New data on weight loss injections and pancreatic health risks

[Firesidechatter]

Interesting news coming out from real world trials and data .

glp medications were thought to raise the risk of pancreatitis, we have all seen the scaremongering and it’s even on the leaflet it’s a rare potential risk, but trials and real life data now show it is the opposite, it is protective against, there is no evidence of any increase, (obesity and smoking as we know are the main risk factors).

and it’s even better than that, the meds actually reduce the risk of pancreatic cancer by as much as 50 percent.

https://ascopubs.org/doi/10.1200/JCO.2026.44.2_suppl.712

https://journals.lww.com/ajg/fulltext/2024/10001/s5_glp_1_receptor_agonists_and_pancreatic_cancer.6.aspx

https://www.dailymail.com/health/article-15879295/pancreatic-cancer-remarkable-link-mounjaro-fat-jabs.html

That's amazing!

Somebody needs to save that link so when all the gloom mongers want to tell us that the injections are bad we can show them science.

The only thing I do know is that pancreatitis can be caused by gallstones and rapid weight loss can cause gallstones. So it is a possibility. I only found out I had gallstones when I was diagnosed with pancreatitis.

They really need to make this mandatory reading for doctors! I was diagnosed with gallstones last year, after 10 months on MJ (radiographer who scanned me to diagnose commented that the size and amount of gallstones indicated that they had been forming for years, ie far before I started WLI) and was admitted into hospital early this year with pancreatitis - scan showed a gallstone stuck in a bile duct had caused this, however, the doctor at the hospital insisted the pancreatitis was caused directly by the use of WLI and basically told me it was my own fault for taking them. Really rude and made me feel stupid.

My surgeon who removed my gallbladder told me that a lot of doctors are uneducated on WLIs and the chance of them directly causing pancreatitis is about the same instance as obesity causing it (pretty low!), and most cases are caused by gallstones or alcohol. He’s actually written me a letter stating he’s happy for me to resume MJ now that my gallbladder has been removed, as he believes the chances of a repeat episode of pancreatitis are no higher than they were prior to my gallbladder issues.

Edited for spelling!

Yes there has been a lot of scaremongering and mis information.

obesity and smoking is the leading cause of pancreatitis. It’s very odd when obese people get gnem and then declare it’s the drugs, um no, it’s as you’re obese.

and it’s now been proven there is no increase in pancreatitis with people on the meds, and the study was hundreds of thousands of people.

in addition data now shows it is protective against, and leads to a 50 percent reduction in the cancer.

does fhis mean obese people or smokers can’t get pancreatitis or pancreatic cancer, no of course not, you will still get pancreatitis if you’re going to get it due to obesity or smoking.

What it means is you’re no more likely to get it being on the meds, the instances are the same on or off and it’s now proven no link. In addition if you’ve chronic pancreatitis there is a high chance it will lead to pancreatic cancer, and this now shows a 50 percent reduction in that being the case

so they are now doing trials to see if the drugs should be prescribed to cancer patients, as it is being shown the reduction in inflammation, as well as reduction of the fat round tumours, slows the spread,of many different cancers ie ling etc.

so overall really good news I think and what most of us on the meds suspected.

I am not on WLIs, but this is great news for those who are!

Re scaremongering, just ignore those people. Most people (me included) do not properly understand the science behind the drugs or the side effects in great detail. As long as people are educated and made aware about the clear, proven side effects (those on the box), and have capacity, nobody should be telling people what legal substances to put in their bodies, whether that is a cream cake, a glass of wine or a GLP-1.

The problem is that people underestimate each other so badly and decide they know better than everyone else.

I've been on MJ for a while and feel my general health has improved, not just due to weightloss and the knock on improvements to my life. My friend (also on MJ) has said her ulcerative collitis and asthma have improved tremendously. Better than before her weight gain. She has been able to reduce her meds. She thinks the MJ itself has helped both autoimmune issues.

First person that ever spoke about them was my Rheumatologist. She was incredibly excited because she had seen a lot of her long term patients on the big ticket medications with suboptimal response suddenly flip into remission after Mounjaro became available - over and above any improvements people had seen from standard dieting.

It seems to be a lot of all the health improvements is due to the reduction in inflammation.

reduced fat is also a key part, as we know cancer feeds on fat to grow. So I’m not sure the reduction or slowing of cancers is a surprise. But the inflammation reduction significance was a surprise to me, as to how much of a huge health improver it is.

cancers, heart disease, dementia, asthma, many arthritic conditions, etc all seem to benefit hugely from the reduction in inflammation.

i read that as we age, as in from babies on, we get sick or get knocks, from a cold virus to a broken bone, and every single thing leaves a marker on our cells, even though we have “recovered” and this is seen in the form of inflammation. And that’s what aging is. It’s that cumulative effect of the damage sustained.

so when you reduce the inflammation, the cells are able to regenerate, as they did when we were much younger, and didn’t have damage and inflammation. Thus vastly improving people’s health.

I guess now when we see someone spout off about increased risk of pancreatitis we can shut it down.

This doesn't surprise me at all. There have already been several promising studies that show GLP1s have positive effects on both incidence and growth of other cancers, bowel cancer being the one that I specifically remember. This is thought to be due to the GLP1 controlling blood sugar, and it is actually the sugar in the blood which feeds the cancers (not fat, is my understanding).

Excellent news.

Wow, thank you for sharing this!

I think we all need to stop using the word 'rapid' because a lot of people seem to think that means more recommended 1-2lbs a week.

15 years ago I lost 50lbs in 6 months (~2lbs a week) and ended up with gallstones without ever any issues previously - had to have my gallbladder removed.

It does mean more than that, I’m sorry you got gallstones but it would have been due to obesity or your diet , there is no doctor that would have told you it was because you lost weight at a slow and steady pace. If you think you heard that then either the doctor was mistaken or you misunderstood.

At my 1st scan at the private hospital the consultant's exact words were "it's because you've lost a lot of weight recently", after I told them I had never had gallstones before.

You weren’t privy to that conversation so I don’t think you know more than the PP

Yes the weight loss doesn’t need to be that rapid unfortunately as I found out!

My consultant said losing a substantial amount of weight plus being female and the age I was were all contributing risk factors. You can reduce the risk by more slowly losing weight but it still remains a risk, unfortunately. Just a very unfair element of losing weight as a woman in mid-life!

I know thr facts of gallstones and it’s not losing a steady up to 2lbs a week, lol. It’s likely caused as you had high cholesterol or something from the below. And if you lost 5o lbs would have been obese. It’s ridiculous to decide it can’t have been any of the known risk factors but was actually as you lost 2lbs a week.

Gallstones are hardened deposits that form in the gallbladder, typically caused by an imbalance in the chemical makeup of bile—specifically when it contains too much cholesterol or bilirubin, or if the gallbladder doesn't empty correctly. 1]
Direct Causes
Excess Cholesterol: The most common cause. When the liver excretes more cholesterol than the bile can dissolve, the excess forms crystals and eventually solid stones. 1]
Excess Bilirubin: This waste product is created when red blood cells are broken down. Certain liver diseases or blood disorders cause the liver to make too much bilirubin, contributing to "pigment stones". 1]
Incomplete Emptying: If your gallbladder does not empty completely or often enough, the bile becomes overly concentrated, allowing stones to form. 1]
Risk Factors & Triggers
Several lifestyle, biological, and medical factors significantly increase the likelihood of developing gallstones:1, 2, 3]
Age & Gender: They are more common in individuals aged 40 and over, and women are roughly three times more likely to develop them than men. 1]
Weight & Diet: Being overweight or obese, consuming a high-fat/low-fiber diet, or experiencing rapid weight loss (such as after bariatric surgery) are major contributors. 1, 2]
Medical Conditions: Conditions like diabetes, Crohn’s disease, liver disease (like cirrhosis), and certain blood disorders (like sickle cell anemia) can increase your risk. 1, 2]

I’m not disagreeing with the point it likely wasn’t the ‘rapid’ weight loss but just that you weren’t on that conversation.

Great news! But at the same time, bad news for all the fatty haters out there..

That's great news for me because my Mum died of pancreatic cancer and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.