It's Easy to Overdose on Semaglutide: Here’s What You Should Know

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As the popularity of injectable weight-loss medications like Wegovy and Ozempic rises, so do concerns about the risks associated with dosing errors. These drugs, which contain the active ingredient semaglutide, have proven effective for weight loss and diabetes management.

But improper use—especially when overdoses occur—can lead to severe health complications, even requiring hospitalization. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently issued warnings to healthcare providers and the public about the dangers of semaglutide overdoses, highlighting the critical need for proper dosing and vigilance.

How Overdoses Happen

Overdosing on semaglutide often stems from dosing errors, particularly when patients must self-administer the drug. Typically, semaglutide is provided in pre-measured, disposable injector pens by its manufacturer, Novo Nordisk.

But due to ongoing shortages, many patients are turning to compounding pharmacies, which can legally replicate and dispense patented medications like semaglutide. These pharmacies often supply the drug in vials, requiring patients to measure their own doses using syringes.

This process is fraught with potential pitfalls. Patients must navigate complex conversions—often translating milligrams into milliliters, or vice versa—and use syringes that might hold much more than the required dose.

The FDA has reported cases where individuals injected as much as 20 times the prescribed amount due to such confusion. Even healthcare providers have been known to make mistakes when prescribing the correct dosage.

Dr. Janice Jin Hwang, an endocrinologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, underscores the difficulty:

"You really have to know exactly what you’re doing. Otherwise, it's really, really easy to make mistakes."

The Consequences of Taking Too Much

Overdosing on semaglutide can lead to a range of severe gastrointestinal symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain.

Some patients have also reported fainting, migraines, dehydration, and more serious conditions like gallstones and acute pancreatitis, which can be life-threatening.

Given that semaglutide stays in the body for up to a week—or even longer—the symptoms of an overdose may persist, requiring prolonged medical attention.

Avoiding Dosing Errors

To mitigate the risk of overdosing, patients should seek thorough guidance from their healthcare providers and pharmacists. It's crucial to understand how to properly draw up the correct dose if using a syringe.

For those receiving their medication via mail, this can be particularly challenging, as they may not have access to in-person demonstrations. In these cases, clear and accessible instructions from telehealth providers are vital.

Pharmacist Tenille Davis, of the Alliance for Pharmacy Compounding, stresses the importance of proper education:

“It’s really important with these types of drugs that pharmacists and providers make sure to provide their patients with adequate counseling, education, and materials and be available when patients have questions.”

Patients should also be wary of seeking dosing advice online, as instructions may vary depending on the type of syringe or the concentration of the medication being used.

The Threat of Counterfeit Drugs

Adding to the risk is the proliferation of illegal and counterfeit semaglutide products. According to the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP), more than 40,000 scam websites purport to sell these medications.

Some of these sites appear legitimate but offer contaminated, impure, or incorrectly dosed drugs, which may not be intended for human use.

Many products ordered from these sites were either never delivered or were found to be unsafe. Mackey cautions that these counterfeit drugs might not meet the standards expected from legitimate sources, posing significant risks to users.

To avoid falling victim to scams, consumers can verify the legitimacy of online pharmacies using the NABP's accredited pharmacy search tool or by checking state licensing.

Conclusion

As the use of semaglutide-based medications like Wegovy and Ozempic continues to grow, so does the importance of awareness about the risks of overdosing.

Patients must be diligent in ensuring they use these powerful drugs correctly, with appropriate guidance from healthcare professionals. By staying informed and cautious, individuals can safely benefit from these medications without falling prey to potentially dangerous dosing errors or counterfeit products.