Popular drug used for weight loss working wonders for some, causing serious side effects for others

PITTSBURGH — The popularity of Ozempic and Wegovy have skyrocketed over the past few years, fueled in part by celebrities showing off slimmer physiques and sleek cheekbones.

U.S. doctors have written more than nine million prescriptions for the drugs, both of which are FDA-approved--Ozempic for type 2 diabetes and Wegovy for weight loss. But as the number of users has jumped dramatically, so have the number of calls to America’s poison control centers. Some patients call Ozempic and Wegovy life-changing, while others have had a hard time on the medication.

Emily Czapko has battled obesity her entire life. Thyroid disease wrecked her metabolism, and this avid runner and dancer couldn’t do anything to lose weight.

“It didn’t make sense that I looked the way I looked and weighed what I weighed with as active as I am,” said Czapko.

Last year her doctor prescribed Ozempic.

“I was so excited. I actually picked it up at the pharmacy on Sunday and was planning to start on Monday. And I’m like, ‘No, I’m starting right now.’ I went home and injected the first time. I was thinking, this is literally the beginning of my new life.”

Czapko has lost a total of 100 pounds. Eighty of those pounds were after she started on Ozempic.

Not everyone’s Ozempic experience has been good. After struggling with fertility issues, Kayce Zangaro’s doctor recommended she slim down to increase her chances of becoming pregnant. After just one month on Ozempic, Kayce dropped 40 pounds, but on New Year’s Day, she woke up feeling horrible. She was nauseous, and couldn’t keep anything in her system. Her family rushed her to the emergency room for intravenous fluids. Then just two weeks ago, it started again.

“I had constant vomiting, and they said in the ER they thought it was because we raised my Ozempic,” said Zangaro.

Calls to the Pittsburgh Poison Center at UPMC from people on Ozempic and Wegovy have increased steadily. In 2022, dispatchers took 30 calls from people having serious side effects.

“Last year, we saw an increase to about 50 cases. and we expect this year, just based off of how January has gone so far that we’re going to see 70 cases, but it could be more,” said Joshua Shulman, MD, Medical Director of the Poison Center.

Dr. Shulman says it’s hard to say why the center is seeing more Ozempic and Wegovy calls with complaints about severe nausea, uncontrollable vomiting and abdominal pain.

He said Ozempic and Wegovy can be confusing to dose. It’s designed to be taken just once a week, but some patients may take it too early by mistake.

Most of the medication comes in a pen that allows patients to click a dial to administer the correct dose, but some doses that have been compounded require the patient to pull the drug from a vial into a syringe.

“That’s the potential for error,” said Dr. Shulman.

For Emily Czapko, the path to better health hasn’t been completely smooth. She’s had many bouts of nausea and cautions people that these aren’t miracle drugs. You have to exercise, watch your diet and make sure you take the medication exactly as prescribed.

“This is the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life, and I’ve run 75 half-marathons, so this is very difficult. You can’t train for this. You can’t prepare for this.”

Dr. Shulman said the Pittsburgh Poison Center does not track whether the people who call dispatchers wind up in the emergency room. Nationwide, the number of calls about Ozempic and Wegovy is about 15% higher than five years ago, according to America’s Poison Centers, the group that represents the nation’s 55 poison control centers.

In a written statement on their website, the makers of Ozempic and Wegovy said patient safety is their top priority and they are “taking multiple steps to ensure responsible use of our semaglutide medicines which are detailed on semaglutide. com”

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