The drug has become so popular that it’s been in short supply for much of the past year.
But for [Jenny] Kent something else changed after she started taking Ozempic.
“I was just constantly in a state of being overwhelmed,” says Kent. “So my response to that was just I was just crying all the time. Sobbing, crying … I still didn’t put it together, so I kept … taking my injections.”
She’s one of many people taking Ozempic and related drugs who describe mental health problems. But that side effect isn’t mentioned in Ozempic’s instructions for use, or drug label. Are the problems a coincidence or related to the drug?
In July, the European Medicines Agency said that it was looking into the risk of thoughts of self-harm and suicidal thoughts with the use of Ozempic and similar drugs. As of July 11, the regulator, Europe’s FDA, was evaluating more than 150 reports.
The FDA hasn’t taken that step. For now, the agency is monitoring the situation. “We continue to conclude that the benefits of these medications outweigh their risks when they are used according to the FDA approved labeling,” spokesperson Chanapa Tantibanchachai said in an email to NPR. She noted that weight-loss drug Wegovy, which contains the same active ingredient as Ozempic, semaglutide, includes a warning about suicidal thoughts on its label.
