There is growing concern among American doctors that Ozempic and similar weight-loss drugs are linked to suicide.
European regulators launched an investigation this week after three Icelandic patients reported suicidal or self-harm thoughts.
And now, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that it has received at least 60 reports of suicidal thoughts among patients taking the weight-loss drug or its sister drug Wegobee.
There are fears that more than 5 million weight-loss prescriptions will be written in the United States in 2022 alone, and many more cases will go unreported.
A Reddit group for people taking the drug shows that dozens of patients are receiving weekly injections and suffering from depression, saying they “feel hollow” and “can’t be happy.” “There are very few,” he said.
One of the more chilling posts came from an Ozempic user in Canada who said, “I never understood why people commit suicide, but now I do.” It’s been 3 weeks without an injection and I’m still feeling the side effects. ”
Users are also using TikTok to warn others about weight loss pills, saying they continue to suffer from depression and anxiety.
One user who used Wegovy said that Wegovy raised his anxiety to “level 1,000.”
“Towards the end of the week, the symptoms would taper off, and just as we started taking the next shot, we would start taking the next shot, and then it would repeat itself,” they explained.
Novo Nordisk acknowledges that suicidal thoughts can occur as a rare side effect of the drug, and states that patients should be monitored and the drug should be discontinued if suicidal thoughts occur.
Doctors don’t know how the drug interacts with mood, but the theory is that it’s caused by poor diet, which can raise levels of the stress hormone cortisol and increase anxiety. It has been suggested that it may be related to hypoglycemia.
Others suggest that the drug may rob you of your enjoyment of food and cause negative feelings. Last month, a scientist who helped develop the drug said it made his life “horribly boring.”
A spokesperson for Novo Nordisk told DailyMail.com that patient safety is a “first priority” and that it takes all reports of suicidal thoughts “very seriously”.
A US user using the name mmsantiago68 wrote in a Reddit group about Ozempic and suicidal thoughts: Hollow.
“I’m in my second month and I’d like to keep going, but today I felt particularly sick, so I looked around to see if anyone else had a similar experience. Yours. I hope you are feeling better.”
Another Canadian user who used the Handlebubby Pea said, “Yes, I had to stop because I couldn’t stand it.”
“I never understood why people would commit suicide, but now I do. It’s been three weeks without injections and I’m still feeling the side effects.”
And a third, using the name drBiGi, presumably based in Europe, said, “Since taking Ozempic (currently 0.5mg)… very few things have made me happy.”
‘I [was] They are highly dopaminergic and are always striving for more: a better life, better food, alcohol, women. ”
TikTok users have also expressed concerns about the drug.
One New York City patient, using the handle Thereselee6, said she could only use Ozempic for three weeks because it made her “feel terrible.”
“With weekly injections, I feel sick for five or six days,” she said. She said, “Then, like the night of the sixth day, just before the seventh day, she feels, ‘Oh, I’m starting to feel okay.’ But oops, it’s time for a shot. ”
She said the side effects of the medication, including vomiting and nausea, made her feel terrible.
A second US-based user (who goes by the name whit.toks on TikTok) said the drug helped her with her anxiety and stopped her, saying, “Sometimes being thin isn’t worth being sad about. There is,” he said sarcastically.
Another patient in the United States said, “I’m going off Wegovy because…my anxiety has been at level 1,000 since I got my first Wegovy shot.”
Dr. Florence Comite, an endocrinologist at the Precision Medicine and Health Committee Center in New York City, said it was plausible that patients taking weight-loss drugs could experience suicidal thoughts and depression. rice field. Although she has never experienced such symptoms in hundreds of patients, she prescribed drugs.
She told DailyMail.com, “There is no direct line between hypoglycemia (hypoglycemia) and depression.
“However, when blood sugar levels drop, symptoms such as fatigue, irritability and an overall feeling of unwell may occur.
“And when life goes wrong, you might start thinking, ‘Is this worth doing?'”
Asked whether the interruption of comfort food can also cause depression, she said: If you want to eat food to calm yourself down, but you don’t feel like eating right now, it can make you feel unhealthy and leave you feeling exhausted. ”
“I was baffled,” said Comite, who has taken weight-loss drugs in the past. I couldn’t believe the effect it had on my brain and digestive tract. He wasn’t hungry, he wasn’t greedy, he wasn’t interested. [in eating]. ”
Over the years, Dr. Comitet has prescribed Ozempic, Wegoby, and other weight-loss drugs to hundreds of patients. Ozempic first became available to people with diabetes in 2017, and Wegobee was approved in June 2021.
She told DailyMail.com that none of these patients developed suicidal thoughts or anxiety, but all were medicated to be closely monitored for mental health problems. He said he had been tested before.
Ozempic and Saxenda suppress appetite by mimicking the hormones in the body that make you feel full.
It can also slow down the rate at which your stomach empties, allowing you to have more food for longer.
The drug has taken America by storm, with prescriptions for Ozempic and Wegoby, both using the drug semaglutide, surging 2,000 percent since 2019. An estimated 5 million prescriptions for drugs similar to Ozempic will be written in 2022.
Novo Nordisk, which makes Ozempic and Saxenda, has already pointed to suicidal thoughts as a potential side effect of the drug.
The cautionary note reads, “Suicidal behavior and suicidal ideation have been reported in clinical trials with other weight management products.”
“Observe patient for depression, suicidal ideation or behavior, unusual changes in mood or behavior, or both.”
“Discontinue Wegovy in patients experiencing suicidal ideation or behavior and avoid Wegovy in patients with a history of suicide attempts or active suicidal ideation.”
Their clinical trial excluded patients with depression or recent suicidal thoughts due to concerns about how the drug might affect them.
Physicians have been warned to think twice before prescribing drugs to patients with depression or suicidal thoughts, a warning that could be overlooked because drugs are so liberally distributed in the United States.
According to the FDA, there have been at least 60 reports of suicidal thoughts in patients taking drugs that use semaglutide, including Ozempic, Wegoby, and Libersus.
The report is from the Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS), which was used to warn scientists of rare vaccine side effects such as blood clots during the COVID-19 pandemic.
These cases are self-reported and have not been verified by government agencies. These have been reported since 2018, the year after Ozempic was approved as a weight loss drug in the United States.
The FDA said it has received at least 70 similar reports of Saxenda patients using liraglutide since 2010.
Ozempic’s association with depression and suicidal thoughts could have serious consequences for the company.
The European Medicines Agency said yesterday it was investigating the risk of weight loss treatments leading to suicide and self-harm.
The Safety Board is reportedly investigating an adverse event brought by the Icelandic Medicines Agency. Reuters.
Two of these were associated with suicidal ideation, one used Ozempic, another used Saxenda, and one Saxenda patient was associated with self-harm.
Novo Nordisk said at the time that patient safety was “a top priority” and that it took all reports of adverse events very seriously.
Another weight-loss drug, Sanofi’s Acomplia, was withdrawn from Europe in 2008 after it was linked to suicidal thoughts.
Penny Ward, a visiting professor of pharmacy at King’s College London and an expert in pharmacovigilance in the EU, said the most likely outcome of the investigation was to alert to possible aspects. He said the labeling of medicines in the EU would change to tell. Effects of suicidal thoughts.
Another drug safety expert, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said due to Iceland’s small population, regulators deemed only a few adverse event cases to be a significant proportion and worth investigating. said it was possible.
A Novo Nordisk spokesperson said, “Patient safety is a top priority at Novo Nordisk and we take all reports of adverse events from the use of our medicines very seriously.”
“GLP-1 receptor agonists have been used to treat type 2 diabetes for more than 15 years and for obesity for more than 8 years, including Novo Nor, such as semaglutide and liraglutide, which have been on the market for more than 10 years. Also includes disc products.
“In the United States, the FDA requires chronic weight management drugs that act on the central nervous system, such as Wigoby and Saxenda, to carry warnings about suicidal behavior and thoughts.
“This event was also reported in clinical trials of other weight management products.”
