I lost weight on Ozempic – because it made me vomit
ASK SAM KING how she lost weight and she will smile and say: ‘Healthy eating and exercise.’ But that was only after she had tried the wonder drug Ozempic, which not only didn’t help her lose weight but also caused nausea, vomiting and vertigo so bad she was bedbound.
‘I know Ozempic works for many people and I am thrilled for them,’ says Sam, 35, a travel writer. ‘But for me the drug caused me nothing but ill health and I didn’t lose any weight.’
Sam, who started gaining weight in her 20s, at her heaviest weighed 19 st (she is 5 ft 6 in). She says: ‘I tried every diet going — Slimming World, diet shakes, keto — nothing worked. I would spend two hours in the gym and lose a pound then put it on again.’
In 2022 she was feeling so exhausted she saw her GP. ‘I explained I was overweight and had tried everything,’ she says. ‘My doctor was sympathetic and told me about Ozempic.
‘They gave me a prescription for a month initially. I knew that if I was slimmer and could exercise more, I might feel more energised.’
The drug had to be administered with a daily injection to the stomach. ‘I wasn’t overly keen on that but I soon got used to it,’ she says.
Sam had read online stories of people losing huge amounts of weight on Ozempic, with social media hailing it as a wonder drug. ‘I was so excited,’ she says. Her appetite initially remained unchanged. The doctor had advised her to cut back on alcohol and to ensure she was following a healthy diet of fruit, vegetables and protein from meat and fish.
But within days Sam felt nauseous. ‘It was all-consuming and I found I couldn’t leave the house,’ she says. ‘Luckily I work from home so was able to work. But then the nausea got so bad I had to stay in all day and couldn’t leave the sofa. I would feel so nauseous I’d actually be sick — at first once a day, then several times. I felt horrendous.’
When Sam went back to her doctor for her next prescription, she was told these sideeffects were normal. ‘But it got worse,’ she says. ‘The fatigue — the same fatigue I’d ironically gone to the GP for in the first place — was worse. I couldn’t lift my head off my pillow. I knew exercise was a component of losing weight but couldn’t get up. I’d be sick all day every day.’
After three months she had lost 6lb (2.7kg) — ‘but my GP told me that was probably due to my vomiting and dehydration; I’d never felt so ill,’ she says. These side-effects are not uncommon: ‘Nausea affects 15 to 20 per cent of people; vomiting occurs in 5 to 9 per cent; diarrhoea in 8 per cent; and constipation 3 to 7 per cent,’ says William Van Niekerk, a consultant plastic, reconstructive, aesthetic surgeon.
‘I was so frustrated and envious of these people online saying they were losing stones and I had lost barely anything,’ says Sam. ‘My body was the same and I looked fatigued; with dark circles under my eyes and shaking and weak from the sickness.’
Dr Semiya Aziz, a GP based in London, who has a special interest in weight loss, says: ‘Ozempic’s ability to help people lose weight varies from person to person.
‘Factors such as genetics, baseline weight, metabolic health and adherence to treatment may all influence treatment outcomes.’
Sam decided to stop taking Ozempic after three months. She has since watched videos and read reports of some people keeping the weight off after taking the drug, while others put weight on again.
‘It made me realise there is no magic wand,’ she says. A year ago Sam went to Australia and decided to try and lose weight the old-fashioned way. ‘I started a diet which was basically calorie-controlled meal plans,’ she says.
‘I stuck with it and went from over 14st to 12st in around a year, which I am now.’
She says she is shocked that a ‘normal’ diet has worked for her after all these years.
‘I thought Ozempic would be a wonder drug and it seems to be for some people, but it certainly wasn’t for me,’ she says. ‘The three months on it were the worst months of my life.’