Louisville patients warn of weight loss drug dangers and life-changing side effects | WDRB investigates

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – A Louisville woman claims a popular weight loss drug she was given for type 2 diabetes nearly killed her.

WDRB Investigates began digging into the serious side effects of drugs like Ozempic and found that thousands more are suffering as well.

For Jacqueline Barber, it has been a long health journey.

“I just see my sisters and my dad, how upset they were and they would see me every week and I was getting smaller and smaller,” Barber said, starting to cry as he talked about the health problems he’s been dealing with.

Doctors prescribed Ozempic to treat Barber’s Type 2 diabetes in 2021, but she said it gave her too many complications and she couldn’t eat. Barber said the only thing she could keep without throwing away was peanuts, peanut butter cookies and peanut butter cookies.

“Laying on the couch and getting up all the time, you can’t walk, you can’t go anywhere, it’s very depressing,” she said. “I ended up losing 140 pounds. I was about 87 pounds, I couldn’t walk or move, I couldn’t get off the couch. Nobody knew what was going on. Nobody put the two together.”

Three years ago, drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro were not popular weight loss drugs.

“I’ve never heard of the drug before,” Barber said.

But now, you see drug ads all over TV and social media.Â

While Barber’s diabetes levels came under control, her doctors finally told her to stop taking Ozempic after two years in 2023 because of the complications she was having.

“My stomach was paralyzed,” she said. “I could not tolerate anything.”

Barber had developed gastroparesis, but she’s not the only one who has taken weight-loss drugs and had complications.

“What gastroparesis is, is when food goes down into the stomach and doesn’t empty into the small intestine, so it just sits in the stomach,” said Dr. John Oldham, a bariatric surgeon with Baptist Health.

Oldham said patients taking any of the weight-loss medications should be monitored closely.

“You just have to make sure you’re doing it through your doctor. You’re going to have a follow-up. You’re going to have blood (to see) that you’re tolerating the medication well,” he said. “Ozempic and Wegovy, on average, we’re seeing 15% weight loss.”

Oldham said there are benefits to the medication, which he said also helps with cardiovascular and kidney disease.

“The rare things, thyroid tumors, cancers, we haven’t seen them though,” he said. “That’s what we saw in rodents when the study came out.”

Oldham said patients with a history of thyroid problems are not prescribed these drugs.

“The biggest side effect of this drug is nausea,” he said, adding that nausea should only last a few hours, and if it’s long-lasting, be sure to contact your doctor.

Oldham said doctors are often seeing patients in the ER for complications of weight-loss medications.

“When I just left the hospital to come today, (I) was advised of a patient who came to the emergency room this morning, who received the second dose of the drug Mounjaro. Just three hours later, she had abdominal pain, bloating. ” he said. “Her CT scan is actually showing a gastric outlet obstruction, where her stomach is very dilated full of food, not wanting to pass.”

He said there are several other cases of complications.

“I just had a study a few days ago, the patient died of necroptosis, pancreatitis. The patient was taking Mounjaro, Zepbound, I don’t know if the medication caused the pancreatitis,” Oldham said, adding that most people can resolve pancreatitis without dying. .

“I have a patient who is undergoing gastric bypass, who has gastroparesis,” he said. “She was taking the medicine in the fall, only for a month and now she has severe gastroparesis where nothing is helping.”

Barber’s attorney, Andrew Van Arsdale, with the AVA Law Group, said he now represents 213 patients throughout Indiana and Kentucky with similar problems.

“We know that approximately 3% of the US population is on the drug, and there are increasingly alarming rates of serious gastro and intestinal problems with the population taking this drug,” Van Arsdale said.

Seventeen of those cases are from the Louisville area. Van Arsdale’s lawsuit against Novo Nordisk, the maker of Ozempic, and makers of similar drugs, represents more than 2,000 patients across the country. He said there are thousands of patients dealing with side effects of the drugs.

“I think in the country as a whole there are over 10,000 known cases at that time. That number is unfortunately increasing every day,” he said. “The lawsuits are about requiring drug companies that are aware of these risks to adequately warn consumers.”

Van Arsdale said that of his more than 2,000 clients, 60% used the drug for weight loss and 40% for diabetes.

“Each of the manufacturers making drugs in this category needs to do better,” he said.

WDRB Investigates heard from several other patients with similar side effects after taking a popular weight loss drug.

A Prospect woman said she was given Wegovy for weight loss and it led to bowel problems that involved major surgery.

“I started taking Wegovy about 2.5 years ago when I was suffering from arthritis in my back very badly,” said the woman, who did not want to be identified. “My pain management doctor told me it was all because of my weight (220 pounds) and that I needed to lose weight now or I would be in pain for the rest of my life.

“I was prescribed Wegovy by my GP. No warning, no conversation, just a prescription. I started taking it and had the ‘normal’ side effects I read on the packaging (nausea).

She said her side effects became major complications that eventually led to surgery.

“Going from 220 to 146 pounds and back to 220 pounds in two years was absolutely devastating to my body and mind,” she said. “I want doctors to screen patients. I want it to be known that this is a medication you’re going to take for life, or you’re going to get it right back. I want it to be known that it can cause anorexia. I want it to be known that it can destroy the colon.” .

Jada Kimbro, of Murray, Kentucky, told WDRB News “I have to take Ozempic even though I’d like to switch. I’ve lost almost 40 pounds since I started it about a year and a half ago.

“I haven’t been hospitalized like some. I’ve had a gastroparesis study and a stretch last year both of which were fine, they said. I’d like to add though that this has greatly worsened the muscles I have. I’ve been very athletically built, but my muscle sometimes feels like it wraps over my bones, especially in my legs and hip regions,” Kimbro said.

Rose Daugherty, of Winchester, Kentucky, said she had similar complications that sent her to the emergency room.

“(I’ve) had nothing but sickness since taking Ozempic, urgency and diarrhea,” Daugherty said. I even had to go to the ER for dehydration and even now I’m still sick many times.”

Lawsuits against Ozempic and other drug makers have now been consolidated in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

“These guys are making so much money giving this drug to anyone and everyone who can get their hands on it,” Van Arsdale said. “They have an obligation to do better to warn of the dangers associated with it.”

Van Arsdale said the case is a mass tort, where the damages are different from a class action.

“When we look at these cases, they have to look at it on a plaintiff basis and make damages and compensation for how badly the drug affected them, so it’s called a mass tort,” he said.

“Someone starting the drug today doesn’t understand the dangers of gastroparesis because these drug companies have failed to adequately warn them, and we’re asking them to correct this problem,” Van Arsdale said. “Hopefully we can have a trial as soon as humanly possible and establish our evidence as to why the drug makers knew these risks and why they are responsible to Jacqueline and others for failing to prevent this from happening. happened to them.”

Novo Nordisk declined an on-camera interview, but released this statement to WDRB News:

“Novo Nordisk believes that the allegations in these lawsuits are without merit, and we intend to vigorously defend against these claims.Â

“Patient safety is our top priority at Novo Nordisk, and we work closely with the US Food and Drug Administration to continuously monitor the safety profile of our drugs. GLP-1 drugs have been used to treat type 2 diabetes (T2D) for more than 18 years, and for the treatment of obesity for 8 years, this includes Novo Nordisk GLP-1 products such as semaglutide and liraglutide that have been on the market for more than 13 years of real-world evidence studies and has over 9.5 million years of experience clinical cumulatively.

“The known risks and benefits of the semaglutide and liraglutide drugs are described in their FDA-approved product labeling. Â Novo Nordisk stands behind the safety and efficacy of all our GLP-1 drugs when they are used as indicated and when taken under the care of a licensed health care professional”.

“Well, the drug was on the market for a couple of years and all of a sudden a lot of people had their gallbladders removed as a result of taking these drugs, (so) they updated the label,” Van Arsdale said. “We are asking them to do the same for gastroparesis.”

WDRB News also reached out to Eli Lilly, the maker of Mounjaro, for comment and have not heard back.

Barber is now gaining weight and getting the nutrients he needs through an IV when he can’t keep any food down.

“I’ve had this PICC line for a year,” she said, pointing to her arm.

Barber also had a gastric stimulator inserted, a device to treat stomach muscle problems.

“These are my vitamins and nutrients,” she said, pointing to an IV bag. “It has carbohydrates, lipids, proteins.”

Barber said a nurse comes to her home every week. At one point, she had a feeding tube.

“I hope the drug makers have to change this drug,” she said. “If it’s so great and it’s helping the whole obesity population well, but tell people what can happen to them. Try to do better.”

“We’re not asking to take the drug off the market,” Van Arsdale added. “We’re not saying this isn’t a great drug. We’re saying consumers should make an educated decision about it.”

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