Ozempic - for those of us a few months in - Part 2

[Peridot1]

Just spotted the other thread had filled up so started I new one.

@Twiglets1 It was me that said I was OK with taking it for life/long-term and compared it with an inhaler for asthma. I was speaking from a purely health point of view rather from cost. I'm over 60 and get free prescriptions too, including my inhaler (I have mixed feelings about this because I could easily afford to pay for my prescriptions).

I am tolerating the current hike due to a lucky combo of having 2 months supply in the fridge since I started and biting the bullet once and paying over £100 more than I was initially because I don't see this current price for GLP-1 agonists last more than a few months. I'll take stock again when I'm left with a minimum of 4 weeks supply.

Supply issues in the USA seem to have eased a fair bit from their lows in March/April, though it still isn't as freely available as people would like

The current situation in the UK seems very comparable to what happened when Viagra first came out from what I remember. It's a combination of sensationalist reporting, bandwagon jumping, supply issues and the complexity of ramping up production. It will stop being flavour of the month, people will tire of it or the chase to get supplies, other drugs will become available, supply issues will ease and the price will go down. How much will it go down? Will it be enough? I don't know. I have shares in Novo Nordisk and can tell you that while the share price has jumped this year, this current supply situation has hurt them and their share price, so it's to their advantage to solve it.

@mumwheresmyribena I agree with you about the free prescriptions over the age of 60. It seems wasteful when many over 60s could afford to pay for their own prescriptions, probably easier than people in their 30s and 40s stuggling with high mortgages/rents/childcare expenses. Think they should at least have kept free prescriptions in line with the retirement age, currently 67.

I understand you were saying what you said from a health perspective but I still think it's unrealistic for most people to pay for Ozempic/Wegovy for life as most people couldn't afford it unless it becomes available on prescription. Plus it would be hard psychologically. Once you have lost the weight it would be easy to think you don't need the drug anymore.

I'm quite bad at taking my inhaler every day even though I know it's a preventative measure. I remember to do so when my asthma is bad but "forget" when it isn't because I don't like taking any medication that doesn't feel strictly necessary. Although I understand that some people are planning to take a weight loss drug for the rest of their lives, that feels depressing to me. Not saying I'm right, of course, just my take on it.

They've only got so much production plant capacity though and there are only so many hours in the day to keep them running! Unless they invest in building or setting up more plants asap, they're going to struggle to increase manufacturing levels in the short to mid term.

It looks like even if you want to pay £300 for a months supply you can’t get it. Or at least I can’t!

I think the us issues easing might be part of the supply issue in the uk. Now Americans can’t get cheap prescriptions from Canada they’re paying about $1100 a pen (or their insurance is) so it’s massively more profitable to divert all the stock that way. Even with kickbacks to the insurance companies and doctors novo must be making at least $500 a pen, so why bother making less here?

@Twiglets1 I'm the same with my inhaler. Although I went through a patch when I had brittle asthma in my late 40s, it's been well controlled and pretty mild since then due swapping inhalers and (pretty pertinent) my watching my weight and keeping my activity levels up. My asthma got noticeably worse when I had my accident, couldn't weight-bare much, so I couldn't walk or exercise and the weight piled on.

I'm also in two minds about how to think about the prospect of having to take Semaglutide for the rest of my life is necessary. It's a complex thing to get a brain around. I'm on record as saying that I plan to come off it when I reach my goal and replace it with good habits, activity and a modicum of discipline, just as it was pre-accident. However, I would take Ozempic again if necessary I'd it was available to me. But to me this does make me wonder how much of my response is still conditioned by years of "obesity is a moral failure" message over the "obesity is a chronic disease" message. I do actually think obesity is a very complex thing that's hardwired into our genes and behaviours (re Why we eat, too much) and hope that I can modify my way out of it, if not then medicate to support but it seems like the "moral failure" model is buried in my subconscious which makes it hard to accept I may have to.

There have been issues with one of Novo Nordisk's main contractors which has meant that the supply of .25, .5 and 1mg Wegovy is short in the USA, so people are being prescribed Ozempic instead. Also all of their Wegovy output is reserved for the USA atm, hence I suppose the "missing" UK Wegovy. There's press releases about both issues on Novo Nordisk's site. It also says that they expect the lower dose Wegovy problems to be sorted by Sept 23, this could have a knock-on effect for the UK.
I'm not sure that all the excess profit from USA sales go to Novo Nordisk @Andrasa It's actually hurting their profitability atm. Given that the cost of it varies quite widely over there if Reddit reports are to be believed I'd say most of the excess profit is being taken by the pharmacies, doctors and insurers. The USA is a massive market, the main market in the world for both diabetes drugs and weightloss drugs, it's also the market most susceptable to marketing and advertising, it makes economic sense for them to concentrate their supplies on it. As unpalatable as it is, If that market didn't exist we wouldn't be discussing it now.

I agree @mumwheresmyribena obesity is a very complex thing.

I don't judge other people for being obese at all but I do feel ashamed of myself deep down hence I'm dieting. I've got a very slim friend and I definitely notice myself wanting her to be "proud" of me now I'm losing weight. Which she is, so it kind of reinforces the "moral failure" aspect, which in my logical not emotional brain I know to be ridiculous.

She has her own issues (don't we all?) stemming from how her parents made her feel ashamed of putting on any weight when growing up. So now she finds it hard not to show judgement towards her own children for small weight gains. It's all so complex and often toxic.

Agree @mumwheresmyribena re obesity - it took a long time for me to accept that struggling with weight isn’t a moral failing, and it’s tied to complex biological factors like hormones. The only time I have found the same level of ‘food noise’ reduction is when I am incredibly strict with what I eat - no junk foods, and intermittent fasting. It has been great on ozempic being able to eat more like a normal person and lose weight consistently - but once I come off, I’m going to be vigilant with what I eat, and only have the less healthy foods over weekends.

If ozempic becomes more affordable, I think id take it each time I hit a certain weight just to get back down to a range I’m happy and healthy at.

@Inkpotlover They've been investing in building more plants and upping production for 3 years. Production for 2023 was targetted to double and they're trying to increase it further. I don't quite understand why people (not you) think it's simple.

Ozempic was designed as a drug that could help a small subset of type 2 diabetics, then it was found to help more of them, then it was found to aid weight-loss, then it was (anecdotally) found to help with addictions, now it's being trialled as it's thought it may help with alzheimers. I'm not sure any manufacturer could keep up with supply

I’m

Don't keep us hanging...

Ha that was written by my phone in my pocket!

😂

But if anyone sees 1mg anywhere then let me know. Even if it is £300.

Maybe we should start a new thread just for updates when people see it in stock?
I'm finding it very frustrating. I'm losing weight steadily - a pound a week, which isn't dramatic but I'm now lighter than I have been for many years. My diabetes symptoms have reduced and I'm hoping when my blood sugars are tested in a few weeks time they will be better controlled. I can - just - afford £300 a month for a while but not long term. The lack of supply is scary.
I'm hoping to be fast enough on websites to get enough to last to the end of this year, and then re-consider. Hopefully if Wegovy production increases Ozempic supply will be less of a problem. Or I could buy Wegovy when its finally launched in the UK.
My GP isn't unsympathetic but can't prescribe Ozempic - and won't prescribe Metformin while Ozempic is controlling my blood sugar levels, so if I can't get supply I'd need to wait until my blood sugar levels rise and then get retested.
If I see another post about selfish people buying online I will scream, diabetics are buying online because its the only way to get a medication which is effective.
End of rant. Sorry.

Yes as a diabetic I have had to buy enough online to last a while. I could see this coming as the frenzy has increased and I’m so thankful I was in a position to buy it at the lower priced while I could.
I will have to reduce my dose to 0.5 from
0.75 but I should be ok until Sunday 11th February 2024. I am not prepared to risk my blood sugars spiralling again! Please God let this be sufficient time to allow supplies to stabilise again and for the bloody government to prioritise supplies to diabetics when it does restart. My NHS prescription is due 14/07 and I’m not hopeful of getting it filled!

Sorry, I just re-read what I wrote and it might sound like a criticism of people buying online - I meant I'm fed up with being criticised for buying online. If people are doing this to get their weight under control and avoid diabetes, high blood pressure, joint problems etc then fair play to them. I really wish I'd been able to do this years ago.
I know there are stories of people doing this with just a few kilos to lose for a holiday but I suspect they are few and far between.

I’m a bit surprised (& shocked) that people with diabetes are having to pay for private prescriptions. Shouldn’t Ozempic or equivalent be available via the NHS for you?

@Twiglets1 In theory you would think so. There may be an element of a postcode lottery. When I started using it in April in my region there were no new patients being put on Ozempic at all until at least 2024, even by the specialist diabetes clinics.

Even when supplies improve and prescribing begins again, I suspect that the protocol will be to try cheaper treatments (eg metformin and statins) first and only Ozempic if they fail. By which time, of course, a fair bit of damage could be caused by uncontrolled blood sugar levels.
I'm resigned to paying for it for the foreseeable future, but can't sustain it at £300 plus a month, so am hoping that supplies improve and prices fall.

@MotherofTerriers A similar thing happens with asthma. I react quite badly to Ventolin (it gives me the shakes) but wasn't able to be prescribed Symbicort at one point so I used to buy my own (Dr told me what to get). After about a year I was able to get my Symbicort on an NHS prescription and have been using it ever since.

If anyone is fancying a sweet treat, I’ve found mini milks pretty good! 32 calories and 5g of carbs, it feels like having a whole treat since you can finish it vs having a tiny scoop of ice cream you have to be disciplined about putting out, and the strawberry ones feel summery and fruity.

That's what I'm hoping for @mumwheresmyribena .
They will be working to increase production of Ozempic and Wegovy, and other drug companies aiming to introduce competing products.
I'm hoping its just going to be tricky for the next few months.

I think it is a bit of a trend in terms of paying for what the NHS doesn't do at the moment - I paid to have a lump removed and biopsied earlier this year, GP said it was "probably not malignant" so NHS would have been at least a 6 month wait for maybe a scan and no removal option. My friend just borrowed to pay for a cataract operation, it was that or lose her job as her sight was failing.

But that's a bigger issue!

@MotherofTerriers Same with my physio on the NHS for my leg. The consultant said it was recommended and I could have it but there was nearly a six month waiting list. I just went privately, being mobile isn't something I want to leave to chance and when you're in your 60s you definitely need to keep as mobile and active as possible, it takes a long time to 'bounce back' when something breaks. I'm not convinced that it's at least partly a deliberate ploy by the government to get us all used to paying

I would be prepared to pay for it for three or four months, as my GP will not do a prescription at the moment, although they have agreed that in principle it would be the right drug for me.

My worry is that I do that, my HbA1c gets lower (and probably a little weight loss), and they'll then say that I'm not eligible for it.