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By Lynn Allison From Newsmax

The stories are pouring in. People who jumped on the bandwagon to take the blockbuster drugs Ozempic and Wegovy are reporting life altering side effects after using the drugs for weight loss. Some have been diagnosed with severe gastroparesis, or stomach paralysis, which their doctors believe may have resulted from, or been exacerbated by, taking Ozempic.

Others have experienced cyclical vomiting syndrome, which makes sufferers throw up several times a day, causing emotional, as well as physical, distress. People also say they are experiencing other stomach ailments, such as nausea, after taking the drugs.

According to CNN, the diabetes drug Ozempic, and its sister drug for weight loss, Wegovy, are made up of the same medication, semaglutide. These drugs and others in that family, like tirzepatide and liraglutide, work by imitating a hormone that is naturally made in the body, GLP-1. This hormone slows the passage of food in the body, but if the stomach slows down too much, there may be problems.

As the popularity of these drugs continues to soar, doctors say they are seeing more gastrointestinal problems. The Food and Drug Administration said it has received reports of patients on the drugs experiencing stomach paralysis. Last month, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) issued a warning that taking these drugs before surgery may increase the risk of complications associated with anesthesia.

Dr. Michael W. Champeau, president of ASA, said that “we’ve received anecdotal reports that the delay in stomach emptying could be associated with an increased risk of regurgitation and aspiration of food into the airways and lungs during general anesthesia and deep sedation. These complications can be serious so we are providing guidance on when GLP-1 agonists should be stopped in advance of an elective procedure.” The ASA suggests stopping the medications at least a week prior to surgery.

So far, the serious cases have been rare, says CNN, but experts point out that there is nothing on the drugs’ labels to specifically caution that gastroparesis could occur. Novo Nordisk, the manufacturer of Ozempic and Wegovy, issued a statement that said the class of drugs has been used for 15 years to treat diabetes and eight years to treat obesity, and they have been extensively studied in the real world and in clinical trials.

“Gastrointestinal (GI) events are well-known side effects of the GLP-1 class. For semaglutide, the majority of GI side effects are mild to moderate in severity and of short duration,” the statement read. “GLP’s are known to cause a delay in stomach emptying, as noted on the label of each of our GLP-1 medications. Symptoms of delayed gastric emptying, nausea and vomiting are listed as side effects.”

Doctors say that gastroparesis can have many causes, including diabetes, which is why many patients are on these drugs in the first place. The patients with severe GI symptoms after taking these drugs may just be unlucky, said Dr. Michael Camilleri, a gastroenterologist at the Mayo Clinic.

“It is conceivable that patients may have borderline slow gastric emptying and starting one of the GLP-1 agonists may precipitate a full-blown gastroparesis,” he said after conducting his own study on liraglutide and discovering that the drug dramatically slowed digestion compared to the placebo group.

Dr. Linda Nguyen, a specialist in gastroparesis from Stanford University, said patients need to pay attention to side effects.  If you vomit once or twice, that might be normal, but persistent vomiting is not, she told CNN.

“They should be evaluated. Consider reducing the dose or stopping the medication,” she said. “If your vomiting is affecting your hydration, or if you are having to take other medications to treat side effects of this medication, then I think it is time to reconsider.”

In addition to the physical side effects that are being reported, CNBC says that health authorities in the U.K. are investigating reports that drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy may be triggering suicidal thoughts in people taking them. Authorities in the European Union launched a similar investigation of the drugs earlier this month.

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