Julie Helen: ‘I know my body has done well with the cards I’ve been dealt’

I have been thinking about GLP1 medications, and the trends I see about fixing ourselves as women in our 40s.

Can I say from the outset that I am coming at this from the point of view of following quite a few people on social media, who are now taking what are often being dubbed weight loss drugs, but also from having a few people close to me in real life who have decided to take them.

Their motivation comes very much from wanting to be healthy long into later life, being able to move well and enjoy life. I take my hat off to them, for taking the leap for making that decision, for asking for help, for deciding to make the significant investment in themselves.

They are willing to live with the cost of it but also the adjustment in what eating feels like, in the risk of having varying side-effects from crippling constipation to hair loss or discomfort, but what also must be a real shift in not knowing your own body as well as you did for your whole life before. Looking from the outside, taking a GLP1 seems like a leap into the unknown.

As GLP1 medication gets more popular, it may become commonplace and will be something we accept as the norm, as I fully suspect it will - and hope it does for the people who feel stigma or judgement for taking it.

I feel like it might be a further barrier for disabled people like me.

I haven’t discussed taking any type of weight loss medication with my doctor, even though I would be classed as someone who is obese. I wear size 14 to 16 clothes and have done, for years and years.

My weight fluctuates depending on how much I can move at a given time. Sometimes, I can barely get myself in and out of the car to go to the places I need to go and other times I can move well and burn a lot of energy.

The way cerebral palsy impacts my body means some muscles are really strong and others are very weak. I have had slight changes in the curvature of my spine in recent months as a new wheelchair tries to correct my back from twisting too much. This in turn has made standing increasingly difficult which makes sense to me.

My body adapted over the years to enable me to walk and move like I pushed myself to do, but there is a limit and if the curvature in my back that helps me balance, keeps going, it could cause worse problems and pain as I get older. As far as I know, GLP1 medication has not been tested in conjunction with cerebral palsy so it doesn’t feel like a safe road for me.

I need to protect my muscles and my bone density, both things that might change if I took a GLP1. I know most people end up needing to drink copious amounts of water, in fact I think it’s encouraged, and I wouldn’t manage that well. I would love to be lighter for the sake of functionality, but I know my body has done exceptionally well with the cards I was dealt.

I wonder if, in a few years, people will look at me and wonder why I didn’t take more action, why I didn’t jump at the chance to make myself smaller and deduce that I either can’t afford it or just don’t care enough. I care a lot, probably too much. I worry about my body every single day and hope I can keep her going for a long, happy and healthy life.