There have been over 1,500 reports of suspected adverse reactions from weight loss medication, the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) has confirmed to RTÉ News.
The side effects include gastrointestinal issues, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea, according to the HPRA.
The HPRA has also received nine reports describing individuals who were known to be taking anti-obesity injections semaglutide, liraglutide or tirzepatide and died alongside the 1,532 side effects.
However, the HPRA said that this did not mean that the medicines caused the side effects or fatalities.
The drugs are marketed under different brand names and are authorised prescription-only medicines in the EU for the treatment of weight management or Type 2 diabetes.
Meanwhile, an expert in obesity management has said that a lot of people were accessing the treatments online without an appropriate prescription.
Speaking on RTÉ’s News at One programme, Prof Donal O’Shea said people were not sure about what they were getting and were not appropriately counselled about the side effects.
“When we prescribe these, we say to individuals that it’s really important to drink plenty, that you keep the fibre in your diet up so you don’t get constipated,” he said.
“If you do start vomiting, you stop them immediately.
“I think the 1,500 are likely to be the people who are engaged with their health care practitioners because it’s health care practitioners that do the reporting to the HPRA.
“I think there’s another group that we know exists because I see them in the emergency department. For instance, people who come in with dizziness, people who come in with vomiting and kidney failure.
“I’ve seen people admitted to intensive care in our own hospital because of the side effects of these drugs, so it’s very real,” he added.
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Mr O’Shea said that the findings in Ireland were backed up by similar reports in the UK.
“The side effects are primarily gastrointestinal. They are nausea, constipation, vomiting, and that’s what this information from the HPRA is saying,” he said.
“There’s 1,500 incidents reported. In the UK, I think they’ve had 15,000.
“The UK is about ten times bigger than we are, so these are real findings backed up by the UK findings.”
Mr O’Shea said it was important to take stock of the situation before the drugs become “a runaway train”.
Supervision and engagement with a GP or practice nurse is needed when it comes to treatments for obesity, he said.
In a statement to RTÉ’s News at One, the HPRA said it receives reports based on a “reporter’s suspicion that an adverse experience may be associated with a medicine and as such, these are referred to as ‘suspected’ side effects.
“The reports of suspected side effects to the HPRA are largely consistent with the known safety profile of the medicines and are described in the medicine product information.”
“All known side effects are included in the product information that documents the known safety profile of the medicine.”