WDRB: 2 sides of Ozempic include weight loss success and health nightmares in Kentucky

For some, the weight loss drug Ozempic “is life-changing,” but for others, ‘it’s a nightmare,” Valerie Chinn reports for WDRB.

Lucinda Mason, a Mt. Washington resident who has lost 100 pounds and kept it off, told Chinn that her experience with the drug has been positive and has dramatically improved her health.

But Jacqueline Barber, a Louisville resident, told Chinn that Ozempic has led to severe health complications, causing her to be in and out of the hospital since she started taking it in 2021. Barber suffers from severe blood clots and has been diagnosed with gastroparesis, a condition that prevents the stomach from emptying properly, Chinn reports.

“If you are taking it — or new to taking it — and you get sick, please talk to your doctor,” Barber told Chinn. “I really hate to see anyone end up where I’m at. It’s so depressing. It really is.”

WDRB says it started investigating Ozempic and other diabetes and weight loss drugs after learning of nationwide lawsuits, some of which include patients in Kentucky.

“The lawsuits against the manufacturers of Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and similar medications claim there are inadequate warnings about potential side effects, including gastroparesis. Barber’s attorney, Andrew Vans Arsdale with the AVA Law Group, said the agency represents 5,000 clients nationwide dealing with the illnesses from those drugs. Of those, 135 cases are in Louisville, and another 270 cases are in Kentucky and Indiana statewide,” Chinn writes.