Model Lottie Moss is speaking out against the use of diabetes drugs for weight loss after she allegedly suffered a seizure after taking Ozempic.
The 26-year-old sister of 1990s fashion icon Kate Moss spoke on her podcast this week about how she tried Ozempic – which she got through a friend – and suffered side effects.
Moss originally sought out the drug when she felt insecure about her weight and hoped to use it to shed pounds. She said a friend helped her contact a doctor who could prescribe the medication. “It was kind of lower, no lie, it was from a doctor, but it wasn’t like you go to the doctor’s office and he prescribes it, he takes your blood pressure, takes all these tests. That’s what you need when you go something like Ozempic,” Moss said.
Ozempic consists of the active ingredient semaglutide and is used to treat diabetes. However, it is unclear whether Moss specifically received Ozempic or another version of the drug.
“I took it for two weeks and you get like a pen and then it’s different doses,” Moss shared. “And you do one shot one week, one shot the next week, and you do it like every week. And I’ve never felt so sick in my life. I threw up. It was horrible. I took a lower dose the first time, then I went up, and finally I was about two a day in bed.
Moss said she suffered a seizure in hospital because she was “so dehydrated”, describing the ordeal as “one of the scariest things that has ever happened to me”.
“I hope that by talking about it, it will teach some people that it’s not worth it. It’s for diabetes,” he said.
What the expert says
Dr. Melanie Jay, associate professor and director of the Comprehensive Obesity Program at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, told Yahoo Life that it’s important to note that Moss was not under the care of a physician and therefore “was not a good candidate for medication.” He also notes that Moss did not take the medication as prescribed by the drug manufacturers. Specifically for Ozempic: “you start [on a] A dose of 0.25 mg per week for one month before taking the next dose to allow your body to adjust to it,” says Jay. “Then you use the next dose once a week for the next month.”
However, Moss took a higher dose the following week, after which he became very ill.
Jay also said it’s unclear whether Moss was using Ozempic or another version of the weight-loss drug, which could explain the difference in dosages. When you get a box of Ozempic from the pharmacy, you get four pens of the same dose in a month.
How common is an Ozempic overdose?
In December 2023, poison control centers reported a 1,500% increase in calls related to injectable weight loss drugs. Earlier this month, the Utah Poison Control Center reported a 640% increase in calls from 2020, with more calls in 2024 than the year before.
In July, the Food and Drug Administration issued an overdose warning against semaglutide, which is also the active ingredient in Novo Nordisk’s weight-loss drug Wegovy.
The FDA reported that people who took too much semaglutide had the following symptoms:
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Vomiting
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Diarrhea
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Fainting
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Headache
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Migraine
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Dehydration
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Acute pancreatitis
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Gallstones
Some people sought hospital treatment for their symptoms, the FDA said.
However, the warning did not concern the drugs manufactured by Novo Nordisk, but the combination versions of semaglutide. Semaglutide is made in compounding pharmacies, which create customized medications by mixing or changing ingredients to meet a patient’s specific needs. These versions may not meet the same standards as FDA-approved drugs because they are not subject to the same oversight.
In this case, the problem was dosing: while Ozempic and Wegovy come in prefilled pens, the combination versions usually come in vials, so patients can mistakenly give themselves more than recommended.
Joseph Lambson, director of the New Mexico Poison and Drug Information Center, previously explained to Healthline, “Most of these pens only deliver one dose and you click the pen to go. You inject it like an EpiPen and you have your dose. But these combination formulations are more likely to cause overdose because they are usually dispensed in a vial and with a needle and syringe.
If you decide to use compounded versions of drugs, remember that the FDA says they pose “a greater risk to patients than FDA-approved drugs because compounded drugs do not undergo FDA premarket review for safety, efficacy, or quality.”
“Related drugs should only be used to meet a patient’s needs when the patient’s medical needs cannot be met with an available FDA-approved drug,” the federal agency explained.
Bottom line
If you’re interested in taking semaglutide for weight loss, it’s important to talk to your doctor, who can help you get a prescription for one of the medications on the market. They can also assess whether these drugs are really right for you, as they should only be prescribed to people who meet certain health criteria, such as having a body mass index above a certain target or a weight-related condition such as hypertension.
Compounding pharmacies are a way for people to get medication during the shortage that many people looking for weight loss drugs are facing. They may also be an option for people who could benefit from these drugs but cannot get them with insurance because of the cost. (Ozempic and Wegovy can pay up to $1,000 a month out of pocket.)
However, it is important to know that there are risks associated with these combination medications, such as more complicated dosing. Your doctor can guide you through this process, so it’s always best to seek medical advice before embarking on a weight loss drug journey.
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