What happens when you stop weight-loss jabs? Two UK women's experiences highlight uncertain long-term results

Weight-loss jabs, known as GLP-1s, have helped many shed pounds, but stopping them raises questions about long-term results. In a BBC report, two UK women describe very different experiences as they weigh whether to stay on the injections or go off them, and medical experts outline what is known—and not known—about life after GLP-1s.

In the United Kingdom, an estimated 1.5 million people pay privately for GLP-1 injections, a sizeable market given the drugs' cost and the lack of universally funded long-term support. The medications mimic a natural hunger hormone, helping reduce appetite and drive weight loss, but doctors say long-term effects and the best way to end treatment remain uncertain.

Tanya Hall, a sales manager for a large fitness company, began using Wegovy to prove a point and to see if she could change perceptions about weight. She says that early on she faced sleep problems, nausea and hair loss. "My hair was falling out in clumps," she recalls. "It was like something opened up in my mind and said: 'Eat everything, go on, you deserve it because you haven't eaten anything for so long'." Over about 18 months, she reports losing about six stone (38 kg). She has tried to come off Wegovy several times, but within a few days she experiences a flood of hunger and food thoughts that leave her horrified by what she could eat. "It's hard to imagine stopping when you see the scale drop," she says. She acknowledges that staying on the injections comes with side effects but worries about regaining weight.

Wegovy's manufacturer, Novo Nordisk, said that treatment decisions should be made together with a healthcare provider and that "side effects should be taken into account as part of this." Stopping weight loss drugs can feel like "jumping off a cliff," observes lifestyle GP Dr Hussain Al-Zubaidi. "I often see patients who will come off it when they're on the highest dose because they've reached their target and then they stop." According to Dr Al-Zubaidi, the evidence so far suggests that, between one and three years after stopping the medication, people will see a "significant proportion of weight" go back on. "Somewhere in the region of 60 to 80% of the weight that you lost will return."

Ellen Ogley is determined not to let that happen. She decided to start taking weight-loss medication because she had reached a "key turning point" in her life. She was so overweight she had to sign a waiver to say she might not make it through a vital operation. Starting on Mounjaro was her "final shot to get it right", she says. "I was an emotional binge eater," she says. "If I was happy, I would binge. If I was sad, I was bingeing. It didn't really matter." But when she started using the jabs, "all that switched off." Ellen says she changed her whole relationship with food while she was on weight-loss drugs. Life without the constant food noise gave her space to redesign her eating. She was on the medication for 16 weeks before she began to taper, cutting down over a period of six weeks. She lost 3 st 7 lb (22 kg). As she lost more weight, she found she could exercise more, and when she was feeling "low," instead of going to the cupboards, she would go for a run.

But when Ellen stopped taking Mounjaro, she began to see her weight creep up, which she says "messed my head up a little bit." This is why the right support is crucial, Dr Al-Zubaidi says. The UK's medicine watchdog, Nice, has recommended that patients receive at least a year of ongoing advice and tailored action plans after they've stopped treatment, helping them to make practical changes to their lives so they can keep the weight off and most importantly, stay healthy. But for those who pay for the drugs privately, like Tanya and Ellen, this kind of support is not always guaranteed. For the past few months, Tanya's weight has stayed the same, and she feels the medication is having little impact. But she's not going to come off it, she says. She's finally at a weight she feels comfortable with and each time she's tried to stop, the fear of putting the weight back on quickly becomes too great and she finds a reason to go back on the medication. "For the first 38 years of my life, I was overweight - now I'm six stone (38 kg) lighter," says Tanya. "Therefore, there's part of me that feels like there's an addiction to keep it going because it makes me feel the way that I feel, it makes me feel in control."

Ellen has continued to lose weight since she stopped taking weight-loss drugs. "It's all about having an exit strategy," Dr Al-Zubaidi explains. "The question is: what are these people's experiences once they come off the injection?" He is worried that without additional support for people making the transition, society's unhealthy relationship with food means little will change. "The environment that people live in needs to be one that promotes health, not weight gain. Obesity is not a GLP-1 deficiency," he says. In some respects, many people enter a game of weight-loss roulette when it comes to stopping their weight-loss medication. Factors like lifestyle, support, mindset and timing all play into how futures post-GLP-1s unfold. Tanya is staying on the medication and is fully aware of the pros and cons of this decision. Ellen feels that chapter has now closed. She's lost more than eight stone (51 kg) now. "I want people to know that life after Mounjaro can be sustainable as well," she says.

Eli Lilly, the company which makes Mounjaro, says "patient safety is Lilly's top priority," and that it "actively engages" in monitoring, evaluating and reporting information to regulators and prescribers.

The stories of Tanya and Ellen illustrate the complexity of stopping, the importance of a plan, and the ongoing questions about the long-term role of these drugs in weight management. Novo Nordisk, which makes Wegovy, has said that treatment decisions should be made with a healthcare professional and that side effects should be weighed as part of the decision. As policy makers weigh how to regulate access and support for long-term use, patients navigating exits continue to highlight the need for comprehensive guidance, ongoing medical supervision and public health strategies that support healthy lifestyles beyond pharmacological interventions.