Health journalists
Natasha MajorWomen using weight loss jabs have been warned by the UK's medication regulator that they must use effective contraception.
The Regulatory Agency for Medicines and Health Products (MHRA) says it is not known if taking medication, such as Wegovy and Mounjaro, could harm an unborn baby.
He also warns that jabs of weight loss can make the contraceptive pill less likely to work in those overweight or obese.
It is feared that the growing popularity of “lean jabs” means that many women do not use drugs safely or do not obtain good advice.
It is believed that the contraceptive pill may not be absorbed properly due to the common side effects of blows such as vomiting and diarrhea, and because they slow down the emptying of the stomach.
The MHRA says that women should use contraception while taking GLP -1 drugs and for a certain period after trying to become pregnant – two months for Wegovy and Ozempic, and a month for Mounjaro.
He also advises that those who use Mounjaro and taking an oral contraceptive should also use a condom for four weeks after starting the medication, or switch to another method such as the coil or the implant.
The advice on contraception already appears in information leaflets of patients who come with drugs, but the MHRA has now published its own advice.
The drug safety body claims that weight loss injections should not be taken:
- during pregnancy
- While trying to get pregnant
- During breastfeeding
Women should be informed of this information when they start to take the blows, but there are fears that the message does not pass.
'It was not expected'
Natasha MajorNatasha Major, 26, started using Mounjaro to lose weight before planning to try her third baby in a few years, but was shocked six weeks later to find that she was pregnant. She took the contraceptive pill at the time.
“I also have polycystic ovaries, so I cannot get pregnant easily or quickly. So it was an even greater shock than I had, which had no meaning for me,” she said.
She feared that she could harm the baby or it would not develop properly. Natasha called her general practitioner to get advice and he was told to stop taking him.
“We now have the initial and really happy shock, it was not expected,” she said.
“The last injection I took, I discovered pregnancy three hours later and I haven't taken it since.
“I had an early scan to make sure that the pregnancy was viable and okay – baby had a little heart rate and that everything looks good,” said Natasha.
The MHRA, as well as doctors and pharmacists, fear that popular GLP-1 drugs, known as Wegovy, Mounjaro, Saxenda, Victoza and Ozempic, are not used safely.
These prescription drugs, which are allowed to treat obesity (and ozempic for type 2 diabetes), make people feel full by imitating a released hormone after eating. Mounjaro also acts on another hormone linked to appetite and control of blood sugar.
They are only available on the NHS to people with a very high BIRBut can also be bought private from High Street and online chemists. This is the demand for blows, they are also sold illegally on social networks and in beauty salons, without any medical advice or prescription, as a quick solution to lose weight.
The MHRA advises people to have a conversation with their prescriber on the risks and advantages of taking them, and to understand the potential side effects by speaking to a doctor or a pharmacist.
He acted now because he received around 40 reports concerning pregnancy made to his Yellow card diagramwhere the public can point out the suspicious side effects of drugs. Some of them were unwanted pregnancies.
Dr. Alison Cave, Director of Security at MHRA, said that there was evidence of animal studies “that these drugs could harm the unborn baby.”
“But we do not know if we have the same effects in humans, so much more data is necessary to determine it.”
Women of childbearing age are generally not included in clinical trials, which is why there is a lack of information on security for them.
“If you take this medication and pregnant, you should talk to your doctor about stopping medication as soon as possible,” said Dr. Cave.
Sukhi Bassora, vice-president of the National Pharmacy Association, said women should visit their pharmacist to get advice if they are confused at the time of stopping using medicines and still buying them in an official pharmacy.
Dr. Bassel Wattar, pregnancy expert and consultant at hospitals at the University of Epsom and St Helier, said that the implant or intrauterine coil offered “more robust contraception” than the oral combined contraceptive pill while taking the injections.
Losing a lot of weight can sometimes help some women restore natural ovulation and stimulate their chances of becoming pregnant, but he said it should be planned in the care of specialized doctors “to ensure that pregnancy can be planned safely after a period of washing these drugs”.
BPAS, the British GrossAncy Advisory Service, says that women in the United Kingdom “face significant challenges” when they try to access their contraceptive choice method.
A lack of appointments, long waiting lists and high costs are only some of the obstacles they face, said BPAS, as he called for a better plan to provide the choice that women need.
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