Ozempic butt: Women report two MORE unflattering and terrifying side effects of weight-loss drugs
Women who use Ozempic notice more unusual – and unflattering – side effects during the weight-loss injection.
Slimmers who have lost up to 20 kilos say their bums are now ‘completely gone’ and have shrunk so much they can ‘feel every bone’.
Some even said the problem – dubbed ‘Ozempic butt’ – was so bad that they constantly covered their butts.
Meanwhile, more and more women are saying their hair is ‘falling out in clumps’, posting tear-jerking videos from the shower of them holding onto handfuls of lost hair.
A bride-to-be has also posted that she fears she will be almost bald on her wedding day in just four months.
Above is a mother of four who lost 25kg in nine months thanks to Wegovy, Ozempic’s sister drug. She is pictured before and after her weight loss. She is happy with the transformation and weight loss she has seen
Above are examples of people who have posted online that Ozempic or similar weight loss medications have caused them to experience hair loss. On the left, the woman said she was afraid she was going bald, and on the right, a patient expressed concerns about hair loss in the shower
Neither symptom is officially recognized as a side effect of Ozempic, but doctors say Ozempic butt is to be expected because of the rapid weight loss the drug causes, which gives the skin too little time to adapt, causing it to sag.
The back is one of the main areas where subcutaneous fat (or fat directly under the skin) accumulates, which is quickly lost during weight loss.
It also contains a group of three large muscles called the glutes, which can also shrink if a person takes the drug without exercising and eating a high-protein diet.
The FDA is currently investigating reports that Ozempic has caused permanent hair loss or alopecia, but has yet to require this to be stated on a label.
It is poorly understood how Ozempic can cause permanent or temporary hair loss, although experts have proposed several theories.
One suggests that Ozempic’s action on the brain may lead to shifts in the levels of stress hormones, such as cortisol, which can lead to a temporary closure of hair follicles, causing them to lose hair and not grow new hair.
There are also suggestions that nutritional deficiencies caused by the drug can also cause hair loss as the body tries to conserve resources.
It is not clear how Ozempic can lead to alopecia or permanent hair loss.
The aforementioned woman lost 50 pounds while taking Mounjaro, another weight loss drug, for six months. She said she managed to partially preserve her butt through regular squats at the gym
On the left, this woman said she started losing hair after losing 50 pounds on weight-loss drugs, adding that she was afraid she would go bald before her wedding. On the right is another photo shared online of hair loss related to weight loss
Both side effects are being talked about by hundreds of women on Reddit, TikTok and other social media platforms where they share their stories.
In one case, a woman who had lost 40 pounds of Ozempic said online, “Today I was talking to a fellow Ozempic user about how I was having trouble finding new jeans.
‘I said I felt like my butt had completely disappeared and she completely agreed. Not only is it gone, there is also some kind of flap.
“They talk a lot about the ‘Ozempic face,’ but so far the biggest problem for me is the Ozempic butt.”
Another woman who lost 30kg on the drug added: ‘My tummy is gone. I always had a white girl ass, but now it’s gone, like it’s flat.
‘I was trying on my bathing suits, because now I have to put clothes away and see what fits. My ass was SHOCKING…I’m going to have to cover it up.’
Doctors say sagging skin can be corrected through weightlifting exercises such as squats and lunges – allowing a person to grow muscle to fill the space.
But they warn that it may take a year or more for the skin to recover, with some doctors instead directing patients to BBLs and skin tightening procedures.
There are also suggestions that weight-bearing exercises can increase the thickness of the skin, making it more firm and preventing sagging.
Similarly, there are also reports of women saying they are losing their hair while taking Ozempic or similar weight loss medications.
Among the patients reporting this was a bride-to-be who had lost 45 pounds in recent months while taking Wegovy.
She posted photos of her hair loss online and said: ‘My hair falls out in clumps and my scalp is very sensitive. (But) mYour wedding is in four months.
‘I’ve just started a course of rogaine, rosemary oil and others…do you think this will be enough to kick-start some hair growth and stop the loss in time by September? Or will these just make the shedding WORSE? Please help!’
In a second case, a woman posted an image online of herself losing most of her hair and said: ‘Anyone else losing hair like crazy? I’m going bald.’
Influencer Claudia Oshry, 29, has even come forward to say that her hair fell out in clumps while taking Ozempic – even though she lost 30 pounds.
She wrote on Instagram: ‘(My hair) didn’t get thinner, but it started falling out – which is literally worse. Overall, I would say it took six to nine months for things to get back to normal.”
The FDA has announced this in January that it investigated these reports and determined whether there was a connection to Ozempic.
“The appearance of a drug on this list does not mean that the FDA has concluded that the carpet poses the stated risk,” they noted.
“It means that the FDA has identified a potential safety problem, but it does not mean that the FDA has established a causal relationship between the drug and the stated risk.”
Evidence so far suggests that semaglutide does not bind directly to hair follicles, but the drug has been linked to a higher risk of thyroid problems – which could be linked to hair loss.
Ozempic and similar weight loss drugs have soared in popularity in the US, with an estimated 8.2 million prescriptions written in 2021.
Ozempic is only approved for use in diabetes patients, but many doctors also prescribe it ‘off-label’ to people who want to lose a few pounds.
MedSpas says they have seen an increase in requests for the drug in recent months amid the approaching summer.