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SALT LAKE CITY — A shortage and user error are being blamed for a massive spike in calls to the Utah Poison Control Center over weight loss drugs similar to Ozempic. The center told KSL it's a 640% increase since 2020.
For everyone trying to get their hands on the weight loss drug Ozempic, it's now so popular and sometimes hard to get that people are turning to a less safe, more confusing, compounded version of the drug.
Pharmacist Kevin DeMass at the Apothecary Shoppe at Salt Lake Regional Medical Center told KSL-TV the drug is good but leaves too much room for user error. Unlike Ozempic, administered like a user-friendly EpiPen, the compounded versions of the drug come in vials and syringes that make you measure doses yourself.
"So, this drug is very, very delicate, so if you're a little bit too much or a little bit under, the patient doesn't get the benefit and they get all the bad side effects," said Kevin DeMass, a registered pharmacist with the Apothecary Shoppe.
That's led to the 640% increase in patients getting sick, calling the Utah Poison Control Center with symptoms of feeling nauseous, vomiting or diarrhea.
"They meant to give themselves 0.25 mg, but they misunderstood or drew up the wrong amount and accidentally gave themselves 2.5 mg," said Simon Rodriguez, a poison specialist with the Utah Poison Control Center.
DeMass said syringes aren't easily labeled, and with different measurements or sizes, it's easy to confuse.
"When this is what the doctor wants you to get, and this is what you inject ... you've got hospitalization." Demass said.
He said the best way to make sure you've got the right dose is to have your doctor or pharmacist show you the exact amount.
"Any medication that a patient is going to do at home, in a vial, in a syringe, needs to be discussed with their doctor and their pharmacist face-to-face so that this type of an error doesn't occur," DeMass said.
If you do get sick from giving yourself a shot at home, call the Utah Poison Control Center at 1-800-222-1222.
