Ozempic users are hospitalized after using the medicine – 05/25/2023 – Equilibrium

“I gave up on Ozempic, ended up in the hospital again,” writes a user of the drug in a Facebook group where patients share their experience with the drug. “Guys, I have a lot of pain in my stomach, I ended up in the hospital to take medicine into a vein, none of them cut the pain”, says another patient in the same space. “Today I ended up in the hospital with an episode of vertigo”, reports a third user, also part of the community.

Such testimonials are common on social media. Persistent nausea and vomiting, in addition to severe stomach pain, are among the stories of those who needed to be hospitalized as a result of using Ozempic.

Bank employee Cassia Elizabete de Oliveira, 56, is among those who ended up in the hospital. “I never want to see that medicine again in my life,” she says.

Although the indication is a gradual increase in the dose, which varies between 0.25 mg and 1 mg, the doctor responsible for your treatment recommended the maximum value right from the start. The idea was for the bank employee to lose 10 kg in 30 days to undergo surgery on a hernia in her abdomen, but already in the first application she vomited so much that she rushed to the hospital, where she took saline solution, medication for nausea and was released after medical advice.

“I was sick for 10 days with every thing I swallowed”, he says.

The semaglutide-based injectable drug was formulated for type 2 diabetes, but is used off-label in Brazil to treat obesity. Another remedy with the same active principle, called Wegovy, was authorized by Anvisa (National Health Surveillance Agency) earlier this year for weight loss. The drug, however, has not yet reached the shelves.

Publications on social networks also bring reports of pancreatitis, severe inflammation of the pancreas, which requires immediate care. The drug leaflet warns of the condition, which has severe and continuous abdominal pain as a symptom. Family history of the disease, gallstones, obesity and type II diabetes are among the risk factors for developing the condition.

Doctor Maria Augusta Kara Zellas, professor at Faculdade Evangélica Mackenzie do Paraná, says that the substance can lead to temporary gastrointestinal symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Manifestations occur most frequently at the start of treatment and between changes in dosage.

“As the patient adapts to the medication, we increase the amount”, says the endocrinologist.

Human resources consultant Luciana Godoy, 49, started using Ozempic at the lowest dose and, guided by an endocrinologist, switched to 0.5 mg. As she did not adapt, the doctor indicated that she resumed the previous dose. According to the patient, the treatment is now proceeding without complications.

“It is fundamental to have a professional on your side, even if it is to suspend the medication and say ‘look, this medicine or this dose is not for you'”, he says. “We can’t play with luck”.

Endocrinologist Priscilla Mattar, medical director at Novo Nordisk, the laboratory responsible for Ozempic, adds that the drug is not indicated for those with type 1 diabetes, pregnant women, breastfeeding women, children under 18 years of age, people with a family history of thyroid cancer, multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 and primary endocrine neoplasia type 2.

The professional completes that self-medication can lead to allergic reactions, poisoning, and in case of drug interaction, nullify or enhance the effects of the drug, in addition to masking symptoms or delaying the diagnosis of diseases.

Mattar also reinforces that, although the off-label use of Ozempic for obesity in Brazil is common, the brand does not endorse or support the practice.