Weight monitors taking Ozempic and other versions of the drug are leading to a surge in emergency room visits, experts warn.
Some doctors have taken to social media to report a surge in patients taking Ozempic and Wegovy who are coming to the hospital with severe diarrhea, gas and nausea — three of the more serious side effects of fat-loss injections.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has also sounded the alarm about the rise of risky counterfeit versions of the drug being sold by fraudulent pharmacies, which are capitalizing on the high demand for the treatments and are also causing outbreaks of disease.
Some doctors say they’re seeing more patients in hospitals taking the drug — taken as a weekly injection — than ever before (stock image)
Elon Musk has been using Ozempic to lose weight for the past few years. The picture above shows him attending the Vanity Fair Oscar party in 2020
An emergency room doctor known by the Twitter handle @thatERguy warned of rising hospitalizations linked to the drug Twitter: “The number of people who come to the emergency room for side effects from Ozempic.”
They added, describing the reasons for the admissions: “Diarrhea.” Nausea. flatulence.’
Social media is also teeming with users who claim to have become so ill after taking the medication that they ended up in the hospital.
Among them is Arizona’s Joy McClellan, who said she was “nearly killed” by a fake version of Ozempic.
“Two ERs and six days in the hospital.” “I’m lucky I didn’t die but someone will die,” she wrote online.
In another US-based case, Twitter user Joshua Schiff said a close family member was hospitalized with severe pancreatitis — a painful inflammation of the pancreas — within two weeks of taking semaglutide.
“The hospital stay lasted six days, resulting in a $30,000 hospital bill and (possible) long-term damage to the pancreas.”
They added, “Be careful with this stuff.”
And a third woman claimed on Twitter that just two injections of semaglutide resulted in her husband being hospitalized with a “gallstone attack.”
‘[It was his] “Worst surgery ever and a near-needed surgery – a very high risk for him,” she added.
In late May, the FDA also warned of increasing reports of side effects in people taking the drug — which had likely been reported by medical centers.
They linked the surge to “compound” or cocktail versions of the drug.
These become available when pharmacies start crafting their own versions because they don’t have enough supplies to fulfill the prescriptions.
In its press release, the agency said, “The FDA has received reports of adverse events after patients used compound semaglutide.”
When asked about today’s increase, an FDA spokesperson said, “The agency continues to evaluate the reports submitted to validate and evaluate any safety trends in compound formulations of semaglutide.”
dr Laurie Keefer, a health psychologist at Mount Sinai based in New York, previously told CBS News that she’s seen an increase in patients on Ozempic coming to the hospital.
She said they were later diagnosed with gallstones or kidney failure.
According to a clinical study of 2,000 obese adults, the results of which were published in 2021, more than eight out of 10 people taking semaglutide — the drug behind Ozempic and Wegovy — experience side effects while taking the drug.
Plus-size model and TikTok star Remi Bader also revealed that she uses Ozempic (left). Comedian Chelsea Handler has admitted to using the shot as well
These tended to be of “mild to moderate” severity, the study said – and included problems like diarrhea, vomiting, constipation and nausea.
However, almost one in ten patients also had to contend with serious side effects, which in some cases led to them stopping the drug.
These included the occurrence of gallbladder disease – such as gallstones – or pancreatitis.
No information was given on how many patients eventually went to the emergency room or were hospitalized overnight because of side effects.
Other side effects have emerged since the study, including muscle wasting, aversion to your favorite foods, and even bizarre dreams.
Prescriptions for these drugs have grown more than 2,000 percent in just three years, from 230,000 a year in 2019 to more than five million last year alone — and are expected to keep growing.
The drug is a GLP-1 receptor that triggers hormones in the brain that keep the stomach full and tell the body to stop eating and avoid cravings.
Doctors were forced to start rationing Ozempic in May after its popularity as a weight-loss drug led to widespread shortages across the country.
Its popularity has caused delays in getting the drug to pharmacies across the country, prompting many to mix their own versions.
Novo Nordisk, which is behind Ozempic and Wegovy, has been contacted for comment.
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