A doctor has warned that weight loss injections are causing a sharp rise in the number of patients needing treatment for hemorrhoids.
Drugs like Mongaro and Ozempic, once targeted at diabetics, are now popular for their ability to quickly lose weight by reducing appetite.
But these injections often cause side effects, including nausea, constipation, and, in the most severe cases, life-threatening organ damage.
Now, Dr Ross Perry, medical director of Skin Clinics in London and Bristol, said a growing number of patients taking the drugs, which belong to a class of drugs called GLP-1 agonists, have reported “significant bowel changes” including haemorrhoids.
Dr Berry added that many patients who increased their amount of exercise and weightlifting – in line with NHS guidelines for preventing muscle atrophy – also strained more, which could worsen hemorrhoids.
Hemorrhoids are small lumps in or around the anus that contain enlarged blood vessels.
Straining to pass a bowel puts pressure on the veins in the lower rectum, causing them to swell.
Doctors have previously warned that constipation, a known side effect of the injection, could lead to complications including painful tears in the anus and hemorrhoids.
Doctors warn that bowel cancer can cause similar symptoms, making early detection difficult.
Major changes in the intestines
Dr Perry, a former NHS GP, told The Sun: “We have seen a 41% rise in the last six months alone in the number of patients with haemorrhoids, and many of them, men and women in roughly equal numbers, are telling us that they are taking medicines such as Monjaro and Ozempic, and they have noticed significant changes in their bowels that have led to the problem.
“Weight loss medications are usually well tolerated. But when doses are increased, it can lead to hemorrhoids – we know this because we ask these questions during consultations.
“Furthermore, many patients go to the gym to compensate for muscle loss resulting from weight loss.
“But weight training can involve strain, which can worsen hemorrhoids.”
This is because GLP-1 drugs can delay stomach emptying and slow the movement of food through the digestive tract, making stool drier and harder, he said.
“Excessive straining when defecating, in turn, causes hemorrhoids, small tears, and skin tags in the anus.
In online forums, users of the injections also narrated how they suffered from hemorrhoids while taking the drugs, despite not previously having had any constipation problems.
A 59-year-old woman reported that she lost 40 pounds using Ozempic — dropping from 185 pounds to 145 pounds in six months — and then developed hemorrhoids.
“My gastroenterologist explained to me that my hemorrhoids were definitely caused by the chronic constipation I was suffering from Ozambik,” she wrote on Reddit.
“Never had hemorrhoids that lasted more than a day,” opined another, “Monjaro has changed that.”
“The hemorrhoid pain I am experiencing now is so unbearable that I cannot even walk without feeling severe discomfort,” he said.
A third person, who started taking Ozambik four weeks ago, said that despite eating prunes and drinking a fair amount of water, he still had hemorrhoids and was now afraid to go to the bathroom.
According to the Mayo Clinic, nearly three out of every four adults have hemorrhoids from time to time.
Small hemorrhoids often improve spontaneously with increased fiber and water intake.
Painkillers
But in the meantime, doctors recommend purchasing over-the-counter medications: creams to relieve pain and irritation, containing ingredients such as zinc oxide, which protects hemorrhoids from irritation caused by stool, for example.
Pain relievers, cold compresses, and constipation remedies can also help.
Large hemorrhoids may protrude – or “hang” – through the anus: they may shrink, but for chronic hemorrhoids, the only effective treatment is to remove them.
Non-surgical options include ligation, where a tight surgical band is placed around the hemorrhoid, cutting off its blood supply and causing it to shrivel and then fall off, which can take about a week.
Other non-surgical alternatives include infrared radiation, light electrical currents, and injection of a chemical solution.
In the UK, hundreds of thousands of patients take these medicines safely, and have been doing so for years.
Doctors insist weight-loss vaccines will make a big difference in combating Britain’s chronic obesity problem, which costs the economy an estimated £100 billion a year.
However, no drug is without risks, according to health officials.
The NHS is currently warning patients “not to take any anti-obesity medication if it has not been prescribed for you”.
The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) also points out that the benefits and risks of using these medicines for weight loss by individuals who do not suffer from obesity or any related disease have not yet been studied.
Experts have long called for stricter restrictions on how weight-loss drugs are prescribed.