Ozempic should carry a suicide warning label, says family of man who killed himself

The family of a man who committed suicide months after starting Ozempic is calling for suicide to be listed as an additional side effect.

Anthony, whose last name is not being used to protect his family, was a “very charismatic” and “quite outgoing guy” before he was prescribed the drug Type 2 diabetes in February.

Within weeks he became ‘quiet’ and seemed tired, and his mood seemed to worsen, according to his fiancée.

Three months later, Anthony died by suicide at his home in Indiana.

There are increasing anecdotal reports of worsening mental health while taking the drugs. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is investigating 150 reports of self-harm and suicidal thoughts from people taking GLP-1 receptor agonists, the class of drugs that also includes Ozempic and Wegovy.

And the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) received nearly seventy reports of suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and suicides.

In 2022, more than 5 million prescriptions for Ozempic, Mounjaro, Rybelsus or Wegovy were written for weight management, compared to just over 230,000 in 2019. According to market research agency Komodo Health, this represents an increase of more than 2,000 percent.

Already in 2023, doctors have handed out more than 800,000 prescriptions for Ozempic’s sister drug Wegovy

Although Anthony had suffered from depression in the past, his family was surprised by his suicide, his family said NBC.

As with Anthony’s suicide and most other cases, it is virtually impossible to pinpoint a single cause and say with certainty that the drug caused his death.

No causal effect has been documented in any literature between suicidal ideation and GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic, and many doctors who prescribe the drug say they have not seen anyone with suicidal thoughts.

Dr. Mary Jacobson, chief physician at telemedicine company Hello Alpha, based in Palo Alto, California, previously told DailyMail.com that because these drugs can have a big impact on weight loss, they inevitably affect people’s mental health as well.

She said: ‘When you think about people who are severely obese, how does it change their lives when they lose all that weight? Are they prepared for this?

‘That’s why behavior change is so important and working with coaches and others is so important because it really is a big change in your life.’

It may be that people who use the medications have a greater chance of becoming depressed anyway.

Dr. Jodie Pepin, clinical pharmacy program director at Harbor Health and assistant professor of pharmacy at the University of Texas at Austin, said Healthline: ‘The population taking these medications have comorbidities or underlying conditions that may affect their response to medications.’

These could include pre-existing mental health conditions, such as depression, or comorbidities such as heart disease, which are often linked to depression, she added.

“These reactions may have little or nothing to do with the medications they are taking,” she said.

Since weight-loss medications have exploded in popularity, anecdotal reports of the drug’s side effects have, predictably, also increased.

The number of suicidal thoughts compared to the number of people who use them is relatively small.

Novo Nordisk, the manufacturer of Ozempic, reported that U.S. providers were writing about 60,000 new weekly prescriptions for the drug as of April.

But the drug’s effects have not been studied in the long term.

Anthony had been optimistic in the months before his death. He had just proposed to his girlfriend and gotten a promotion at work.

At Christmas 2022, his eldest daughter had surprised him with the news that she was pregnant with his second grandchild.

His fiancée, Carolyn Hasty, said he had not expressed suicidal thoughts in the months before his death.

“I think the Ozempic put these suicidal thoughts in his head,” said Anthony’s sister, Merlene Hall.

Ozempic and Wegovy are brand names for the drug semaglutide, which suppresses appetite and causes weight loss.

The drugs bind to the GLP-1 receptor, a protein that activates hormones in the brain that keep the stomach full and tell the body to stop eating and avoid cravings.

This year, doctors have already given out more than 800,000 prescriptions for Ozempic’s sister drug Wegovy.

The FDA had also received 59 reports of suicidal ideation, six reports of suicide attempts and four reports of suicide among people taking Ozempic as of June 30.

Wegovy – which already has a warning about suicidal thoughts – had six reports of suicidal thoughts and no reports of suicide or suicide attempts.

The EMA said in July it was investigating 150 reports of self-harm and suicidal thoughts from people taking GLP-1 receptor agonists, the class of drugs that also includes Ozempic and Wegovy.

Health authorities are now investigating reports of suicidal ideation, and Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, which produce Ozempic and Mounjaro respectively, are being sued over claims the drugs cause stomach paralysis.

Anthony’s family believes Ozempic should warn on the label about possible self-harm and suicidal thoughts.

Because Wegovy is FDA-approved for both weight loss and type 2 diabetes, it already has a warning label about suicide.

The FDA requires a warning about suicidal ideation for chronic weight management medications that act on the central nervous system.

Ozempic, on the other hand, is only approved for diabetes and contains no such warning.