The dangers of buying weight-loss injections online, and why your pharmacist may now be your first stop for healthcare advice.
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
The Pat Kenny Show. With Timber Living Log Cabins. Saturday and Sunday from 10am. On Newstalk. Conversation that counts.
Weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovi are seeing a massive surge in popularity, but concerns are growing about people buying them online without any medical supervision at all. And whether or not they're getting the real stuff is an open question. At the same time, new figures show huge pressure on GP services and patients more than ever turning to the pharmacist locally for frontline health care advice. Now joining me to talk about all of this is Lauren Dowling, better known as the fabulous pharmacist online. Laura, good morning and welcome. Thank you for having me. Now, talk to me about GLP-1s.
What are the concerns about buying weight-loss injections online?
These are the so-called weight loss drugs. When people are getting these from the pharmacy with the prescription or whatever, you have some idea as to whether or not there's a surge, is there?
There absolutely is. There's a huge interest in them. There's a lot of people being prescribed them for the reasons that they should be prescribed, which is to treat and manage obesity, because that is actually what they're for. They're not. I know everyone refers to them as weight loss injections, but they're not just to be used to lose a few pounds coming up to a wedding or to have that bikini body pack that we all want. So, yeah, they are for a chronic illness and they help with diabetes too in certain circumstances.
But it does mean that GPs are actually prescribing these more than they used to because they see the benefits.
Absolutely. And there are huge benefits to them. They absolutely are a great way to manage obesity and they can help people a lot.
Why are pharmacists becoming the first stop for healthcare advice?
But they do require ongoing supervision by a clinician. because people, they can't just, you know, inject and go and expect to get the results without the follow-up care that their GP or obesity management team can help them with.
Now, a lot of people are not bothering with the GP because they're not obese enough to get it from the GP. People take one look at them and say, you're fine, your body mass index looks perfect to me. Yeah, but I don't like the way I look. I need to blah, blah. That GP says, no, sorry, you're not having it. And then they go online.
Yeah, that's the unfortunate thing. And we live in a society where skinny wins, doesn't it? And it's desirable. And people do feel the pressure to look a certain way. And that's really unfortunate. But yeah, there are certain criteria that people have to be when they get an obesity medication. And that is a BMI of over 30 or a BMI of over 27 with a comorbidity that obesity affects, such as cardiovascular disease or chronic sleep apnea, etc.,
Now, do we know how much stuff is coming in that is not the real thing? I mean, I'm not condoning anyone who gets the real thing online by going to an online doctor and getting an online prescription and then going to an online supplier and getting the stuff. I'm not condoning that at all.
What are GLP-1s and how are they used for weight management?
It's not the way to go. You should have someone that you can go back to.
There absolutely should be a follow-up care, yeah, because these medicines, they're serious medications and they're treating serious diseases. And there are side effects including, you know, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea. There can be serious side effects such as pancreatitis and eye issues as well with diabetics. So it does need to be managed adequately. And then also the lifestyle around the obesity medication needs to be managed because people can lose muscle mass if they're not exercising appropriately, if they're not taking in protein the way that they should. So, yeah, it's actually really important that they do see a clinician correctly and that clinician has that follow up care. Otherwise, they're left to just inject these medications.
And what happens is as well, people don't really understand that these are lifelong medications. So once they stop using them, they will regain the weight.
Really?
Yes, they will. They are for long-term use and should be managed that way and they should be treated that way.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:01–0:44
2
What are the concerns about buying weight-loss injections online?
0:44–1:36
3
Why are pharmacists becoming the first stop for healthcare advice?
1:36–2:50
4
What are GLP-1s and how are they used for weight management?
2:50–6:47
5
What are the risks of using weight-loss drugs without supervision?
6:47–8:37
6
How does societal pressure influence weight-loss decisions?
8:37–9:12
7
What are the criteria for obtaining obesity medications?
9:12–10:23
8
How do counterfeit drugs impact patient safety?
10:23–14:09