- Meredith Hotchkiss told DailyMail.com using Mounjaro has ‘devastated my life’
- She has joined a massive lawsuit against drugmakers Eli Lilly and Novo Nordish
- A recent filing lays out a litany of medical conditions linked to weight-loss drugs
The litany of grim medical conditions allegedly caused by Ozempic and similar weight-loss drugs are laid bare in a landmark court case which claims thousands of patients have suffered life-threatening side-effects.
Some users have been left bedridden after using the drugs while others are in constant pain and may never consume solid food again.
One patient who used Mounjaro, Eli Lilly’s flagship diabetes and weight-loss drug, told DailyMail.com she can no longer consume solid foods and will likely receive nutrition and fluid through a tube directly into her small intestine for the rest of her life.
‘It’s devastated my life,’ said Meredith Hotchkiss, 56.
Conditions linked to Ozempic, Mounjaro and similar drugs include gastroparesis, bowel obstruction and intestinal blockage. Attorneys allege the drugs have also caused ‘malnutrition, dehydration, neurological disorders, and even death’.
Hotchkiss is one of nearly 100 patients who have joined the legal action against the drugmakers. Thousands more patients who also suffered extreme side-effects are expected to join the legal action as it progresses, lawyers say.
Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, the Danish company which makes Ozempic and Wegovy, are accused of failing warn patients or physicians about certain side-effects caused by the drugs.
Both companies have said they will ‘vigorously defend against these claims’ and deny the allegations in the lawsuits.
DailyMail.com revealed in January that patients across America have filed lawsuits against Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, including one woman who will suffer diarrhea forever after using Ozempic.
The cases have now been combined into a multidistrict litigation, which is similar to a class action lawsuit.
A new filing in the case lists the ‘most common injury types’ and gives several examples of patients who were hospitalized or left permanently sick.
Hotchkiss, a nurse from Meridian, Idaho, was diagnosed with gastroparesis – a condition also known as stomach paralysis – after using Mounjaro and Trulicity, another Eli Lilly weight-loss drug, according to the filing.
She has not eaten a proper meal since last February and now relies on intravenous nutrition and a feeding tube into her small intestine because she can no longer consume solid food.
‘I’m angry,’ she told DailyMail.com. ‘When you look at the side effects, it doesn’t say gastroparesis.
‘I wasn’t told gastroparesis by my doctor. And you see [the companies] just pushing these meds, even Weight Watchers as a program, they are pushing these medications.
‘It scares me that you don’t know the long-term effects and you don’t know how people will react to it.’
Hotchkiss was prescribed Mounjaro from July 2022 until around June 2023. She was also briefly prescribed Trulicity from December 2022 to March 2023.
She has diabetes but the condition is ‘well-controlled’ and the drugs were given off-label for weight loss.
‘My diabetes is so well controlled. But I thought if I could lose weight and get Mounjaro, then I could try because everybody you see everybody’s doing it,’ she said.
‘The doctor told me that I could lose weight and that it works really well. He said that I would get really sick for four weeks and then after four weeks I’d feel a lot better.’
After four weeks using Mounjaro, Hotchkiss was ‘bloated, not very hungry’. She briefly paused use of the drug due to issues with insurance but restarted in early 2023 and paired it with a ‘whole food, plant-based diet’.
Her condition quickly deteriorated and she developed gastroparesis.
‘When I started it again, I just couldn’t eat anything but cottage cheese, or macaroni and cheese or yogurt. Even though I was whole food plant based, I couldn’t tolerate anything,’ she said.
‘In April, I went to [a gastroenterologist], and he said I had terrible gastritis and duodenitis [inflammation in the small intestine] and everything was inflamed. He did a gastric emptying study and it showed that I had the most severe form of gastroparesis.’
Hotchkiss was fitted with a central line, which is a tube into a vein to administer nutrition directly into the bloodstream, along with tubes to her stomach and small intestine.
She has also been hospitalized three times due to the ordeal, including with life-threatening sepsis.
Hotchkiss said she lost some weight after using the drugs but her weight has now stabilized as her body has gone into ‘starvation mode’ and is ‘holding onto every calorie’, she said.
The side-effects have changed her life and stopped her from doing the things she loves. Doctors have also told her she can no longer travel overseas because of her health conditions.
‘I can’t swim, I can’t go in the water. I love swimming, I have a boat, I can’t go in the water at all. I used to love swimming in the ocean,’ she said.
‘It affects me socially, because you go out with your friends and what do you do? You go out to dinner, or you go to barbecues… all the holidays, everything revolves around food.
‘The other thing I worry about is will I be alive long enough to pay off the house with my husband, because I worry about him.’
Attorneys say Hotchkiss’ ordeal is far from unique.
The recent court fillings refer to another patient, Delisa Jones, who ‘took Ozempic for a few months before suffering severe vomiting and gastrointestinal burning, leading to gastroparesis’.
Jones ‘requires medication to alleviate vomiting, and suffers from ongoing, severe stomach pain that has left her essentially bedridden’.
The filing also refers to Billie Farley, who DailyMail.com previously reported will ‘never have a solid bowel movement again’ because of complications allegedly caused by Ozempic.
Other patients have also told DailyMail.com about horrific consequences.
Zakareeya Gregory, 46, from Walker Mill, Maryland, said her gallbladder was removed after she suffered side effects which were allegedly caused by Ozempic, which she used for seven months until February 2020.
Dina Fioretti said Ozempic caused her to vomit so much that she suffered a torn esophagus and spent a week in hospital.
The companies are accused of not properly labeling the side-effects of the products and attempting to ‘downplay the severity of gastroparesis symptoms, and omit that they can be a feature of potentially life-threatening digestive impairment’.
Eli Lilly said: ‘Patient safety is Lilly’s top priority, and we actively engage in monitoring, evaluating, and reporting safety information for all our medicines.
‘Our FDA-approved labels clearly warn that tirzepatide and dulaglutide may be associated with gastrointestinal adverse reactions, sometimes severe.
‘The labels further state that tirzepatide and dulaglutide have not been studied in patients with severe gastrointestinal disease, including severe gastroparesis, and are therefore not recommended in these patients.
‘These risks were communicated to and widely known by healthcare providers. We are vigorously defending against these claims.’
Novo Nordisk said: ‘Novo Nordisk believes that the allegations in these lawsuits are without merit, and we intend to vigorously defend against these claims.
‘Patient safety is our top priority at Novo Nordisk, and we work closely with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to continuously monitor the safety profile of our medicines.
‘GLP-1 medicines have been used to treat type 2 diabetes (T2D) for more than 18 years, and for the treatment of obesity for 8 years. This includes Novo Nordisk GLP-1 products such as semaglutide and liraglutide that have been on the market for more than 13 years.’
‘Semaglutide has been extensively examined in robust clinical development programs, large real world evidence studies and has cumulatively over 9.5 million patient years of clinical experience.
‘The known risks and benefits of semaglutide and liraglutide medicines are described in their FDA-approved product labeling.
‘Novo Nordisk stands behind the safety and efficacy of all of our GLP-1 medicines when they are used as indicated and when they are taken under the care of a licensed healthcare professional.’
Dr. Debi Johnson is a medical expert and health journalist dedicated to promoting well-being. With a background in medicine, she offers evidence-based insights into health trends and wellness practices. Beyond her reporting, Dr. Debi enjoys hiking, yoga, and empowering others to lead healthier lives.
