What is this National Medical Weight Loss Programme (NMWLP)?
The National Medical Weight Loss Programme is a combined programme of calorie-controlled diet, exercise and an added pharmacotherapy (medicine – a small injection pen) that you administer at home. This pharmacotherapy helps to suppress and manage your appetite as well as activating certain metabolic pathways. The medication does not work alone and is only successful as part of an overall programme.
TK Aesthetics (Trevor Killeen Ltd. T/a) is a certified partner of The National Medical Weight Loss Programme and we are insured through Cosmetic Insure Ltd.
What does it involve?
Your weight loss journey starts with the completion of a medical screening questionnaire to ensure that you are fit, well and suitable for the programme. Once this has been completed a virtual consultation is arranged and the full programme is discussed with Dr Trevor Killeen.
During this part it may be necessary to provide blood results from your GP or arrange for a home blood test (we can provide the details).
If you like what we propose, we begin. If not, that’s fine too. There’s no obligation to sign up (there is a small fee for the initial consultation & administration (see below)). We will still provide you with general information on health eating and exercise.
If you decide to proceed then we will formulate a bespoke programme of a calorie controlled, exercise and pharmacotherapy. We follow up at regular intervals and are always available to help you through the programme.
How much weight can I expect to lose?
This varies between individuals, however most people lose around a stone (6.5kg) every 4- 6 weeks, but that’s dependent on your Body Mass Index (BMI), will-power, exercise regime & how much weight you have to lose.
How long does it take to start working?
Most users report it takes around a few hours to start to work if you commence on treatment dose. If you opt for an induction programme (to reduce side effects) it will be longer before you see maximal effect.
Who will be involved in my care?
Your programme will be supervised by a qualified medical professional – Dr Trevor Killeen. We adopt a holistic approach throughout the process from initial discussions through to treatment and follow-up.
Once you’ve reached your ideal weight, how do you maintain it?
Everyone is different in their approach to maintaining their desired weight.
Some people find the habitual changes over a few months of being on the medication enable them to psychologically carry it forward and that their approach to food and exercise has changed. The medication will make you feel full most of the time; so, when you do eat, it will be small portions of (hopefully) healthy food. You may not want to return to what you ate before. You may have developed good exercise habits that you want to continue whether you continue with the medication or not.
Other people stay on the medication long-term, because they see it as the only way to keep where they want to be.
Others will be between these two scenarios. They may have positive changes but start over-eating again. They will sometimes utilise the medication again but have long periods without it too.
Is fasting part of the program?
No fasting is not part of it.
You are encouraged to try to eat three nutritionally balanced meals per day or smaller meals with snacks. We encourage a calorie-controlled diet and use the MyFitnessPal app to help you with this and your exercise goals. We will help you with choosing foods that will meet your calorie requirements and suit your lifestyle.
Some people just cannot face food because the medicine prevents the desire to eat at all (it also greatly reduces the desire for alcohol). In this case we recommend having nutritional supplements and bars/shakes etc, to ensure you are getting the vitamins and minerals you should have to be healthy.
The medicine lasts for a week, so will I feel hungrier towards the end of the week as the medicine wears off?
Everyone has different experiences, but generally people say they “don’t feel hungry at all” on the medication. You may feel less effect as the week goes on but it’s unlikely.
If you do start to get hunger cravings it’s best to tell us as soon as possible, so we can look at altering the dose or your Injection technique.
I don’t like needles, will it hurt?
The Injection reported as being completely painless.
Is it legal?
Yes it is 100% legal, it’s been previously developed as a medication for type 2 diabetes, so it has been clinically trialled and approved for this category of patients.
We use this pharmacotherapy “off label” which means we are using it for weight loss rather than treatment of type 2 diabetes.
Rather like us using haemorrhoid cream for puffy eye bags…. We know it’s not for that indication, but it works, so we utilise it.
Are there any health benefits?
The benefits of a weight loss of just 5% of your weight are (according to Rethink Obesity Study https://global.rethinkobesity.com) are as follows:
- – A reduction in the risk of type 2 diabetes.
- – A reduction in cardiovascular risk factors.
- – Improvements in blood lipid profile.
- – Improvements in blood pressure.
- – Improvements in osteoarthritic pain.
- – Improvements in severity of obstructive sleep apnoea.
- – Improvements in health-related quality of life
Apart from this study, what we see in anecdotal terms is that people regain their self-confidence and self-esteem, feel brighter and happier within themselves when they are able to reach their goal weight.
Are there any side-effects?
As with any medication some people will experience side effects. It is commonly reported that you may have a couple of days to a week of feeling nauseous. Around 25% of patients report this. This can be reduced by adopting an initial induction period for the medication and this can be discussed at the consultation.
Side effects are normally experienced because the medicine is taking time to settle, but it’s also a good indication that it will really work for you as your body is very responsive to it.
Other side-effects reported include constipation and headache. It’s important to drink lots of water.
Furthermore, the following have been reported: low blood sugar, vomiting, diarrhoea, increased heart rate, tiredness and dizziness, tummy ache.
Side-effects normally are short-lived and not everyone will have any of them.
Is there anyone who can’t have it?
Yes, there are rules around your BMI. We will look at this on your health assessment and provide you with an answer on suitability. This is a treatment for people who are considered ‘overweight’ or ‘obese’.
Further contraindications include:
- – Being pregnant or breastfeeding.
- – Having an allergy to the medicine.
- – Having Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia Syndrome.
- – Having a family history of medullary thyroid cancer or other thyroid carcinomas.
- – You may not have the medication if you are under 18 or over 75.
How much does it cost?
It’s £295 for the first month, as we complete the health assessment and consultation during the first month, then the cost is dependent on the agreed programme (approx. £235 per month for the once weekly pen). We are offering this treatment as one of the lowest priced clinics because of the health benefits of weight loss for patients.
Once your screening questionnaire is accepted and you decide to proceed with the programme a 50% deposit is taken for the first month on booking your consultation. If you decide not to go ahead with the programme £75 is refunded. The other £75 is used to offset the costs involved in the initial screening and consultation.
Are there hidden extra costs?
Before you commence the programme, it may be necessary to conduct some blood tests. If you have had these tests done recently at the GP then we may ask you to provide the results. If not, then you can arrange these through one of the home test providers and we can give you details of this (they may be around £70- £150).
It is a good idea to have a good bathroom scales and ideally one that will measure total body fat as well as weight. You will need a measuring tape to monitor your waist measurement and it may also be helpful to have a blood pressure monitor. We can make recommendations on each of these if you so wish.
How do I start?
If you want to move to the next step and get your weight loss journey started, we need a preferred email address to send out the initial assessment form.