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Weight loss support: It should be possible with the drug Ozempic – that’s what TikTok users claim. Pharmacists are now warning about the consequences for diabetes patients.
Fashion, makeup to nutrition tips: not all TikTok trends are harmless. The diabetes drug Ozempic with the active ingredient semaglutide is currently experiencing a hype that can have dangerous consequences for diabetics like them German Pharmacist Newspaper (DAZ) informed. Ozempic is approved as a drug for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and for long-term weight management. “Ozempic is a diabetes medicine used as an adjunct to diet and exercise to treat adults whose type 2 diabetes is not adequately controlled,” it says. European Medicines Agency EMA. Again Pharmaindex Yellow List informed, it requires a prescription and is offered as an injection in a pre-filled pen. Injected once a week, the active ingredient semaglutide in Ozempic stimulates the body to release insulin, which helps control blood sugar levels. This effect, for example, prevents food cravings, which makes the preparation interesting in terms of body weight control.
According to the German Society of Endocrinology, semaglutide can help with weight loss, “because semaglutide leads to a weight loss of about 15 percent, even in people without diabetes,” the society is told by the DAZ quoted. The active ingredient is increasingly being used “off label” in overweight people. As a result, the care of diabetics is compromised DAZ. And possible side effects should also be taken seriously.
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Diabetes drug Ozempic is promoted by TikTok users as a slimming product
The problem is not new. Time and time again, diabetes medications are misused and used solely for weight loss. That’s how it happened German pharmacist newspaper according to the beginning of the year to a stock shortage of the preparation Trulicity with the active ingredient dulaglutide, which also reduce body weight can.
TikTok also contributes to the fact that diabetes preparations are used as lifestyle drugs. About six months ago, a viral TikTok trend led to a shortage of the diabetes drug Ozempic in Australia. TikTok users advertised the drug as a slimming product. And currently, a TikTok hype is causing Ozempic delivery bottlenecks, like this one DAZ informed in November 2022. In the post fetch the DAZ Professor Schneider:
There (Editor’s note: In the US) the prescription diabetes drug Ozempic is used very much off-label, that is, without approval, for weight loss; also because many celebrities like Elon Musk strongly promote it. The hashtag #Ozempic alone has been shared 350 million times on social media.
Side effects of Ozempic
The off-label use (the use of drugs for diseases for which the drug authorities have not approved a preparation) is dangerous, especially in terms of supply bottlenecks. In the worst case, diabetics can no longer receive the best possible care if drugs like Ozempic are not on the market. Taking Ozempic can be dangerous if not under medical supervision. Interactions with other medications and side effects are possible, including the EMA and the Yellow List According to:
- diarrhoea, vomiting and nausea
- stomach ache
- constipation
- gallstones
- Exhaustion syndrome (fatigue)
- dizziness
- taste disturbances
- Serious to life-threatening side effects: inflammation of the pancreas, low blood sugar (hypoglycaemia), kidney problems including kidney failure, thyroid tumors and cancer, vision problems (diabetic retinopathy) and severe allergic reactions
