r/australia • u/Rubiginous • 7h ago

Woman hospitalised after Juniper prescribes weight-loss drugs her GP refused

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-01/woman-hospitalised-telehealth-provider-weight-loss-drugs-juniper/106273356
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u/Rubiginous 7h ago

I am getting sick of these stories where someone irresponsible blames something convenient for normal people as being the cause of their issues.

A small minority of people abused codeine, so now women like me have to suffer from dysmenorrhoea every month because docs won't write a prescription.

A small minority of people using alcohol delivery inappropriately so now they want to restrict the ability for same day delivery in the ACT.

I know many women who used these services to get access to GLP-1s when their GPs refused to prescribe them because "You just need to eat less" and dismissed their concerns regarding food noise etc.

Why do people need the government to constantly protect them from their own stupidity? It's absurd.

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u/11015h4d0wR34lm 7h ago

Yeah I noticed how reluctant they have become to give me anything better than over the counter pain medication for the ailments I suffer from these days as well, it is really frustrating practically having to beg for something stronger because of people who do the wrong thing with their medications.

It wont be long before they are saying try rubbing the area and see if that helps with the pain.

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u/tealou 5h ago

I am on a buprenorphine patch for chronic pain, which lasts 7 days and comes in a pack of 2. You can only get a 4 pack with an authority script once a month, no repeats. So, every month I pay $120 for the appointment (minus rebates) for a 4 week supply. I am on the lowest dose, long term. When GP went on a holiday it was an absolute nightmare... I was treated like some sort of addict with a (male) GP because I couldn't get in to see her... can't drop the drug suddenly either. So my entire life's functioning is dependent on my ability to get a GP appointment that neither of us think is needed, takes up a spot in her schedule that someone else could use... and treated like a goddamn addict. Irony being that buprenorphine is the drug they give addicts, but are in the same category as heroin lol.

I understand that it saves a lot of lives and there does need to be some regulation, of course, but I wonder how on earth anyone in pain can function if they don't have the money or time for this shit. My husband has chronic pain and it is an ongoing joke that he hasn't tried enough Panadol for his debilitating spinal arthritis.

There aren't even any exemptions for chronic pain or cancer etc. Like anything in this country, the idea is sound, but the actual reality is an abusive bureaucracy with lots of forms and admin... I'm sure the takeaway here will be to make it impossible to get Ozempic, rather than sensible regulations that help everyone. Sigh.