As Americans nationwide turn to GLP-1 medications to lose weight, some are unaware of off-label side effects, according to a Sept. 4 CBS News report.
Juanita Gantt was prescribed both Wegovy and Ozempic, which she alleged led to emergency GI surgery.
After Ms. Gantt struggled to lose weight, her physician prescribed the two GLP-1s, both made by Novo Nordisk.
In October 2023, Ms. Gantt's husband found her unconscious. Physicians determined that parts of her large intestine had died and needed to be removed. While recovering from the surgery, she went into cardiac arrest.
Ms. Gantt is now missing her colon and has an ileostomy bag attached to her abdomen. Now, she is suing Novo Nordisk, claiming that the drug's labels do not warn of all serious side effects, including gastroparesis and bowel obstruction.
"The known risks and benefits of semaglutide and liraglutide medicines are described in their FDA-approved product labeling," Novo Nordisk told CBS. "The allegations in the lawsuits are without merit."
Novo Nordisk previously said in court documents that gastrointestinal symptoms are known and labeled side effects.
Around 15 million Americans have used injectable prescription drugs to reduce their body weight, according to the report.
Physicians have raised awareness over several potential GI side effects from GLP-1s, including the risk of aspiration, GI adverse events and a lack of hepatic concerns.
An analysis of 10,328 new GLP-1 users found that GI-adverse events were possible in new patients.
The highest number of adverse events in this cohort were abdominal pain (57.6%), constipation (30.4%), diarrhea (32.7%), nausea and vomiting (23.4%), GI bleeding (15.9%), gastroparesis (5.1%) and pancreatitis (3.4%).