The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently issued a warning regarding a surge in accidental overdoses related to injectable semaglutide, the active ingredient in weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. These overdoses have led to symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, fainting, migraine, dehydration, pancreatitis, and gallstones, sometimes resulting in hospitalization. The surge in dosing mistakes has raised concerns among government health officials, particularly due to the increased popularity of semaglutide medications in recent years.
One of the reasons for the rise in accidental overdoses is the availability of unapproved ‘copies’ of semaglutide, known as compounded drugs. These drugs are not FDA-approved and are often mixed by licensed pharmacists or at drug facilities, resulting in varying concentrations from vial to vial. Compounded drugs lack the consistent dosing and safety standards of FDA-approved medications, putting patients at a higher risk for overdose.
One of the major challenges with compounded semaglutide is the lack of uniform dosing instructions. While FDA-approved semaglutide injections are available in pre-filled pens with specific dosing guidelines, compounded drugs often use different units of measurement, such as ‘units’, milligrams, or milliliters. This discrepancy in dosing instructions can lead to confusion among patients, resulting in overdoses.
Many of the reported cases of accidental overdoses involved patients mistakenly drawing up more than the prescribed dose from a multiple-dose vial during self-administration. In some instances, patients administered significantly higher doses of semaglutide, up to five to twenty times more than the intended amount. These errors have resulted in severe side effects such as vomiting, nausea, and dehydration, highlighting the dangers of improper dosing of compounded drugs.
To prevent accidental overdoses of semaglutide and other compounded drugs, health care providers and compounders should ensure that patients receive appropriately sized syringes that cannot be filled beyond the intended dosage. Patients should also be thoroughly educated on how to measure and administer the correct dosage using a syringe. Health care providers must be vigilant in their dosage conversions when prescribing compounded drugs to minimize the risk of dosing errors.
If an overdose from semaglutide is suspected, medical attention should be sought immediately to prevent further complications. The FDA’s warning serves as a critical reminder of the importance of proper dosing and administration of medications, particularly in the case of compounded drugs with varying concentrations and dosing instructions. Healthcare professionals and patients alike must remain vigilant and informed to avoid the potentially harmful consequences of accidental overdoses associated with compounded medications like semaglutide.
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