Weight loss injections and Debt

[Tinsey99]

I was just wondering if anyone here has had experience with weight loss injections and getting into a lot of debt? They are so expensive, and I have found it hard to stop taking them. The hunger keeps coming back. I want to stay on them as long as I can but I've been running up credit card debt, and it's hard to manage.

Has anyone else had this who is willing to talk about it? Any tips?

Thanks

If you are getting in debt over a certain expense, is there anyway you can cut back somewhere else? Do you get into debt some months bc you are a bit short but need the prescription or is it every month? I don’t take wli but wouldn’t mind getting into debt to improve my health. I think the question is, are you realistically able to pay off your credit cards at some point this or next year or are you getting into debt continuously with no way out which can then affect other areas of your life like not having a roof over your head?

There has to be more to this than just the weight loss injections. What is your income and what are you spending monthly on the WLI. You must be in debt for more reasons than just WLI.

What dose are you on? Have you reached your goal weight and are you titrating down or are you still trying to lose weight?

When your income is tight, you have to budget carefully and prioritise your spending so if you want to prioritise WLI, can you cut your budget elsewhere?

Although the WLI pen costs me £200, I micro dose a 5mg pen so it lasts at least 6 weeks and I have definitely made some savings elsewhere, now I’m not eating junk food, takeaways, booze etc.

It costs about £33 a week for the injection and I’m definitely saving over a tenner on my food bills compared to pre MJ as I’m mainly buying fresh veg and salad and cooking from scratch a lot more. I just made a pan of veg soup this afternoon that I can use for my lunches this week.

If you’re racking up credit card debt, then you’d be better advised to speak to a specialist money adviser at your local Citizens Advice or similar organisation who will help you work out a realistic plan for going forward as not having a plan to pay it off, is unsustainable in the long term.

How much are weight loss injections? Are you only using the credit card for that or are you putting other things on it?

Is it just credit card debt for this? There is no discretionary spend in your outgoings you could cut back on?

I don’t think it’s a good idea to get into debt to do it. If you can’t afford it then I feel you should stop.

Unless you can control your credit card debt I am afraid that you will need to double down on your efforts to come off WLI as to continue funding WLI through debt going forward is unsustainable. If you are on MJ it will become more expensive as the new pen design is rolled out removing the ‘5th dose’.

I strongly advise that you speak to a debt advisor at your local Citizens Advice.

@Tinsey99 It will be difficult for anyone to give tips without the full context of your incomings/outgoings, where you are on your WLI treatment.

Regardless of what you are spending your money on, you are living beyond your means which cannot continue. The Money Matters/Cost of Living boards on MN are quite good at looking through your finances and giving tips and hints to places for debt support/advice and whether you can realistically service this debt.

The relationship board is a good place for help if you have a dp/dh who is letting you get into debt alone.

Possibly speak to your GP and tell them the situation you are in and ask if they can refer you to Weight Management services for support to at least maintain your progress to date why you tackle the debt.

Posters on this board might be able to possibly help with suggestions on how to minimise the medication/cost you need with adjustments to your diet too, if you give more information on where you are buying from, doses you've been on, weight/losses, typical days of food.

Thank you for the advice. Do you find that microdosing the 5mg helps curb your cravings?

I'm on the maximum dose, and I'm very worried about my cravings coming back hard. The website I was using always encouraged me to increase my dose, and now I'm worried I'm in a tricky situation.

Thank you for all the advice. I appreciate it. I don't have many outgoings so this is my main expense. It has been a lot but it just puts me slightly overbudget each month, and I feel like I'm just playing catchup at this rate.

I will check the boards. Thank you.

It is just credit card debt, and it is just one card. but it is tricky, I keep saying i'd come off it and then I cave each month.

I can understand the fear about coming off them but if you’re at goal weight or close to it, why not slowly titrate down through the doses. It’s not a perfect solution but your costs will drop each month and you’ll learn how to manage your weight without them. If you stay on the max dose indefinitely you’ll create an even bigger debt problem for yourself and that’s not good.

I’m now taking 2mg from a 5mg pen, so it’s costing me £13 a week.

Can you set out what a days worth of eating looks like? I think to titrate down you need to eat enough protein and fibre.

People say this a lot. Who are you buying from that lets you order every 2o weeks assuming you use the bonus dose.

It only works with a 5mg pen. I can order every 7 weeks and then take a break and have to do a 2.5mg pen for the first one after break (the second one would be 5mg). I have ordered 3 of the old pens (just arrived). Will now take a break in order. Swift support flexible dosing in maintenance but I don’t know if they will let me order 5mg after a break. I can ask but I am guessing no.

Yes that’s the thing, everyone just ends up with a stock pile and having to start at the bottom again, which means you spend a lot more.

It can work, but only over a long period of time and if you are able to successfully stay on a low dose. You keep ordering, build up a stock pile then stop ordering for a period of time (some maintenance pharmacies allow up to 12 months between orders) while you use it up. Then start again from 2.5. Overall, the price per dose is then lower. Not very helpful if you need a maintenance dose over 5, but if you do and you're happy to be economical with the truth with your pharmacy - well, these meds are bloody expensive, it makes sense.

Not really. I’ll have to have one 2.5mg pen and then can order 5mg. I estimate I’ll have around 6-7 months off, so will be a big saving.

Where are you buying it from? It’s easy to switch suppliers so make sure you buy from one of the cheaper suppliers.
https://monj.co.uk/

i was on 15mg during weight loss and have now got down to 7.5-10mg. It was 7.5mg over summer but I needed 10mg over winter as I craved food more when cold and moved less. I am now starting a concerted effort to eat well, move more and drop back to 7.5mg. I buy a 10mg pen when on 7.5mg and order every 5-6 weeks. Pharmulous have never questioned me. That reduces the cost a bit.

In terms of debt, yes go on the other boards for tips on reducing outgoings by doing stuff like switching suppliers, good own brands etc. There are also threads about not spending where people use up their stockpiles of toiletries and food to save on spending. In terms of increasing income to help cut the credit card debt could you get a promotion at work, ask for a pay rise, do overtime? What about a second part time job for a while? Do you have anything such as old clothes, jewellery etc you could sell for extra cash?