By Marc Lallanilla

For the millions of Americans desperate to lose weight, semaglutide drugs like Ozempic have been a dream come true.

But for poison control centers, the popularity of semaglutide has been a nightmare.

From January through November of this year, America’s Poison Centers reported almost 3,000 calls involving semaglutide, an increase of more than 1,500% since 2019.

And most of the calls were related to dosage errors: “Often times, it’s a person who maybe accidentally took a double dose or took the wrong dose,” Dr. Kait Brown, clinical managing director of the association.

Semaglutide was first approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2017 for people with diabetes. It’s now sold as Ozempic when used for diabetes, and Wegovy when used for weight loss.

The drug can cause side effects even when used as directed — these may include nausea, vomiting and constipation, especially when people first start using the drug.

But as the popularity of semaglutide rose, manufacturers were unable to keep pace with overwhelming demand, so in March 2022 the FDA allowed the drug to be made by compounding pharmacies.

Compounding pharmacies are drugmakers that combine, mix or alter ingredients to create medication that’s tailored to an individual patient — and may be administered in a different form than the original drug.

Novo Nordisk, the pharmaceutical company that makes Ozempic, dispenses the drug in pre-filled pens that come with safeguards designed to make it easy to administer the injectable drug in the correct dose.

But compounded versions of semaglutide drugs often come in glass vials that contain multiple doses, and patients draw their own doses into syringes. This makes it easy for patients to get confused and take a much larger dose than they should.

“This is where we see a lot of errors. They end up drawing too much,” said Dr. Joseph Lambson, director of the New Mexico Poison and Drug Information Center.

“We were getting reports of people giving themselves doses we had never heard of before,” Lambson added.

One such case involved a 50-year-old man who accidentally gave himself 50 units instead of 5 units as his first dose. He vomited for two days and had nausea for a week.

In a written statement, Novo Nordisk said patient safety is its top priority: “We are taking multiple steps to ensure responsible use of our semaglutide medicines which are detailed on semaglutide.com,” the statement said.

There’s no specific treatment for an overdose of semaglutide. Emergency departments and hospitals support patients with intravenous fluids and anti-nausea drugs as the drug works its way out of their bodies.

The Missouri Poison Center warns people who may have overdosed on semaglutide to watch for signs of low blood sugar, or hypoglycemia, which can be dangerous, especially if someone is taking other medications for diabetes.

Signs of a semaglutide overdose can include:

-Feeling lightheaded or dizzy

-Feeling shaky or jittery

-Sweating, chills and clamminess

-Irritability or impatience

-Headache

-Weakness, fatigue

-Nausea, vomiting

-Seizures

-Confusion

-Passing out

If you or someone you know may have overdosed on semaglutide, experts advise calling your local poison control center or the national hotline at 800-222-1222.

The FDA is taking the problems seriously and has sent letters to online sellers of semaglutide warning them to stop. Novo Nordisk has also taken legal action against medical spas, clinics and weight loss centers to stop them from selling knock-off versions of the drugs.

But these compounded versions are popular because they may cost less out-of-pocket, especially if the treatment isn’t covered by insurance.