People Are Overdosing on Wegovy, Poison Control Data Shows – By Ed Cara (Gizmodo) / Dec 15, 2023
Americans are increasingly calling poison control centers over semaglutide, the active ingredient in popular weight loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy. Most of these calls appear to concern potential overdoses of semaglutide and might be tied to a rise in compounded versions of the drug, which aren’t tested for their safety and can come in doses that vary greatly from the typical formulation.
Semaglutide was developed by the Danish-based pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk. It was approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat type 2 diabetes in 2017 under the brand name Ozempic, and later approved in a higher dose version to treat obesity in 2021 under the name Wegovy (Ozempic is sometimes prescribed off-label for weight loss as well). In clinical trials of Wegovy, the drug has helped people lose an average 15% of their baseline weight, well above the typical success seen with diet and exercise alone or older obesity drugs.
No medical treatment comes without potential risks and side effects, though. Even when taking semaglutide as intended, people will frequently experience gastrointestinal issues such as vomiting and diarrhea, though these symptoms tend to wane over time. And it now seems that people are also getting hurt from accidentally misusing the drug as well.
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