Figures from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency show that increasing numbers need medical treatment after suffering adverse reactions to jabs
Hundreds of people are being hospitalised after suffering serious adverse reaction to weight loss jabs.
Nearly 400 people have required medical treatment since jabs including Wegovy, Mounjaro and Saxenda were rolled out, figures from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) show. Up until October last year, 279 people had been hospitalised over the course of six years since the drugs first began to be prescribed.
But as demand for these jab surges, so does the number of people experiencing adverse reaction. The latest data from the medicines regulator shows that over the four weeks to the end of November, an extra 118 hospitalisations were recorded.
The newspaper reported that most of the reactions are gastrointestinal issues such as persistent nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea, which can lead to severe dehydration in some cases. Senior doctors described the rise in hospitalisations as “alarming” while warning that some patients experience “serious, life-threatening complications” including seizures, bowel obstruction and inflammation of the pancreas, known as pancreatitis, according to the Mail on Sunday.
There are fears that the reactions are linked to fat jabs, as they are known to be rare side effects. However, health experts believe a high proportion of people who need be hospitalised are those who buy the injections from online pharmacies, without a doctor overseeing it.
The MHRA said a small group of patients were also hospitalised “hypoglycaemic shock and coma”, which is linked to very low blood sugar, after using “fake” weight loss drugs they bought online. The number of suspected side effects reported to the regulator also soared by 19 per cent in a month, from nearly 15,000 at the end of October to 17,831 by the end of November.
Dr Vicky Price, president-elect of the Society for Acute Medicine, said she is among medical professionals who are “very concerned” about the increasing numbers of people experiencing complications from drugs bought online. She said: “We are seeing serious, life-threatening complications including inflammation of the pancreas gland and alterations in blood salt levels in these patients who were not aware of the risk they were taking. Sadly these presentations are not slowing down despite the issue being raised consistently over recent months.”
Tory MP Greg Stafford, a member of the Commons’ health and social care committee, said the drugs are important to tackle diabetes and obesity. However, he said rules around accessing these drugs need to be tightened.
In November, were reported the story of 31-year-old Nicole Wright, who said she suffered pain “worse than childbirth” after she took a dodgy weight loss jab to get ready for her holiday. The woman, from North Ayrshire, Scotland, has warned people to stay clear of beauty salons who offer skinny jabs. She claimed she was left “screaming in pain” after she injected herself with the mystery £120 substance.
The former hairdresser and make-up artist said she purchased the jab in August in a bid to “lose a few pounds” before her trip to Turkey. But she was left with a “burning” sensation in her stomach and said she vomited “fresh” blood after she used the jab in September.
Nicole said she only injected 0.1ml but endured severe side-effects. Her symptoms were so bad that she thought she was “going to die.” Luckily, after multiple trips to the hospital, medics were able to flush the solution out of her system.