A woman can no longer eat solid food after Ozempic destroys her stomach
- Meredith Hotchkiss told DailyMail.com using Mounjaro “ruined my life”
- He is involved in a major lawsuit against drug makers Eli Lilly and Novo Nordish
- A recent report presents a series of health conditions associated with weight loss drugs
A series of serious medical conditions allegedly caused by Ozempic and similar weight-loss drugs has been revealed in a landmark lawsuit that claims thousands of patients have suffered life-threatening side effects.
Some users have been left bedridden after using the drug while others are in constant pain and may never eat solid food again.
One patient who used Mounjaro, Eli Lilly’s diabetes weight loss product, told DailyMail.com that she would no longer be able to eat solid food, and would likely receive nutrition and fluids through into his small intestine for the rest of his life.
“It ruined my life,” said Meredith Hotchkiss, 56.
Conditions associated with Ozempic, Mounjaro and other similar drugs include gastroparesis, intestinal obstruction and bowel obstruction. Lawyers allege the drugs have also caused ‘malnutrition, dehydration, neurological problems, and even death’.
Hotchkiss is one of about 100 patients who have filed a lawsuit against the drug makers. Thousands of patients with adverse effects are expected to join the legal process as it progresses, lawyers say.
Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, the Danish company that makes Ozempic and Wegovy, are accused of failing to warn patients or doctors about some side effects caused by the drugs.
Both companies said they would ‘vigorously defend against these allegations’ and denied the lawsuits.
DailyMail.com revealed in January that patients across America have filed lawsuits against Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, including one woman who suffered permanent diarrhea after using Ozempic.
The cases are now consolidated into multidistrict litigation, similar to class action litigation.
The new disclosure in the case lists the ‘most common types of injuries’ and gives several examples of patients who were admitted to hospital or left ill to go away.
Hotchkiss, a nurse from Meridian, Idaho, was diagnosed with gastroparesis — a condition also known as stomach paralysis — after taking Mounjaro and Trulicity, Eli Lilly’s other anti-inflammatory drugs. lose weight, according to the filing.
He hasn’t had a proper meal since last February and now relies on intravenous nutrition and a tube in his small intestine because he can no longer eat solid food .
He told DailyMail.com: ‘I’m angry. ‘If you look at the side effects, it’s not gastroparesis.
‘I was not told about gastroparesis by my doctor. And you see [the companies] just pushing these drugs, even Weight Watchers as a program, they’re still pushing these drugs.
‘It scares me that you don’t know the long-term consequences and you don’t know how people will react to it.’
Hotchkiss is assigned to Mounjaro from July 2022 until about June 2023. He is also briefly assigned to Trulicity from December 2022 to March 2023.
She has diabetes but the condition is ‘well controlled’ and she was given off-label medication for weight loss.
‘My diabetes is well controlled. But I thought if I could lose weight and get Mounjaro, I would try because everyone you see is doing it,’ he said.
The doctor told me that I can lose weight and that it works very well. He said I would be very sick for four weeks and after four weeks I would feel better.’
After four weeks using Mounjaro, Hotchkiss was ‘trained, not too hungry’. He stopped taking the drug briefly due to insurance issues but started again in early 2023 and combined it with a ‘whole food, plant-based diet’.
His condition quickly worsened and he developed gastroparesis.
When I started it again, I couldn’t eat anything but cottage cheese, or macaroni and cheese or yogurt. Even though I was an omnivore, I couldn’t tolerate anything,’ he said.
‘In April, I went [a gastroenterologist]and he said I have terrible gastritis and duodenitis [inflammation in the small intestine] and everything was on fire. He did a biopsy and it showed I had the most severe form of gastroparesis.’
Hotchkiss had a central line inserted, which is an intravenous tube that delivers nutrition directly into the bloodstream, as well as tubes to the stomach and small intestine.
He has also been hospitalized three times for this problem, including life-threatening sepsis.
Hotchkiss says she lost weight after using drugs but her weight has stabilized as her body has gone into ‘starvation mode’ and is still ‘holding on to calories’ each,” he said.
The side effects have changed his life and prevented him from doing the things he loves. Doctors have also told him that he can no longer travel abroad due to his health conditions.
‘I can’t swim, I can’t go in the water. I like to swim, I have a boat, I can’t get into the water at all. I liked to swim in the sea,’ he said.
‘It affects me socially, because you go out with your friends, what do you do? You go out to dinner, or you go out to a steak…
‘The other thing I’m worried about is whether I’ll live long enough to pay off the house and my husband, because I’m worried about him.’
Attorneys say Hotchkiss’s problem is not unique.
Recent court records refer to another patient, Delisa Jones, who ‘took Ozempic for several months before experiencing severe vomiting and heartburn, leading to gastroparesis’.
Jones ‘requires medication to relieve vomiting, and suffers from constant, severe abdominal pain that has left him bedridden’.
The issue also refers to Billie Farley, who DailyMail.com previously reported ‘will no longer have a bowel movement’ due to complications allegedly caused by Ozempic.
Some patients have also told DailyMail.com about side effects.
Zakareeya Gregory, 46, of Walker Mill, Maryland, said he had his gallbladder removed after experiencing side effects from Ozempic, which he took for seven months until February 2020.
Dina Fioretti said Ozempic caused her to vomit so much that she had a torn throat and spent a week in the hospital.
The companies are accused of not presenting the effects of the products correctly and of trying to “underestimate the seriousness of the symptoms of gastroparesis, and leave out that it can be a life-threatening feature of digestion”.
Eli Lilly said: ‘Patient safety is Lilly’s top priority, and we actively monitor, evaluate, and report safety issues for all of our medicines.
Our FDA-approved literature clearly warns that tirzepatide and dulaglutide may be associated with gastrointestinal side effects, sometimes severe.
The regulations also state that tirzepatide and dulaglutide have not been studied in patients with severe gastrointestinal disease, including severe gastroparesis, so they are not recommended for these patients.
‘These risks were well informed and well known by health care providers. We are vigorously defending ourselves against these allegations.’
Novo Nordisk said: “Novo Nordisk believes that the allegations in these cases are without merit, and we intend to vigorously defend ourselves against these allegations.
‘Patient safety is our top priority at Novo Nordisk, and we work closely with the US Food and Drug Administration to continue to monitor the safety of our medicines.
GLP-1 drugs have been used to treat type 2 diabetes (T2D) for over 18 years, and for the treatment of obesity for 8 years. This includes Novo Nordisk’s GLP-1 products which such as semaglutide and liraglutide which have been on the market for over 13 years.’
‘Semaglutide has been extensively evaluated in intensive clinical development programs, major global evidence studies and has more than 9.5 million years of clinical experience.
The known risks and benefits of semaglutide and liraglutide are described in their FDA-approved product listings.
‘Novo Nordisk stands behind the safety and efficacy of all our GLP-1 medicines when used as directed and taken under the supervision of a licensed healthcare professional.’
#woman #longer #eat #solid #food #Ozempic #destroys #stomach