Can You Overdose On Weight Loss Drugs?
There’s a new warning out there for patients and doctors alike: dose your weight loss medication with care. The Food and Drug Administration sent that message last week after linking reports of severe side effects like nausea, vomiting, headache and abdominal pain with cases of possible weight loss drug overdoses.
People may know these drugs by their name brands, Ozempic, Wegovy, each containing the key ingredient semaglutide. Mid-Michigan Endocrinologist Dr. Saleh Aldasouqi said the medications are injected over time, with each dose being higher than the last. Straying from that strict timeline in any way could mean a trip to the hospital for more sensitive patients. “I do recall a patient who, by mistake, took, I think, 10 milligrams rather than five milligrams of Munjaro, and he ended up in the ICU, very sick,” Aldasouqi said.
Although there is such a thing as too much Ozempic, Wegovy or Munjaro, it’s their non-FDA-approved counterparts that are the problem. Aldasouqi said that’s because they come in a vial, not a clearly marked injection pen, making it more difficult for patients to administer the drug themselves.
Excerpted from WILX10
