Ozempic should carry a suicide warning label, says family of man who killed himself

The family of a man who committed suicide months after starting Ozempic is asking that suicide be included as an additional side effect.

Anthony, whose last name is not used to protect his family, was a “very charismatic guy” and “quite an extrovert” before he was prescribed the medication for his Type 2 diabetes in February.

Within weeks, he became “quiet” and seemed tired, and his mood seemed to be deteriorating., according to her fiancé.

Three months later, Anthony committed suicide at his home in Indiana.

Anecdotal reports of worsening mental health while taking the medications have been increasing. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is investigating 150 reports of self-harm and suicidal thoughts from people who took GLP-1 receptor agonists, the class of drugs that includes Ozempic and Wegovy.

And the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) received nearly 70 reports of suicidal thoughts, suicide attempts and suicides.

But these are self-reported to the FDA, and the agency has not, and potentially cannot, verify that they are directly due to Ozempic.

While Anthony had experienced bouts of depression in the past, his family was devastated by his suicide, his family said. NBC.

As with Anthony’s suicide and most other cases, it is almost impossible to point to a single cause and say with certainty that the drug caused his death.

No causal effect has been documented in any literature between suicidal thoughts and GLP-1 medications like Ozempic, and many doctors who prescribe the drug say they have not seen anyone experiencing suicidal thoughts.

Dr. Mary Jacobson, medical director of Palo Alto, California-based telemedicine company Hello Alpha, previously told DailyMail.com that because these medications can have a big impact on weight loss, this inevitably also affects people’s mental health.

She said: ‘When you think about people who are severely obese, how does that change their life once they lose all that weight? Are you ready for that?

“That’s why behavior modification is so important and working with trainers and other people is so important because it’s really a major change in your life.”

It may be that people who take these medications are more likely to suffer from depression anyway.

said Dr. Jodie Pepin, director of Harbor Health’s clinical pharmacy program and assistant professor of pharmacy at the University of Texas at Austin. health line: ‘The population taking these medications has comorbidities or underlying conditions that may influence their response to the medications.’

They could be pre-existing mental health conditions, such as depression, or comorbidities, such as heart disease, which are often linked to depression, he added.

“These responses may have little or nothing to do with the medication they are taking,” he said.

As the popularity of weight loss medications has skyrocketed, anecdotal reports of the medication’s side effects have also increased, unsurprisingly.

The number of suicidal thoughts compared to the number of people taking them is relatively small.

Novo Nordisk, the maker of Ozempic, reported that U.S. suppliers were issuing about 60,000 new weekly prescriptions for the drug in April.

But the drug’s effects have not been studied long term.

Anthony had been optimistic in the months before his death. He had just proposed to his girlfriend and had been given a promotion at work.

On Christmas 2022, his eldest daughter surprised him with the news that she was pregnant with her second grandchild.

His fiancée, Carolyn Hasty, said he had not expressed any suicidal thoughts in the months before his death.

“I think Ozempic was putting these suicidal thoughts in his mind,” said Anthony’s sister, Merlene Hall.

Ozempic and Wegovy are brand names of the drug semaglutide, which suppresses appetite and causes weight loss.

The medications bind to the GLP-1 receptor, a protein that activates hormones in the brain that keep the stomach full and tell the body to stop eating and avoid cravings.

This year, doctors have already distributed more than 800,000 prescriptions for Ozempic’s sister drug, Wegovy.

The FDA had also received 59 reports of suicidal thoughts, six reports of suicide attempts, and four reports of suicide among people taking Ozempic as of June 30.

Wegovy, which already includes a warning about suicidal thoughts, had six reports of suicidal thoughts and no reports of suicide or suicide attempts.

The EMA said in July it was investigating 150 reports of self-harm and suicidal thoughts from people who took GLP-1 receptor agonists, the class of drugs that includes Ozempic and Wegovy.

Health agencies are now investigating reports of suicidal thoughts, and Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, which make Ozempic and Mounjaro, respectively, are being sued for claiming the drugs cause stomach paralysis.

Anthony’s family believes Ozempic should include a warning about possible self-harm and suicidal thoughts on its label.

Because Wegovy is approved by the FDA for weight loss and type 2 diabetes, it already carries a suicide warning label.

The FDA requires a warning about suicidal ideation for chronic weight management medications that act on the central nervous system.

Ozempic, on the other hand, is only approved for diabetes and carries no such warning.