Model Lottie Moss is speaking out against the use of diabetes drugs for weight loss after she allegedly suffered a seizure after taking Ozempic.
The 26-year-old sister of 1990s fashion icon Kate Moss spoke on her podcast this week about how she tried Ozempic, which she got through a friend, and suffered health consequences.
Moss initially looked into the drug when she felt insecure about her weight and hoped to use it to shed pounds. She said a friend helped her connect with a doctor who could prescribe the drug. “It was kind of a down panel, not gonna lie, it was from a doctor, but it’s not like you go to a doctor’s office and he prescribes it for you, he takes your blood pressure, he does all these tests, and when you go on something like Ozempic That’s what you want,” Moss said.
Ozempic consists of the active ingredient Semaglutide and is used in the management of diabetes. However, it is unclear whether Moss received Ozempic, specifically, or another version of the drug.
“I took it for two weeks, you get a pen, and then it comes in different doses,” Moss shared. “You take one shot one week, one shot the next week, you take it like every week. And I have never felt so sick in my life. I was throwing up. It was horrible. The first time I took it I took a low dose, then I went up and I was in bed for two days.
Moss said she was “so dehydrated” that she suffered a seizure at the hospital, describing the ordeal as “one of the scariest things that has ever happened to me in my life”.
“I hope that by talking about this, it can be a lesson to some people that it’s not worth it. It’s diabetes,” she said.
What an expert says
Dr. Melanie Jay, an assistant professor at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and director of the Comprehensive Obesity Program, told Yahoo Life that Moss was not under a doctor’s care and therefore “not a good candidate.” medication.” She also notes that Moss did not take the medication as intended by the drug manufacturers. For Ozempic, specifically, “you start [on a] A dose of 0.25 mg weekly for a month can get your body used to it before moving on to the next dose,” says Jay. “Then, you go to the next dose weekly for another month.”
Moss, however, overdosed the very next week, and became very ill afterward.
Jay said it’s unclear whether Moss used Ozempic or a different version of the weight-loss drug, which could explain the dosage discrepancies. When you get a box of Ozempic from a pharmacy, you get four same-dose pens for the month.
How common is Ozempic overdose?
In December 2023, poison control centers reported a 1,500% increase in calls involving injectable weight-loss drugs. Earlier this month, the Utah Poison Control Center reported a 640% increase in calls from 2020, with calls increasing in 2024 from previous years.
In July, the Food and Drug Administration issued an overdose warning about semaglutide, the active ingredient in Wegovy, a drug developed by drug company Novo Nordisk specifically for weight loss.
The FDA stated that people who have overdosed on semaglutide may experience symptoms such as:
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vomiting
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diarrhea
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Fainting
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headache
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Migraine
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Dehydration
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Acute pancreatitis
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Gallstones
Some people sought hospitalization for their symptoms, the FDA reported.
However, the warning was not about the drugs developed by Novo Nordisk, but about the compounded versions of semaglutide. Compounded semaglutide is made by compounding pharmacies, which create customized medications by mixing or changing ingredients to meet a patient’s specific needs. These versions are not held to the same standards as FDA-approved drugs because they are not subject to the same oversight.
In this case, the problem was in the dosage: While Ozempic and Wegovy come in pre-filled pans, the compounded versions usually come in vials, so patients can mistakenly be given higher doses than prescribed.
Joseph Lambson, director of the New Mexico Poison and Drug Information Center, previously explained to Healthline: “A lot of these pens only administer one dose, and you click to turn the pen on. You inject it like an EpiPen and you have your dose. But these mixed compounds make them more likely to cause an overdose because they’re usually dispensed in a vial and with the same needle and syringe.
If you choose to use a compounded version of a drug, be aware that it “poses a higher risk to patients than FDA-approved drugs because compounded drugs are not subject to FDA premarket review for safety, effectiveness, or quality,” according to the FDA.
“Related drugs should be used only if the patient’s medical needs cannot be met by an FDA-approved drug that is available only to meet the patient’s needs,” the federal agency explained.
The bottom line
If you are interested in taking semaglutide for weight loss, it is important to talk to your doctor who can guide you in obtaining a prescription for one of the drugs on the market. Because these drugs should only be prescribed to people who meet certain health criteria, such as having a BMI above a certain target or a weight-related condition like high blood pressure, you can assess whether these drugs are really right for you.
Compounding pharmacies are a way to gain access to medications during drug shortages, which many people seeking weight loss medications face. They may also be an option for people who may benefit from these drugs but are unable to get them through their insurance due to cost concerns. (Out-of-pocket, Ozempic and Wegovy can cost more than $1,000 a month.)
However, it is important to know that these combination drugs also carry risks, such as more complex dosages. A doctor can guide you through this process, which is why it’s best to seek medical advice before embarking on your weight loss medication journey.
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