Bad reactions to popular weight-loss drugs, including Ozempic and Wegovy, are on track to soar by more than 350 per cent within a year, new data has suggested.
Figures from the UK’s drugs watchdog show that, if current trends continue, the number of total adverse reactions reported in the whole of 2024 is likely to reach 7,200.
The annual figure for 2023 was 1592 — four and a half times less than the expected number for last year.
Due to a delay in data collection, figures that are currently available only cover the period between January and May last year, totalling 2,780, of which 281 were deemed serious.
The reactions reported by doctors and the public include severe digestive problems like stomach paralysis and bowel obstructions, as well as more minor complaints like vomiting and extreme bloating.
The data, collected by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), consists of reports collected by patients and doctors who believe a drug has caused a particular side effect.
These reports are not independently verified.
So far, more than 200 deaths in the US have been linked to Ozempic and rival jabs, although direct causation hasn’t been proved.
Wegovy and Ozempic work by triggering the body to produce a hormone called GLP-1 that is released naturally from the intestines after meals
Karen Coe, 59, started taking Mounjaro to manage her type-2 diabetes, but just three days later she started to experience serious side-effects
In the UK, 82 fatalities have been reported to regulators—again, with no confirmed links.
Ozempic and Wegovy contain the active ingredient semaglutide, which mimics glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1)— a naturally occurring hormone released in the small intestine when eating.
The chemical signals to the brain when you are full and slows digestion.
This keeps people feeling fuller for longer and dramatically reduces appetite.
It also slows the liver’s production of sugar, forcing the body to burn stored fat for energy.
Since being approved for weight-loss in November 2023, Mounjaro, which contains a GLP-1 drug similar to semaglutide, has already been linked to 209 adverse reactions, one of which was fatal.
For all of these drugs, the second most common complaint was fatigue, followed by headaches.
Less common side-effects include menstruation bleeding, joint pain and abnormal heart rhythms.
Ms Coe was rushed to hospital after experiencing blood clots, cramping and headaches, which she believes to be a side-effect of the skinny jab
Karen Coe, 59, who was taking Mounjaro to treat her type 2 diabetes, said that being on the weight loss drug felt like ‘being ripped open by a knife’.
Just three days after her first injection, Ms Coe started to experience side-effects.
‘At first I had a headache and got dizzy,’ she explained.
‘I had a few stomach cramps. On Monday it was excruciating. I nearly passed out.
‘I had to ask my husband to call for an ambulance. I was dizzy and really cold. they did my observation and said it was all okay.’
Ms Coe was sent home and told to monitor her symptoms. She spent the next 24 hours in excruciating pain with stomach cramps and passing blood when she went to the toilet.
Despite her symptoms initially clearing up, a week later she was rushed to hospital after experiencing ‘massive blood clots’. She was then referred to a colorectal surgeon within the next two weeks.
While doctors could not say that the blood clots were caused by the weigh loss drug, it is likely that her initial symptoms were caused by Mounjaro.
Ms Coe is now urging people to consider the potential side-effects of the popular jab—which the NHS lists as nausea, diarrhoea and abdominal cramps—before taking it.
‘It can cause severe reactions and severe side effects. People should really think carefully and don’t take it lightly’ she warned.
In response, Eli Lilly, the pharmaceutical company that makes Mounjaro, said: ‘patients safety is our top priority. We take any reports regarding patients safety extremely seriously and actively monitor, evaluate and report safety information for all our medicines.’
‘We encourage patients to consult their doctors or other healthcare professional regarding any side effects they may be experiencing and to ensure that they are getting genuine Lily medicine.’
It added that the patient information leaflet for Mounjaro—also known as tirzepatide—warns that various gastrointestinal side effects are very common side effects.
The yellow card website, in partnership with the MHRA, states that reported adverse reaction have not yet been proven to be treated to the drug, and therefore should not be interpreted as a list of the common known side-effects.
