CDC: Weight-loss drugs linked to thousands of hospital visits, life-threatening side effects
By lauraharris // 2025-05-04
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  • Weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy are linked to 25,000 emergency department visits (68 per day) from 2022–2023, with 80 percent occurring in 2023 as prescriptions surged.
  • Seventy percent of ER cases involved gastrointestinal issues (nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain), while 17 percent were due to hypoglycemia, and six percent had allergic reactions. Some cases led to hospitalization.
  • Both drugs (GLP-1 agonists) are tied to stomach paralysis (gastroparesis), causing chronic vomiting, malnutrition and severe pain. Lawsuits describe extreme cases, including tooth loss and life-threatening bowel injuries.
  • Wegovy is approved for weight loss, while Ozempic (for diabetes) is often used off-label. Labels warn of thyroid tumors, pancreatitis, suicidal thoughts and heart risks, but patients claim dangers were downplayed.
  • The manufacturer faces lawsuits alleging it failed to warn patients of severe risks. The company has a history of controversial side effects, including AIDS from blood products and suicidal thoughts from ADHD drugs.
A startling new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has revealed that weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy are sending dozens of Americans to emergency rooms every day with severe, sometimes life-threatening side effects. According to the CDC report, there were an estimated 25,000 emergency department (ED) visits linked to semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy, between 2022 and 2023, averaging 68 hospitalizations per day. The majority of ED visits (80 percent) occurred in 2023, as prescriptions for semaglutide-based drugs skyrocketed. The CDC analyzed data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS-CADES), which tracks drug-related adverse events in U.S. emergency rooms. Based on 551 documented cases, researchers estimated that 70 percent of visits were due to gastrointestinal (GI) issues, including 58 percent for nausea and vomiting, 25 percent for abdominal pain and 12 percent for diarrhea. Other serious side effects that are sending patients to the hospital include hypoglycemia (17 percent), allergic reactions (six percent) and medication errors, such as accidental overdosing (nine percent). About one-third of hypoglycemia cases and 15 percent of GI-related visits led to hospitalization, though the study did not confirm any deaths. Wegovy is approved by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for weight loss, while Ozempic is officially prescribed for Type 2 diabetes, though many doctors use it "off-label" for weight management. Both drugs belong to the GLP-1 receptor agonist class, which has been linked to gastroparesis, a condition where the stomach's muscles fail to move food into the small intestine. This can lead to chronic nausea, vomiting, severe pain and malnutrition. Common side effects listed for Ozempic include nausea, diarrhea and stomach pain, while more severe risks include thyroid tumors, changes in vision, pancreatitis, low blood sugar, dehydration and kidney complications, allergic reactions, food or liquid getting into the lungs and gallbladder complications. Meanwhile, Wegovy's label already includes warnings about depression, suicidal thoughts and heart complications, but patients argue these risks were downplayed. Despite the dangers, 13 percent of Americans (33 million people) have tried weight-loss drugs at least once.

Novo Nordisk faces mounting scrutiny over side effects of Ozempic and Wegovy

The study adds to mounting scrutiny of Novo Nordisk, the manufacturer of Ozempic and Wegovy. According to the Daily Mail, which reviewed more than a dozen lawsuits filed between November 2023 and January 2024, patients detail harrowing accounts after taking the medications. One woman, who took both Ozempic and Mounjaro, another diabetes drug often used off-label for weight loss, developed gastroparesis so severe that she vomited uncontrollably, causing some of her teeth to fall out. (Related: LAWSUIT: Weight loss drug Ozempic blamed for causing woman to develop PERMANENT diarrhea, tooth loss.) Another patient, diagnosed with a "life-threatening bowel injury" after using Ozempic, endured a nine-hour emergency surgery. Doctors told her she would "be in pain for the rest of her life" and "never have a solid bowel movement again." In another case, a Wegovy user was hospitalized after going an entire week without a bowel movement due to severe gastroparesis. The lawsuits allege that Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, the maker of Mounjaro, knew about these risks but failed to provide sufficient warnings on drug labels. Meanwhile, Novo Nordisk claims to prioritize patient safety, but its products have a history of serious side effects, including AIDS transmission from contaminated blood products in the 1980s and depression and suicidal thoughts linked to its ADHD medications. Visit FightObesity.news for more stories like this. Watch Calley Means explaining how Ozempic causes stomach paralysis.
This video is from the Thrivetime Show channel on Brighteon.com.

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Sources include: DailyMail.co.uk 1 DailyMail.co.uk 2 Brighteon.com
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