The results that glucagon-like peptide receptor-1 (GLP-1) drugs can produce have been life-changing for many patients, helping with both weight loss and type 2 diabetes management. However, for other patients, the side effects have created more issues than their worth. Those taking semaglutide injections like Novo Nordisk's Ozempic and Wegovy and tirzepatide injections like Eli Lilly's Mounjaro and Zepbound have reported a wide range of adverse events, ranging from gastrointestinal (GI) issues to personality changes. Now, another patient has come forward about her experience with Ozempic and the resulting side effects, revealing that they have actually made her scared to eat.
RELATED: What Really Happens If You Stop Taking Ozempic, Doctors Say.
Speaking with The Cincinnati Enquirer, 55-year-old Dana Filmore shared that she started taking Ozempic for diabetes, overcoming her fear of needles because her antidiabetic pills weren't bringing her blood sugar down enough.
Six months after stopping the treatment, however, Filmore said she couldn't keep food down at all and still had to get to the bathroom after every meal.
"You never know what will set it off," Filmore told The Enquirer.
As a result of her inability to control her nausea and bowels, she said she's had to use up her paid time off from her job—and she can't even complete her 35-minute drive to work without stopping.
"My stomach doesn't give me that long to really decide where I'm going to go," Filmore said, adding that she was also frightened to eat and has shifted her diet to broths, soup, Jell-O, and protein shakes.
Solids, she says, "are really difficult."
"My body just rejects it," she said. Making things more complicated, her issues have also impeded her ability to spend time with her family, which has been "very painful."
RELATED: Ozempic Patients Are Switching to These Less Expensive Weight-Loss Drugs.
The grandmother of seven from Columbus, Ohio, was eventually diagnosed with stomach paralysis, formally known as gastroparesis, which other patients have also reported. While semaglutide works by slowing down digestion, stomach paralysis occurs when the nerves and muscles of the stomach slow down and weaken too much, making it harder for you to move food through your intestines.
Filmore is part of an ongoing lawsuit against both Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly with a central claim about the treatment allegedly causing gastroparesis.
In response to the plaintiffs' claims, Jamie M. Bennett, a spokesperson for Novo Nordisk, told The Enquirer that the lawsuit is "without merit."
"We intend to vigorously defend against these claims," he added, noting that the risks and benefits of the treatments are "described in their FDA-approved product labeling."
“Novo Nordisk stands behind the safety and efficacy of all of our GLP-1 medicines when they are used as indicated and when they are taken under the care of a licensed healthcare professional,” Bennett continued.
In response to Best Life's request for comment, Novo Nordisk said they had nothing more to add beyond what was provided to The Enquirer.
Jared Shapiro, a spokesperson for Eli Lilly, cited patient safety as a "top priority" and also told the outlet that Mounjaro's label "clearly warns" about potentially severe GI reactions. The Enquirer also pointed out that Mounjaro's label advises those with severe GI disease against taking the medication.
Shapiro also said that the company is "vigorously defending" against the lawsuit's claims surrounding gastroparesis.
