Understand the potential risks prior to taking Ozempic

People seeking to lose weight quickly are being warned against purchasing celebrity weight loss drugs illegally online or off-label, due to a recent shortage of diabetes drug Ozempic.

Widely promoted on social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok as a celebrity weight loss drug, Ozempic has been in such high demand for both diabetes type 2 and weight loss, it caused a global shortage leaving people with diabetes having to rely on alternative medication.

While the drug Ozempic is a safe alternative to manage diabetes, the way in which it is being used for weight loss and bought online without medical supervision is a real concern.

Ozempic has been used off-label by doctors to treat other serious health conditions such as obesity and people have reportedly been accessing the drug for weight loss without a prescription. The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) recently asked doctors treating patients with obesity to consider alternatives to semaglutide because supply would remain unstable for some time. Overseas websites targeting Australian consumers claiming to be selling Ozempic and other self-injectables for weight-loss, have been blocked by the TGA. Consumers have been advised not to use these products unless they have come from a trusted source.

Ozempic, or the semaglutide injection, is a once-weekly noninsulin medicine that, along with diet and exercise, may help improve blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes.

Medical Negligence Associate Karen Jarman says people considering using the drug for weight loss should seek advice from a registered medical professional. Ms Jarman said even people with diabetes seeking to lose weight needed to ensure their GP was consulting a diabetes specialist before changing medications.

A Queensland woman fell into life-threatening diabetic coma and suffered a heart attack when her GP took her off insulin which she had relied on for decades and provided her with new drugs including a high dose of Ozempic to treat her type 2 diabetes and for weight loss.

The woman had used insulin for about 30 years before the GP switched her diabetes medication for Ozempic suddenly along with two other drugs, without guidance from a treating endocrinologist and without tapering her previous medication and slowly increasing the Ozempic. The high dose of Ozempic was at a level which made her feel very unwell with nausea and vomiting and her health declined as a result. The woman required a team of diabetes and heart specialists to help get her life back on track and she is still suffers the consequences of her GP’s actions today.

“There are potentially some people who believe Ozempic is a weight loss wonder drug. If you receive advice to start a lot of new medications at once and it has made you unwell, it’s best to return to your treating GP, explain your symptoms and ask for testing to be undertaken. If you have switched to another medicine because you have been unable to obtain Ozempic, you should speak to your doctor about your ongoing treatment,” Ms Jarman said.

“If you feel you are not being taken seriously and listened to, seek alternative advice and present to hospital if you are severely unwell. If the initial care you have received is inadequate and has caused you to become ill, you may be able to enquire or pursue your legal rights.

“If you are using a drug without a script and you become ill, your legal rights may be limited depending on where you accessed and purchased the drug. If you access the drug after purchasing it online, it was not from a trusted source and you can’t be sure what the drug contained, it could be difficult to prove another party is liable for your injuries.”

Ms Jarman said that GP doctors had an obligation to follow and practice medicine within the Good Medical Practice: A Code of Conduct for Doctors in Australia, which states they must listen to their patients and act on what their patients tells them.

Supplies were expected to improve this year following the TGA announcing limited quantities of the medication would be available at some community pharmacies. Follow the current supply levels due to the shortage at the TGA website

We are sharing this story, to demonstrate how taking Ozempic can potentially cause adverse reactions when used for purposes other than the manufacturer intended. We hope if people are using semaglutide for other reasons than type 2 diabetes, that they are aware of the potential effects, and are considering safe avenues to source the drug.