Gerrard Kaonga
An Australian woman has died after taking the prescription drug Ozempic to lose weight.
Trish Webster, 56, was prescribed the drug to help her squeeze into a dress for her daughter’s wedding.
Unfortunately, Webster ended up dying from gastrointestinal illness and her husband has blamed the drug for the issues she experienced.
Ozempic has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for people with Type 2 diabetes and it has since been used as a weight-loss drug.
The drug makes people feel full for much longer by slowing down the passage of food through the stomach and intestines. However, problems can arise if the intestines become blocked which is called ‘ileus.’
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Speaking on 60 Minutes Australia last week, Webster’s husband, Roy Webster, warned others of using the drug for weight loss.
Roy Webster said that she was prescribed Ozempic by a doctor, ‘who thought it was a good idea’, however, he clarified that she did not have diabetes.
The husband added that Trish had been losing weight while taking Ozempic along with weight loss drug Saxenda, losing 16 kilos in five months, however he also said it made her very ill.
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“She went back to the doctor a couple times saying she is sick. She had diarrhea and nausea,” Roy Webster said.
He said his wife chose to continue to take the drugs despite the ill feelings due to the progress she was having, believing the nausea and diarrhea would pass.
He found his wife unresponsive on January 16, months before their daughter’s wedding.
Recalling this incident on 60 Minutes Australia, he said: “She had a little bit of brown stuff coming out of her mouth, and I realized she wasn’t breathing and started doing CPR.
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“It was just pouring out, and I turned her onto the side because she couldn’t breathe.”
Trish died that evening.
Roy said: “If I knew that could happen, she wouldn’t have been taking it. I never thought you could die from it.
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“She shouldn’t be gone, you know. It’s just not worth it, it’s not worth it at all.”
Novo Nordisk, the manufacturer of Ozempic, also spoke to 60 Minutes Australia about the bouts of ileus from their drug.
They said that ileus was only reported after its ‘post-marketing setting’, indicating the company only became aware of this possibility after the drug had been released to the public.
The FDA had received 18 reports of ileus in people taking Ozempic as of late September.