Up to 800 obese patients in Kent are now eligible for Mounjaro weight loss jabs on the NHS – but does it live up to the hype?
KentOnline’s Lauren Abbott spoke to those already using the drug to hear their verdicts…
Critical care nurse Traci Garlinge says Mounjaro has completely changed her life after shedding seven stone in seven months thanks to the jabs.
Juggling life as a mum-of-five and a career with unsociable shift work, the 48-year-old says she was struggling, like many women of a similar age, to control her weight as she got closer to the menopause.
The visible transformation has been nothing short of remarkable, with Traci going from just over 20 stone down to 13 stone and three pounds.
The health benefits are “crazy” too, she says, with everything from her osteoarthritis to her confidence much improved.
Traci, from Dover, said: “I’ve been taking it since December and had no side effects.
“I changed my diet as well to make sure that when I do stop, the weight doesn’t pile back on. There are some amazing support groups too on TikTok.”
“I would absolutely recommend it for people struggling.
“I was stuck because of my age and menopause and it has been the only thing that has worked for me.
“My success has encouraged lots of my friends to start too.”
Mounjaro’s potential means from this week it begins a mass roll-out on the NHS for people with severe obesity – with GPs able to prescribe for the first time.
The drug, also known as tirzepatide, works by lowering blood sugar levels and slowing down the digestion of food. Many users describe it as “silencing the food noise”.
Under the previous system, only patients under specialised weight loss management services could access such a treatment, leaving many others choosing to pay.
Becky Smithers from Maidstone says she was “really nervous” before buying injections privately.
Struggling to see results from other diets because of underlying health conditions – and having watched friends succeed with Mounjaro – the mum-of-two decided two years ago to consider buying the jabs.
Before making her mind up, Becky went to her GP for his professional opinion as to whether it would be safe and compatible with other important medication she was on.
The mum-of-two said: “I’ve had the same doctor for years. He said, ‘Yes, you can take it.’”
Becky says back then her GP predicted the time would come when it would be more widely funded by the NHS.
She has dropped from a size 22/24 to a 12, lost almost seven and a half stone in weight, noticed improvements with her health and is now thinking about how she can stop Mounjaro.
She said: “I can just go into the shops now and find sizes they have in stock.
“I just want to lose those last two pounds and then I’m done.
“I’m so much happier in myself.”
Becky’s friend Katie Bricknell, also from Maidstone, has lost four and a half stone on Mounjaro in the last 18 months – going from a size 18 to a size 10.
It’s a move the mum-of-two, 42, describes as “the best decision”.
She said: “I’m really chuffed. I have two dogs and I love walking them.
“I do feel more energetic.”
Despite their impressive weight loss, both women, who went through clinic Rightangled, have continued going to Slimming World at the Masonic Rooms in Tovil – using it as “another tool”, says Becky, to keep on track.
Becky added: “You have got to do your research.
“It’s like any diet – it’s a lifestyle change.
“I’m still going to Slimming World. They are the best group ever and they are really supportive.”
While the NHS will now start prescribing Mounjaro to severely obese people in primary care settings – back in September 2023, it was approved for NHS use by patients with type 2 diabetes.
Lisa Huffer from Herne Bay is among those to have benefited.
As a type 2 diabetic who was struggling to control her condition, while also experiencing other health issues, the 61-year-old started injections in March.
She has since lost two stone and seven pounds with almost no side effects.
But it is the noticeable improvements in her health that Lisa – who has nine grandchildren – says has been the best part by far.
She said: “I have sleep apnea as well – that has really improved. Sometimes I don’t wear my mask now.
“I have reversed my diabetes, cholesterol has gone down.
“It’s the best thing ever invented.”
Confident she doesn’t want to lose any more weight, and having been able to scale back some of the other medication she was on, Lisa is now on a lower ‘maintenance dose’ of Mounjaro.
“I have got nine grandchildren, I have more energy. I don’t feel so tired,” she added.
“The benefits are for your health. I feel so much better.”
Between 700 and 800 overweight patients in Kent and Medway, it is estimated, could meet the new criteria for Mounjaro – albeit the drug may not be clinically suitable for everyone and not everyone eligible will wish to take it.
As conversations between doctors and patients begin, it will be people with the highest health risks who will take priority, explained the Kent and Medway Intergrated Health System in a statement on its website.
It reads: “According to NICE’s calculations, as part of its Technical Appraisal for tirzepatide (Mounjaro), 3.4 million patients in England would potentially be eligible for the drug; however, the NHS does not have the services or existing resources to manage this number of people.
“Therefore, the drug will be phased in gradually through a special agreement between NICE and the NHS in England, to make sure primary care services aren’t overwhelmed and can manage the extra demand safely.
“This means that access will be prioritised for those with the greatest clinical need, as they would benefit most from the treatment.
“Access to the drug must also be accompanied by a behavioural support for obesity prescribing service, which will include support for people to make dietary changes and to increase physical activity.”
Ashford Slimming World consultant Julia Males believes that the requirement for patients being given Mounjaro to adopt a healthier lifestyle is where groups like hers come in.
She says while the medication is changing the landscape when it comes to weight loss, long-term success with any plan still relies on making lasting changes to diet, activity levels and mindset.
Meetings like hers at Singleton Village Hall, she says, offer that “wrap-around care”.
She said: “Within Slimming World, we have group support – and we help members make those habit changes.
“That’s why we’re opening up our doors. If people are choosing the weight loss jabs, we can still give them that support.
“No one wants to be left out in the cold. It’s hard losing weight, I’m not going to deny that, whether it’s on a weight loss jab or with food.
“We want people to live healthy lives and if that’s the route they’re choosing, we can support those people.
“What we would encourage people to do is come along when they start taking it – or come along before – and see what it’s about.”
Harnessing those good habits has allowed Neil Charlick to stop Mounjaro injections completely after shedding more than eight stone with the “wonder drug”.
After two failed weight loss surgeries in Turkey, Neil turned to the jabs last November, paying privately through Asda’s pharmacy services.
“I would not recommend a weight loss surgery to anyone,” he said.
“Mounjaro will be a game changer for lots of different things.”
No longer out of breath, or struggling with his mobility, and able to complete simple tasks like doing his own shoe laces, Neil has also gone from wearing size 46-inch jeans to 32.
The founder of charity Gillingham Street Angels in Medway- he has been off the injections for two months and things are going well.
He said: “Six months down the line, I might struggle and go back on it. But the fact that I can buy things in shops, bend down, tie my own laces – that’s enough to make me not want to go back to making the poor choices.
“My health in general is great.
“There was so much attached to being big.
“I think it will save the NHS millions.”
