Ozempic burned my genitals and butt, says type 2 diabetic

A woman with type 2 diabetes has revealed she was left fearing for her life after Ozempic severely burned her genitals and caused “chunks of skin” to fall off her body.

Dr. Maria Rosas, a professor in Texas, was prescribed the medication once a week for her type 2 diabetes in hopes that it would no longer cause her to need to take multiple medications twice a day.

The first week went well, she said, with her blood glucose levels well controlled. Although she felt a little depressed, she said it quickly improved.

The following week, however, Dr. Rosas said a burning pain developed in her back, genitals and buttocks. The areas also started to turn red as if they had been in the sun “for days”.

And then she noticed that ‘chunks of skin’ started appearing on the toilet seat and toilet paper whenever she wiped those areas.

When she examined his genitals, anus and buttocks, Dr. Rosas said the skin appeared charred and sunburned.

After just 20 days of using the medication, in August 2023, she called her doctor to report her condition and he told her to stop using Ozempic immediately.

Writing in a first-person article in Newsweek, Dr Rosas said: ‘Ozempic helped me, but I thought I was going to die at one point because of what was happening to my body.

“In August, a worse burning pain appeared in the genital region and buttocks.

“I noticed “chunks” of skin on the toilet seat and tissue when I cleaned the area.

“I checked and my genitals, anus and buttocks were badly burned, some areas with charred skin.

‘It was like I was exposed to sunlight for days.’

His doctor diagnosed rashes and hives as an allergic reaction to the medication, a possible side effect of Ozempic.

In cases where this occurs, the drug leaflet indicates that patients should immediately stop taking Ozempic and contact their doctor.

Dr. Rosas called Ozempic 1-800 and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to report her experience.

In clinical trials with semaglutide, the drug used in Ozempic, 108 of 1,306 patients or eight percent were recorded as having an allergic reaction to the drug.

In the FDA’s system for reporting side effects, there have been 15 reports of allergic reactions, although this may be an undercount because most cases are likely not recorded in the system.

Dr. Rosas said in her Newsweek story that she is now improving after stopping her medication, although she still has back pain.

She said that because of the drug’s many side effects, she does not recommend that people take it.

Dr. Rosas is now following a strictly controlled diet to help control her blood sugar levels and says she does not plan to take any more medications until she is completely healed.

Ozempic and Wegovy, which use semaglutide, were originally approved to help manage diabetes, but were soon discovered to also help users lose weight. Doctors then began prescribing them off-label for weight loss.

Wegovy has now been approved by the FDA for this purpose.

Data shows there were more than four million prescriptions for weight loss medications like Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro in 2021, with Ozempic behind the highest number of prescriptions.

Thirty-seven million American adults have diabetes, estimates suggest, which occurs when the body no longer produces insulin or no longer recognizes its own insulin, causing cells to stop absorbing sugar from the bloodstream.

A spokeswoman for Novo Nordisk, which makes Ozempic, previously told DailyMail.com: ‘At Novo Nordisk, patient safety is a top priority.

“We work closely with the US Food and Drug Administration to continually monitor the safety profile of our medicines.

‘Specifically for Ozempic, the most common side effects may include: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach (abdominal) pain, and constipation.

‘We recommend that any patient experiencing side effects when taking Ozempic contact their doctor.’

Patients also revealed a range of other side effects caused by the injection, including vivid dreams, repulsion towards favorite foods and rapid muscle loss.

Some also said their weight dropped so quickly that they had saggy skin in areas of their body.

Several patients have also reported depression, suicidal thoughts, and quickly regaining lost weight and more after stopping Ozempic.