Family doctors must ask if patients are secretly using fat jabs, say health experts
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FAMILY doctors should ask if patients are secretly using fat jabs, experts say.
People with symptoms such as dizziness or gut pain could be suffering side effects from the drugs or have a separate illness.
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Family doctors should ask if patients are secretly using fat jabs
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GPs could also advise about stopping the weight-loss injections before becoming pregnant and the chance of long-term risks.
About 1.5 million people are privately buying medicines such as Wegovy, Mounjaro and Ozempic.
Users should discuss it with their surgery, but NHS doctors will generally not help patients medicate themselves.
Obesity Management Collaborative UK has issued guidelines to help doctors spot those who keep quiet.
Dr Laurence Dobbie, of King's College London, said: 'People taking these medicines are seeing GPs with lots of different problems.
'We want GPs to have the basic knowledge to prioritise patient safety and demystify side effects.'
These can include vomiting and diarrhoea.
But the report warns medics should also be mindful of rarer ones such as pancreatitis and bowel obstructions.
Mounjaro is available on the NHS from this week for obese people with specific health issues.
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