BMI under 27 - Off Label/less to lose

[ritala]

I am mid 40’s and just can’t lose the weight like I used to. I’m fed up of losing and gaming the same two pounds. I’m about a stone and a half more than my happy weight (where I would be approx bmi 23).

I have tried to find a thread for people who have been approved ‘off label’ Wegovy or Mounjaro with less to lose but couldn’t find one, so thought I’d start here. I have a BMI higher than 25 but less than 27 with a couple extra health conditions. Hoping to start after Easter. I’d like to stay with a very low dose if possible. Half a pound a week loss would be good for me. I really want to avoided side effects.

Anyone who is in a similar boat and wants to share experiences or ask questions, please join! X

Try eating an anti inflammatory diet. My level of inflammation are now really low (even before MJ). But yes menopause doesn’t help (I’m 51). I also switched my exercise to mostly weightlifting and I eat a lot of protein.

Following your experience with interest.
I have a BMI of 28 and have decided to give WLIs a go as I’ve been reading that they can be prescribed off label for 25+. Going on a 3 week cruise next week so won’t do it until I’m back but I’ll be gutted if I can’t get them! I’ve agonised over it for so long that it’s become irresistible!

Would you come back and update what Voy say is you decide to try them? I’m in the same position as you weight wise and was going to try either of them two, did Medexpress offer wegovy as an alternative or no to both? Thanks

I tried to go with MedExpress and thought it was in the bag until I had a phone call with, quite frankly, a very rude doctor who told me to come back when my BMI was 27! I’d ‘passed’ the online questionnaire and was recommended Wegovy. I had to submit a photo of me straight on and also one of ID. The call was scheduled for a couple of days later but like @TheLettesaid - the phone call process was a little chaotic. It’s not smooth. In my case, I selected a time and then they confirmed the time in an email except it was an hour later?! Not a massive problem but not great. Anyway, like I said - she declined me and I was actually quite upset after building myself to ‘go for it’. Anything weight and diet related is triggering and emotional for a lot of us - especially us women in 40’s and 50’s who grew up in the 90’s and early 00’s. Anyway, I digress! Later reading has shown me that MedExpress are notoriously ‘difficult’.

Voy was less strict and a smoother process but also Reddit has been useful for me for recommendations and advice. Healand Clinic comes up quite a lot so is clearly trusted by a lot of people.

Sorry to read you’re not getting on very well. I wonder how I will do. I already eat quite healthy (similar meals to you) but my downfall is evening snacking, portion sizes and alcohol.

Like I have said - I am planning to start at the weekend but am nervous about it. I keep researching and coming across lots of good stuff (it helps with anxiety, brain fog and other peri menopause symptoms) but also - I’m worried about SE as can’t afford to be ill at the moment (can any of us?!)

Good luck with your 10k. I am also hoping it doesn’t affect my running…. Don’t want to swap pounding the pavements for running for the loo!

My video call with Medexpress was exactly as you have described! They send you an email with a time but the actual scheduled time is inexplicably one hour later. Online chat people are absolutely useless in the meantime and the Dr immediately told me (well, after I confirmed some of the info I'd already provided online) that I'm not eligible. I'm considering complaining about them that it's false advertising. Really annoyed and they literally wasted an hour of my life.

@TheLette- yes, and they make you pay upfront too. The phone call just comes across as them ‘confirming you are who you say you are etc’ but as you say - they get you to confirm your name, address, DOB and what you’ve said health related on the questionnaire - you answer exactly as you did in the questionnaire and then BAM “You’re not eligible. This is for people who have BMI 27 etc” Why did the online questionnaire results confirm I was eligible and allow me to go through and purchase when my BMI was 26 then?! I said about my extra health conditions and she still said “NO.” Honestly, she was so rude. I was actually quite upset afterwards and felt very, very stupid.

The next day - I was like, right. I’m getting them. I know I am eligible. So I did a tonne of research and went on loads of groups and finally found somewhere - a much smaller clinic but with a more personalised service. Still with exactly the same details and stats I gave MedExpress. There are quite a few smaller ones that do take people like us seriously. You just have to do some digging. Reddit is your friend.

I’m also fairly low BMI as it was just 27 when I started GLP1, but I had already lost 5st on GLP1 over 2 years ago.

I also likely won’t go up to a high dose because I don’t know if I can tolerate the side effects I’m quite sensitive and if that’s the case I will stop using it if I can’t get past the lower dose and stop losing

I’ve done 4 weeks on 0.25 and lost 8lbs

i got mine from med express

Update - Voy has accepted me and their video call process was nice and easy. I think Voy is slightly more expensive but to be honest any Medexpress saving isn't worth the wasted time and chaos.

What a relief and congratulations! I have heard they are good. You can always switch to a cheaper provider now you have been accepted and given the all clear by Voy. How are you feeling about it? Are you going for Wegovy?

@TheLette I started with Voy, I’m going to try switching later this month, hoping the fact I’ve been prescribed previously will give me the ‘pass’ I need to go elsewhere, but we’ll see, I wonder if Voy will be black listed as a previous prescriber if they prescribe off label lol. I’ll report back when I’ve done it!

I'm going for Mounjaro. My partner tried that and Wegovy and found Mounjaro a lot more effective. He had a BMI 30+ though so was definitely eligible. He has lost about 20kg and now needs to try to maintain. I only want to lose 5-6kg really, just to get within BMI. I eat quite healthily (aside from snacking) and also exercise, but clearly I can't do it alone.

That sounds good @TheLetteI am feeling ready for it now. I know everyone says it’s a long game but I am hoping I’ll just be on it for a few months and then reach my goal weight and be able to maintain. Going to track calories, protein and fibre like a demon!

Glad I found this thread! I have a BMI of 26 and was accepted for Mounjaro with Voy this morning. The video call process was really straightforward and informative. The only issue I suffer with that was on their list is depression. I’m currently 11 stone 12 and would like to get down to between 10 and 10 and a half stone. Plan to aim for 1800 calories (500 deficit for me) and weight train 3 times per week. I already walk a lot. I’m nervous but excited to start and hopefully feel like I’m getting somewhere instead I having two good days then binging!

Definitely don’t jump straight to 5mg! I went up to 3.75 from 2.5 and even that was too much. I could barely eat and felt so nauseous for days. To get 3.75mg out of a 5mg pen you count 45 clicks. This online calculator is good:
https://www.vrgrowth.co.uk/mounjaro-clicks

If you plan to extract the golden dose using a syringe I get mine from Amazon and haven’t had any issues.

I've been maintaining without MJ for over 16 months now, half a stone lighter than when I finished taking it.

Can't say food noise or hunger was any worse once I stopped. It came back obviously but I've not struggled with it, mainly I think because I used the time on MJ to completely change my diet.

I’m so glad I found this thread, so true about the gatekeeping that I’ve seen on other threads. I have a BMI of just over 27 and after going through the questions on Voy was offered WG or MJ. I’m sitting on the fence a bit but reading others’ experiences is really helpful as I try to decide.
I’m in a position where i am just fed up with being overweight and struggling to shift more than a kilo before putting it back on again. I consider myself to be quite fit (work with a PT, run, and do circuits) but don’t look it with the extra weight. I eat well (healthy) just too much!

When I started mounjaro my BMI was 27, but it wasn’t being prescribed then unless 30 plus. No health issues.

I had to adjust my height and weight. Annoying as I was objectively fat anyway. I’m glad it’s now available to overweight but not obese people.

I had great success and lost over 50 pounds with ease. I had great suppression but kept upping my dosage anyway.

I haven’t put any weight on since I stopped.

This is a really interesting thread, I’m glad I found it.

I got Wegovy prescribed by MedExpress this week and I have a BMI of 25.4. I do have PCOS, so maybe that’s why it was more straightforward for me than other posters? The video call literally lasted 5 minutes 😳. Bit of a surprise.

But my pen arrived really quickly and is waiting on the fridge until next week, as I’m away with friends and don’t want to be troubled by potential side effects while I’m away. I’m desperate to get started though…….and nervous.

@ritala thank you. I’m doing ok but really struggling to eat today. I’m sitting here with half of my supper (steak and vegetables) sat in front of me unable to finish it 🤢 Have you started yet?? I only had about 1.5 stone to lose.

@RockChikoh that’s not good - struggling to eat. I mean, the reduced food noise would be good but not being able to eat seems to alien to me. I know we have to prioritise protein, fibre, water and exercise. I hope you managed to enjoy - or at least have as much as you can. How many calories do you think you are having a day? I don’t want to go below 1300 if I can help it. You’re similar to me - about 1.5 stone to lose.

I haven’t started yet. It’s in the fridge… I’m going to start on either Saturday night or Sunday so I have the day if anything goes ‘wrong’ and I can wfh on Monday if I have an upset stomach. I’m very worried about side effects. I wonder if I should have started off microdosing rather than going in for the full 0.25 (Wegovy). Are you on the lowest dose? Or microdosing?

I am also in the market for a decent app if anyone has one they can recommend for tracking the GLP1 journey? Thank you

@OnTheTopi also feel quite nervous! I keep flitting between nervous and excited.

just commenting so I can find this again easily. Interested to hear all of your experiences. Thank you for starting the thread!

Joining! Just about to receive my first dose of Wegovy, I'm BMI 26.

I had exactly the same experience with MedExpress, what on earth is going on with them?? I booked three video calls which they did not attend, and their customer service is a nightmare. Took me a few minutes with Voy. (but yes they are a bit more expensive so I'll see what others say about switching later on).