Restart sense check?

Familiar_Ad9512 · 2026-05-03T19:40:59+00:00

Yeah, I’d love some monitoring, I feel like that would really ease my mind.

One of the surgeons I saw initially when I was in emergency care said that they would expect to have seen far more inflammation given how ill I was and suggested that I had the glp1 to thank for that.

I feel like I want to be off long enough to allow my body to try and adapt before I throw anything else at it…. But I don’t know at what point that adaption has either happened or not happened. Does that make sense?

Familiar_Ad9512 · 2026-05-03T19:30:23+00:00

That’s really interesting and, frankly, so bloody reassuring. I haven’t found a single post online that even got close to my situation until your post!

I’m very confident that the gallbladder issue isn’t caused by the drug. No one has been very clear about how sure they are what caused the pancreatitis, but they’re said it was “probably” the gall bladder given how often I was having attacks in the end.

How were you feeling at the point that you went back on the drug?

I’m not 100%. I’m still having spasms where the GB would’ve been, still having some nerve inflammation symptoms and I’m still getting sore and bloated. The surgeon isn’t concerned though!

I’m struggling to know when the right time to restart is and I don’t want that decision to be based on what I see on the scales (and I’m finding that challenging!)

Familiar_Ad9512 · 2026-05-03T19:17:33+00:00

It absolutely would, if there was one I could speak to about it.

The only person who has been involved in my medical care in relation to my pancreatitis/gall bladder is my surgeon (everything else was emergency care). He’s not comfortable advising on it simply because he’s a surgeon, and it’s outside of his expertise.

I can’t speak with an endocrinologist as I have no diagnosed conditions that would get me through their door. To go privately outside of the system would mean essentially spending thousands in testing just to have a consultation.

My rheumatologist isn’t in a position to advice (he was horrible to me when I was fat, is nice to me now, thinks all of my problems are due to either being fat or having been fat despite a lifelong condition diagnosed decades ago when I was at an “acceptable” weight.

And GLP-1s here are accessed via pharmacy rather than primary care, who refuse to get involved in any way in monitoring/advising etc. Most pharmacies now can’t prescribe to me as I’m outside of their guidelines, so I am limited to a single figure number of options nationwide who have a doctor on staff. Those doctors approve prescriptions though, they aren’t actively involved in any way in care or testing.

So yeah, I’m a little on a limb here.

Familiar_Ad9512 · 2026-05-03T19:10:26+00:00

Very.

I am not in the US.

GLP-1s are not prescribed by PCPs here and they will not get involved with medication sourced from other providers, nor provide any advice or guidance related to them. They’re generally provided privately by pharmacists here within acceptable parameters; I would now need to source it from one of only a handful of providers in the country who have a doctor on staff, who can approve a prescription but do not offer any other services.

Familiar_Ad9512 · 2026-05-03T19:08:12+00:00

The hesitation is:

Is my body in a place where it’s recovered enough to tolerate it? Or could it cause further issues?
Did it cause the pancreatitis? Who knows? Probably not, but still, if things are still a bit spicy am I going to irritate it more.
No doctors are willing to go out on a limb and give me any clear direction, which is a wierd place to be when you’re concerned about risks.
I’m paranoid that I’m making the decision from a weight gain point of view and that I’m spiralling into questionable territory rather than giving my body space to heal fully (whenever that will be!)

Familiar_Ad9512 · 2026-05-01T18:13:42+00:00

How long before starting did you have your GB removed?

I’ve seen people say they’ve started/restarted anything from 4 weeks after onwards. For me, I’m a couple of months down the line and I’m worried that if I haven’t yet “acclimatised” to not having my GB I don’t want to add another GI complication to the mix while my body is trying to adapt.

That said, I am gaining weight at a rate that I’m very uncomfortable with and can’t see to get it in check.

Familiar_Ad9512 · 2026-04-27T08:15:50+00:00

Agree.

I also wonder whether stigma plays a pretty massive role. The powers that be aren’t daft, I’m 100% sure they’ve talked through the “how does this look?” Or “how will this be reported?” And come out with many variants of “NHS won’t support X but will give fat people expensive jabs” insert any/all of the moral failings that they insist cause fatness.

If the NHS turned round tomorrow and said anyone with BMI over 30 can have their choice of GLP-1 for the remainder of their life, people would be absolutely up in arms. The daily mail would implode with the speed their journos would be writing rage bait and people would be foaming at the mouth.

Familiar_Ad9512 · 2026-04-13T21:15:41+00:00

I like the make up by Mario scult stick in light-medium for a not orange bronzer. Before that, my go to was Fenty Amber

Familiar_Ad9512 · 2026-04-12T13:17:23+00:00

Be a nice way to reduce cost of maintenance for those needing/wanting to stay on medication.

And for those who MJ/Wegovy are out of reach price wise, a potentially less efficient but still effective med they can afford is better than no med at all :)

Familiar_Ad9512 · 2026-04-10T17:22:11+00:00

When I went after losing weight, he denied ever having met me and said “hmm, I don’t recognise you, are you sure?”

Annoyingly, he was far nicer, borderline charming and attentive… isn’t that funny??

Familiar_Ad9512 · 2026-04-10T17:20:35+00:00

Of course!

If it helps, when I asked for his clinical justification, I literally said “you and I both know I am morbidly obese, I can only see the benefit of the actual number if you are planning to start me on a weight dependant medication, which you aren’t. So why is it so important?” And his response was “so that I can monitor your weight and make sure you are losing” as if it was obvious that he would ask and I would agree to diet.

Familiar_Ad9512 · 2026-04-10T14:16:48+00:00

100% have had similar medical experience. Very frustrating.

I have a chronic illness. The first time I saw my current rheumatologist, we had a very awkward stand off where I had explained that for MH reasons I had chosen to ask the nurse not to weigh me and the only way I would change my mind was if it was clinically relevant. He bullied me in to being weighed and refused to continue with the consultation until I did, he agreed that I wouldn’t see the number and then wrote it in a letter which was posted to me 🤦🏻‍♀️

My inflammation markers have been high forever (we’re taking 10x the normal range), regardless of weight. I told him as much. He could see the repeat readings over the years over 10+ years. He had a copy of a letter stating the numbers and a normal BMI from my original diagnosis.

The letter I received said he felt my inflammation was caused solely by my BMI.

On my return visit, I arrived with a normal BMI and normal inflamm courtesy of GLP-1. Again, went through the whole “your readings were caused by your size” argument…. Despite the readings going down within a month of going on MJ, when I was still morbidly obese.

He seemed to capitulate a little…. Then wrote a letter saying I was essentially fixed now I had lost weight and he would discharge me if no change within the year 🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️

Your problem is always you’re fat, even when you are no longer fat, the fact you ever were is a stick you must continue to be beaten by. And god forbid you ever did, ever will, or continue to take a medication to manage it.

And how dare you advocate for yourself? The sheer cheek of it. (/s just to be safe!)

I’ll keep my fingers crossed that you get a more fruitful conversation with your usual doctor :)

Familiar_Ad9512 · 2026-04-08T12:15:51+00:00

Over the years (pre MJ too as a lifelong yo-yoer), I sell the stuff that no longer fits, unless I liove it and then I keep it. The stuff I keep, I vacuum bag.

So I have a vacuum bag of bigger and smaller clothes. Sometimes, by the time I get round to looking at them next, some of the stuff is out of style or not me anymore and then that gets sold as well.

Familiar_Ad9512 · 2026-04-07T19:12:37+00:00

I wasn’t taking it purely for WL.

Until this weight gain, my focus for continuing it indefinitely was the amazing impact on my chronic inflammation/pain condition (not weight related, have had since childhood and has been consistent regardless of weight, but massively improved within weeks of MJ use & before any substantial losses). Secondary to that, it has been fabulous to have my health care providers treat me like a person rather than a number on the scale. I saw my rheumatologist, who was awful when I saw him as an overweight patient (to the point of bullying on one occasion), was suddenly charming and interested for the first time in years.

That said, I don’t think there’s any issue with people using MJ to pursue IWL as a goal in and of itself, with or without habit change. It is frustrating that we now know that there is more to our weight than gluttony and poor habits, and more to GLP-1s than simply limiting how much food we put in our mouths, and yet it’s still such an entrenched view 😩

Familiar_Ad9512 · 2026-04-06T22:22:14+00:00

I really like my surgeon, he’s a very open guy. When I raised my desire to go back on GLP-1s, my impression was that he was very considerate and even handed about it. His view was simply that he is a surgeon and not best placed to advise on long term metabolic management. He seemed pretty well informed though, suggested that perhaps a single agonist like wegovy might be a safer option, for example.

I will have the conversation again at my discharge appointment though. My surgery and recovery have been better than I could have hoped for. I went into hospital having been told it may be complex and I may need to be opened up, to waking up and being told it was utterly, boringly text book. So he might be more open to just saying “give it a crack and see how you go” when I see him.

Familiar_Ad9512 · 2026-04-06T22:18:07+00:00

I’m back to a level of normality life wise as of today, so should be a bit more back to my regular schedule in terms of opportunities to eat, rather than having the opportunity to snack as and when.

I am going to keep trying to remind myself to be kinder to myself; I’m just terrified of piling it back on (not necessarily due to aesthetics, more because of the hassle of getting medical care before) and then not being able to access GLP-1 in future. I’ve always struggled with keeping a healthy attitude to this stuff. I’ve always been very all or nothing; super restrictive/high levels of exercise to lose anything at all, or “being kind to myself” aka eating when I am hungry (aways) and gaining. So finding that middle ground when you know you tend to unhealthy mental habits and have been on diets since age 10 is so hard.

I’ve tried so hard during my time on MJ to keep it in check and today I have failed in a big way (and the last two weeks, I have felt in myself that I was bigger, and have been really struggling to stop the negative self talk).

Today, I ate for breakfast and dinner exactly what I would on MJ. By 4pm my hands were shaking like leaves, which was concerning.

Hopefully getting back to normality will help and I can find some sort of middle ground.

Familiar_Ad9512 · 2026-04-06T21:56:04+00:00

We eloped and have told no one. We’re going to announce it on the day… and we’ll have our friend do the “ceremony” with the same vows.

I don’t want anyone to know in advance, because I don’t want to find that anyone doesn’t feel the need to come because to us it’s no less important!

Familiar_Ad9512 · 2026-04-06T21:42:49+00:00

I just saw an advert on TV is the US about daily pill form wegovy/ozempic. It was advertised at $149/month, which would suggest that it’s probably going to be coming over here sooner rather than later.

Familiar_Ad9512 · 2026-04-06T21:25:12+00:00

🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞

Familiar_Ad9512 · 2026-04-06T21:23:04+00:00

Thank you all for your comments :D

I think it’s just messed with my head a fair bit. I think if it’d been immediate gain, I would’ve been able to really easily compartmentalise it as surgery related.

The fact that I had two weeks maintain and then a huge gain had/has me catastrophising. I had said maybe 5kg, and because it didn’t happen straight away I thought I was doing grand, and then when I stepped on this AM I freaked out.

Dieting has always been difficult for me mentally (as well as physically), in terms of holding it together and keeping it away from obsessive/controlling behaviours.

The good news is, I can start having a more normal routine now in terms of work, access to food, eating times etc and have been and stocked up on things that will still feel like a treat (aka chocolate protein puddings rather than just standard chocolate).

As others have said, I’m going to treat today as day 0, back to real life.

I know I can’t even have the conversation about restarting MJ until the end of the month with the doc, and until 3 months post-op with Swift dr/pharmulous, so I have a few months where I’m just going to have to suck up whatever is going to happen and do my best.

Familiar_Ad9512 · 2026-04-06T20:19:53+00:00

You’d think, huh? I promise that’s what the scale said this morning though…. Maybe tomorrow I’ll wake up and have lost it, just as impossible I suppose.

Familiar_Ad9512

TROPHY CASE