Kate Moss’ sister Lottie claims she suffered a seizure while taking Ozempic. An expert discusses the importance of using the medication correctly.

Model Lottie Moss has spoken out against the use of diabetes drugs to lose weight after allegedly suffering a seizure after taking Ozempic.

The 26-year-old sister of 1990s fashion icon Kate Moss spoke on her podcast this week about how she tried Ozempic – which she got through a friend – and suffered health consequences.

Moss first sought out the drug when she was feeling self-conscious about her weight and hoped to use it to lose weight. She said a friend helped connect her with a doctor who could prescribe the drug. “It was pretty honest, I’m not going to lie, it was from a doctor, but it wasn’t like you went into a doctor’s office and they prescribed it for you, they took your blood pressure, they did all these tests, which you need when you’re taking something like Ozempic,” Moss said.

Ozempic contains the active ingredient semaglutide and is used for the management of diabetes. It is not known, however, whether Moss received Ozempic specifically or another version of the drug.

“I took it for two weeks, and you get like a pen, and then there’s different doses,” Moss explained. “And you take a shot one week, another one the next week, and you take it like, every week. And I’ve never felt so sick in my life. I was throwing up. It was horrible. I took a lower dose the first time I took it, and then I increased the dose, and I ended up in bed for two days.”

Moss said she ended up having a seizure in hospital due to “dehydration,” describing the ordeal as “one of the scariest things that’s ever happened to me in my life.”

“I hope that by talking about this, it can be a lesson to some people that it’s not worth it. It’s for diabetes,” she said.

What an expert says

Dr. Melanie Jay, an associate professor at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and director of the Comprehensive Program on Obesity, told Yahoo Life that it’s important to note that Moss was not under the supervision of a physician and was therefore “not a good candidate for treatment.” She also notes that Moss was not taking the drug as the manufacturers intended. For Ozempic, specifically, “you start with a dose of 0.25 mg per week for a month and then move up to the next dose so your body can get used to it,” Jay says. “Then you move up to the next dose every week for another month.”

However, Moss took a higher dose the following week, after which she became very ill.

Jay also said it’s unclear whether Moss was taking Ozempic or another version of a weight-loss drug, which could explain the dosage differences. When you get a box of Ozempic from a pharmacy, you get four pens of the same dose for the month.

How common are Ozempic overdoses?

In December 2023, poison control centers reported a 1,500% increase in calls related to injectable weight-loss medications. Earlier this month, the Utah Poison Control Center reported a 640% increase in calls since 2020, with more calls in 2024 than in previous years.

In July, the Food and Drug Administration issued a warning about overdoses of semaglutide, which is also the active ingredient in Wegovy, the drug made by the pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk and specifically aimed at weight loss.

The FDA said people who took too much semaglutide experienced symptoms including:

• Vomiting

• Diarrhea

• Fainting

• Headache

• Migraine

• Dehydration

• Acute pancreatitis

• Gallstones

Some people have sought hospitalization because of their symptoms, the FDA reported.

The warning, however, did not concern the drugs made by Novo Nordisk, but rather the compounded versions of semaglutide. Compounded semaglutide is made by pharmacies that create custom medications by mixing or modifying ingredients to meet a patient’s specific needs. These versions may not meet the same standards as FDA-approved drugs because they are not subject to the same oversight.

In this case, the problem was the dosage: While Ozempic and Wegovy are sold as pre-filled pens, the compounded versions are typically sold in vials, so patients can mistakenly administer a higher dose than recommended.

Joseph Lambson, director of the New Mexico Poison and Drug Information Center, told Healthline, “Most of these pens are single-dose, and you click the pen to activate it. You inject it like an EpiPen, and you get your dose. But these compounded preparations, what makes them more likely to cause an overdose is that they usually come in a vial with a needle and a syringe.”

If you choose to use a compounded version of the drugs, be aware that they “pose a higher risk to patients than FDA-approved drugs because compounded drugs do not undergo FDA premarket review for safety, effectiveness, or quality,” according to the FDA.

“Compounded drugs should be used to meet a patient’s needs only if the patient’s medical needs cannot be met by an available FDA-approved drug,” the federal agency explained.

The essentials

If you are considering taking semaglutide for weight loss, it is important to talk to your doctor, who will be able to guide you in obtaining a prescription for one of the medications available on the market. They will also be able to assess whether these medications are really appropriate for you, as they are supposed to be prescribed only to people who meet certain health criteria, such as a BMI above a certain target or a weight-related condition such as high blood pressure.

Compounding pharmacies provide people with access to medications during shortages that many people seeking weight-loss medications face. They can also be an option for people who could benefit from these medications but can’t get them through their insurance because of cost concerns. (Ozempic and Wegovy can cost up to $1,000 per month.)

It is important to know, however, that these compounded medications also come with risks, including more complicated dosing. A doctor can guide you through this process, so it is always best to consult a doctor before embarking on any weight loss treatment.