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.

EDITOR’S PICKS

Special Report: Future of Music 2023

The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time

The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time

The 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time

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.

Woman loses 130 pounds with low-carb diet: 'I had to make a change'

 Brittney Custard was heading to the customer service desk in a department store when she started having back problems halfway through the short walk.

Her weight was close to 300 pounds at the time, a heavy burden for her 5-foot-1-inch frame.

Custard’s back hurt, and she was short of breath. She started snoring at night and felt invisible during the day.

Brittney "Lucky" Custard weighed almost 300 pounds in 2020.Courtesy Brittney Custard

“The heavier I got, I noticed the attention went away. It seemed like I was being ignored,” Custard, 38, who lives in Canton, Michigan, and goes by the nickname Lucky, tells TODAY.com.

“I started having back problems, and I was just like, ‘This is ridiculous. I can’t even fully parent like this.’ I had to make a change.”

The change that worked for her was the Atkins diet, a low-carb lifestyle that emphasizes high-protein foods, fat, cheese, lower-carb vegetables, nuts and seeds. It limits bread, starchy vegetables and fruit.

Weight gain

Custard says she was already aware of her weight as a child, noticing she was heavier than the other kids. But she was active, performing, tap dancing and doing some local modeling.

During a meeting with a modeling agency when she was 8, an agent told her mother, “She’s not getting taller. She’s starting to gain weight.” Custard says she’ll never forget that comment.

As an adult, her go-to food choice was carbs — mainly breads and pastas. A typical breakfast might be leftover pizza, and dinner often consisted of a salad piled with croutons and fried chicken, she says.

Custard shares a happy moment with her sons Ivan, 15, left and Prince, 12.Courtesy Brittney Custard

In 2018, after Custard had endured years of irregular menstrual cycles and weight gain, she was diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a hormonal imbalance that affects 10% of women of childbearing age, according to the Office on Women’s Health.

It made it difficult to expand her family and travel because she never knew when her period might start.

Custard’s mental health was suffering, too, with continued worries about her weight. “Throughout life, it was just kind of, 'How come I can’t be as small as the next person?'” she says.

She had a miscarriage in October 2019. At that point, she weighed 273 pounds, and over the next 10 months, she put on more than 20 pounds. She reached her maximum weight of 297 in August 2020.

Weight loss

The first step toward losing weight was journaling to identify behaviors and triggers that caused her to overeat, Custard says.

Recommended

STYLEThese bestselling 'tummy-control' leggings are comfortable, flattering — and only $25

LIFESTYLE & FITNESSIs this year's hottest accessory the oversized water bottle? Here's why it might be

“Anytime I had an urge, anytime I had a craving, I would write down my state of mind. Why am I having this craving?” she recalls.

“OK, I notice I (eat) bread when I’m feeling like this. When I’m stressed out here, I tend to order out. I’ll get pizza.”

By observing herself and analyzing her eating habits, Custard says she noticed she was eating many carbs and drinking a lot of soda. That’s when she started looking into a low-carb diet.

Custard says she lost 100 pounds in six months. Her total weight loss since starting is about 130 pounds.Courtesy Brittney Custard

She first stopped drinking soda and juices. Then, she began eliminating high-carb foods. “Some people say one day at a time, but I say one food at a time,” Custard says about eliminating problem foods. “Get accustomed to that, and that way, you don’t have as much cravings when you wean yourself off the items.”

She now absolutely avoids pizza and pasta, and rarely eats bread. The focus is on lean proteins and vegetables. Custard eats some fruits but tries to stay away from too much sugar.

Breakfast might mean eating a meal replacement bar. Custard calls herself “a major salad head,” so lunch and dinner may be romaine lettuce with salmon or chicken.

"I felt more heard after I lost weight," Custard says. "It seemed like people were friendlier."Courtesy Brittney Custard

If she craves some carbs, she’ll have a turkey wrap instead of a turkey sandwich. Her favorite exercise routine is Vinyasa yoga, which focuses on flow.

Custard says she now weighs 163 pounds, calling it a “day and night” difference from her maximum weight of almost 300. “I am running around with my boys now,” she notes. “It’s very nice.”

Some experts have praised low-carb diets, noting they're effective for weight loss and seem to reduce hunger.

"When you limit carbohydrates, the body gets really good at burning its own body fat because it doesn’t have a lot of sugar to burn for fuel," Jeff Volek, Ph.D., professor in the department of human sciences at Ohio State University, who’s been studying low-carb diets for 25 years, previously told TODAY.

But is it healthy?

When the American Heart Association rated popular diets for how well they align with heart-healthy eating, it classified Atkins as a very low-carb diet and gave this type of eating plan the lowest scores.

While very low-carb diets have strengths — such as emphasizing non-starchy vegetables, nuts and fish, and avoiding added sugar — they also restrict fruits, legumes and whole grains, which may lead to nutritional deficiencies, the AHA noted in a 2021 scientific statement. These diets are also high in fat without limiting saturated fat, it added.

Custard says Atkins was a remedy for her biggest issue — eating too many carbs — and believes she can stick with the diet long-term. Custard urges others to figure out what eating style works for their body.

Is Weight Loss a Side Effect of Metformin?

 Metformin is commonly prescribed for managing blood sugar levels in individuals with type 2 diabetes.

Some people may experience weight loss as a side effect of taking metformin. There are a few reasons why metformin may contribute to weight loss, including its role in decreasing appetite and changing gut bacteria.1 Metformin is also known to cause gastrointestinal-related side effects, such as diarrhea and nausea, which may affect how much you can eat.2

However, metformin is not specifically intended or approved for weight loss purposes.

This article will discuss why you might experience weight changes on metformin and whether this means metformin could be used as a potential weight loss drug.

Getty Images / Scott Olson / Staff

How Metformin Works

Metformin belongs to a class of drugs called biguanides. It is used to help manage type 2 diabetes by lowering blood sugar levels.2

In type 2 diabetes, insulin is produced in the body, but the cells are not able to respond to the insulin being released. This is known as insulin resistance.

As a result, your cells cannot absorb sugar, so it remains in your blood and causes high blood sugar levels. Metformin can prevent high blood sugar levels in three ways:3

• It decreases sugar production in the liver.
• It lowers the absorption of sugar from the food we eat.
• It makes your body more sensitive to insulin.

Weight Loss As a Side Effect of Metformin

It is clinically shown that a common side effect of metformin is weight loss.

Studies have suggested that metformin decreases appetite and changes the bacterial community of the gut.1

Metformin decreases appetite by reducing levels of a hormone called leptin. Leptin regulates appetite by telling your brain when your stomach is full. With reduced sensitivity to leptin, you don’t feel as hungry anymore.

Another way metformin can make you lose weight is by changing the bacteria in your gut. There are certain bacteria in our stomachs that break down short-chain fatty acids. The breakdown of short-chain fatty acids gives our body energy and helps regulate sugar levels. After metformin treatment, the bacteria responsible for fatty acid metabolism increase, leading to weight loss.4

Metformin may also cause some digestive-related side effects, such as diarrhea or nausea, which can affect appetite and food intake.5

Other Potential Causes of Weight Loss

If you are losing weight while taking metformin, it may or may not be caused by the medication itself. Other factors can contribute to weight loss, such as changes in diet, digestive issues, or other medications. 

Lifestyle Changes

If you take metformin, that means you are likely also making lifestyle changes to help manage your diabetes.

According to the American Diabetes Association, managing type 2 diabetes is best achieved by practicing 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity exercise, such as brisk walking, and starting a sugar- or carb-free diet.6 Increased physical activity and diet changes are associated with decreased body weight.7

Digestive Issues

Digestive issues can also be the reason why you are losing weight. These symptoms or diseases may affect appetite and food intake, potentially leading to weight loss in some individuals. Some digestive problems that are related to weight loss include:

• Diarrhea 
• Vomiting
• Stomach infection or virus 
• Inflammatory bowel syndrome (IBS)

Other Medications

Other medications can also cause weight loss as a side effect. For example, levothyroxine rebalances your hormones to break down food for energy, which may lead to modest weight loss.8

Other medications that can cause weight loss include stimulants for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), such as Adderall and Concerta.9 

Could Metformin Be Used for Weight Loss?

Although metformin can provide modest weight reductions, it is not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a weight loss medication.

Some studies have demonstrated metformin's potential effects on body weight. However, based on clinical studies, the amount of weight lost on metformin varies.

Based on one six-month study, people with diabetes taking metformin only decreased their weight by 5%.10 One review of studies found that, on average, metformin in adults over 60 resulted in about 4 pounds of weight loss compared with a placebo.11

Another study assessed metformin's effect on weight in 154 individuals with obesity who did not have diabetes. Over six months, those who took metformin lost around 12 to 15 pounds, on average.12

In one long-term study, 28.5% of people taking metformin lost about 5% or less of their body weight after one year. However, those who lost weight on metformin had the greatest success maintaining weight loss six to 15 years after.13

Additionally, there are other medications available, like Wegovy (semaglutide), that are specifically approved to help manage weight. Semaglutide has shown total body weight loss percentages of up to 11% after six months of use.14

Taking any medication that can help you lose weight is not the best practice to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Therefore, it is important to consider a healthy diet and exercise plan, even if you are on a treatment for obesity.

Can You Take Metformin If You Don’t Have Diabetes?

If you do not have pre-diabetes or diabetes, your healthcare provider will most likely not prescribe metformin to help you lose weight.

One possible case a healthcare provider might consider metformin for weight loss is for people without diabetes who are on medications for schizophrenia.

This is because antipsychotic medications, such as clozapine and olanzapine, have a high risk of weight gain. Based on a collection of studies, metformin effectively decreased body weight in people without diabetes who have gained weight while being treated for schizophrenia.15

When to See a Healthcare Provider

Engaging in open and regular communication with a healthcare provider is crucial for anyone concerned about maintaining a healthy weight, regardless of whether one is worried about excessive weight loss or dealing with obesity.

Your healthcare provider can provide personalized guidance, evaluate health risks, ensure a balanced approach, monitor progress, and offer valuable support throughout the journey toward achieving and sustaining a healthy weight.

You may also want to consider speaking to a registered dietitian and nutrition (RDN), who can help establish healthy eating practices.

Summary

While metformin has been commonly associated with weight loss, the medication is not intended to be used for weight loss purposes.

There are a few possibilities for why metformin helps you lose weight, including loss of appetite and a change of good bacteria in your stomach. Other factors other than metformin may contribute to weight loss, such as changes in diet and exercise, digestive issues, or other medications.

If you feel that you may need medication to help you achieve a healthy weight, contact your healthcare provider to discuss a personalized weight management plan.