Obesity as a Disease - Medication

Soarer · 19-11-2025 09:36PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124001789#Comment_124001789

Don't know why they would.

It will reduce claims for other weight-related issue like blood pressure, diabetes, etc.

19-11-2025 09:40PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124001908#Comment_124001908

That's a different question. They should absolutely be covering this treatment.

But if specialist doctors are masking product prices as consultant fees to get around existing coverage rules, don't be surprised when there is a crackdown.

LastApacheInjun · 20-11-2025 11:36AM

They may well crack down on it, to be fair. But Irish Life have come out to say that they will be covering a portion of the cost of GLP1 medications, and you'd assume Laya and VHI would have to follow suit. So by the time the crackdown comes, at least one of the providers will be starting a portion of coverage. It may not be as much as the current arrangement though, especially if you've got a plan that covers 75% of the GP fee.

Mellor · 24-11-2025 01:05AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124001924#Comment_124001924

Obviously they can't just bill medication as consultant fees. But at what point is the price structure up to them to set as a business.

If the base price is for them is €100. Is it up to their pricing model to choose between €150+€50 consultancy or €100+€100 consultancy.

LastApacheInjun · 24-11-2025 01:37PM

MyBMI are both prescriber and dispensing pharmacy. As you say, they probably can't sell the medication for less than cost price, but after that it's up to them what mark up they put on it, and how much their consultation costs. They aren't breaking any rules here.

spark_tank · 25-11-2025 12:27AM

Is there a TLDR anywhere on this? Monthly costs etc. for someone considering starting out.

Soarer · 25-11-2025 08:40AM

Not really. Kinda need to do your own research.

Nearly all pharmacies down south have their own pricing, so you'd have to ring around and find the cheapest one closest to you. They seem to be more aligned with each other regarding pricing up north. Some deliver, some don't.

This is all relating to Mounjaro btw. I've no idea about the other brands.

Edit: I found a guy on YouTube, FatOldClimber, to be incredibly helpful. He's the reason I've had so much success so far. He's done incredible research on the topic (Mounjaro), created a click calculator for deviating from the norm, etc. He's created a "beginners' playlist" that will answer a lot of questions you have.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLArvsf7govPyo0tDi-qWuXJgP5k8t-FhV

furiousox · 25-11-2025 09:35AM

He was ok until he started messing around with the doses.

I thought he gave bad advice then.

Soarer · 25-11-2025 10:08AM

I thought his dosing talk was the best part. I’d never have been brave enough to try anything without seeing him.
Plus, he’s not advising anything. He’s just giving information and telling what he’s done.
It’s not medical advice.

furiousox · 25-11-2025 01:36PM

I found some of his videos helpful and interesting but when he started going on about counting the clicks and how to get smaller doses out of a pen, injecting every 5 days, making a pen last for more than four weeks etc I stopped watching.

Not medical advice, but bad advice imo.

Soarer · 25-11-2025 01:46PM

I guess we’ll never agree on that.
I used my 15mg pen to micro/short dose 5mg every 4 days. Kept the suppression high at all times as the level never dropped too low. Just counted 20 clicks, job done.
Excellent advice imo.

Mellor · 25-11-2025 02:39PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124017230#Comment_124017230

Why do you think altering doses, frequency, duration is bad advice?
I've no idea what he was doing, so maybe its obvious

furiousox · 25-11-2025 02:51PM

Fine if some want to play around with the pens but it's not for me.

Risk of Overdose/Underdose: Mounjaro pens are pre-filled to deliver a precise, fixed dose four times. Attempting to extract extra liquid (often called the "golden dose" or "fifth dose") or microdose can result in an inaccurate amount of medication, which can cause severe side effects or make the treatment ineffective.
Side Effects: A gradual increase in dosage over at least four weeks helps your body adjust to the medication and minimizes common side effects like nausea, vomiting, constipation, and diarrhea. Increasing the dose too quickly or taking too much can worsen these side effects and increase the risk of more serious conditions like pancreatitis or hypoglycemia.

glen123 · 25-11-2025 03:34PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123892050#Comment_123892050

Another update.

So I've been using 5mg pen giving myself 2.5mg injections weekly by counting clicks. Still have 3 more 2.5mg doses left in the pen I started on 09/10/2025. Lost another 3kg since then with the total loss of 31kgs since 17/03/2025.

I am now 5kg from my 1st target and probably 10kg from my final target weight.

I have to say I feel much better on 2.5mg than 5mg as I had no appetite at all on 5mg.

I ordered 2 more 5mg pens from Corry's which worked out at 468eur. This should last me until early May if I keep going at 2.5mg so cost wise it's not too bad.

I took photos of myself before I started and took some now and the difference is staggering. Clothes size dropped from uk 22 to 14. The last time I was at this weight was at least 20 years ago. Cholesterol, blood pressure, etc - all back to normal.

Soarer · 25-11-2025 04:11PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124017469#Comment_124017469

Each to their own I guess.

The odds of over/underdosing are minimal if you can count.

And nobody is suggesting you go from 5mg to 15mg. But someone mightn't be comfortable (or get adverse reactions) going from 5mg to 7.5mg. So they can decide to taper up, count the clicks, and give themselves 6mg for a few weeks to see how they go.

Mellor · 27-11-2025 05:24AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124017469#Comment_124017469

Risk of Overdose/Underdose: They have a vested interest in discouraging that. That's not very strong evidence. If 4 clicks is a dose, there's nothing there that suggests 3 clicks is a bad idea. The risk of miscount is irrelevant.
Side Effects: The plan would be to titrate in a more slowly controlled fashion, not go faster. So that point is also moot.
And the idea that its a controlled increase is false. Medication is usually simplified to increase in jumps. A modification would increase in a smoother fashion, so if anything the above is a negative agaisnt the prescribed fashion.

LastApacheInjun · 27-11-2025 05:12PM

My GP specialises in obesity.

He confirmed that there was absolutely no problem in titrating up more slowly then the manufacturers guidelines. In fact he said it was preferable, as for a lot of people the jump between 2.5-5mg and 5mg-7.5mg was far too much, led to more side effects and led to people coming off the medication because they couldn't cope. He told me if a particular dosage was still working, stay on it.

He also said that there was absolutely no medical reason why you couldn't have a pen last more than four weeks. He said that the efficacy should last for 8/9/10 weeks as long as you kept the pen in the fridge. In fact, it should last until is use by date, it's just some people feel it doesn't work as well if it's been open more than eight weeks. After the prices went up he advised that I stay buying the 15mg pen, but count the clicks to titrate down to 7.5mg for my maintenance dose, to keep the cost per dose as manageable as possible.

He was less enthusiastic about people using the golden dose, but only because he worried about people buying diabetic needles (used to extract the dose) online and them not being sterile, or just injuring themselves when using the traditional syringe needle. But he said as long as both of those concerns were managed, work away at extracting all the medication in the pen.

guil · 28-11-2025 10:06PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124000522#Comment_124000522

Boots, I pay just under €128

Soarer · 28-11-2025 10:58PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124023803#Comment_124023803

When I take my jab, I make sure that once I'm finished, I keep the button fully depressed. I then withdraw the needle, replace the caps, and untwist and remove the needle from the pen, all the while keeping the button depressed. Only when the needle is detached do I release the button. That should ensure little, if nothing, so back into the solution and maintain efficacy. I then give the top a quick wipe with an alcohol wipe, and back into the fridge.

Soarer · 30-11-2025 01:20AM

Stupid Mounjaro kills Christmas parties.
Went for my one this evening and managed 5 free pints over nearly 6 hours.
Them went to the usual chipper on the way home and literally ended up dumping half the chips/burger I ordered.
Seriously impressive results.

LastApacheInjun · 01-12-2025 10:26AM

Ah Soarer, it's always going to have it's downsides 😄

My problem now is, if I combine drinks with food (especially fast food), or if I drink anything more than one drink an hour, I just end up throwing it all up. And I'm one of those people who will do ANYTHING not to throw up. It's a pain in the *rse but I suppose a price I'm willing to pay. I mean, it's basically stopping me from binge drinking and eating fast food, which I suppose is a good thing. 😆

The hangovers are still a nightmare though - same as if I had drunk a rake more drinks.

Soarer · 03-12-2025 03:29PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124002916#Comment_124002916

Is there any evidence of Irish Life doing this?

Soarer · 09-12-2025 11:12AM

Passed the 50lb marker this morning, 50.2lbs to be exact.

Still hanging onto the 170lbs club by 1lb. Fierce annoying. Weight loss has definitely slowed in the last few weeks, but still trending down.

LastApacheInjun · 09-12-2025 06:03PM

Well done Soarer! I've had a few plateaus and slowing down of weight loss and I find if you just trust the process and keep going, the weight will slowly come off. What dosage are you on now?

As for Irish Life Health, there's no sign of when they might bring in GLP1 coverage.

Soarer · 09-12-2025 06:18PM

I’m still doing my own thing of 6mg every 3 days.
As for the plateau, it’s very strange. I was hovering around the 175 mark for well over a week. Then had my Christmas party last Saturday week and all that entails. Weight jumped to 179. Knew it would jump. But it’s been a consistent loss nearly every day since. Maybe it just needed a kick up the hole to get moving again!

Padraig Mor · 09-12-2025 06:28PM

Well done Soarer, great effort!

I'm down 116lbs (since late February, coming from a high start) but had a bunch of international work travel late October and into November which played hell with my nice smooth loss before that, and it's been pretty slow since then too - finding it difficult to avoid temptation and food noise definitely there. Particularly worrying is that is all even before Christmas which obviously comes with its own challenge. Am currently on 7.5, gonna push up to 9 this week I think.

Soarer · 09-12-2025 06:38PM

Jaysus, you’ve lost a skinny woman!

Juran · 09-12-2025 09:42PM

I'm down 4 stone since June (on MJ). 2 more to go until a healthy comfortable weight. I feel hreat. Much fitter and stronger aswell due to walking, weights and swimming. I had a xmas dinner this evening for work thing ... turkey, ham, stuffing, veg, mash etc. I loaded my plate, ate 25% of it, felt full. Could not and did not feel like dessert. Previous years, I'd have finished the dinner, plus starter, plus dessert, plus a bottle of bubbly & wine. Now i dont feel like alcohol. I now wonder if this is what nirmal people feel like regarding appetite ?

Fwarder · 11-12-2025 08:59AM

DOwn roughly 25-30kg since August as well. I managed to stay on 2.5mg and I kinda plateaued with my weight lossat around ~25ish BMI.

To be fair, I’d say I’ll call it a day here and try to slowly phase out MJ (and hopefully keep the BMI at 25 or marginally below ).

Escapees · 11-12-2025 10:53AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124061275#Comment_124061275

From an outsider's perspective...

I appreciate that BMI isn't always a reliable indicator of general weight health, but setting a target at the threshold of class 1 obesity doesn't seem too wise. Why not aim for somewhere midway in the normal range, e.g. a BMI of 22 etc.

Edit: It would appear that a BMI of 25-30 is actually generally regarded as just being overweight, not Class 1 obesity according to this source I used:

https://www.healthyweightcolorado.com/bmi/

Obesity as a Disease - Medication

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