This gets cited here weekly, usually second-hand, so it is worth setting out what it does and does not establish.
Pooled safety analyses have not shown a clear excess of pancreatitis for this class, and the background rate in the population being treated is already elevated by obesity, gallstones and alcohol. That said, the labels carry the warning, and the presentation is distinctive enough to act on: severe persistent upper-abdominal pain radiating to the back, usually with vomiting, not relieved by anything.
Where I think it is weakest: the population was selected and supported in ways a real cohort is not, so I would read the effect size as a ceiling rather than an expectation.
What I actually want to know is what the pooled safety data actually shows for this class, as opposed to what the label warning implies. Numbers rather than impressions, if you have them.
Figures above are from the primary publication rather than the press summary. If a number here disagrees with one you have, post yours and we will work out which of us is reading a secondary source.
JenPlateau said:Pooled safety analyses have not shown a clear excess of pancreatitis for this class, and the background rate in the population being treated is…
Pancreatitis scare with pancreatitis risk: had severe upper abdominal pain radiating to my back at week 11. Went to the ER — they checked lipase and amylase, both normal. Turned out to be a gallstone.
But I'm glad I went. The risk of pancreatitis, while small (<0.5%), is real. Don't try to tough out severe abdominal pain on a GLP-1 agonist. Get checked.
JenPlateau said:Pooled safety analyses have not shown a clear excess of pancreatitis for this class, and the background rate in the population being treated is…
Lipase monitoring while on pancreatitis risk: my doctor checks lipase every 3 months given the theoretical pancreatitis risk. All readings have been normal:
- Baseline: 48 U/L
- Month 3: 40 U/L
- Month 6: 36 U/L
- Month 9: 42 U/L
Normal range is 0-160 U/L. While clinical pancreatitis is rare (<0.5%), I find peace of mind in regular monitoring. Worth asking your doctor about if you're on a GLP-1 long-term.
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View ResultsTaking the question as asked, rather than the general version of it. If two explanations both fit, the useful question is which one predicts something the other does not. That is answerable; arguing about which sounds more plausible is not.
Dr.PeteFamMed said:Pancreatitis scare with pancreatitis risk: had severe upper abdominal pain radiating to my back at week 11.
Mine went the same way, slower.