Ozempic overdose: More poisonings with weight loss drugs

The number of overdoses with weight loss drugs is rising rapidly in the Netherlands. Last year, there were 41 reports of poisonings with Ozempic, Wegovy, and Saxenda - over four times as many as in 2021. In the first seven months of this year, there were already 32 cases, BNR reports based on figures from UMC Utrecht’s National Poisons Information Center (NVIC).

People who overdose on these GLP1 agonists typically suffer from nausea and vomiting. In exceptional cases, an overdose can also lead to increased sensitivity or an allergy to the drug.

The main cause of the increase in overdoses is the rapidly growing popularity of these slimming agents. So far, the Dutch Healthcare Authority (NZa) has only approved Saxenda for use against obesity, but Wegovy and Ozempic are also on the Dutch market for treating type 2 diabetes. In practice, they’re also used to lose weight. According to the NZa, almost 90,000 Dutch people used Ozempic last year.

Another factor behind the increase in overdoses is more use outside medical supervision. In 2022, the NVIC registered one overdose in which the patient used the drug without a doctor’s prescription. Halfway through this year, there have already been nine reports.

According to Liesbeth van Rossum, an internist and professor of obesity at the Erasmus MC in Rotterdam, the number of overdoses is “surprisingly low,” given how many Netherlands residents use these medicines. She thinks there are many cases that did not make it into the figures. “I can imagine that you would not immediately call a care provider if you bought this on the internet,” she told the broadcaster.

Edo Aarts, a specialist in treating obesity and co-owner of the Allurion Clinic, added that dosage errors are easy to make, especially with GLP1 agonists bought illegally. Ozempic and Wegovy usually come in lancing devices with a fixed dosage, and patients typically start with a daily dosage of a quarter of a milligram that gradually increases to one milligram. “That quarter of a gram is not available in the illegal circuit. As a result, many people start much too high.”