Celebrities are suffering from a gross Ozempic side effect

Weight loss wonder drugs Ozempic and Wegovy are earning rave reviews among influencers and celebrities — but some users aren’t so lucky.

A growing number of A-list patients are reportedly suffering embarrassing and debilitating stomach and toilet symptoms, like losing control of the bowels.

In a blind item published by the popular gossip newsletter Popbitch, a recent ‘scandal’ in The Hamptons has been the talk of the town as celebrities flock to the popular holiday destination ahead of US Independence Day next week.

A poor houseguest, who was rumoured to have stayed at the home of Gwyneth Paltrow, suffered with a ‘catastrophic’ case of diarrohea.

The blind item said the guest fled back to New York City to avoid any awkward confrontation.

‘Ozempic-induced diarrohea is becoming a very hot topic of conversation between hosts there — because so many of their guests are using it,’ the entry read.

‘So expect laundettes to be fully booked from July 4.’

Celebrities who have admitted to using weight loss drugs like Ozempic include Oprah Winfrey, Elon Musk, Sharon Osbourne, Chelsea Handler and Robbie Williams.

In June 2023, comedian Amy Schumer admitted taking it the year prior but stopped due to the side-effects. 

‘I was one of those people who felt so sick,’ she said. 

Weight loss drugs work by mimicking GLP-1, a hormone made naturally in the body that helps slow the passage of food through the stomach, which makes people feel less hungry . 

It also alters the brain’s appetite regulation so that users feel satiated despite eating less and they also don’t experience cravings for treat foods. 

Clinical trials show that 30 per cent of patients experience diarrohea on Wegovy, compared to 16 percent on the placebo, according to the drug’s prescribing information.

Common side effects of Ozempic include constipation, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain, according to the drug’s label.

Meanwhile, longer-term side-effects are also emerging. One concern is muscle loss: trials of GLP-1 drugs show roughly 40 per cent of the weight lost is muscle mass rather than fat.

This can have serious health implications. Not only do you need muscle to burn calories but, for example, in middle-aged and older people, muscle loss (called sarcopenia) is strongly associated with frailty and early death.

Less common complications of GLP-1 medications are gallstones, increased heart rate, kidney damage and pancreatitis — a condition where the pancreas rapidly becomes painfully inflamed.

Another serious concern is gastroparesis, a severe disorder where the stomach muscles become effectively paralysed and the stomach does not empty, and sufferers vomit days-old food. For some patients, the only remedy for gastroparesis may be a gastric bypass.