"I was lucky": Diabetic has a warning for weight loss drug users
MESA, Ariz. - New weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy are pretty popular, but they come with a warning from health experts and patients.
The most common side effects of these drugs are nausea, vomiting, and fainting. But there's also been a spike in emergency room visits, including one in November at Banner Desert Medical Center in Mesa.
Dave Wilhelmi has been battling Type 2 diabetes for 10 years and his doctor thought the new medicine on the block, Ozempic, might help.
"My blood sugars, my A1C were a little bit high and so this would be a better way to control my Type 2 diabetes," said Wilhelmi.
But after a few months on Ozempic and two other diabetes drugs and increasingly higher doses, the trouble started, and it was time to get to the ER.
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"It is concerning that, in some cases, people can simply go online and order these kinds of medications," researchers said.
"They confirmed what I kind of suspected. I was severely dehydrated, and that can happen when you take some of these drugs."
Dave is not alone. Poison control centers across the country are seeing a spike in calls connected to these drugs.
"Over the last couple of years, we’ve seen a doubling in the numbers of calls reported to our center," said Dr. Bryan Kuhn, a pharmacist and toxicologist at Banner Health.
Dr. Kuhn says most issues come from a high dose to improper use.
"When we see patients taking the higher dose or if they accidentally or inadvertently take a double dose or some sort of the dose in medication, these otherwise tolerable and self-limiting symptoms can be quite uncomfortable and potentially harmful."
Dave’s three-day hospital stay came after a bad reaction to another diabetes drug, according to his doctor. Now back at home and on the mend, Dave has a warning for other Ozempic users.
"If you wait too long, it could be fatal. I was lucky."
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Five illnesses have been linked to the fake Ozempic shots, the FDA said.
Doctors are also urging people to stick with FDA-approved drugs, not similar drugs made at compounding pharmacies that can come with the wrong amount of ingredients.
As for Dave, he’s getting back on Ozempic without the other drug that caused a bad reaction.