(Photo: Wikimedia Commons/HualinXMN)
Diabetes drugs Ozempic and Wegovy have gained popularity for their slimming effects. Many use them for weight loss, but there are reportedly bizarre and serious health risks that one should consider.
An interactive graphic details the strange side-effects of taking Ozempic. They were serious as they included mental health problems like suicidal thoughts and could also affect one's look, from hair loss to muscle loss. At worst, it could reportedly lead to organ damage and cancer.
According to the interactive graphic, here are the five possible side-effects of taking Ozempic.
1. Kidney Damage
Some US individuals who use drugs containing semaglutide have experienced renal damage, which they attribute to the medication. Among them is Tennessee resident Beverly Graves, 54, who began taking Wegovy in January 2022 to lose weight.
She alternated between using liraglutide, another medicine for weight loss because the medication's supplies were inconsistent. She claimed to have to spit frequently and to be continuously burping. But things got worse when she found herself unable to urinate at all.
After Ms. Graves was taken to the hospital, her physicians diagnosed her with renal failure. It is unclear if semaglutide was to blame for her condition. However, the British Heart Foundation cautions patients on Wegovy about the possibility of kidney problems.
2. Cancer
Rat tests have indicated that medications such as Wegovy and Ozempic may raise the risk of thyroid cancer. According to a study conducted in France, between 50 and 75 percent of patients who took semaglutide-like drugs between 2006 and 2018 had their health records examined.
But this elevated risk stems from the fundamentally tiny possibility that individuals would not get cancer in the first place. According to the manufacturer, Novo Nordisk, it is uncertain whether the increased risk of thyroid cancer in people that has been seen in rats is also present in humans.
Nonetheless, it continues to warn patients about the risks in the data it shares.
3. Sexual Dysfunction
Following the use of semaglutide, both men and women have reported experiencing sexual dysfunction or libido loss. Although the effect hasn't been thoroughly studied yet, one study discovered that one in 75 men who take it had erectile dysfunction issues.
Some have connected the issue to a decline in testosterone levels, a male sex hormone that has been seen in males using semaglutide. However, just a few studies have reported this.
Furthermore, it's unclear how the medication mimics the action of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLp-1), a naturally occurring hormone, which may contribute to a decrease in testosterone. Experts are perplexed by this response because decreasing weight usually raises testosterone levels.
4. Ozempic Face and Breast
Ozempic could also alter one's appearance. Several celebrities who admitted to using Ozempic, like Sharon Osbourne, experienced a change in appearance. They look gaunt with sunken eyes and saggy skin.
Since semaglutide is not a targeted medication, it reduces fat throughout the body, including the face, rather than the belly and thighs. Losing face fat quickly can make people appear much older because it contributes to smooth, full cheeks and foreheads free of wrinkles.
Typically, women's breasts reduce when they lose weight. However, surprisingly, women using Ozempic reported that their breasts grew in size.
There are several hypotheses as to why this could occur. One explanation for the enlargement of the breasts is that the drug is causing hormonal fluctuations in their bodies or causing them to lose weight, which results in weight loss.
Another theory suggests it's all in perspective and that women's breasts seem more significant in comparison as they get thinner while using the medicine.
5. Aspiration Pneumonia
An increased risk of choking to death after surgery is a potentially very significant side effect of semaglutide. Researchers in California looked at data from about a million endoscopies, a technique in which a camera is put through the mouth to look at the upper digestive system, as performed by Americans.
They discovered that patients receiving semaglutide at the time of the surgery had a 33% increased risk of aspiration pneumonia. Aspiration pneumonia is the medical term for an infection brought on by food, drinks, or saliva becoming sucked into the airway.
Chest pain, poor breath, coughing up blood or pus, shortness of breath, and excessive fatigue are some symptoms.
Medical professionals believe that semaglutide's sluggishness is the reason for the elevated risk.
RELATED ARTICLE: Ozempic Babies: Do Semaglutide-Based Drugs Reduce Contraceptives' Effectiveness?
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