Is it worth starting weight loss injections if higher doses are unaffordable

[Dd2828]

DD is over weight her bmi is 32. She's been really upset and hating on herself recently.

I just looked at prices and there is a big jump in price when wegovy tablets go from 9mg to 25mg dose. If dd could only afford up to 9mg is still worth it?

I know there are often offers. But that can't be guaranteed. I want to look into assuming she cant afford any higher than 9mg especially since its a long term thing .

@Dd2828 I presume you actually mean Wegovy tablets as you’re talking about 9mg and 25mg? Rather than Mounjaro or Wegovy injections?

Also, in general regardless of specific medication the big discounts are for new customers. You can change pharmacy each month to take advantage of those new customer offers which is what a lot of people do to keep costs down.

I've been on 2.5 mg since January and have lost 35 kg. The key is using it as tool to help you change what you eat rather than using it solely to suppress your appetite.

Yes I'm talking about the tablets I just edited my op

Yes of course she should try it, it may be just what she needs.

Yes it’s a tool, but some people will need to move to the higher doses to get any effect. You can’t assume that staying on the treatment initiation dose will work long term for your DD. She may just simply need to move up the doses.

It’s also not just a question of being on them for a few months to lose the weight and then stopping. She may find she needs to stay on it long term to maintain any weight loss.

Mounjaro is the most effective weight loss drug out of all the options currently available, but not everyone needs to go up to the highest dose. I’m still on 5mg after a year and a 5 stone loss and currently maintaining.

However, the drugs work very effectively BUT most people will need to stay on them for at least a year or two afterwards as they learn to navigate maintaining their new weight. Usually this requires a large shift in attitude, diet overhaul and increased exercise. Otherwise, for most obese people, without the drugs the weight will gradually go back on. Just like with any other short term diet.

Personally, I feel that going on Mounjaro was the best decision I’ve ever made and I would rather cut back drastically elsewhere rather than give it up!

I know but the price will still be more compared to the 9mg and theres no guarantee. If she had to be on 25mg for a year for example there's no guarantee there will be offers. Then she wouldn't be able to afford it. Then have to go back to 9mg which would probably be pointless after being on 25mg . So we are trying to stick with something thats 100% affordable for her long term.

I can’t tolerate higher doses I just can’t tolerate the symptoms so I’m using lower doses and it is very slow but good. I expect to use it for a very long time so I’m ok with this.

Also factor in that she will be spending less on food. My food bill is down nearly £100 a month on the tablets!

@Dd2828 there are always new customer discounts, been taking Mounjaro for 2 years plus and there’s always a cheaper deal to be found. There’s a price comparison site called ogovy.co.uk that does a price comparison list as well as a useful cheapest/average/most expensive summary at the bottom. It’s useful for planning and budgeting.

I am not on the top dose of Mounjaro even though I’ve been on it for 2 years plus.

This is my point. What of she 100% can't afford to go any higher than 9mg. I get some people need to but want if she can't?: does it mean she will start putting no weight whilst staying on 9mg or will the weight she has lost so far stabilise and keep her around that weight whilst on the 9mg.

Its the long term we are thinking about. Which is why it needs to make sure its affordable.

The price differential between 9mg and 25mg is not that stark though? The cheapest provider on the ogovy site for 9mg is £112 and the cheapest for 25mg is £157. So £45 more a month, and that's assuming you aren't swapping pharmacies each month to get cheaper prices than that.

The cheapest 25mg with a discount is £120 and there a couple of others offering deals in the 120 to 130 range at the moment.

So worst case scenario, having to be on 25mg long term you'd be looking at £157 a month (30 days).

Thank you. Currently the cheapest 25mg are 157.00 dd wouldn't bbe able to afford that.

Anyway a few people have said they haven't had to go upto the highest dose so maybe it's worth a go.

I'm also confused about going from 1 retailer to another according to costs. So to start you need to have a bmi of 30+ so when your with the 1st retailer you go from 30 to 28 bmi how do you the proove that you started at 30+ ?

Is there a reason she's looking at tablets not injections? The injections are more effective.

It is to dd though she can't afford 45.00 more she ging ti struggle with the lower costs.

@Dd2828 you don’t need to prove that, you just show evidence of your previous prescription. I change pharmacies now with a BMI around 25 without issue.

She doesn't have the guts to inject neither would I to be honest. I will double check with her though.

Thank you. So is a prescription written via email or something?

No, most pharmacies don’t issue a written or electronic prescription like you’d get from a GP. The easiest way to show evidence of your previous prescription is a photo of the prescription label on the medication box as it shows your name, the date, the medication and the dose.

Oh ok.. so its basically the person obviously got it before so must have been 30+ bmi on order to have got them tablets in the first place?

Yes, so the 30+ BMI etc are the starting criteria, and the idea is to reduce your BMI below that into the healthy range. You can continue with treatment essentially as long as you need to as long as your BMI doesn’t drop too low.

Thank you I'm going to have a chat with dd.

I started 10 weeks ago with BMI of 30.

SW 74kg at 5ft 1
CW 65kg
Target weight 58kg

I was on 1.5mg for one month, now am on 4mg for the second time and have made good progress. I don’t think I will go up to 25mg at all as I’m happy to keep at this pace . Your DD is worth trying and see how she reacts. Of course she may have a different journey but from my experience I think the highest dose I’ll be on is 9mg and only if I really need to.