David Haddrell, 58, from Swindon, is using Mounjaro as a once-a-week injection to
lose weight and has now lost over 44kg in six months. He believes that people who
want to use weight loss jabs should always be able to get medical advice from a
doctor who checks their NHS medical records.
When David Haddrell – who is registered as disabled after a workplace accident –
reached a weight of just under 30 stone, he felt at a very low ebb. “I’d lost my Dad in
traumatic circumstances. It was my wedding day, and he had a massive stroke during
the service that he didn’t recover from. Then my Mum passed away two years later, and I
witnessed her death. I couldn’t work after my accident; I was struggling emotionally. The
weight piled on. In the end, I was walking with a stick and with some diGiculty. I couldn’t
have walked around a supermarket. I’d developed osteoarthritis in my lower back, and it
was starting in my hips. I had an irregular heartbeat. I was depressed. The pressure of
the weight I was carrying was causing me pain around my injury and I started to walk
with a stoop.”
One day, David, who is in late 50s, felt he couldn’t continue as he was. He asked advice
from his local pharmacist. “I trust her, she’s an experienced and respected pharmacist.
She’s taken me under her wing and helped me. She advised me to see an NHS GP who
has started a private weight loss clinic based in the Thames Valley. She recommended
Dr Arpit Srivastava who sees his patients online and has vast experience of patients who
want to lose weight.
“Dr Arpit phoned me, and he said to me that he thought he could help me, and he’d be
more than happy to see me. He asked me if it would be okay if I gave him an insight into
my medical background.
“He sent me a link on WhatsApp to share my full NHS medical records, and I consented
by clicking on it. It took seconds. I am a bit careful with being scammed and clicking on
links, but I felt I could trust Dr Arpit because he is an NHS doctor as well as working in
the private sector and the link only gave consent for me to share my NHS record with
him personally so he can check it online and prepare my appointment in advance.
“I felt reassured that Dr Arpit would be able to prescribe the right treatment for me
because he’s an NHS GP and he could see all my conditions, all my test results, all the
types of medications I am on.”
Dr Arpit saw David in an online appointment where he was asked to weigh himself on
camera and prompted to talk about his whole medical history. “I think it’s great
because I have a complex medical history and it’s hard to remember everything that has
happened over the past few years. He could see that I had been diagnosed with atrial
fibrillation (irregular heartbeat) about 9 years ago – and was able to see what tablets I
am taking for that – and he could see that I’d gone onto anti-depressant tablets about
two years ago and that I’d been given a monitor when I developed sleep apnoea, which
is the condition where you stop breathing in your sleep.
“I found that he was very careful and vigilant with me in the way he checked whether my
medications would interfere with the Mounjaro. In our appointments, he has been very
careful about checking for side effects as well. I found that very reassuring.”
David has since gone on to lose nearly 7 stones in 6 months. “My appetite is suppressed
so I don’t eat during the day, only in the evening now and probably only half an evening
meal compared to previously.
“I can already stand up straight for short spells and I am already more active, I am able
to get around the supermarket, and I am walking without a stick.
“I do already feel happier, and I feel I will reach my weight loss goals even when I come
off Mounjaro. I also hope to feel healthier and better about my life in general so I can
stop taking antidepressants altogether.”
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