Nikki Sommer, a nurse with Key West Surgical Group, joined Good Morning Keys on KeysTalk 96.9/102.5 FM for Medical Matters this morning.
The FDA has added new gastrointestinal side effect warnings to the Ozempic label.
Sommer said, “Before I start, I don’t want to make it sound like this is a terrible drug. All drugs have side effects. So this FDA added this, I believe this came out in about October when I was researching because I mentioned last week something about how it delays your gastric emptying. When we talked about pregnancy, there’s speculation that you’re not absorbing your medication with a hormone like the birth control pill and that could be what was increasing women to possibly get pregnant while taking this medication. Like every drug, it has a side effect. But the FDA just released a couple of months ago that there’s a new potential adverse reaction, and the studies show it’s minimal over a large population. However, as this drug becomes more popular and more people are taking it, you might see some more side effects or caution that needs to be taken if you have certain conditions before you start taking this medication.”
Ozempic is the diabetic drug that is now being used for weight loss.
Sommer said, “Ozempic and Wegovy, they are made by the same company, it is the same drug semaglutide. Ozempic and Wegovy have different doses, one for diabetes, which is Ozempic and Wegovy is for weight loss. However, there was a shortage of Wegovy and doctors had such good results prescribing the Wegovy for patients for weight loss, that they changed them over to Ozempic and adjust the dose. So the drug semaglutide in that class is the one for weight loss and diabetes just so differently, depending on what you’re using it for. A newer one is Mounjaro, which was also approved, I believe, for both diabetes and weight loss together. So they all kind of fall into this category, a GLP one medication. They’re in the same class. So they kind of have the same effect and the same side effects.”
One side effect for Ozempic is Ileus.
Sommer said, “Ileus is when your muscles in your stomach don’t work to process the food and it could cause a blockage. Ileus can occur is if there’s for some reason there’s scar tissue in the area or a tumor blocking the area, however, because this medication delays your gastric emptying, everything seems to move a little bit slower. So it can lead to constipation and if you don’t move your bowels regularly, you can end up with what can cause an Ileus. It’s just something that that causes the bowels to stop working appropriately.”
Nausea, vomiting, upper abdominal pain and distension can also occur.
Sommer said, “It’s up in the air as to whether the medication causes it or if there’s underlying conditions that somebody might have, that taking the medication increases the chance of this.”
Ileus can also be seen after surgeries.
Sommer said, “You form scar tissue, or they call it adhesions. That’s just how the body reacts to the surgery. The biggest thing was constipation, and that seems to be kind of like the culprit. So if somebody has chronic constipation prior to taking this medication, if you are not moving your bowels regularly, that’s something you need to discuss with your doctor because what tends to happen, and putting this medication aside, being in the office I work in, I get this phone call all the time where people have not had a bowel movement in over a week. That’s a warning sign. So this has nothing to do with Ozempic, people just have slow bowels to begin with. So the people that already do fall into that category, taking this medication, I think it is a big red flag that you need to discuss with your provider before going on it and making sure that you don’t wait days, a week before contacting your doctor from not having a bowel movement because that can cause an obstruction or Ileus and it actually can even cause your bowels to rupture.”
If you’re on Ozempic, you shouldn’t necessarily stop taking it, though.
Sommer said, “It’s more a public service announcement. When you watch the television, and every time there’s a new drug, it lists all the side effects. It lists everything that’s great about it and that the end, there’s that guy in that weird voice telling you please contact your doctor if you exhibit signs of blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. So I think sometimes though, we don’t want to stress all the side effects. But you do need to be aware of what they are because if you experienced them, then you just need to tell your provider right away.”