'Skinny jab' investigation begins amid 'hundreds of reports' of pancreatitis

A new report has been published by Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency on the possible side effects of taking weight loss jabs like Ozempic and Mounjaro.

An investigation is now underway to determine if the weight loss jabs are causing acute pancreatitis and people who are hospitalised with the illness are being asked to report it.

This follows "hundreds of reports of acute and chronic pancreatitis from people who have taken drugs such as Mounjaro, Ozempic and Wegovy, although none are confirmed as being caused by the medicines," according to a recent report by BBC.

Although infrequent, acute pancreatitis has been reported with GLP-1 medicines and according to the new report "this can be serious.....the main symptom of this is severe pain in the stomach that radiates to the back and does not go away. Anyone who experiences this should seek immediate medical help," the report states.

Side effects continue to be a significant burden on the NHS and studies have shown they account for one in six hospital admissions. Screening tests provide the opportunity to reduce the likelihood of these adverse drug reactions from happening, according to the new report.

HSE national clinical lead for obesity, Professor Donal O'Shea, said it is important people use these drugs under medical supervision, according to The Westmeath Examiner.

Professor O'Shea told The Westmeath Examiner that the main side effects reported "are gastrointestinal and that's around nausea, vomiting, constipation, but they can cause unsteadiness and dizziness.

"And I've certainly seen people coming into hospital having had falls on these treatments, and again the advice is not to take these unless they are prescribed by a healthcare professional."

READ NEXT: ALERT: Potential ban on sun beds amid skin cancer 'numbers rising rapidly

Dr Alison Cave, MHRA Chief Safety Officer in the UK said: "Evidence shows that almost a third of side effects to medicines could be prevented with the introduction of genetic testing. It is predicted that adverse drug reactions cost the NHS more than £2.2 billion a year in hospital stays alone".

"GLP-1 medicines like Ozempic and Wegovy have been making headlines, but like all medicines there can be a risk of serious side effects. We believe there is real potential to minimise these with many adverse reactions having a genetic cause," Professor Matt Brown, Chief Scientific Officer of Genomics England said.