Pieces of my skin in toilet: US woman shares horrifying experience with weight loss drug Ozempic
Written By Riya Teotia
Published: Oct 04, 2023, 22:20 IST | Updated: Oct 04, 2023, 22:20 IST
Ozempic, a drug known for its weight loss properties
A professor in Texas, US shared her ordeal of using Ozempic, a drug used by type 2 diabetes patients to regulate their glucose levels, but more widely known for its weight loss properties. Many non-diabetic people in the US have been using Ozempic for its miraculously weight-reducing effects, but at what cost? Many doctors and experts have flagged some serious side effects of using this drug.
The story of Professor Maria E Rosas talks about these horrifying side effects of using Ozempic. Rosas, a long-time type 2 diabetes patient, penned down her experience of using Ozempic in Newsweek.
From mild depression to falling ‘pieces of skin’, Rosas experience was no less than a nightmare.
Rosas was prescribed the once-a-week drug for her type 2 diabetes in the hope that it could relieve her from taking multiple medications twice a day.
She started using Ozempic in April 2023, and the first week went quite well. She felt mild depression but improved quickly, and her blood glucose levels were controlled.
Soon, she started experiencing excruciating pain in her back, shoulders, and arms, which she thought was post-Covid neuropathy pain.
Later, in August, an even worse burning pain affected her genital area and buttocks, leaving her with charred skin.
“I noticed ‘pieces’ of skin on my toilet seat and on the tissue paper when I cleaned [my genital] area,” Rosas revealed.
"I panicked because I knew that these adverse effects were not normal," Rosas said.
Feeling alarmed and in immense pain, Rosas contacted her doctor, who promptly advised discontinuing Ozempic, citing the drug’s less-talked-about side effects of rashes, itching, or hives.
Rosas didn't stop at that; she reported her situation to Ozempic's customer service and the FDA while researching online to find others facing similar issues. The side effects, as she discovered, were not isolated incidents but part of a pattern of adverse reactions.
After 20 days, when Rosas discontinued using Ozempic, she noticed she had started to heal, though she still felt a burning sensation. "After completely discontinuing the medication, Rosas is slowly healing, but the pain lingers." It still hurts when I have to urinate or defecate, and it often starts peeling again because of the friction," she wrote.
“Ozempic helped me but I thought I was going to die at one point, because of what was happening to my body.” Despite the drug’s effectiveness, Rosas advises against Ozempic due to its distressing side effects.
(With inputs from agencies)
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