London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, May 11, 2025

A TikTok Trend Sold Out Ozempic, Leaving People With Diabetes Dizzy, Scared

A TikTok Trend Sold Out Ozempic, Leaving People With Diabetes Dizzy, Scared

Ozempic, an injection that keeps blood sugar levels in check for patients with type 2 diabetes, has been in shortage for about four months, according to the database maintained by the US Food and Drug Administration.
For more than a month, Shane Anthony, a 57-year-old auto mechanic, hasn't been able to get his diabetes medication.

Ozempic, an injection that keeps blood sugar levels in check for patients with type 2 diabetes, has been in shortage for about four months, according to the database maintained by the US Food and Drug Administration, and is backordered at Anthony's Seattle pharmacy. 

Without the Novo Nordisk A/S-made prescription, he has suffered recurring dizzy spells while repairing cars. Alternative medications are either out of stock or not covered by his insurance.

While increased demand and supply chain delays have left multiple medicines from the antibiotic amoxicillin to Adderall in short supply, the reason for a lack of certain diabetes drugs is unusual: doctors are prescribing them to non-diabetics who want to use them for weight loss.

"All these famous people, stars who don't need to lose weight, are going and getting it," Mr Anthony said. "I need it to stay healthy and not die."

For the more than 35 million people who live with type 2 diabetes, the shortages have added yet another layer to managing an already complicated and costly chronic illness. They've also exposed weaknesses in America's use of off-label prescribing, which allows physicians to hand out drugs to treat a different condition than the one for which they were officially approved. When those medications are hard to find because of celebrity and social-media hype, patients with diabetes suffer.

Ozempic, known generically as semaglutide, is one of a class of diabetes drugs known as GLP-1 receptor agonists that have been around for nearly two decades. It was first approved in the US in 2017 for use in those with type 2 diabetes. Ozempic mimics a hormone involved in appetite and eating, helping to stimulate insulin production and lower patients' blood glucose levels. It also often leads to them shedding pounds.

Francisco Prieto, a family physician in Sacramento, California, sees at least one person with diabetes per week who is having trouble filling their prescription for Ozempic. Patients will call multiple pharmacies and drive around town to see if it's in stock, but some still haven't been able to get it, said Mr Prieto, who also does advocacy work for the American Diabetes Association.

Recently, one of Mr Prieto's patients experienced a three week-long delay filling a prescription for Trulicity, a similar type 2 diabetes drug that's also seeing increased demand for weight-loss use. Mr Prieto prescribed a lower dose, and recommended that the patient take two injections a week. He described the compromise as "less than ideal, but better than nothing."

Without their medication, patients with diabetes could be at higher risk for things like heart disease, heart attacks, infections like Covid, disability and even death, Mr Prieto said. And while getting a different prescription can be an option, it can come with new hurdles, including insurance coverage and closer monitoring in case the alternative doesn't work as well.

Both new and established users of Ozempic are being affected by periodic supply disruptions. A representative for manufacturer Novo Nordisk said in a statement that the issues are expected to continue through January. The company cited "incredible demand" and short-term capacity limitations at some factories, and said that it is investing to grow manufacturing.

Higher doses of Ozempic that aren't usually given to new patients are available, and Novo's other GLP-1 drugs for diabetes aren't in short supply, though there may be normal delays at pharmacies, the company said. In an earnings presentation in November, Novo said that its sales, as measured in Danish kroner, grew by 26% in the first nine months of the year, largely because of higher demand for Ozempic and other diabetes drugs.

Eli Lilly & Co.'s Trulicity and Mounjaro, both approved to treat type 2 diabetes, are also seeing demand that's resulting in backorders on some doses at pharmacies, a Lilly spokeswoman said. The drugs were listed as being in shortage by the FDA on Thursday. Lilly isn't having supply chain or manufacturing issues, though the company is working to double manufacturing capacity for the category by the end of next year, the spokeswoman said.

Though off-label prescribing is common and legal in the US, it has long created issues. In the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic, for example, people took an unproven drug called hydroxychloroquine, which they believed helped with the virus. That created shortages for patients who take it for lupus and arthritis.

Ozempic is a good candidate for off-label use for obesity, which is also considered a disease and can put people at higher risk for other conditions: official ads for the drug say patients lose on average up to 12 pounds when taking it. It's just not clear that everyone using the drug has a medical need for it.

On TikTok, some videos featuring the hashtag Ozempic have been viewed more than a million times. Medical spas offer the prescription alongside shots of Botox and laser hair removal. Sponsored ads on Google promise weight loss with no exercise or dieting. A plastic surgeon brags on Facebook about using the drug to lose 10 pounds she gained during Covid, and says to call her office to get started.

The FDA doesn't regulate this kind of prescribing. That means many decisions about what to do are up to individuals.

"Which disease is most acute and most severe? Which has alternatives? How adequate are those alternatives?" said Holly Fernandez Lynch, an assistant professor of medical ethics and law at the University of Pennsylvania. "These are the kinds of questions that would help you figure out which patients should have priority access."

Fernandez Lynch said a judgement would depend on the individual case. But those who just want to lose a few pounds shouldn't take a scarce resource that someone else needs, she said.

In Seattle, Mr Anthony has recently been able to get an alternative diabetes drug. It's a much older treatment that requires twice-a-day injections before mealtimes, which he didn't have to think about with Ozempic and has found challenging. It's too soon to know how well it will work for him.

Mr Prieto, the family physician, said his patients are scared and alarmed about the shortage - especially if the drug has really helped improve their health.

"Right now, diabetes is the greater danger, and those folks have a higher need for the drug," he said.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump's Upcoming Visit to Gulf Nations: Investment and Security at the Forefront
Rodrigo Duterte Awaits Trial at The Hague. Next week he might be elected mayor of his hometown
Trump fires director of U.S. Copyright Office, sources say
Retired British police officer arrested over ‘thought crime’ tweet
Cardinal Robert Prevost Elected as Pope Leo XIV, Marking a Historic Papacy
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka Arrested at ICE Facility Amid Congressional Visit
India-Pakistan conflict may be first test for Chinese military tech
Bill Gates Announces Plan to Wind Down Philanthropic Foundation and Disperse Wealth
Historic Papal Conclave Set to Commence in Rome
Huge Copper, Gold, and Silver Discovery in Argentina and Chile — But the Profits Go Abroad
Prince Harry is pleading for reconciliation — but the royals are just as sick of his victimhood as everyone else
The Road to Freedom: She Protested Putin, Escaped House Arrest, and Survived a 2,800-Kilometer Journey
OpenAI's Flip-Flop: No Longer Going Commercial, Back to Nonprofit, After Musk Lawsuit and Backlash
“Trump Supporter” Aims to Bring a MAGA-Style Shift to Romania
First From China: Zhao Xintong Wins the Snooker World Championship
Nvidia Faces Billion-Dollar Losses – Warns: China Is on Its Way to Becoming an AI Superpower
Trump Rules Out Third Term, Names JD Vance and Marco Rubio as Potential Successors
Mexico Says ‘No’ to U.S. Troops: President Sheinbaum Rejects Trump’s Offer to Fight Cartels
Nigel Farage’s Reform UK Storms the Map, Wrecking the Two-Party Monopoly
DOGE: Reimagining Government Operations with AI
Common Sense Returns to Britain's Legal System: UK Supreme Court Declares a Woman Is… a Woman
Beijing Says U.S. Is ‘Reaching Out’ for Tariff Talks Amid Soaring Trade Tensions
U.K. Court Rejects Prince Harry’s Final Appeal Over Police Security
Prince Harry’s Heartfelt Outburst Rocks the Royal Family
Trump Shares AI-Generated Image of Himself as… Pope, Prompting Outrage Reaction
Transgender Swimmer Secures Five Gold Medals at U.S. Masters Championship
Prince Harry: “I Want Reconciliation with My Family”
Germany's Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party has now been officially labeled “right-wing extremist” by the federal office for the so-called “protection of the constitution.”
Amazon Launches Satellite Internet Service Amidst Competition with SpaceX
Transformative Changes in Women's Wrestling: The Rise of WWE Superstars
The Rush to the White Gold: Global Investment Surge in Natural Hydrogen Exploration
This is a day in Spain without electricity and internet
Reform UK Surprises in British Elections, Challenging Traditional Two-Party System
180-Year-Old Christian University in South Carolina Announces Closure Due to Unmet $6 Million Fundraising Goal
Brazilian Woman Jailed for Fourteen Years for Writing “You Lost, Idiot” on Statue During Protest
Trump Administration Removes National Security Adviser Mike Waltz Amid Signal Chat Controversy
Dutch Politician Eva Vlaardingerbroek Receives Spyware Threat Alert from Apple
Paramount Board Considers Settlement in Trump’s $20 Billion Lawsuit Over "60 Minutes" Interview
U.S. Economy Shrink in Trump’s First Quarter as Tariff Policy Raises Questions
Deadline Looms for RTS Meter Replacement: Hundreds of Thousands at Risk of Heating Disruption
Sweden Grapples with Deadly Gun Violence: Suspect Arrested After Three Young Men Killed in Uppsala Hair Salon
Walz Reveals Why Harris Chose Him as Her Running Mate and Reflects on Democratic Losses
Spain Restores Power After Unprecedented Nationwide Blackout
Carney Secures Liberal Mandate in Canada’s Federal Election
Death Penalty Sought as Luigi Manion Pleads Not Guilty in CEO Murder Case
President Trump contacts Jeff Bezos after reports of Amazon considering listing tariff surcharges; company clarifies no such plan for main platform
Spain and Portugal Recover from Massive Blackout
Liverpool Clinches Record-Equalling 20th English League Title Under Arne Slot
Singapore Politicians Warn Against Foreign Interference in Election
Driver Ploughs into Vancouver Festival Crowd, Killing Nine
×