Saxenda with a BMI of 30?

[desperatedespy]

Anyone know if there's any way of getting Saxenda or anything like it with a BMI of "only" 30? I've eaten a VLCD my entire adult life to stop my weight spiralling out of control. No diet ever shifts weight for me and usually I gain (non diet for me is about 700 calories a day and I'm 2 stone overweight on that). I've seen 7 endocrinologists and nobody can find an underlying cause and I had my hopes set on this but apparently I don't weigh enough.

I can’t answer your question, and this might sound like a stupid suggestion, but I wondered whether you’ve ever tried focusing on improving metabolism rather than focusing on losing weight?

There is quite a bit on this if you Google but things like exercise, weight training, weight lifting, cold water swimming etc

I think exercise has been proven not to work for weight loss. It's certainly never worked for me. I also have ME so couldn't do it even if I wanted to but in the past when I wasn't as fatigued I did loads and it's never made any difference to my weight at all unfortunately.

None of the 7 endocrinologists would prescribe it to you? I take it you asked? Xx

I order mine online, I put in my details and it’s automatically approved. Only time I needed to prove my weight was the first time I ordered it I had to send a copy of photo ID, a picture of myself & a picture of my weight on the scales.

I tried through my gp but they said it can only be prescribed through a consultant and there was a 2 year wait for a sleep consultant which is who I would have needed to prescribe it due to my obstructive sleep apnea.

You're eating 700 calories a day and still overweight? Something isn't right there. What do you eat and drink in a typical day?

I only asked one endo - the others I saw a while ago before I'd heard of it and likely before it was on the market.

An example day would be a tin of tesco mackeral in brine and some veg sauteed in olive oil for one meal and a slice of wholemeal bread for a second meal. Another day might be some lentil soup with fresh spinach mixed in for one meal then scrambled eggs (no milk or butter/oil, just eggs) and steamed veg for another meal. I've been trying to get help for this since my teens and I'm now in my 40s. Nobody has a clue what's wrong and I'm not even sure everyone believes me that I eat this little even though my mum has written letters saying she saw me eat this little every day when I Iived with her as a teenager.

I just found someone who sounds like they might prescribe for me but you can only get it for a few months. I thought it was a few years usually? How has it worked for others?

Be aware there are shortages and supply issues, to the point that diabetics are now struggling to obtain it as a prescribed medication.

So I wouldn’t see it as a long term solution.

It is a long term thing. If you read up on it, it tends to lean towards being taken indefinitely however that does apply more if you are diabetic of course, as you are managing a long term condition. Obesity not so much.

Studies show that people who lose weight and then resume their prior eating habits tend to gain the weight back but that’s within your gift to control usually.

I would definitely recommend seeing an actual doctor and getting an actual full assessment of your health if you’re eating that little, rather than ordering it off the internet. Some people are very responsible with it and do all the reading but there are other threads on here where people don’t even know it’s a diabetes drug or they don’t know how it works with GLP-1 and that’s really worrying.

I wish you all the best xx

I've been seeing doctors for thirty years about these issues - privately and on the NHS. I'm still looking for things to test that might be wrong but I've heard that some others with the same issue have had some luck with this. The person who might be able to prescribe it for a few months is a doctor though so fingers crossed she can actually help.

I've ordered from both boots and simple online, neither ever asked me to prove my weight so I suppose you could lie? I moved to simple after I dropped below 30 so I thought that might be an issue but was still prescribed it no issues.

I've just read your update, I do t think sandexa is going to be a solution for you if you really are eating what you say you are. You would end up eating nothing at all and become ill.

I think it's supposed to change your hormones and that's partly how some of the weight is lost. A lot of people in the FB groups for drugs or drugs like it - Ozempic, Wegovy, Semaglutide etc (I get so confused as to what's different to what) are in a similar situation in that dieting has stopped working or never worked but they're finding they're losing weight with this without having to reduce their intake. Some are even saying they've been able to eat more than usual and still lose weight.

The only way I've managed to lose weight is by eating more. You must be in starvation mode eating so little.

Are you taking Ozempic or Saxenda? X

I've tried eating more (1200 calories a day) but gained 3 stone quite quickly. But I think Ozempic at least affects your hormones so it might make you less insulin resistant if that's the problem. Worth a try I think.

The main effect it has is to trigger your satiation hormone. The hormone that signals you are full and satisfied. So you eat less. You are barely eating as it is so I'm not sure this is a solution.