Increasing numbers of Americans turn to GLP-1 drugs in a bid to shed excess weight, with as much as 12 percent of the U.S. now using a weight-loss jab, according to KFF estimates<\/a>.<\/p>\n However, as the number of Americans using the jabs<\/a> climbs, so too have the number of people suing the manufacturers.<\/p>\n According to USA Today<\/a>, 4,400 patients have filed lawsuits against drug producers since 2023. The ages of the plaintiffs range from 18 to 87. <\/p>\n Around 75 percent of those plaintiffs allege that they have been left with gastroparesis, a condition that slows the emptying of the stomach. Another 8 percent have reported extreme gastrointestinal complications, including extreme vomiting<\/a>. <\/p>\n The drugs companies have said they will defend against the claims in court, with test trials not expected until 2027.<\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n Weight-loss jab users have complained that the drugs have caused them to experience extreme vomiting and even ruptured colons (stock image) (myskin – stock.adobe.com)<\/p>\n JoHelen McClain, a 72-year-old real estate agent from Oklahoma City, told USA Today that her symptoms were particularly severe.<\/p>\n In March 2024, while driving her 14-year-old granddaughter home from a softball game, McClain says she heard a bang – similar to the popping of a balloon. <\/p>\n \u201cWhat was that?\u201d her granddaughter cried. After racing to the hospital, McClain was diagnosed with a ruptured colon. The grandmother says she was diagnosed with sepsis and spent a gruelling five days in the hospital.<\/p>\n In January this year, she became one of the thousands of people suing Danish healthcare company Novo Nordisk, which produces both Wegovy and Ozempic<\/a>.<\/p>\n In another case Todd Engel, a heavy machinery operator from Maryland, told USA Today he was one of the many people who started taking Ozempic<\/a> for diabetes.<\/p>\n However, the 63-year-old\u2019s life changed in October 2023 when he was left without sight in one of his eyes. Medics soon realised that he had suffered an \u201ceye-stroke\u201d – also known as NAION – which restricts blood to the optic nerve, the outlet reported. <\/p>\n European Ozempic labels state that semaglutide can cause NAION in up to 1 in 10,000 people, according to Reuters<\/a>.<\/p>\n In a joint court filing in 2024 detailing their intentions to fight the claims<\/a>, Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly said that their products went through rigorous testing. <\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n However, both Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly have said that their products are rigorously tested (PA)<\/p>\n \u201cGLP-1RAs are medicines that have revolutionized the treatment of type 2 diabetes and obesity,\u201d the statement said. \u201cNumerous clinical studies have show that GLP-1RAs reduce the risk of death and asdverse cardiovascular events, such as heart attacks and strokes. <\/p>\n \u201cThe safety profile of GLP-1 RAs has been well-established in hundreds of clinical trials, large-scale observational studies, and nearly two decades of real-world use.<\/p>\n \u201cThe known risks associated with these medicines are reflected in their FDA-approved product labeling which, collectively FDA has reviewed more than 40 times and are discussed in textbooks, treatment guidelines and journals.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, demand for the drugs<\/a> continues to increase. Prescriptions for the GLP-1s rocketed from 1 million at the start of 2018 to 9 million in 2022, according to Trilliant Health<\/a>. Meanwhile, the use of Ozempic and Wegovy doubled between 2024 and 2025, according to Gallup<\/a>. <\/p>\n The Independent has contacted Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly for comment.<\/p>\n \u201cNovo Nordisk remains confident in the benefit-risk profile of our GLP-1 medicines, when used consistent with their indications and product labeling,\u201d a spokesperson told USA Today. <\/p>\n \u201cPatient safety is Lilly\u2019s top priority, and we actively monitor, evaluate, and report safety information for all our medicines,\u201d a spokesperson for Eli Lilly added. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":406345,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42],"tags":[102,6591,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-406344","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-medication","tag-health","tag-medication","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406344","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=406344"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406344\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/406345"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=406344"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=406344"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=406344"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Weight-loss](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AdobeStock_501320381.jpeg\")
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