Ozempic Users Report Stomach Paralysis from Weight Loss Drug: ‘So Much Hell’

Ever since Ozempic was first released to the public in 2018, the diabetic injectable has become a fan favorite for patients — even those without diabetes — to lose weight. 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. But that hasn’t stopped people from going to some extreme measures to get the drug, even after the FDA warned against using shortcuts like compounding pharmacies or telehealth programs. Now, a recent report from CNN found that at least two patients aren’t just experiencing minor stomach distress after using Ozempic — their stomachs are paralyzed.

“I wish I never touched it. I wish I’d never heard of it in my life,” Joanie Knight, 37, from Angie, Louisiana told CNN. “This medicine made my life hell. So much hell. It has cost me money. It cost me a lot of stress, it cost me days and nights and trips with my family. It’s cost me a lot, and it’s not worth it. The price is too high.”

According to the CNN report, both Knight and another Ozempic user, schoolteacher Emily Wright, started Wegovy and Ozempic respectively to control their weight. But after a year on the medication, both reported feeling extremely ill, including vomiting multiple times a day and being unable to eat. After seeing specialists, the women’s doctors said their stomach problems were either caused or made worse by their Ozempic prescriptions, according to CNN. They were diagnosed with severe gastroparesis, or paralyzed stomachs.

According to CNN, these women aren’t the only people experiencing severe side effects from Ozempic. Another woman, Brenda Allen, also reported similar side effects. The 42-year-old from Dallas, Texas, took Wegovy and experienced major nausea— a side effect that has continued even after she stopped the medication. And as use rises, several physicians told CNN there’s a chance hospitals will see more cases like Knight and Wright’s.

More recently, the American Society of Anesthesiologists released a warning that patients taking Ozempic, Wegovy, and other weight loss medications should stop at least a week before they have elective surgery — because of the risk they could throw up or regurgitate food while under anesthesia.

Novo Nordisk, Ozempic’s parent company, told Rolling Stone in 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.”

They made a similar statement to CNN: “Gastrointestinal (GI) events are well-known side effects of the GLP-1 class. For semaglutide, the majority of GI side effects are mild to moderate in severity and of short duration,” Novo Nordisk said. “GLP-1’s are known to cause a delay in gastric emptying, as noted in the label of each of our GLP-1 RA medications. Symptoms of delayed gastric emptying, nausea and vomiting are listed as side effects.” 

While Ozempic’s effect on the body has been hailed as a miracle, the drug has a straightforward impact on the body’s hormones. It mimics 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. And even after they stopped their medication, Knight and Wright said that their help problems continued. Wright was also diagnosed with cyclical vomiting syndrome, a disorder that causes multiple and unexplained bouts of vomiting every day.

Both of the women told CNN they were coming forward with their stories in the hopes of warning other users. But as long as Ozempic and its sibling medications remain so popular online, it’s unclear whether small warnings like this one will have much of a major impact.

“I’ve almost been off Ozempic for a year, but I’m still not back to my normal,” Wright told CNN. “We don’t know when we’re gonna get better. I think that’s the hardest part.”