Nearly three months into taking Ozempic for diabetes, Jenny Kent had already lost 12 pounds, and her blood sugar numbers were looking better than they had in a while.

Ozempic, the injectable drug approved for Type 2 diabetes, has taken the world by storm.

But for Kent something else changed after she started taking Ozempic.

“I was just constantly in a state of being overwhelmed,” says Kent. “So my response to that was just I was just crying all the time. Sobbing, crying … I still didn’t put it together, so I kept … taking my injections.”

She’s one of many people taking Ozempic and related drugs who describe mental health problems. But that side effect isn’t mentioned in Ozempic’s instructions for use, or drug label.

In July, the European Medicines Agency said that it was looking into the risk of thoughts of self-harm and suicidal thoughts with the use of Ozempic and similar drugs. As of July 11, the regulator, Europe’s FDA, was evaluating more than 150 reports.

The FDA hasn’t taken that step. For now, the agency is monitoring the situation. “We continue to conclude that the benefits of these medications outweigh their risks when they are used according to the FDA approved labeling,” spokesperson Chanapa Tantibanchachai said in an email to NPR. She noted that weight-loss drug Wegovy, which contains the same active ingredient as Ozempic, semaglutide, includes a warning about suicidal thoughts on its label.

Even though the link between these drugs and mental health concerns isn’t definitive, it’s important that patients talk with doctors if they experience something unusual, says Dr. Jonathan Alpert, who chairs the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

“I always think it makes sense to take side effects like that seriously, particularly in drugs that are relatively new and that we’re still learning about,” he says.

  • Flying Squid
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    139 months ago

    You want to lose weight? Get a major stomach ulcer. I haven’t eaten in a month (30 day anniversary! Yay!) and I’ve lost 25 pounds with no pharmaceuticals needed!

    • @eek2121
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      99 months ago

      Or get hospitalized. I dropped 40 lbs after spending a month in the ICU.

      • Flying Squid
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        69 months ago

        That would do it too. Sorry to hear it, hope you’re doing better now.

        • @eek2121
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          59 months ago

          Thanks! Thankfully it was years ago. Mostly recovered except the more permanent stuff (scarring, other conditions)

          I consider myself to be doing great today.

    • @yenahmik
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      69 months ago

      Dang, dude. That sucks.

      Be careful with that. I know a guy who had an ulcer. It started hemorrhaging and he nearly bled to death internally. I think he was stuck in the hospital for something like 3 months.

      • Flying Squid
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        49 months ago

        I’m getting a scope in early October. I just have to hang in there until then. Thanks.

    • @NOT_RICK
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      39 months ago

      I hope you’re on TPN in that case? Yeesh, I hope you get well soon

      • Flying Squid
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        9 months ago

        Not sure what TPN is, but I’m following my gastro doc’s instructions. And thanks!

        • @NOT_RICK
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          39 months ago

          It’s IV nutrition for people that have GI issues that prevent them from eating. I’m not clinical so I trust your doctor more than my worry, though