Obesity as a Disease - Medication

Under Irish legislation, you cannot advertise prescription drugs. That's why none of the Irish weight loss clinics/GPs will mention Ozempic/Saxenda on their websites.

Well yes, that's true. I don't know what the shortages are like at the moment. It certainly seems fine to get the 1mg dose at the moment, but I did hear something about difficulties in getting the 0.25mg starting dose. The good thing about that I suppose is that you might have to wait a month or two before taking your first dose, as supply comes in, but then you only take it for the first month and then move on to the other doses that are less in short supply? Also, for Ozempic, the 0.25mg starter pen has eight weeks rather than four weeks of doses in it, so even if the 0.5mg pen was delayed, you could continue to take the 0.25mg dose for a few more weeks to tide you over.

It certainly seems to be a bit haphazard regarding different pharmacies having supply. My own pharmacy has never had an issue, but it appears smaller non-chain pharmacies down the country have much more difficultly.

I just popped back in to give another update.

I have maintained a 10% weight loss for the past six months, while sticking - for the most part - to 0.8mg of Ozempic a week. While I was happy with the weight loss and the fact that I no longer had side effects, I decided, before Christmas to titrate up to the full 1mg dose to see if it helped with losing a few more pounds. Unfortunately all it did was increase the side effects. Titrating back down to the 0.8mg dose helped, but recently I’ve experienced an increase in side effects even at the 0.8mg dose.

I should say this was all done in conjunction with my GP. I haven’t been making titration decisions by myself.

I know if I continue on the 0.8mg dose the side effects will likely disappear. However, I have decided to explore the option to move to Mounjaro. I believe it will be available in Ireland in the next few weeks (if it isn’t already). I have an appointment with my GP in two weeks, and I’ll update here if I do decide to move products, and how that all goes.

Mounjaro in the South is expensive enough €215 for the starter dose, and I believe up to €295 for the top dose. Similar pricing to Saxenda if you’re not getting that through the drug payment scheme.

I’m going to get mine in the North. Corrys Chemist deliver to the south and the starting dose there is £150 with the top dose being £195. I’m on 1mg of Ozempic, so my GP suggested I move to the 7.5mg dose of Mounjaro. I’m going to buy the top dose - 15mg - for £195, and count the clicks for the 7.5mg dose. That means the initial couple of months should cost £97 or €116. When I move up to the 10mg, it should cost £130 or €156 - similar to what I pay for Ozempic now. I’m hoping I won’t need more than the 10mg dose to get a good result.

Yes, that’s what Corrys have told me.

The private cost of ozempic is €145-€160 per month, depending on the pharmacy. It seems to be similarly priced both North and South of the border.

Wegovy has not been launched in the Republic of Ireland by Novo Nordisk, so I've no idea what pharmacies in the South would charge.

Mounjaro is about €220 for the starting dose and up to €280 for the top dose in Irish pharmacies. I assume, if you are diabetic, you can get Mounjaro through the Long Term Illness scheme and the HSE will refund pharmacies accordingly (though probably at a way cheaper price than what obesity patients pay for it privately).

Mounjaro is cheaper in the North. My GP in Dublin posts the prescription to a pharmacy in Castlederg, and I pay €170 for the starter dose, and the top dose will cost about €220, which includes the DPD delivery fee. Still expensive, but cheaper than pharmacies here. MyBMI seems to be a half way point between the two price points, and I suppose is good value if you think you need a consultation with a doctor every month. I wouldn't see the benefit in that personally, having been on Ozempic for a year. It's certainly helpful to check in maybe three months after you start, but after that - unless you have a need for a consultation - there's no need for more regular check ins.