Women and men using Ozempic, an injectable originally prescribed as a diabetes drug, are experiencing side effects more and more frequently, and physicians are indicating that hospitals will start to see more and more of this.
Others in its drug class like Wegovy, have also seen a surge in demand, one so high that the Food and Drug Administration has reported a national drug shortage for them.
Some people are going to extreme measures to get the drug, even after the FDA warned against using shortcuts like compounding pharmacies or telehealth programs.
Symptoms of delayed gastric emptying, nausea and vomiting are listed as side effects.
Novo Nordisk, Ozempic’s parent company, issued a statement that “GLP-1 receptor agonists are a well-established class of medicines, which have demonstrated long-term safety in clinical trials. The most common adverse reactions, as with all GLP-1s, are gastrointestinal related.”
The drug has a straightforward impact on the body’s hormones, mimicing a hormone called GLP-1, which regulates insulin and keeps food in your stomach longer.
Digestion is aided by a contraction of the stomach muscles, which helps empty the food out.
But when food stays in your stomach for too long, or the muscles slow down too much, it can cause intense nausea.
According to the Mayo Clinic, there is no cure for gastroparesis other than management, but the disease can cause major complications in the body like dehydration, malnutrition, and a decreased quality of life.
