Interactive graphic reveals ALL of Ozempic's weird side effects, from flatulence to erectile dysfunction

They're the game-changing weight loss jabs meant to usher in a new era in the war on obesity.

But despite their undeniable slimming effects, injections of semaglutide – branded as Ozempic and Wegovy – have been linked to a catalogue of side effects. 

These range from the simply embarrassing, such as flatulence, to cases of suicidal thoughts among patients taking the jabs, which trick the body into feeling full and slowing digestion.

Here through a fascinating interactive graphic MailOnline details the weird side effects reported among those taking the new drug...

Digestive issues: Flatulence, diarrhoea, vomiting and constipation

As far back as its original clinical trials, patients taking semaglutide have reported that some of the most frequent side effects were diarrhoea, vomiting/nausea and constipation.

Once the drug hit the wider public so did tales of toilet troubles, including people who soiled themselves while sleeping or in public.

Other digestive issues reported include stomach pain, although patients taking the medication are advised to keep an eye on this side effect specifically as it can be a sign of something more serious. 

Fatigue, headaches and dizziness

Feeling overly tired, or having headaches and/or dizziness are other, known and commonly reported side effects of semaglutide.

All are mentioned in safety leaflets given to patients.

Gallstones 

These small stones, usually made of cholesterol, form in the gallbladder — a small pouch-like organ that stores bile, a substance used by the body to break down fatty foods. 

They don't normally cause any symptoms.

If a gallstone becomes trapped in one of ducts connected to the gallbladder, it can cause an intense and lasting pain. 

About one in 10 patients taking semaglutide will develop gallstones, according to safety leaflets given to patients.

Ketoacidosis

Some patients taking semaglutide have reported suffering diabetic ketoacidosis, a potentially life-threatening complication.

It occurs when the body breaks down fat for fuel, instead of sugar, because of a lack of insulin. 

Consequently, chemicals that turn the blood acidic – called ketones – are released.

In severe cases, it can trigger catastrophic heart problems. One patient who took Ozempic even reportedly saw her heart stop due to the complication. 

Kidney damage

Some US patients taking semaglutide medications have suffered kidney injuries that they blame on taking the drug.

One of those is Beverly Graves, 54, from Tennessee, who started taking Wegovy in January 2022 for weight loss. 

With supplies of the medication unreliable, she also took another weight loss drug called liraglutide, alternating from one to the other. 

She said she found herself constantly burping and needing to spit. However, her condition took a turn for the worse when suddenly she couldn't urinate. 

Ms Graves was admitted to the hospital, where doctors told her she had kidney failure.

It is not clear if semaglutide is to blame but the British Heart Foundation warns patients on Wegovy can suffer kidney issues.

Pancreatitis 

The risk of dangerous inflammation of the pancreas, called pancreatitis, is why patients on semaglutide are warned to keep an eye on any stomach pains they experience while taking the drug.

Severe and ongoing pain in the stomach area could be a sign of the condition, with sufferers advised to seek immediate help from a GP or NHS 111.

It is estimated one in 100 people taking semaglutide will experience pancreatitis according to safety information distributed with the drug.  

Gastroparesis

A number of patients who announced they are suing Novo Nordisk, the maker of Wegovy and Ozempic, claim to have suffered from gastroparesis.

This is the medical name for paralysis of the stomach, where the nerves and muscles that govern how the organ functions don't work as they should, slowing digestion. 

It can cause a potentially dangerous build-up of food in the gut triggering nausea, vomiting and severe pain and can be life threatening.

Some patients reported such severe vomiting that their teeth fell out. 

What triggers gastroparesis in general isn't known, although patients with diabetes are thought to be at greater risk. 

Muscle loss

One of the criticisms put towards drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy is that patients can also lose muscle while taking them. 

This is because the jabs don't target fat specifically, instead, triggering weight loss by affecting appetite. 

The result is that patients can also lose muscle mass by not eating as much protein, the building block of muscle, as before taking the drug. 

Bad breath, burps and metallic taste

Some medics have warned that people on weight-loss injections can suffer bad breath as a result.

They theorise this is due to how the injections affect the digestive system, which then creates an imbalance in the bacteria that naturally live in the gut.

This is turn creates more gas and, so the theory goes, increases burping and the risk of bad breath. 

Results from clinical trials do suggest the theory has some merit.

One trial, led by the drug's manufacturer Novo Nordisk, found 9 per cent of participants suffered burping, known medically as 'eructation'. 

This fell to just one per cent among the placebo group. 

Researchers, however, don't know for sure why the drugs may cause bad breath, or halitosis. 

Some patients have also reported having a 'metal' taste in their mouths though it is unclear if this is related to the drug or a different medical problem. 

Hair loss

Multiple patients have reported hair loss while taking semaglutide, experiencing their hair thinning to an astonishing degree or even falling out in clumps.

Original clinical trials of Wegovy did spot this effect among those taking the drug.

Hair loss reportedly affected 3 per cent of those taking the drug, compared to just 1 per cent in the placebo group of the study.  

Balding or thinning of hair is not listed as an official side effect of semaglutide drugs, in part because it was rarely reported in trials and it isn't, from a medical emergency standpoint, serious.

Interestingly, hair loss is suspected to not be a direct side effect of semaglutide, but instead, the body's response to suddenly losing weight.

The effect is technically called telogen effluvium, a medical term for when the usual cycle of hair growth is disrupted, leading to a rise in hair loss. 

Both changes to hormones as well as extreme or rapid weight loss are known to trigger telogen effluvium in some people.

While not fully understood, medics suspect this is potentially due to the body suddenly diverting energy previously used for hair growth to other areas as it experiences a change in the amount of food being eaten. 

Telogen effluvium is also known to be triggered by periods of illness, stress and other medications that can have a similar effect on the body. 

While the potential relationship between semaglutide and telogen effluvium is still being explored cases from other conditions suggest it is reversible once the body settles into a new equilibrium. 

Sexual dysfunction

Both men and women have reported sexual dysfunction or loss of libido after taking semaglutide.

The effect hasn't yet been extensively researched but one study found erectile dysfunction problems in one out of 75 men who take it. 

Some have linked the problem to an observed drop in testosterone, the male sex hormone, levels recorded among men taking semaglutide. But this has only been recorded in a handful of studies. 

And how the drug, which works by mimicking a natural hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLp-1), could be causing a drop in testosterone is unknown. 

This reaction has puzzled experts given that losing weight typically boosts testosterone levels.

Others have suggested another potential cause is semaglutide disrupting how the brain processes the happiness hormone dopamine, reducing sexual desire in general.

Again, the exact mechanism of how this reaction could be occurring is unknown. 

No equivalent statistic charting sexual dysfunction in women taking semaglutide drugs can be found.

But individual cases have been reported of women, who previously had happy sex lives, suddenly becoming uninterested in any amorous activity.   

Alcohol/food/coffee avoidance

Sex isn't the only thing semaglutide patients might be missing out on.

Some people taking the drug have reported an interesting side effect of no longer craving previous comforts like a glass of wine, chocolate and even gambling. 

The reasons why this is happening are still being explored.

Some scientists suspect that the drug's disrupts the brain triggering a rush of dopamine for certain behaviours like taking a bite out of a chocolate bar meaning satisfying cravings isn't as fulfilling. 

Such is the strength of the pattern that some experts are now exploring if semaglutide, and other drugs that work on a similar mechanism, could work as a potential new treatment for alcoholics. 

Fertility boost

Multiple women taking semaglutide have reported unplanned pregnancies in a trend dubbed the 'Oopzempic' baby boom. 

Similar to hair loss, this may not be a direct side effect of semaglutide itself but instead a consequence of the medication.

Losing weight is known to boost fertility generally, so women slimming down while on the drug could be contributing to the trend.

Another theory is that semaglutide side effects like vomiting are impacting how well oral contraceptives like the pill are being absorbed into the body.

This only partial absorption of the pill could make usually reliable contraceptives less effective, leading to boosted conception chances.

However, some medics have advised people wanting to a child to not take semaglutide after animal studies found it increased the risk of birth defects. 

Aspiration pneumonia

A potentially extremely serious semaglutide side effect is a possible increased risk of choking to death following surgery. 

Californian researchers examined data from nearly 1million Americans who had an endoscopy, a procedure where a camera is inserted via the mouth to examine the upper digestive tract. 

They found those on semaglutide at the time of their procedure had a 33 per cent higher chance of suffering aspiration pneumonia than those who weren't.

Aspiration pneumonia is the medical term for an infection caused by food, liquids, or saliva getting sucked into the airway.

Symptoms include shortness of breath, wheezing, coughing up blood or pus, chest pain, bad breath, and extreme tiredness. 

Medics theorise the increased risk among semaglutide is due to how the drug slows down the digestive process.

Patients undergoing an endoscopy are told to fast beforehand to both ensure the camera gets a clear image of the tissue medics want to examine and to reduce the risk of food entering the trachea and the lungs while the patient is sedated.

But semaglutide's delay to digestion means standard fasting times before an endoscopy might not be long enough for food to clear the system.

Patients on semaglutide have been advised to warn medics they are on the drug before any endoscopy procedure. 

‘Ozempic Face’

You may have heard this term used in stories about celebrities looking gaunt with sunken eyes and saggy skin after using medications containing semaglutide.

Semaglutide is not a targeted drug and as such doesn't just cause fat loss on your belly or thighs but the entire body, including the face.

Since the fat in our face helps gives smooth plump cheeks and wrinkle free foreheads, rapidly losing it can make people rapidly look much older. 

Vivid dreams

From Matthew McConaughey riding a llama at a cattle auction or being rescued by Oprah Winfrey on a go-kart, patients taking semaglutide have reported having bizarre and vivid dreams. 

Such reports are, by their very nature, impossible to verify or pin on the drug directly.

But patients swear that ever since taking the weight loss jab their slumber featured weird visions that for some reason feature celebrities. 

One patient recounted robbing a museum with Jennifer Lopez whilst another detailed how they dreamt of telling Dwayne 'the Rock' Johnson that they are having his baby.

And one person taking semaglutide also reported having a persistent and recurring dream of taking a peaceful drive on a sunny day.

Cancer 

Tests on rodents have suggested that drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy increase the risk of developing thyroid cancer.

French research examining health records of people taking medications similar to semaglutide between 2006 and 2018 has suggested the increased risk is between 50 to 75 per cent.

However, this increased risk is from the base-level minuscule chance that people would get the cancer in the first place. 

Put another way, the base chance of an adult being diagnosed with thyroid cancer in the UK per year is about 0.006 per cent, roughly the equivalent of one in every 17,000 people. 

Increasing this by 75 per cent would boost this to a 0.0105 per cent. 

Manufacturer Novo Nordisk says it is unclear if its drugs could cause the same increase in thyroid cancer in humans as observed in rodents.

However, it still advises patients about the risk in information it distributes.

It also warns patients to contact their medical team if they notice a lump or swelling in the neck, hoarseness, trouble swallowing, or shortness of breath, all of which can be signs of thyroid cancer.

Novo Nordisk also advises that patients with a family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma, a type of thyroid cancer, not to take the medication.

It bears highlighting that obesity, which Wegovy specifically is designed to treat, also raises the risk of cancer. 

Cancer Research UK estimates that over one in 20 cancer cases in Britain are caused by being either overweight or obese with risk increasing the fatter people are and for how much of their life. 

Suicidal thoughts

There have been multiple reports of suicide and suicidal ideation among people taking weight loss injections, including ones containing semaglutide.

Suicide is a complex subject, and it is usually impossible to pinpoint a single cause and say for certain that any drug interaction could have contributed and other factors weren't involved. 

For example, people who are severely overweight and taking these drugs can have a higher risk of depression than other parts of the population.

Some have also suggested that eating, particularly binge eating, may have acted as a coping mechanism for some people, and stopping this could have impacted their mental health in unanticipated ways. 

Others have pointed to the drug's apparent interaction and suppression of dopamine, the happiness hormone, as a potential factor. 

Some patients have previously reported how they feel 'hollow' and that 'rarely anything makes me happy' while taking the drug. 

It should be noted there are only a handful of reports of people on semaglutide attempting or carrying out suicide so any increased risk, at least based on data, appears to be rare. 

Semaglutide drugs can potentially lead to a deadly intestinal blockage, some doctors have warned.

Such blockages can lead to segments or the entirety of the intestine becoming blocked. This, in turn, can lead to the organ's blood supply being cut off, potentially causing tissue death. 

The drug's relationship to this side effect is suspected to be tied to how it works, slowing the digestion process and therefore the movement of food, through the intestine. 

Symptoms of the problem include abdominal swelling, bloating, constipation, diarrhoea, vomiting and an inability to pass gas.

It can also potentially lead to perforation — or a tear — in the bowel that leads to the contents of leaking into other parts of the body potentially causing a dangerous infection. 

In severe cases patients may need surgery to remove the blockage.  

Leaflets distributed to patients by Novo Nordisk do highlight the risk of bowel obstruction but also add that the frequency of the side effect 'cannot be estimated from the available data'.

'Ozempic breasts'

Semaglutide, similarly to 'Ozempic face', has also been blamed for making women's breasts smaller. 

This isn't that unexpected. Typically as women lose weight fat tissue in breasts also diminishes reducing their overall size.

What is more surprising is some women are reporting their breasts growing larger while on the drug.

There are a couple of theories why this might be the case.

One, is that their bodies are going through a hormonal fluctuation while on the drug and/or losing weight while using the medication which then causes the breasts to swell in size.

Another is that it's all a matter of perspective and that as women become skinnier on the drug, their breasts simply appear bigger in comparison. 

A combination of these factors could also be at play. 

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