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A space to talk openly about weight loss journeys and challenges. Mumsnet hasn't checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. You may wish to speak to a medical professional before starting any diet.

Original poster

Why are you NOT on injections?

199 replies

Froum · 09/04/2025 17:39

Just curious why other people have chosen not to go down the glp 1 route.

For me I have just heard one too many horror stories. I am extremely grateful to be in a healthy (albeit overweight) body that I just can’t take the risk. I have a random phobia of vomit/nausea. Genuinely couldn’t think of much worse in terms of side effects.

Also, I have lost significant amounts of weight in the past. And once I get going I don’t find it too difficult. So I know I don’t really need the medication. I can keep it off too as long as I don’t use food as a crutch when going through a difficult time. The weight I’m losing right now al came on during my divorce process. I lived off lasagna and cheese boards. Just to cheer myself up. Luckily I am in a better place

And id rather have the money each month (thinking of treating myself to a cosmetic treatment and it’s more justifiable in my head if I think I’ve saved money from not spending it on wl jabs).

I really dont think poorly of people who choose medication. Just thought I should say that.

OP posts:
Logglow · 09/04/2025 23:28

I have been overweight most of my adult life. I have tried every diet going and they have all worked for me. I have lost TONS of weight but have put more back on again because eventually the diet comes to an end and normal service is resumed. This is what would happen with injections.
2 books I read last year have been enlightening for me. Ultra Processed People and How Not To Diet. As a result I have changed the way I eat without going hungry or counting points and calories. I continue to lose weight and gain health and this way of eating has no need to ever come to an end

QueefQueen80s · 09/04/2025 23:33

SmoothEncounter · 09/04/2025 22:35

I keep hearing about this “Ozempic look” but don’t know what it means - can anyone give me an idea? Apart from hair loss by the sound of it!

Show quote history

They can look older quite quickly and it takes too much muscle and fat so faces can look quite drawn and hollow. But I’ve only seen it with people who have gone too far with it, not those who just get to a healthy weight. I think it must be addictive to keep losing.

Galaxybisc · 09/04/2025 23:37

Because I imagine like any diet , as soon as you stop the weight just piles back on and more. Also wouldn’t want to risk any long term health effects.

If being overweight was immediately endangering my life and causing say, really high blood pressure or some other very serious problem and I needed a quick fix I’d consider it then.

YawnSoTired · 10/04/2025 00:07

I've been on them since Nov lost 3 stones 3lbs.
Side effects for me are fatigue and felt sick on 12.5mg dose for first couple days just, so based on my experience I'd recommend them. I feel like I look good feel confident.

I've just bought my last pen this is due to cost, its not sustainable for me any longer, after that I'll need to try will power again, but I know it's not going to be easy.

I'm not worried about long-term effects I very much live for now rightly or wrongly. Had too many leave me early to know life can go in blink of an eye.

CleverMintHedgehog · 10/04/2025 00:13

For me, it’s

  • side effects, particularly acid reflux. Got enough of that as is… as well as the risk of the pill being less effective (not taking it for contraception and really don’t want that to not keep working)
  • I hate needles and would be too squeamish to inject myself
  • Coming off it again
  • I don’t like taking medication - avoiding it where it’s not absolutely necessary
  • Costs, I could afford it but it’s still quite expensive

I have lost over 4st in the past and piled it back in due to long and stressful workdays being away from home, too. Staying in hotels for 1/3 of the year makes it incredibly difficult to eat healthily. So I know I can do it without - even though I was quite a bit younger then.

LikeMyHeartIsAboutToStopBeating · 10/04/2025 08:21

I know I can lose weight without too much pain and effort if I calorie count carefully. And this time I’m much more focused on changing my habits and generally making lifestyle changes so I don’t see the need for me - I will need to learn how to maintain my new weight eventually and for me the best way to do that is to be thoughtful about food choices rather than having the suppression I’d get from a weight loss drug.
But if I couldn’t do it this way, I’d definitely consider it (though with a BMI of 27 I don’t know if I’d be able to be prescribed it).

DoAWheelie · 10/04/2025 08:30

I have ARFID and I've heard the injections change what foods you do/don't like.

I'm scared I'll stop liking my safe foods (that I've worked really really hard on expanding) and the new foods I'll start craving will still trigger my gag response and I'll have nothing I can actually eat.

ARFID means food I like and food that make me vomit don't have much relation - I can like the taste of something and be unable to eat it without vomiting. I can dislike the taste of something and still eat it.

I also don't actually eat very much solid food and most of my calories come from drinks as water makes me vomit and I'm allergic to aspartame so can't drink diet versions of my safe drinks. My only safe drinks are milk/chocolate milk, orange juice (only Tropicana and innocent orange not any other brand) and coke. And I don't think I'd really lose weight without changing that. Every time I've tried to force myself to switch drinks I end up in hospital severely dehydrated.

LindorDoubleChoc · 10/04/2025 08:31
  1. I don't rely on regular medication for anything else and don't like the idea of having drugs in my system.
  2. I don't think the side effects have been researched enough yet.
  3. I like food and eating.
  4. I have emetophobia so cannot stand feeling even a suggestion of nausea.
Icanthinkformyselfthanks · 10/04/2025 09:02

SwanOfThoseThings · 09/04/2025 19:22

My understanding is that they work by reducing your appetite (or 'food noise') so you eat less - I couldn't eat less than I do now without literal starvation. I regrettably seem to be programmed to hang onto weight.

@SwanOfThoseThings , the feeling of fullness which helps people to lose weight is a side effect. The drug was originally developed for diabetes and its primary purpose is to regulate blood sugar. If you have underlying insulin resistance (which isn’t routinely tested for) your body will be programmed to store fat and to resist weight loss. I believe that’s why some people using the medication lose very slowly and need to get to the higher doses to achieve significant weight loss. These people will need to take the medication for life. Others lose weight stunningly quickly because they are not eating as much, so long as they permanently modify their diet they should be able to maintain their weight loss.

Housewife2010 · 10/04/2025 10:11

I have been on MJ for 9 weeks and have lost 21 lbs. I have had no side effects. I am an emotional eater and the MJ has stopped that. I never feel particularly hungry on MJ, but I can enjoy my meals and have gone out for dinner with no repercussions. I don't feel like I have to finish my meal or have a pudding (but I have had them occasionally). I dont think about food until it's time to eat. I never snack any more. I make sure to eat healthily. To me, MJ has been like a huge boost to my willpower. If I had been able to lose weight without it, I would have, but I have been overweight and then obese for most of my life and I'm absolutely fed up of it. It is years since I successfully lost more than a few pounds.
I am not worrying about putting weight back on afterwards. Hopefully by then I will have broken my binge habit and as I lose weight I am getting more active. My only regret is that I didn't start sooner.

Outofthepan · 10/04/2025 10:15

I actually ordered MJ but that very week got a nasty gut thing that was similar to what can happen with the drug, so I’ve been too scared to try it.

I really wanted to try it to help with not drinking wine if an evening as this ruins my otherwise healthy (ish) lifestyle

Bolide · 10/04/2025 10:18

The blindness risk is too big for me, I have about 2 stone to lose but I can do the natural way

SilenceInside · 10/04/2025 10:31

There is no risk of blindness. That's an absolute misunderstanding of a research project in the US that absolutely did not draw any kind of causative conclusion. And was about semaglutide (Wegovy/Ozempic), not tirzepatide (Mounjaro/Zepbound).

Bolide · 10/04/2025 10:39

I believe in time more side effect knowledge will become available. I would not take any of these injections if you gave me a million quid

SilenceInside · 10/04/2025 10:41

@Bolide I don't think anyone is going to offer you money or otherwise try to persuade you to take a prescription medication that you don't need and don't want! So, you can rest easy on that score. And no need to invent side effects that don't exist in order to justify your position. Or worry about possible future side effects that may be discovered.

MrsBeltane · 10/04/2025 10:42

I tried to get it on the NHS but was refused, BMI was 35, type 2 diabetes and hypertension.
I bought Mounjaro for 3 months and lost 2 stone bringing my BMI down to 31.
Decided I couldn't afford it any more. My weight has gone up about 5kgs but I'm trying to control it. I would love to go back n a low maintenance dose but it's just too much money.

XelaM · 10/04/2025 10:48

I don't believe that there will be no long-term health implications

Bolide · 10/04/2025 10:58

I am not "inventing" a side effect. These drugs all work in the same way and are the same class of drug, so it stands to reason that the blindness risk be across the board. The syndrome comes on from the rapid fluctuations in blood sugar as this is "corrected" by the drug.

ScratchyMcScratchface · 10/04/2025 11:00

I do think it will lead to a massive problem with eating disorders in the longer term.

Fullofpudding · 10/04/2025 11:03

I was just reading another post on here about what people are eating a day whilst on it. Honestly some people are starving themselves each day just because they don’t feel hungry. It doesn’t seem sensible to me. Of course you’re going to lose weight if you’re only eating a few hundred calories a day!

Guistarry · 10/04/2025 11:04

XelaM · 10/04/2025 10:48

I don't believe that there will be no long-term health implications

This is why there are restrictions on the prescribing parameters. There might be risks uncovered in the future, but for people who are eligible there are already a lot of known risks for obesity; so the risk balance of something maybe happening vs lots of serious things likely to happen is reasonable.

ScratchyMcScratchface · 10/04/2025 11:09

Fullofpudding · 10/04/2025 11:03

I was just reading another post on here about what people are eating a day whilst on it. Honestly some people are starving themselves each day just because they don’t feel hungry. It doesn’t seem sensible to me. Of course you’re going to lose weight if you’re only eating a few hundred calories a day!

Exactly. It is really satisfying and addictive to restrict calories and that is obviously easier without hunger pangs. I can see a massive problem looming with AN and BED when folk stop the jabs.

Stevialive · 10/04/2025 11:10

Because I’m not overweight

LindorDoubleChoc · 10/04/2025 11:17

@Housewife2010 - you appear to have misread the thread title.

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