Wegovy worries

[BohoBiscuit]

No judgement please
Hi all, just picked up my first Wegovy prescription from Asda pharmacy and I'm so anxious to start.
I take Sertraline, Gabapentin and HRT so I'm used to reading about side effects but the thought of Pancreatitis is terrifying me! The more I read the more common it seems to be....
Also, I share a bottle of wine once a week with my partner and I've read different opinions on alcohol.
I really need talking down before I completely change my mind.

Background info:
Age - 44
Weight - 15stone

Hi,

I've never tried injections but I know that my parents were both told that pancreatitis and liver damage was why their practice didn't recommend injections for weight loss and that did put them off when they made their enquiries.

They are much larger than you, too.

I hope you get some good advice and no judgement!

It's important to remember that being obese is also a risk factor for pancreatitis, and by losing weight with injections, you will be lowering your overall risk of pancreatitis. It is also a very rare side effect. There are 1.5 million people or more taking WLI in the UK and the rates of reported pancreatitis are really really low. Liver damage is even more rare than that. And again, being obese means you are at risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease already, so losing weight with WLI will overall reduce your risk of that.

Don't over think the alcohol issue. You are likely to not want to drink alcohol if the medication works for you, or to drink less of it.

There is a whole board for people to discuss using WLI, it's here:

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/weight-loss-injections

There are threads each month for people starting WLI, usually it's Mounjaro but you'd be welcome on the August thread I'm sure. There are also some Wegovy specific ones too, although they are less busy as Wegovy is not popular as Mounjaro.

Regarding what the PP has said, second or third hand from someone else's GP.... Well, GPs don't prescribe Wegovy for weight loss at all, it's done by the Tier 3 weight loss service that a GP could refer a patient to. Mounjaro is currently being prescribed, by GPs or another local service, initially to those with BMIs over 40 and with 4 out of 5 specific weight related health conditions. So the NHS does recommend and does prescribe WLI.

Thank you so much @SilenceInside. You've really reassured me. I definitely overthink things and even though logically I know pancreatitis is rare it definitely worried me.

Yes, I am obese and I've lost 1stone 10lbs by restricting food and going to the gym. However, it's very slow going and the food noise is unbearable at times. I'm going to start it tomorrow and see how I go.

Thank you once again and I'll take a look at the WLI threads.