The backlash Mayara faced is not unusual. According to endocrinologist Mario Saad, professor of clinical medicine at the Unicamp Faculty of Medicine and coordinator of the National Institute of Science and Technology for Obesity and Diabetes, almost 50% of people who use a weight-loss pen may experience diarrhea and vomiting.
The patient may also experience the opposite and become constipated. This disrupts the lives of those who do not have any comorbidity. But, if you have comorbidity, experiencing dehydration so quickly is even more worrying.
Mario Saad, endocrinologist
The pens are for patients who are obese, who need to lose weight and prevent complications caused by the disease.. “It’s not an aesthetic indication, it’s a medical prescription. A person with obesity needs to lose weight to reduce the risk of cardiovascular, chronic kidney and liver diseases and even some types of cancer”, explains Saad.
Oliveira also warns about the origin of the medicines. “Because they are controlled, many people buy the pens in another way, which is not safe. They could be purchasing a counterfeit medicine. The irregular composition and questionable origin can cause liver and kidney risks and unexpected side effects”, he says.
Pens are not villains — the danger lies in improper use. “On the contrary, they are a great advance in medicine and we, doctors, are happy with their appearance. Before, we had very few therapeutic weapons to treat patients with obesity. Today, I only regret that it is not more universal, since the price is so high”, says Saad.
