Can you take Ozempic just for weight loss?
At present, Ozempic and Rybelsus – the latter of which is the only tablet form of semaglutide – will continue to be available on the NHS to treat type 2 diabetes, where prescriptions will remain free for those with the condition.
?Draft guidance from NICE indicates those with a body mass index (BMI) over 30 with an obesity-related comorbidity – like high blood pressure – will be able to access it through the NHS,? notes Dr Chahal. For others, it will be available for treating obesity in a private setting for just under £200 per month.
But it?s becoming increasingly clear that people in the UK – including those who aren?t obese – are paying to access the medication under any brand name online.
This includes a friend of mine – slightly overweight, thanks to a more sedentary pandemic lifestyle – who was able to order Rybelsus tablets, £300 for three months, by tweaking their details on the form so their BMI fell into the obese range. They have lost two stone in a year and are now continuing to take it for ?maintenance?.
It was the ease of access to Ozempic that also shocked Isobel, who also wasn?t obese. ?I couldn?t believe that there wasn?t even a Zoom, phone or face-to-face consultation before they dispensed it,? she admits.
?They are being issued ?off label? to treat obesity,? explains Abbas Kanani, superintendent pharmacist at Chemist Click UK. ?This is a term used when a medication is prescribed for any reason other than what is stated on its product license.?
He explains that online weight management services will issue a prescription after the patient has completed a consultation to check whether it?s clinically appropriate. ?Of course, online, it is easier to be untruthful, as face-to-face providers will have weighing scales and physical oversight of the patient,? he adds. ?But to lie is dangerous.
Indeed, health professionals are worried. ?It?s a genuine threat to a patient?s safety if they are taking prescription drugs that they have bought online without a prescription from a qualified medical professional,? says Professor Kamila Hawthorne, chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners, in a recent statement. Ozempic pen in the UK
?It?s even more worrying if those drugs are being used for purposes that they are not intended to be used for.?
One of the problems is that, on some sites, it?s not possible to verify the quality of ?weight loss injections? offered at the click of a button.
Not being under medical guidance, warns Dr Chahal, opens you up to complications or interactions with certain medicines.
He adds that there are strict dosage guidelines because the strength needs to be gradually increased, and – if in the instance that a patient still doesn?t lose weight – it?s important to investigate what other hormonal problem could be going on, like thyroid issues, PCOS or excess cortisol. Can you take Ozempic just for weight loss?
