Sept. 28, 2023 – Following greater than a dozen stories of intestinal blockages amongst folks the usage of the diabetes drug Ozempic, the FDA introduced that the doubtless life-threatening situation will probably be indexed at the drug’s label.

The scientific time period for intestinal blockage is “ileus,” and 18 instances of it in folks taking Ozempic had been reported to the FDA. 

The FDA has gained greater than 8,500 stories of gastrointestinal problems amongst folks taking drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy, the latter of which is licensed for weight reduction. Ileus is discussed in 33 instances, together with two deaths, of folks taking medication containing semaglutide, which is the lively component in Ozempic, Wegovy, and some other broadly used weight reduction drug known as Mounjaro. 

Semaglutide works through mimicking a hormone known as glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) that goals mind areas that keep an eye on urge for food and meals consumption. The labels for Mounjaro, Ozempic, and Wegovy already point out that not on time abdomen emptying can happen. Important weight reduction is related to taking semaglutide, regularly within the vary of 15% of frame weight.

The FDA stopped in need of announcing there’s an instantaneous hyperlink between Ozempic and intestinal blockages.

“As a result of those reactions are reported voluntarily from a inhabitants of unsure measurement, it’s not all the time imaginable to reliably estimate their frequency or determine a causal courting to drug publicity,” the FDA mentioned in its approval of the label replace.

The similar caution for the chance of intestinal blockages is already indexed at the labels for Mounjaro and Wegovy.

The label trade comes after a Louisiana girl filed a lawsuit in August that says she was once “significantly injured” after the usage of Mounjaro and Ozempic and that the pharmaceutical corporations didn’t divulge the medication’ possibility of inflicting vomiting and diarrhea because of irritation of the tummy lining, in addition to the chance of abdomen paralysis (referred to as gastroparesis.)