- Lottie Moss, 26, warned against taking Ozempic for weight loss after ending up in a hospital.
- "I would rather die any day than take that again," the model, who is Kate Moss' half-sister, said.
Lottie Moss, 26, is speaking out about the dangers of taking Ozempic.
During an episode of her "Dream On" podcast, the model — who is Kate Moss' half-sister — said she ended up in a hospital after taking the drug.
"A few months ago, I was not feeling happy with my weight. I had a friend, and she could get it for me, and it was kind of below board, I'm not gonna lie," Moss said on her podcast.
Moss said the Ozempic was prescribed by a doctor. She also said she didn't undergo a medical check-up to determine whether she was a suitable candidate for the drug or if it was the appropriate dosage.
"When I was taking it, the amount that I was taking was actually meant for people who are 100 kilos and over, and I'm in the 50s range," she said.
Moss said she took the drug for two weeks by injecting it into her leg and that she soon started experiencing side effects, including nausea.
At one point, she said she felt so ill that she had to stay in bed for two days. Her weight dropped from 60 to about 53 kilograms, or 132 to about 117 pounds, in a matter of weeks, she said.
Moss said she went to the hospital after a particularly bad day when she couldn't keep any liquids or food down.
"I literally had a seizure from how dehydrated I was, which honestly was the scariest thing that's ever happened to me in my life," she said.
"My friend had to hold my feet down. It was so scary, the whole situation. My face was clenching up, my whole body was tense," she continued.
Reflecting on her use of Ozempic, Moss called it "the worst decision I ever made."
She also warned others against taking it for weight-loss purposes.
"If you're thinking about doing it, do not take it. It's so not worth it," Moss said. "I would rather die any day than take that again."
While Moss said that it was prescribed by a doctor, the drugmakers have issued warnings about compounded versions of their drugs. In November, Novo Nordisk issued a statement about taking legal actions to help protect US patients from "potentially unsafe and ineffective compounded drugs."
Eric Kastango, an expert on sterile compounding who consults with pharmacies, said it's expensive for pharmacies to create sterile drugs correctly, and some of them cut corners in ways that could put patients at risk.
Ozempic was initially developed to treat diabetes
Ozempic contains the active ingredient semaglutide, which was approved in 2021 by the FDA for weight management under the brand name Wegovy.
However, Ozempic has become the byword for semaglutide and other similar drugs that cause weight loss, regardless of the brand a person is taking.
The medication works by regulating hunger signals, allowing people to feel full while eating less.
Some common side effects of Ozempic include nausea, abdominal pain, constipation, diarrhea, and vomiting.
However, some patients who have taken semaglutide say they've experienced other unexpected side effects, such as hair loss and a change in their taste buds. Some patients also report feeling disgusted by their favorite foods.
Last year in Austria, several people were brought to the hospital with life-threatening seizures after taking counterfeit versions of the drug. The Austrian Federal Office for Safety in Health Care and the country's criminal intelligence service released a joint statement saying that the fake pens appeared to have been dosed with insulin instead of semaglutide.
Representatives for Moss and the drug manufacturer Novo Nordisk did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider, sent outside regular hours.