Skinny jabs, GLP-1 injections, or weight loss medications – if you’re looking for a solution to your weight health needs, it’s hard to avoid the news of weight loss injections that are sweeping the world right now.
But along with the exciting news of new solutions to obesity comes an influx of horror stories describing the scary health problems that come from unregulated skinny jabs being sold online.
With so much noise, fake news, and sinister actors in the weight loss injection business, it’s more important than ever to do research and get the facts straight to know which medical weight loss injections are legitimate and which should be avoided.
First and foremost, medications prescribed by qualified and regulated healthcare professionals within fully supported weight loss programmes like those at Bodyline Medical Wellness Clinics are one of the only fully trusted providers.
Here is a list of questions you should be asking to ensure the skinny jabs are safe.
Is the company regulated by healthcare regulators like the CQC?
Before doing anything, it is vital that the company you wish to receive SUBCUTANEOUS INJECTIONS from are kept in check by a regulatory body to ensure safety, verification of medication, as well as proper medical and healthcare practices.
We all know the dangers of injections that are not monitored and certified to our health, so it is incredibly important you can verify that the weight loss medications you want to use in your body are legitimate.
One regulatory body that is incredibly important in the UK is the Care Quality Commission, also known as the CQC. They are used to inspect healthcare facilities in the UK, including NHS hospitals, GP practices, and care homes, to ensure companies provide people with “safe, effective, compassionate, high-quality care”.
Bodyline Medical Wellness Clinics is proud to be regulated by the CQC, with all our in-person clinics in the Northwest being rated as ‘good’.
We know how important it is to be certified and regulated so we can assure you we offer the highest quality of care when providing prescriptions to lifechanging medications like so-called skinny jabs. Independent suppliers you can contact through Instagram, or websites that do not publish their affiliations with regulatory bodies should be questioned and probably avoided.
Note, it is illegal in the UK to sell weight loss medication like semaglutide without a prescription, if they are not qualified to prescribe then they are not offering legitimate semaglutide and you will not be receiving safe weight loss jabs.
Can you speak to someone about these skinny jabs face to face?
Using Instagram or a website promising incredible results for a small price may seem like a good idea at the time, but it means that it is very tricky to gauge the experience, qualifications, and intentions of the people offering skinny jabs.
Face to face consultations, be that over video call or in person, is a very small ask when all things are considered, and while this alone does not assure safety, it does offer another layer of measuring legitimacy.
More questions to ponder: are the people offering prescription medications even qualified to prescribe? Do the people offering these weight loss injections seem to know what they’re talking about? Are they clinically trained nursers or doctors? Are they based in a clinic that is regulated, clean, and safe, or are they offering injectable pens out of a salon or their home?
At Bodyline Medical Wellness Clinics, our patient journey is quite clear. Our weight loss specialist customer services team discuss your weight loss goals and understand your medical history before taking you through the medical options we provide. If you are elidable for medical weight loss treatment they will arrange a medical consultation with one of our weight health nurses. We offer the choice of face-to-face specialist nurse consultants at one of our clinics or via an on-line consultation at home depending on your lifestyle and location.
You will then have a consultation with a specialist weight loss nurse to decide the best treatment plan to achieve your weight loss goals. Your safety and weight loss results are of vital importance to us. Our caring nurse will take you through a full medical assessment before even considering offering a bespoke treatment plan.
We are qualified to prescribe and will even contact your GP where necessary to confirm your eligibility based on medical history.
Are they ensuring you qualify for the medications?
Several factors impact your eligibility to be prescribed so-called skinny jabs like Saxenda (liraglutide), WeGovy (semaglutide) or Mounjaro (tirzepatide)
Your BMI is the main qualifier according to the government’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). You must have a BMI that qualifies you as obese (over 30) or a BMI that qualifies you as overweight (over 27) with weight health related problems like high blood pressure or prediabetes.
Does the skinny jab provider check your BMI further than just asking the question? This is important, as if they don’t check it is clear they don’t care about validity of the answer.
Here at Bodyline, we weigh you and measure your height at your first in person consultation to work out your BMI there and then, along with measuring your waist circumference. Even if you opt for an at-home consultation, you will be provided with a fully calibrated kit to weigh yourself and a tape to measure your own waist.
We also measure your blood pressure to ensure it is within safe levels conducive to the weight loss treatment we are planning to prescribe – a blood pressure monitor is included in the at-home kit.
Additionally, we always check your medical history and any current prescription medications before prescribing weight loss treatments to ensure there are no contraindications (medicines that do not work well together), or medical problems that may prevent you from using the medications.
Can you trust they have the patient’s best interests at heart?
As mentioned above, advice from the MHRA and NICE state clear instructions as to who may be offered “skinny jabs”.
If they are not checking and verifying your eligibility for the medical injection, then they do not have your safety, wellbeing, or best interests at heart, and should be avoided at all costs. Instagram sellers and faceless online markets will likely not have the qualifications or medical knowledge to know who is eligible and who isn’t, nor the desire to check.
If they aren’t checking, they may not have your best interests at heart, rather their profits.
Will they be monitoring your reactions to the skinny jab?
Regular consultations are vital to ensuring you are receiving the best care and effective results in a medical weight loss journey.
Consultations will monitor your side effects, your progress, and enables qualified healthcare providers to titrate the treatment – that is slowly increase the dose to ensure safety and no adverse reactions.
Offering the medication, sending through the post, and dropping off a cliff are signs that this provider is not prioritising your health and wellbeing or the reactions to the medications.
Are they taking a personal and holistic approach to ensure weight loss?
Effective and sustainable weight loss doesn’t just happen overnight with medical weight loss injections or skinny jabs. If you have unhealthy habits that are preventing you from losing weight without your realising, taking an injection once a week will do very little to help you lose weight for good, and as soon as you stop you will pile the weight back on. And that’s provided the injection even contains the correct ingredients.
To ensure weight loss, advice and support is vital for a healthy and sustainable change. At Bodyline, we offer professional, medically supported wellness programmes. Our team is headed up by a Clinical Director team and Clinical Nursing Leads, creating bespoke wellness journeys covering lifestyle, nutrition, and exercise ensuring long term positive results.
These bespoke journeys have helped over 100,000 people lose the weight and keep it off.
Contact Bodyline today to find out more about our safe and effective weight loss programmes and range of treatment options.
Does it seem too good to be true?
The crux of the matter is that all these cheap, one size fits all sellers are generally too good to be true.
Weight management is about total lifestyle changes, and services that promise dramatic weight loss with one magic skinny jab cannot be trusted.
If you are struggling to manage your weight and considering weight loss injections like semaglutide, liraglutide or tirzepatide as a solution, look for clinical providers who are experienced in weight health and haven’t popped up out of nowhere with no previous work in the slimming industry.
At Bodyline, we have 17 years of prescribing weight loss treatments to those struggling with obesity and weight health, responding to the latest in obesity treatment as the research comes in. Though weight loss injections are newer, we have helped over 100,000 people reach their weight loss goals with oral medications designed to curb appetite as well as weight loss injections that have been around for almost a decade (Saxenda).
Just read our success stories for yourself.
Your health is priority at Bodyline. Call us today on 0800 995 6036 to find out more about why we are the best option.
