Medications used to combat type 2 diabetes have exploded in popularity as rapid weight loss drugs, but people are now reporting unwanted side effects including facial aging and vomiting.
The drugs – which include brands like Ozempic, Mounjaro and Wegovy – have been trending on social media after several celebrities and influencers were rumored to have used them to slim down, including and .
But many doctors worry that the popularity has resulted in more people taking them without sufficient medical supervision, which can be risky as there is a possibility of rare but serious side effects like thyroid , pancreatitis, and kidney failure.
More common side effects – as many women are documenting on TikTok – are nausea, vomiting, and facial aging, which has been dubbed as ‘Ozempic face.’
Medications – like Ozempic – that are used to combat type 2 diabetes are trending on social media for quick weight loss – but some are reporting side effects like facial aging and vomiting
Dr Daniel Dziabas posts an animation of an ‘Ozempic face’ shri
Another posted a video of themselves in a towel saying that vomited while in the shower
There are procedures to restore volume in a patient’s face, the Times reported, with doctors performing super pricey but noninvasive injections of Radiesse and hyaluronic acid-based fillers or Sculptra, which stimulates collagen.
Fat can also be transferred from other parts of the body to act as filler in the face.
Dr. Dhaval Bhanusali, a dermatologist in New York told The Times that the ‘idea is to balance the face to offset the hollowing and downward projections at the cheeks, jowls and other areas’.
‘We are seeing more and more patients on the medications coming in,’ he said. ‘Generally, it’s people in their 40s and 50s who are losing significant amounts of weight and are concerned about facial aging and sagging that occurs as a result.’
Everyone from Hollywood stars to tech moguls are turning to the injectable drug to stay slim, with Elon Musk crediting the drug in October for his recent weight loss.
Kim Kardashian is rumored to have used Wegovy to rapidly lose weight in order to fit in Marilyn Monroe’s famous ‘Happy Birthday Mr President’ dress that she wore to the 2022 Met Gala.
Everyone from Hollywood stars to tech moguls are turning to the injectable drug to stay slim, with Elon Musk crediting the drug in October for his recent weight loss. Pictured above, Elon Musk in August 2022. Jeremy Clarkson, 62, has revealed he has begun injecting himself with the ‘tremendous’ drug, Ozempic, after fearing he could develop type 2 diabetes. Pictured above, Mr Clarkson in 2017
Kim Kardashian is rumored to have used Wegovy to rapidly lose weight in order to fit in Marilyn Monroe’s famous ‘Happy Birthday Mr President’ dress at the 2022 Met Gala (pictured)
Since the drugs have exploded in popularity, doctors are warning against DIY weight-loss injections at home with raw chemicals bought online.
People are being driven to websites normally used by research groups to buy experimental chemicals amid a nationwide shortage of Wegovy and Ozempic.
DailyMail.com found nearly a dozen , the active ingredient in Wegovy and Ozempic, for between $80 and $300 for up to two months’ worth. Two of the websites had completely sold out of the chemical, and one had a tutorial teaching people how to mix the ingredients and inject them.
But Dr Shauna Levy, an assistant professor of bariatric surgery at Tulane University in New Orleans, who sits on the American Board of Obesity Medicine, told DailyMail.com taking the medication at home is ‘incredibly unsafe on so many levels’ and puts people at risk of side effects, unsafe ingredients and overdosing.
The websites – which often included words like ‘laboratory’ or ‘asylum’ in their title – sell a range of research chemicals, including hormones and steroids, which they state are ‘not for human consumption’.
A global shortage of the drug was caused last year by a celebrity and influencer-fueled stampede, imperiling people who rely on it to treat their type 2 diabetes and leaving semaglutide out of stock even on some peptide supplier websites
Listings for many of the chemicals state they are only to be purchased for scientific research purposes – a warning that allows the sites to exploit a legal loophole.
DailyMail.com also found semaglutide on 10 sites. It was sold in powder form, to be mixed with bacteriostatic water before being injected into the abdomen.
Wegovy became highly sought-after since it first became available in the US last year, after it showed the ability to drop a person’s body weight by around 15 percent over 68 weeks in clinical trials.
But its popularity, combined with manufacturing issues, led to month-long shortages of both Novo’s Wegovy and its sister drug Ozempic.
Tirzepatide, another diabetes medication sold under the brand name Mounjaro by Eli Lilly, also fell into short supply, according to the FDA’s online drug shortage database.
Wegovy and Ozempic work by triggering the body to produce a hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1 that is released naturally from the intestines after meals.
Wegovy and Ozempic work by triggering the body to produce a hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1 that is released naturally from the intestines after meals
The hormone helps control blood sugar and makes people feel full so they know when to stop eating.
Results from a study of 2,000 people over 15 months show participants lost 15 percent of their body weight on average, equating to (34lbs) (15kg).
The group received individual counseling sessions from registered dietitians to help them stick to a reduced-calorie diet and exercise plan, alongside the weekly injections.
Volunteers reported improved quality of life and reduced risk factors for developing heart disease and diabetes, such as reduced waist circumference, blood fats, blood sugar, and blood pressure.
