Some 500,000 Brits are thought to be on the drugs, which can help them lose up to 20% of body weight in a few months – but doctors have expressed concerns over the amount of people buying them online
Hundreds of patients are being hospitalised after suffering serious reactions to weight loss drugs, figures show. The numbers of hospitalisations have surged by a whopping 46% in just one month, according to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
Nearly 400 people have needed hospital treatment – some with life-threatening complications – since the rollout of jabs.The number of cases over the six years since the drugs Wegovy, Mounjaro, and Saxenda began to be prescribed stood at 279 until October last year.
But they surged by an extra 118 over the four weeks to the end of November, the data showed, which doctors have called “alarming”.
Some 500,000 Britons are thought to be on the drugs, which can help them lose up to 20% of body weight in a few months.
The rise has been put down to people who want to shed a few pounds buying the weight loss drugs privately from online pharmacies.
Just 5% are being prescribed the drugs, which are licensed to treat those with a BMI of at least 30, on the NHS.
Dr Vicky Price, president-elect of the Society for Acute Medicine, said doctors are “very concerned” about the increase in patients who have bought the drugs 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.
“We continue to highlight this inappropriate use with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency as there is a need for urgent regulation.”
The MHRA said that most of the reactions are gastrointestinal issues such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea.
This can leave some patients with severe dehydration.
Dr Alison Cave, the MHRA’s chief safety officer, said: “We continue close monitoring of these medicines and will communicate safety updates as necessary.”
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