- Meredith Hotchkiss told the Daily Mail that using Maunjaro had “destroyed my life.”
- She was involved in major lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies Eli Lilly and Novo Nordic.
- Recent filings have listed a number of medical conditions associated with weight loss drugs.
A host of devastating medical conditions allegedly caused by Ozempic and similar weight-loss drugs have been revealed in a landmark trial, with thousands of patients claiming to have suffered life-threatening side effects.
Some people become bedridden after using the drugs, while others suffer constant pain and are never able to eat solid food again.
One patient who took Eli Lilly’s flagship diabetes and weight loss drug, Maunjaro, told DailyMail.com that he will never be able to eat solid food again and will likely receive nutrition and hydration through a tube directly into his small intestine for the rest of his life.
“My life was devastated,” Meredith Hotchkiss, 56, said.
Symptoms associated with Ozempic, Munjaro and similar drugs include gastroparesis, ileus and intestinal blockages. The lawyers also claim the drugs caused “malnutrition, dehydration, neurological damage and even death.”
Hotchkiss is one of about 100 patients who have joined the lawsuit against the drug companies, and lawyers say thousands more who suffer similarly severe side effects are expected to join as the case moves forward.
The Danish companies that make Ozempic and Wegovi, Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, are accused of failing to warn patients and doctors about certain side effects caused by the drugs.
The companies deny the allegations in the lawsuit, saying they will “vigorously defend against these assertions.”
DailyMail.com reported in January that patients across the US were filing lawsuits against Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, including a woman who suffered from permanent diarrhea after taking Ozempic.
These lawsuits have now been consolidated into a multidistrict litigation similar to a class action lawsuit.
The new complaint in the lawsuit lists the “most common types of injuries” and gives several examples of patients who were hospitalized or permanently ill.
According to the lawsuit, Hotchkiss, a nurse from Meridian, Idaho, was diagnosed with gastroparesis, a condition also known as stomach paralysis, after taking Maunjaro and Trulicity, another weight-loss drug made by Eli Lilly and Co.
She hasn’t had a proper meal since February of last year and is now dependent on intravenous nutrition and a feeding tube in her small intestine as she is no longer able to tolerate solid food.
“I’m angry,” she told DailyMail.com. “When I look at the side effects it doesn’t say gastroparesis.”
“Doctors never told me I had gastroparesis. [the companies] Not only do they recommend these drugs, but even Weight Watchers as a program recommends these drugs.
“I’m scared because I don’t know what the long-term effects are and I don’t know how people will react.”
Hotchkiss was prescribed Maunjaro from July 2022 to about June 2023. She was also prescribed Trulicity for a short period from December 2022 to March 2023.
She has diabetes, but her condition is “well controlled” and she has been given off-label medication to lose weight.
“My diabetes is well controlled but I thought if I could lose weight and ride Munjaro then I would give it a go because everyone else is doing it,” she said.
“The doctor told me that if I lost weight it would really help. He said I’d be really sick for four weeks but would feel a lot better after that.”
After taking Munjaro for four weeks, Hotchkiss said she felt “bloated and not very hungry.” She temporarily stopped taking the drug due to insurance issues, but resumed it in early 2023, combining it with a “whole food, plant-based diet.”
Her condition rapidly deteriorated and she developed gastroparesis.
“When I started dieting again, I couldn’t eat anything except cottage cheese, mac and cheese, and yogurt. Even though I was eating a mostly plant-based diet, I couldn’t eat anything,” she says.
“In April, I [a gastroenterologist]I was told I had severe gastritis and duodenitis. [inflammation in the small intestine] And everything was inflamed. We did a gastric emptying study and it turned out to be the most severe form of gastroparesis.”
Hotchkiss was fitted with a central venous catheter, which is inserted into a vein to deliver nutrients directly to her bloodstream, as well as tubes into her stomach and small intestine.
She was also hospitalized three times for afflictions including life-threatening sepsis.
Hotchkiss said she lost some weight after using drugs, but her weight is now stable because her body goes into “starvation mode” and “retains all of the calories.”
The side effects have changed her life completely, preventing her from doing the things she loves, and doctors have also told her that her health condition means she can no longer travel abroad.
“I can’t swim, so I can’t go in the water. I love swimming and I have a boat but I can’t get in the water at all. I used to love swimming in the ocean,” she said.
“It affects my social side because what would I do going out with my friends? Going out to dinner, going to a barbecue… every holiday, everything revolves around food.”
“My other worry is whether I will be able to survive long enough to pay off the mortgage on our house with my husband. I’m worried about him.”
His lawyers say Hotchkiss’s ordeal is not unique.
Recent court filings cite another patient, Delisa Jones, who “suffered from severe vomiting and gastrointestinal burning after taking Ozempic for several months, which led to gastroparesis.”
“Mr Jones requires anti-vomiting medication, suffers from severe and ongoing stomach pain and is essentially bedridden,” the statement said.
The complaint also mentions Billy Farley, who DailyMail.com previously reported “will likely never have a solid bowel movement again” due to complications allegedly caused by Ozempic.
Other patients have also spoken to DailyMail.com about their own frightening results.
Zakariya Gregory, 46, of Walker Mill, Maryland, said he had his gallbladder removed after suffering side effects allegedly caused by Ozempic, which he had been taking for seven months until February 2020.
Dina Fioretti said Ozempic caused her to vomit so much that it tore her esophagus and left her hospitalized for a week.
The companies are accused of failing to properly label the side effects of their products and “downplaying the severity of the symptoms of gastroparesis and omitting that it can be a hallmark of a potentially life-threatening digestive dysfunction.”
Eli Lilly said: “Patient safety is Lilly’s top priority, and we are proactively committed to monitoring, evaluating and reporting safety information for all of our medicines.”
“Our FDA-approved labels clearly warn that tirzepatide and dulaglutide can cause gastrointestinal side effects, sometimes serious.”
Additionally, the package insert states that tirzepatide and dulaglutide have not been studied in patients with severe gastrointestinal disease, including severe gastroparesis, and are not recommended for these patients.
“These risks were communicated to health care providers and were widely known. We vigorously refute these claims.”
“Novo Nordisk believes that the allegations in these lawsuits are without merit and intends to vigorously defend itself against these claims,” Novo Nordisk said in a statement.
“Patient safety is a top priority for Novo Nordisk and we work closely with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to continually monitor the drug’s safety profile.”
“GLP-1 medicines have been used to treat type 2 diabetes (T2D) for over 18 years and obesity for eight years. This includes Novo Nordisk GLP-1 products such as semaglutide and liraglutide, which have been on the market for over 13 years.”
“Semaglutide has been extensively tested in a robust clinical development programme, large real-world evidence studies and has more than 9.5 million cumulative patient-years of clinical experience.
“The known risks and benefits of semaglutide and liraglutide medicines are described in the FDA-approved product labeling.
“Novo Nordisk guarantees the safety and effectiveness of all our GLP-1 medicines when used as directed and taken under the supervision of a qualified healthcare professional.”
