FDA: Many People Are Overdosing On Ozempic Alternatives With DIY Injections

                                            By Vanessa Etienne

Many people are finding themselves overdosing on alternatives to Ozempic and Wegovy due to the do-it-yourself doses of compounded semaglutide.

Ozempic is an FDA-approved prescription medication for people with type 2 diabetes, while Wegovy is FDA-approved for people with chronic obesity. The medications — taken weekly by injection in the thigh, stomach or arm — are brand names for semaglutide, which works in the brain to impact satiety. However, the drugs have gained popularity over the past year as many are using them for weight loss when not medically necessary.

Because of those demand increases, the medications were previously impacted by the nationwide drug shortage. But before pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk was able to amp up production, many counterfeit and compounded versions of the injectable hit the market, causing health effects to those who turn to it.

Becky Cheairs, 66, said that she was prescribed an Ozempic alternative through a telehealth service. Unlike Ozempic, which comes in injectables that are pre-filled with a specific dose, Cheairs was given a vial of the medication and a bag of syringes for her to draw the drug out herself with written instructions.

She accidentally injected herself with five times the amount she was supposed to take, telling the outlet that getting the dose wrong is “such an easy mistake to make, especially for a lay person.”

A few hours after taking the medication, Cheairs began vomiting and she spent the following day throwing up at least once an hour.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration states that these accidents are increasingly common. In some instances, patients reportedly administered five to 20 times more than the intended dose of semaglutide. The agency notes that they do not review, test or approve these compounded drugs for safety.

Additionally, there have reportedly been 159 calls to national poison control centers so far this year involving compounded GLP-1s, the class of medications that includes semaglutide.

“FDA encourages patients to talk with their health care provider or compounder about how to measure and administer the intended dose of compounded semaglutide,” officials wrote.

In December 2023, the FDA issued a warning about the knockoff products that have infiltrated the “legitimate U.S. drug supply chain.”

“The agency advises wholesalers, retail pharmacies, health care practitioners and patients to check the product they have received and not distribute, use, or sell products labeled with lot number NAR0074 and serial number 430834149057,” the alert said. “Some counterfeit products may still be available for purchase.”

The warning came after numerous people were hospitalized due to adverse effects of taking the counterfeit products.

In a statement on its website, Novo Nordisk said, “Falsified or counterfeit products represent a true public health risk today. The effect or lack of effect in the body can be very damaging to the people exposed. So to protect the health and safety of patients worldwide we are actively engaged in efforts to combat counterfeiting.”