Brad Roberts was so excited about his incredible Ozempic fuel weight loss that he chose to appear in a fat jab commercial.
Within a month of starting treatment, 44-year-old Roberts has taken off 24 pounds. By the mark up to six months, he lost almost half his weight, dropping from 300 to 157 pounds.
South Carolina then played a role in commercial advertising to promote drugs for its then employer, Telehealth giant Lifemd.
In the ad, he explained how his father’s death led him to “fill the void with food.” Modelling the look of the new Svert, he told viewers: For the first time in five years, I feel confident and feel the difference. It is possible to make changes, that happens. ”
What he didn’t notice was that his rapid weight loss was quietly causing devastating health effects.
The father of four claims in a lawsuit against the doctor who treated him that he has so much pain in his joints, muscles and stomach after taking Ozempic, he spends 18 hours a day in bed.
The fat tissue in his ears is degraded at speeds that are plagued by severe equilibrium and imbalance issues, and is troubled by his standing and walking, especially the stairs up and down.”
Several affidavits related to the lawsuit claim that he too can no longer communicate, suffers from amnesia and sometimes experiences a quadruple vision. Weight loss medications such as Ozempic and Wegovy are associated with rare eye conditions that can cause vision loss.
Roberts and his wife Stacey are suing Dr. Tony Puopolo, who prescribed him weight loss medication via LifeMD for medical malpractice.
After resigning to obesity, Brad Roberts couldn’t believe it when he lost 24 pounds in a month on weight loss pills. However, at a shocking event, the four 44-year-old fathers and his wife Stacey sues the doctor who prescribed him weight loss pills
Families seeking $35.8 million in damages claimed in court records that doctors “overlap” and sometimes unapproved combinations of drugs in November 2022 and 2023, speeding up weight loss.
At one point, the complaint reveals that former flight chief operating officer Roberts lost up to 3.5 pounds a week.
Dr. Brent Wilkerson, who has been treating Roberts with hearing problems since 2023, adds that everything is firmly heard in his ears (hearts ringing) so that everything appears to be muffled as if it were underwater, as the fat surrounding the Eustachian tube shrinks quickly and he can no longer hear his property.
In his assessment of Roberts’ condition, he continues in court documents. He puts a wool hat over his ears and is about to make a loud noise.
Sudden, rapid weight loss can cause fatty tissue surrounding the Eustachian tube that connects the ears to the back of the throat.
This leaves the tube open when it should be closed, and ultimately becomes a rare auditory issue, which is rare, but is increasingly reported by people at Ozempic.
Roberts has undergone at least six surgeries to try to improve his hearing loss, but he says he has no success.
Dr. Yadilla Lockard, a psychologist who has been Roberts’ therapist since January 2015, explains in one other court document obtained by Daily Mail about his deterioration, which was allegedly “dangerously” over-employed on weight loss drugs.
From behind his transformation, Roberts played a role in commercial advertising to promote drugs for his employers at the time.
Roberts and his wife Stacey are suing Dr. Tony Puopolo, who prescribed him weight loss pills via LifeMD for medical malpractice
She said: “Roberts does not have the mental ability to determine a particular outcome of life on behalf of himself or his family.”
Dr. Rockert says he noticed a rapid decline with Roberts around December 2023.
Previously, she said she regularly treated him for mental health issues and “normal course issues, including generalized anxiety,” and that nothing made her question her “ability to make financial or personal decisions.”
“He was an active and involved father and husband,” she adds.
However, around December 2023, a year after his weight loss, Dr. Lockard argues in a lawsuit that began to express concern over changes in Roberts’ behavior.
She recalls: “Roberts began complaining to me that his medical illness had affected his ability to function properly, making it impossible to follow and/or understand his email communications, and that he had sent email communications and that he could not receive, read and understand communications (whether or not it was written).
According to the lawsuit, Roberts allegedly complained that he was unable to take the bank, unable to drive for more than a few minutes at a time, or engage in intimate acts with his wife.
New York-based Dr. Robert Cooper has been specialized in diabetes for over 25 years and warns that overuse of GLP-1 drugs such as Ozempic can have catastrophic consequences.
In one of the affidavits, he states: “If GLP-1 is overprescribed sufficiently, whether it is the same drug therapy or the same class of drugs, it can have negative effects such as gastrointestinal disorders, pancreatitis, biliary pathology, hypoglycemia, and even death.”
As Dr. Wilkerson pointed out, Roberts’ therapist Dr. Lockoed in a statement said in a statement that he complained (and continues to complain) of Roberts’ “extreme pain in both ears.”
Dr. Lockard touched on some of the other complaints he told her during the treatment session, saying, “His teeth are constantly in pain and soft.”
At one point he said he lost up to 3.5 pounds a week on weight loss pills.
“The roof of his mouth is almost constantly burning, but at other times, the whole mouth is cold with ice. His tongue feels swollen and he can’t eat anything solid. He relies on soft foods and shaking of protein.
There is not much research into the effects of weight loss medications on Dr. Fatima Khan, a Maryland dentist and co-founder of Riven Oral Care, but some of the things she’s heard include acidic taste in the mouth, enamel erosion, sensitive teeth and tooth decay.
This is because some weight loss drugs, particularly GLP-1 receptor agonists such as Ozempic and Wegovi, can cause acid reflux or heartburn as side effects.
In addition to his physical health being affected, Dr. Lockard said in the lawsuit that Roberts also suffers from neurocognitive impairment, with “a hole in his memory that had not existed before” and “limited short-term memories.”
Other symptoms Dr. Lockard says she observed it.
She concludes in one of the court documents. “Unfortunately, none of the diseases described have been reconciled and in my expert opinion it appears that it will worsen and unlikely to fade in the future.”
Roberts claims that his weight loss medication was prescribed after a video consultation with Dr. Puopolo via LifeMD, and there is no scheduled appointment for follow-up.
He also argues that he has not been warned of potential side effects or other available treatments.
New York-based Dr. Robert Cooper has been specializing in diabetes for over 25 years, but in the lawsuit he says he believes Dr. Propolo is negligent, based on the evidence he sees.
He concludes: “If GLP-1 is overprescribed sufficiently, whether it is the same drug therapy or the same class of drug therapy, it can result in side effects including gastrointestinal disorders, pancreatitis, biliary pathology, hypoglycemia and even death.”
There is no trial date set to resolve the case. In response to an allegation against Dr. Puopolo, who was working through the platform LifeMD at the time, a spokesman told Daily Mail:
“We have already filed a motion with the court to dismiss the case as a matter of law and look forward to the court’s decision regarding the motion.”
Ozempic was originally developed to treat type 2 diabetes by lowering blood sugar levels. Diabetes can be genetic – known as type 1 diabetes, but about three-quarters of the 308.4 million cases in the US are of type 2, with poor diet and lifestyle.
After the study, it was revealed that drugs falling into the category of glucagon-like peptide-1 agonist (GLP-1S) injections are highly effective appetite suppressants, with weekly injections being reused to treat weight loss.
In 2018, 92% of new Ozempic users were diagnosed with diabetes. By 2021, this has fallen to 77% and continues to decline.
Some experts say there is no solid evidence to support ozempic-induced tinnitus or hearing loss, and argue that the cases are extremely rare
Studies suggest that patients taking ozenpic, which contains an active ingredient called semaglutide, may lose up to 15% of their body weight within a year.
People taking another GLP-1 medication called Mounjaro lose one-fifth of their weight over the same period.
Approximately one-fifth of people receiving weight loss injections suffer from nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. In most cases, these issues disappear after a few weeks.
What’s more concerning is the report of pancreatitis. This causes inflammation of the pancreas, an abdominal organ that produces digestive hormones. In some cases, pancreatitis can be life-threatening and can lead to organ failure.
Meanwhile, a study conducted last year by Harvard researchers concluded that taking Ozempic doubled the risk of a rare condition called non-arterial ischemic optic neuropathy or Naion.
This medical emergency occurs when blood flow to the nerves in the eye is blocked, causing vision loss. However, despite the increased risk, this condition is still thought to occur in one in 4,000 patients.
There are no official warnings regarding hearing impairment related to Ozempic.
But like Robers, patients in online support groups are increasingly raising alarms.
Daily Mail contacted Novo Nordisk (manufacturer of Ozempic and Wegovy) and Eli Lilly and Company (manufacturer of Mounjaro and Zepbound) to comment on the Roberts incident.
