I aim to come off fully by the 2 year mark in August.

Yesterday my doctor rang me to say he got a letter from a pharmacy that I'm on MJ but my BMI is too low, why am I on it, it's dangerous, this is the first he's heard of it, it's only for BMIs 27+ etc.

Firstly - a letter first appeared on my GP record in October 2024 as I can see a copy on the NHS app.

Secondly - The most recent letter states I am maintaining and that they can prescribe maintenance down to BMI of 19 with close monitoring and it's been verified that I was previously eligible. I've been with the same pharmacy since November 2024.

Thirdly - When I tried to explain the above he wasn't listening and just kept repeating how dangerous it was!

Honestly, I was in shock when I came off the phone. Are GPs really that clueless about this medication?

I've seen a few posts where people haven't wanted to disclose to their GP as their GP is clueless / judgemental etc. And the responses are usually things like that the letter just gets uploaded to your file, as if you're going to get a phone call from your actual GP....Well turns out I did.

He just kept repeating BMI of 27+. Right, so I get to a BMI of 27 then, have to stop the medication just to get fat again and repeat?

He wasn't interested in me saying how I train regularly, eat 2000+ calories a day, the best health I've been for ages.

Honestly, I was furious, felt told off like a child!

Anyone else had similiar from their GPs? Clueless, absolutely clueless.

How hard it must be to live with this level of bitterness and resentment.

What is this thing you call a doctor? Not seen one for years despite having several health problems, I’d assumed they were extinct.

The econsult process seems to work really well at my GPs now so getting an appointment is fairly easy. An unsolicited phone call though, that's a new one for me. Especially as I'm waiting back a call about my son still 🤔

That’s not the GP’s fault, they have to follow rules and guidelines.

How the f* dare he talk to you like a naughty five year old?? I’d be furious. It’s your body and you’re a grown ass adult, and you’re paying privately for the drug! Even if your BMI was 18 it should still be your choice to take MJ. It’s acceptable to pay privately to have a boob job and all sorts of unnecessary cosmetic procedures, so why is taking a WLI any different?? Makes my blood boil. I would have told him where to stick it and find a new GP!

You are deliberately trying to see the worst in this situation. You are trying to make it sound bad but essentially he rang you and laid out his concerns.

You should be able to listen to his concerns and then to tell the Dr what your circumstances are. You should be able to imagine how he might have concerns. You might be able to imagine other people think taking an GLP1 with BMI 20 is controversial as the risk of pancreatitis still there, but you are not diabetic or obese.

Maybe thinking for a second that his job is constantly dealing with uncertainty/ people who have very different opinions. A tiny bit of gratitude for some checking this.

Do it. Although if you ignore advice, then stay private if it all goes wrong.

This is ridiculous, of course it’s relevant to GP if you are taking medication to make yourself underweight.

Lets pretend eating orders don’t exist.

BMI 20 (now 21 according to OP's latest weigh-in) is not underweight. It is a healthy BMI

Gratitude, for calling her and giving her incorrect medical info, no she shouldn’t be grateful she should be furious.

and you and those feeling like you, need to get over the fact she’s slim. I understand it’s an enviable position, I understand the resentment she was able to do it via medication, but posting answers like she should be grateful for a doctors calling to give her false medical info is just senseless and embarrassing for you.

I can literally feel the bitterness, jealousy and resentment from some on this post. A bmi of 20 isn’t underweight!

You are deliberately avoiding the realities of this situation. OP was given incorrect medical advice, from someone who should know better. The appropriate response to this is not gratitude.

Is there any other medication where if a doctor calls you up and gives you incorrect prescribing advice, posters would respond and say well you should be grateful or you’re attention seeking,

op, the fact your slim and did it with the help of meds, has brought out the jealous and resentful. There are very few women who don’t want to be slim, very few women who are slim with any form of ease or enjoyment, very few obese women who don’t wish to be slim, and instead of them lamenting how they can’t get the drugs, they chose to attack those who can.

I have a BMI 20.5 and I’m on a GLP-1

I think you should save your fury for a really serious issue, there are plenty around.

I can imagine other people wouldn’t do what I’m doing and would have concerns. I’m not furious to hear this.

You don’t feel irs serious a doctor interferes in a prescribing decision he is not responsible for and gives completely erroneous advice. Would you feel the same if it was blood pressure drugs or chemo? Or is it just weight loss drugs you feel irs not serious for?

how very odd.

I bet doctor’s have a bingo card that has a square for “those that googled and think they know more”

Ive been on GLPs for ten months. I will be coming off them for financial reasons in another couple of months. I’ve lost four stones and have two more to go. I personally don’t want to have to stay on them. Most of their benefits can be found just by losing weight anyway, I think a lot of people on them will not use them sensibly if they stay on them long term- a lot still eat unhealthily while their appetite is suppressed and haven’t changed their eating habits much. They would definitely put their weight back on. I’m lucky in that the jabs don’t have a big affect on me. I still have a huge appetite and have to rein myself in a lot too. I know I will have a bit of a battle while I come off the drugs, but I’m determined to do it and to be like my non obese friends, who pull themselves up and get their weight gains off before it becomes too much of a problem. I absolutely do not believe that it’s out of my control and all down to the obesity. I think some WLI users are hiding behind this as an excuse. I also think that the prescription for these drugs online needs to stop. It needs to be done face to face so that it can’t be tricked with people putting weights in their hands etc. I think it’s too easy to abuse the system as things stand. I bought loads of pens just before the price rise, from several suppliers. Out of the seven suppliers, only two show up on my medication records. I can understand why doctors are fed up of the industry. I’ve been doing the nhs diabetes prevention course alongside the WLI- I think a healthy eating course alongside prescription would be the ideal.

Just sounds like you are resentful cos you can no longer afford to stay on it!

He wouldn't let me speak!

Do what exactly?

Well, that particular doctor is going to have use of the bingo square a great deal, because people who've spent 10 seconds googling are liable to know more than him about whether WLIs can be prescribed under 27 or not.

And your beliefs about how you'll manage when you come off WLIs are not sufficient basis to decide other people are making excuses or to start making bad policy recommendations. For someone who's been living with obesity, you don't appear to have much understanding of how it works.

Far is not a disease. Obesity is not equivalent to cancer.

Obesity is a disease though

A blood clot isn’t equivalent to cancer either, so what’s your point?? And for your information obesity is a disease.

Obesity is a disease, do you not understand what a disease is?

a disease is “an abnormal condition that negatively impairs the structure or function of all or part of an organism’s body*

a disease does not need to be infectious.

and obesity is rhe leading cause of cancer, it is the most lethal disease humans have.

how are people this uneducated. Do they really just think it’s a cosmetic issue as they are preoccupied with the size of their own arse?

so they don’t have a big impact but you’re only coming off as you can’t afford them, And you want online prescribing to stop now you can no longer afford them, right, thay doesn’t sound like you’re jealous and resentful at all.

but hey, good news, they didn’t really work for you! Good luck in getting the weight off and keeping it off, let us all know how that works out for you.