how much do the online clinics actually check
#uk-ireland 2025-07-01
Tuesday43 messages8 participantstimes are UTC
Highlights from this day
everything in this channel about pricing is a snapshot. read any figure here as the month somebody typed it
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genuine question i have never been asked for id at a pharmacy for this and other members here have, so it seems to be down to the individual pharmacist
coming back to this the private quotes i collected last spring ran from about 130 to about 250 a month depending on dose, and that will have moved since, ymmv
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off label and unlicensed get used interchangeably in here and they are different. off label is a licensed product used outside its licence
a member in dublin said their pharmacy supply was steadier than mine in england, which surprised both of us
for the archive unlicensed in mhra terms means there is no uk marketing authorisation for that product. it is not the same as illegal and it is not the same as approved
is there actually an NHS route or is that a myth people repeat
there is a route. whether there is a route where you live is a completely separate question
thats the whole thing in one line honestly
the classic path was referral into a specialist weight management service, then prescribing from there. NICE set the criteria, the local service sets the reality
and the wait
i waited 22 months for a first appointment. i know people in the same country who waited five weeks
22 MONTHS
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22 months, and i was not the longest wait in my cohort when i finally got in the room
mine was different because the tirzepatide rollout through general practice started in my area while i was waiting. phased, by priority group
so some people are now getting it without ever seeing a specialist service, and some people are still in the old queue. both are happening at once
which is why any advice in here has to be dated. what was true in 2024 was already stale by mid 2025
please do date your claims. this log gets read two years later by someone who thinks it is current
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ok so private. what does that cost
as of mid 2025 in my part of England i was paying roughly £150 a month at a mid dose, all in, including the consultation
it went up with dose. the low doses were cheaper, the top dose was not
mine was closer to £200 at the top dose and thats before you count the two months i couldnt get supply at all
rough shape of it, all as-of 2025 and all my own bills, dont treat this as a price list
| Route | Up-front | Monthly (mid dose) | Wait | Catch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NHS specialist service | £0 | £0 (prescription charge) | months to years | postcode dependent, strict criteria |
| NHS via general practice rollout | £0 | £0 (prescription charge) | phased by group | not everywhere, not yet |
| Private online clinic | £0-25 consult | £130-£220 | days | supply gaps, dose-priced |
| Private in-person clinic | £100-200 consult | £150-£250 | 1-3 weeks | more oversight, more money |
this is the clearest anyone has ever explained this to me
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add a row for the pharmacy lottery
oh the pharmacy lottery
there were stretches where the big chains just had nothing in certain doses, and independents had it, and the next week it flipped
i drove to four branches in one saturday. found it in the fourth, in a town i had never been to
the allocation systems were doing that on purpose to some extent, protecting continuing patients over new starts
which is the right call and also very annoying when you are the new start
both true
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did anyone go private then move to NHS
i did the reverse. NHS service discharged me at the end of their programme window and i went private to keep going
the discharge is the bit nobody warns you about. these services often have a defined length and then you are out
that is genuinely the most under-discussed thing in this channel. plan for the exit before you need it
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and if you are in Ireland none of the England-specific stuff maps at all
correct, different system, different reimbursement list, different pharmacy prices
as i understood it in 2025 the diabetes indication was reimbursed there while the weight indication was essentially a private purchase. someone in Dublin should correct me
coming back to the 22 months — did you stay on the list while going private, or did you come off
stayed on. i told them exactly what i was doing and they were completely fine about it
be honest with your clinicians is the only real advice i have. they are not the enemy and they are not surprised
closing line of the conversation, that
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