Mounjaro
From £147.99
We’re here to help.
Our friendly team is available to help Monday to Friday 9:00am – 5:00pm.
If you need urgent assistance, do not use this service. Call 111, or in an emergency call 999.
Our friendly team is available to help Monday to Friday 9:00am – 5:00pm.
If you need urgent assistance, do not use this service. Call 111, or in an emergency call 999.
Carrying excess weight can affect your blood pressure, your joints, your sleep and your risk of type 2 diabetes. For some adults, a medical assessment and, where suitable, prescribed treatment alongside changes to eating and activity may help. It is not right for everyone, and our prescribers will tell you honestly if it is not.
Every prescription follows an assessment by a GPhC-registered pharmacist independent prescriber, and treatment is one part of a plan that also involves changes to eating and activity. As a general guide, most prescription weight management treatments are licensed for adults with a BMI of 30 or above, or a BMI of 27 or above with a weight-related condition such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, raised cholesterol or obstructive sleep apnoea. For orlistat, the threshold with a weight-related condition is a BMI of 28 or above. Each treatment has its own criteria. Not sure of your BMI? Use our BMI calculator.
NICE advises using lower BMI thresholds when assessing health risk if your family background is South Asian, Chinese, other Asian, Middle Eastern, Black African or African-Caribbean, because health risks linked to weight begin at a lower BMI (obesity from a BMI of 27.5). Your prescriber takes this into account when assessing your health risks, but we only prescribe weight management medicines within their licence, so the licensed BMI criteria above still apply.
We cannot supply treatment if you are under 18, pregnant, breastfeeding or trying to conceive. If you have a current or past eating disorder, or your answers suggest one, we will not supply treatment and will point you towards the right support instead, such as Beat (beateatingdisorders.org.uk).
Weight management medicines are licensed as an aid to a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity, not as a replacement for them. How much difference they make varies between individuals. Weight is commonly regained after treatment stops unless the changes to eating and activity carry on, which is why your prescriber will talk to you about the longer term and not only the first few weeks.
Your prescriber will also check for conditions and medicines that mean treatment is not suitable, including a personal or family history of medullary thyroid cancer, previous pancreatitis, some bowel and gallbladder conditions, and diabetes medicines that could cause low blood sugar. If treatment is not suitable, we will tell you why and where to go next.
Treatment is not a one-off supply. Before each new supply, your prescriber reviews your weight, side effects and any changes to your health or medicines, and confirms your dose. If you are not losing enough weight to benefit, or side effects are a problem, they will discuss changing or stopping treatment. How often your treatment is reviewed is agreed with you at your first consultation.
Not sure whether this applies to you? Start the online assessment and a GPhC-registered prescriber will review your answers and tell you either way. It takes a few minutes, and there is no charge if treatment is not suitable.
Our clinicians may recommend one of the treatment options below, depending on your symptoms, medical history, and whether the treatment is appropriate for you.
Get medical help straight away if you have any of the following, and do not take your next dose until you have spoken to a healthcare professional. Call 999 if symptoms are severe.
Seek prompt medical attention if you experience:
Weight management treatment is surrounded by misconceptions, both overly optimistic and unnecessarily fearful. Here is what the evidence shows.
No. Obesity is a long-term condition, and treatment works while it is being taken. Weight is commonly regained once treatment stops unless the changes to eating and activity are kept up, so your prescriber will discuss what happens after treatment as well as during it.
No. Obesity is a long-term condition involving hormones and brain signals that control hunger and fullness, and the body adapts to weight loss in ways that make weight harder to keep off. Treating it with prescription medicine is no different in principle from treating high blood pressure or type 2 diabetes with medicine.
Side effects are common and are usually digestive, such as nausea or changes to bowel habit, and they often settle as the body adjusts. Serious effects are uncommon but they do happen, which is why the warning signs are listed on this page and why treatment is only supplied after a prescriber has reviewed your medical history.
For some people it is, and changes to eating and activity are the foundation of every plan. But many people find weight lost through diet and activity alone hard to keep off, partly because the body adapts to weight loss, for example by increasing hunger. For adults who meet the criteria, prescription treatment can help alongside those changes. It works while it is taken and does not replace them.
Most weight management medicines are prescription-only and must be prescribed after a proper assessment. A low-dose option is available from pharmacies after a pharmacist's check. The MHRA has warned about fake products sold online, on social media and in beauty salons, including powder-in-vial products that are not authorised in the UK. Only use a GPhC-registered pharmacy that checks your health and weight first.
How to check a pharmacy is registeredIncluding some protein and plenty of fibre at each meal, from foods such as fish, eggs, beans, lentils, vegetables and wholegrains, can help you feel full for longer. If treatment reduces your appetite, eating smaller meals more slowly, stopping when you feel full and avoiding very fatty or rich foods can also help with nausea. The NHS Eatwell Guide is a good starting point.
UK physical activity guidelines recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate activity a week, such as brisk walking, and strength exercises on at least 2 days a week. Strength exercises, such as weights, resistance bands or bodyweight exercises, help to protect muscle as you lose weight. Start gently and build up, especially if you have not been active for a while.
Most adults need between 6 and 9 hours of sleep a night. Regular poor sleep is linked to feeling hungrier and finding it harder to manage your weight. A regular sleep routine is a simple change that supports everything else.
For more on how the online pharmacy process works and how to verify any online pharmacy is legitimate, see our complete guide to weight loss medication in the UK.
Our health guides explain the options in more detail: a UK guide to prescription weight management options, tablet options compared and how to work out your BMI.
The assessment takes a few minutes. A GPhC-registered prescriber reviews your answers, confirms your weight, and tells you whether treatment is suitable for you, and what to do next if it is not. Start your online assessment.
You answer questions about your height, weight, medical history, any medicines you take and relevant family history. Before anything is prescribed, a GPhC-registered pharmacist independent prescriber checks your weight and height independently, for example by video consultation or from your GP records, and discusses your answers with you. Completing the assessment does not guarantee a prescription.
Yes. UK pharmacy regulator guidance says weight, height or BMI must be confirmed independently before weight management treatment is prescribed online, rather than relying only on answers to an online questionnaire. We may do this by video consultation or from your GP records before a prescription is issued, and again at reviews.
You can complete the assessment without a GP appointment, but we ask for your GP practice details and, with your consent, write to them about what has been prescribed. Keeping your GP informed is part of safe care rather than an optional extra.
With your consent, yes. We write to your GP practice so your records stay complete. If you would rather we did not, say so during the assessment and the prescriber will decide whether it is still appropriate to treat you.
Yes. Access Doctor is the trading name of Pharmadocs UK Ltd, a pharmacy registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council (registration number 9011198), which you can check on the GPhC register. Prescriptions are issued by GPhC-registered pharmacist independent prescribers, and medicines are UK-licensed products from licensed wholesalers.
Orders approved by a prescriber before 3pm Monday to Friday are dispatched the same day by Royal Mail Tracked 24 in plain packaging, with tracking from dispatch. Royal Mail aims to deliver Tracked 24 items the next working day, but this is not guaranteed.
That is the prescriber's decision, based on your assessment, your medical history and what is clinically suitable for you. UK rules do not allow us to promote prescription medicines to the public, so suitable options and their prices are discussed with you once your assessment has been reviewed.
Most prescription weight management medicines are licensed for adults with a BMI of 30 or above, or a BMI of 27 or above with a weight-related condition such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, raised cholesterol or obstructive sleep apnoea. For orlistat, the threshold with a weight-related condition is a BMI of 28 or above. NICE advises lower BMI thresholds when assessing health risk for people of South Asian, Chinese, other Asian, Middle Eastern, Black African or African-Caribbean family background (obesity from a BMI of 27.5). We only prescribe within each medicine's licence, so this does not lower the BMI needed for treatment, and a prescriber must assess you before anything is prescribed.
The prescriber will explain why and point you towards more appropriate care, which may mean speaking to your GP or a specialist service. If we cannot supply treatment, you are not charged for it.
The most common effects are digestive: nausea, diarrhoea, constipation and stomach discomfort. They are usually strongest when treatment starts or the dose goes up, and often ease with time. Less common but serious problems include inflammation of the pancreas and gallbladder problems, and the warning signs to act on are listed on this page. Always read the patient information leaflet that comes with your medicine.
Some weight management medicines must not be used in pregnancy or while breastfeeding, and the MHRA advises using effective contraception while taking them. Some can make the contraceptive pill less reliable, and some need to be stopped for a period before you try to conceive. Tell the prescriber if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, trying to conceive or using hormonal contraception.
Appetite usually returns to what it was before, and weight is commonly regained unless the changes to eating and activity continue. This is why treatment is planned alongside longer-term changes rather than as a short course.
In some cases, yes. NHS specialist weight management services, and increasingly GP practices, can provide treatment, and NHS access to newer medicines is being rolled out in phases, starting with people at the highest health risk. Availability varies by area and waiting times can be long, so your GP is the best person to tell you what is offered locally.
Treatments are taken in different ways, and what suits you matters, so tell the prescriber your preference during the assessment. The final decision is clinical, based on your medical history and what is appropriate and workable for you day to day.
Tell us during the assessment. The prescriber needs to know what you are taking, the dose, and when you last took it, so that you carry on at the right point instead of starting again. Be accurate about this, because a wrong dose can be harmful. We may ask for evidence of your previous prescription.
Changes in weight are usually gradual and build over months. Progress varies between individuals, and treatment is reviewed as you go: if it is not working for you, continuing is not the right answer.
Only use a UK-registered pharmacy that asks about your health and weight before prescribing, and check its registration on the GPhC register. The MHRA has warned about fake weight loss medicines sold online and through social media, including products supplied as powder in vials, which are not authorised in the UK. If a seller offers prescription-only weight management medicines without a prescription, do not use it.
Yes. Tell your healthcare team, including the anaesthetist, before any operation or procedure that needs a general anaesthetic or deep sedation, because some weight management medicines slow how quickly the stomach empties. Do not stop your treatment without advice.
Helpful reads related to this treatment area.
Answer a few questions about your health and weight. A GPhC-registered prescriber will review them and confirm your weight before anything is prescribed. Completing a consultation does not guarantee a prescription.
