--- title: "Thousands of People Have Reportedly Overdosed on Ozempic" description: "People have" date: "2023-12-20" modified: "2023-12-20" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/ozempic-wegovy-semaglutide-overdose" categories: - "Health & Medicine" - "Medical" - "RX and Medicine" tags: - "ozempic" - "semaglutide" - "wegovy" - "Weight Loss" --- # Thousands of People Have Reportedly Overdosed on Ozempic ![People have evidently been overdosing on semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy, because they're taking too much of it.]() *\Image: Jaap Arriens / NurPhoto via Getty / Futurism\* People have been overdosing on semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy, because — surprise, surprise — they're taking too much of it. As the [*Los Angeles Times* reports](), semaglutide overdoses have doubled every year since 2020 as the drug has[ surged in popularity](). Although scientists still [aren't exactly sure]() how or why semaglutide works, they're fairly confident about its underlying mechanism: replicating the natural digestive hormones that control insulin, which also seem to control appetite and fullness (and, in at least some cases, [the desire to eat]() at all). Overdoses of semaglutide can resemble [hypoglycemia]() or low blood sugar, the *LAT* report indicates, the medical terms for the dizziness, sweating, and rapid heartbeat that occurs when someone hasn't eaten enough to get the sugars required to power the body. With reports suggesting that as much as [1.7 percent of the American population]() (or some 5.68 million people) has been prescribed the drug in the past year, the injectable has flown off pharmacy shelves, leading not only to an uptick in [black market semaglutide]() sales, but also, apparently, to some people being given the diabetes drug Ozempic when they're prescribed Wegovy. According to Stephen Petrou and Raymond Ho of the California Poison Control System, most of the overdoses that they've seen have occurred in the injectable version of the drug rather than with Rybelsus, the daily pill. That's likely a result of people prescribed Wegovy being given Ozempic as a stopgap by pharmacists, given that Wegovy comes in single-use pens while Ozempic uses needles that vary in dosage. "Someone who is unable to get Wegovy can resort to using Ozempic instead, because it is the same medication, but they may start to \[adjust\] their dose \[upwards\]," Petrou, a toxicology fellow and emergency medicine specialist with the state's poison control system, told the *LAT*. "That’s when they might encounter problems." According to the nonprofit organization America’s Poison Centers, which represents 55 poison control facilities in the US, nearly 3,000 people overdosed from semaglutide between January 1 and November 30 of 2023. That number is more than double 2022's overdose total (1,447), which itself was doubled from the 607 ODs in 2021. Ho, the managing director of the CPCS, described the rise in overdoses of the drug as an "alarming trend," and with those numbers, it's not hard to see why. "We get the usual dosing error calls," he told the newspaper, "and all of a sudden there’s an explosion of people calling much more regularly about this." Along with the risk of overdose, semaglutide also carries a number of other [crappy-sounding side effects]() that can range from nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea to rarer incidences of [stomach paralysis]() and [intestinal blockage](). While controlling one's weight or diabetes is certainly a worthy and understandable goal, there keep being more and more reports about the very serious risks associated with semaglutide — which should probably give both doctors and patients pause before deciding the drug is the right move. **More on the dark side of semaglutide:** [*Pfizer Cancels New Weight Loss Pill After Patients Experience Serious Side Effects*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()