Can you overdose on Ozempic, other weight loss drugs?

(NewsNation) — With the rise in popularity of weight loss medications such as Ozempic, there has been an increase in reported side effects, with one of them being the potential for overdose.

Kate Moss’ sister Lottie Moss revealed this week in a podcast that she was hospitalized for taking a high dose of the drug that was accidentally prescribed. Lottie Moss said she felt so dehydrated, she developed a seizure and had to go to an emergency room.

“The amount that I was taking was for people who were 100 kilos [220 pounds] and over and I’m in the 50s [110 pounds] range,” Lottie Moss said.

FDA cautions about overdoses

In July, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned that people are overdosing on compounded semaglutide injectable products.

FDA-approved versions of the drugs come in pre-filled injection pens or oral tablets, but compounded semaglutide products are widely available on the market.

The agency said compounded drugs pose higher risks than the FDA-approved versions, and should only be used for patients “whose medical needs cannot be met by an available FDA-approved drug.”

Why are people overdosing?

The FDA said patients are self-injecting incorrect doses due to confusion on the parts of both patients and health care providers.

In some cases, patients are incorrectly measuring doses of the injectable drugs from vials, or misunderstanding how multi-dose vials work. In other cases, health care providers themselves are miscalculating doses of the drug.

Patients’ “unfamiliarity with withdrawing medication from a vial into a syringe and coupled with confusion between different units of measurement (e.g., milliliters, milligrams and “units”) may have contributed to dosing errors,” the agency said.

The FDA also said health care providers should “be vigilant” about the different available concentrations of compounded semaglutide, and if uncertain, should contact the compounder about calculating the correct dose of medication to prescribe or administer.

How often do people overdose?

The majority of adverse events reported involve patients drawing up more than the prescribed dose from a multiple-dose vial. Those patients self-administered five to 20 times more than the intended dosage.

In some cases, patients were advised to use U-100 1-milliliter insulin syringes to draw small 5-unit, or 0.05 milliliter, doses. But the patients mistakenly drew 50 units instead.

In one case, a patient reported receiving unclear instructions from a health care provider and turning to the internet instead.

“In one reported case, it was difficult for the patient to obtain clarity on dosing instructions from the telemedicine provider, who prescribed the compounded semaglutide, leading the patient to conduct an online search for medical advice and resulting in the patient taking five times the intended dose,” the FDA wrote.

Providers have also made dosing errors. In one case, a provider intended to dose five units but prescribed 25 units. Another prescribed 20 units instead of two units. Another health care provider who was also using the drug inadvertently self-administered 10 times the intended dosage.

Data from America’s Poison Centers shows that between 2022 and 2023, overdose reports more than doubled, from 1,447 to 3,316.

What are the symptoms?

The American Pharmacists Association says symptoms can begin with increased heart rate, sweating, dizziness and irritability.

Adverse effects of overdosing on semaglutide include severe nausea, severe vomiting and severe hypoglycemia (low blood sugar levels). Some users who accidentally take high doses could also fall into a coma.

Because of its long half-life, semaglutide can remain in the body for an extended period, leading to prolonged side effects for users.

TMX contributed to this report.

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