Weight loss drug available OTC for se... - Pernicious Anaemi...

Pernicious Anaemia Society

32,669 members24,064 posts

Weight loss drug available OTC for self-injection.

deniseinmilden profile image
17 Replies

I see in

BBC News - NHS gets limited stock of Wegovy weight-loss jabbbc.co.uk/news/health-66681892

a weight loss drug is to be available OTC and on the NHS.

"The list price for a month's supply ranges from £73.25 to £175.80 depending on the dose. Users inject themselves once a week.

Some high street pharmacies, as well as private medical providers, have said they plan to sell it to customers too, offering a full prescribing and dispensing service."

How come this is available for self-injection but B12 ampoules are not? (I know the answer is "profit!").

I hope that the people with clout who are campaigning for B12 ampoules to be available OTC will use this as a very powerful bargaining tool!

Written by
deniseinmilden profile image
deniseinmilden
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
Read more about...
17 Replies
Nackapan profile image
Nackapan

So do I!!!

jade_s profile image
jade_s

Unbelievable! (Not really)

Narwhal10 profile image
Narwhal10

Thanks denisinmilden,

There’s a magic unicorn pill for every ill !!!

They forget the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal.

Number 3 is ‘Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.

That includes NUTRITIONAL STATUS i.e. Pernicious Anaemia/vitamin B12 deficiency.

😘

Cornwaller profile image
Cornwaller

The answer cannot be profit! Commercial organisations would happily sell us b12 for a profit if they were allowed to - see Germany for details. Sadly this is demarcation - the medical establishment restricting the publics access to medical treatments is a well trodden path and it is dressed up as paternalism. Why do they do this? Because if doctors restrict people to only being able to access treatment through or from them then you increase their power and financial bargaining strength. If you don't believe me consider how the BMA always opposes liberalisation such as pharmacists and nurses prescribing or b12 patients self injecting or thyroid patients being able to nudge up or down their medication. The sad reality is that the medical establishment put their power before patients.

deniseinmilden profile image
deniseinmilden in reply toCornwaller

Or maybe it's simply because B12 has been around for so long that it can be produced under a general licence so there isn't the mark up available to invest heavily in marketing, as there is with new products produced under a restricted licence...

Cornwaller profile image
Cornwaller in reply todeniseinmilden

Agree, there is no restricted licence and therefore profitability likely to be modest; however, generic medicines and vitamins are certainly produced and sold by the £ billions and indeed b12 is produced and sold by many companies. So the issue is that there is a legal restriction on this particular form of b12 OTC rather than companies not wishing to sell it. There appears to be a vested interest elsewhere that doesn't seem to want to change. If the restriction was lifted then companies would happily produce and sell the product in the UK - as happens in Germany.

deniseinmilden profile image
deniseinmilden in reply toCornwaller

Absolutely - but I guess they don't get enough out of it to make it worth their while trying to overturn the decision to block it.It's such nonsense, isn't it!

MorningMist profile image
MorningMist in reply toCornwaller

Sadly yes. I think philosophy ought to be included at the beginning of medical studies, to contemplate the nature of reality and truth.

wedgewood profile image
wedgewood in reply toMorningMist

Brilliant ,MorningMist ! 👍*****

3rdNettydoon profile image
3rdNettydoon

Tracey Witty is on to this. And BTW, I attended ne of Tracy's Zoom courses last week. It was so enlightening. Tracey's knowledge is amazing and her dedication is second to none.

Also good to speak and listen to others who have this horrible B12d/Pernicious Anemia.

I do recommend her Zoom course.

Am I allowed to say this here? Hope so.

deniseinmilden profile image
deniseinmilden in reply to3rdNettydoon

I hope so too! We're very lucky to have her promotion with such insight.

Cherylclaire profile image
CherylclaireForum Support in reply to3rdNettydoon

If I could have coped with a Zoom meeting, I would have joined you, but I find them overwhelming.

Really glad that you did it - and that you got so much from it !

wedgewood profile image
wedgewood

How right you are ! I think that’s shocking that the “ slimming drug” is available over the counter when weight could be lost by diet adjustments .

P A sufferers can only be helped by getting sufficient injections to keep the horrible symptoms at bay . They are unavailable “over the counter” in the enlightened U.K. !

Where is the justice in that ?!

It’s honestly unbelievable .

deniseinmilden profile image
deniseinmilden in reply towedgewood

Exactly - very well put! It's amazing, and dreadful to be honest, isn't it?!

I'm pretty proactive with my health but really struggle to get any help at all - even when it's in the health service's interest to give me the treatment I need in the first place to stop me becoming more ill and costing much more in the long run.

But that's the whole story of B12 deficiency, isn't it, sadly. And if I'm well, I work, pay my taxes and cover my costs so it's win, win for everyone, but the Drs don't see this readily, and some just seem to refuse as part of some power trip!

JGBH profile image
JGBH

Yep! Greed is the driving force in a capitalist world. Not sure the battle for B12 will be successful because Big Pharma can’t make any profit out of this relatively cheap drug. Despair.

deniseinmilden profile image
deniseinmilden in reply toJGBH

It does appear to be what it comes down to, doesn't it!

B12life profile image
B12life

Agree 1000% here

Not what you're looking for?

You may also like...

Annoyed by all this talk of weight loss injections........

I keep reading about the weight loss injections being given on the NHS to obese people to help them...
BeachArt profile image

Weight loss

Hi everyone I was diagnosed with PA , it took quite a while to get to the bottom of my symptoms I...
Bmwx profile image

Weight loss and B12

Is it true that B12 injections can cause weight loss.... I'm a bit concerned because I've been on a...
Frances55 profile image

B12 injections and weight loss?

So I’m on b12 injections for deficiency. But, as I continue to research my condition, I keep seeing...

About German online Pharmacies. — If they follow pharmaceutical rules rules,they are not allowed to supply U.K. with B12 ampoules!

I was pleased the other day to find a newly discovered German online Pharmacy ,which would ship to...
wedgewood profile image

Moderation team

See all
Gambit62 profile image
Gambit62Administrator
Foggyme profile image
FoggymeAdministrator
taka profile image
takaAdministrator

Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.

Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.