(TheRedAlertNews.com) – In a highly distressing development, calls to poison control centers have spiked by a mind-blowing 1,500% this year since a growing number of Americans are resorting to semaglutide drugs, such as Ozempic, for weight loss purposes, according to new data.
A report by The New York Post stresses that, while semaglutide drugs like Ozempic have emerged as a beacon of hope for people seeking weight loss, their surge in popularity has worried poison control centers nationwide.
From the beginning of the year through November, America’s Poison Centers reported nearly 3,000 calls involving semaglutide, marking an increase of over 1,500% since 2019.
Dr. Kait Brown, clinical managing director of the association, explained to CNN that most calls were related to dosage errors:
“Oftentimes, it’s a person who maybe accidentally took a double dose or took the wrong dose,” the expert said.
Initially approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2017 for diabetes patients, semaglutide is marketed as Ozempic for diabetes and Wegovy for weight loss.
The drug, even when used correctly, can induce side effects like nausea, vomiting, and constipation, particularly when individuals start using it.
As semaglutide’s demand skyrocketed, its manufacturers struggled to meet the demand.
In response, the FDA, in March 2022, authorized compounding pharmacies to produce the drug.
These pharmacies customize medications by altering or mixing ingredients, often resulting in a different form than the original drug.
Novo Nordisk, the creator of Ozempic, provides the medication in pre-filled pens with safeguards to ensure the correct dosage.
However, compounded semaglutide often comes in multi-dose glass vials, requiring patients to draw their own doses, which can lead to confusion and overdosage.
“This is where we see a lot of errors. They end up drawing too much,” stated Dr. Joseph Lambson, director of the New Mexico Poison and Drug Information Center.
“We were getting reports of people giving themselves doses we had never heard of before,” he added.
Lambson cited an instance where a 50-year-old man mistakenly administered 50 units instead of 5, resulting in two days of vomiting and a week of nausea.
In a statement, Novo Nordisk emphasized patient safety as its utmost priority, mentioning various steps to ensure responsible usage of their semaglutide medicines, detailed on their website.
The Post notes there is no specific antidote for a semaglutide overdose, with treatment involving intravenous fluids and anti-nausea medication until the drug leaves the body.
