Gregory Robinson
A mum died after taking a weight-loss drug to help her lose weight ahead of her daughter’s wedding.
Trish Webster, 56, was prescribed the controversial drug Ozempic to help her lose weight in order to fit into her dream dress for the ceremony.
Ozempic is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for people with Type 2 diabetes, but it has since become widely used weight-loss drug around the world.
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It makes people full for longer by mimicking the natural hormone GLP-1, which slows down the passage of food through the stomach and intestines.
However, issues can arise if the drug slows down the stomach too much or blocks the intestines, called ileus.
As of September this year, the FDA received 18 reports of ileus in people taking Ozempic.
Webster took Ozempic, which her husband, Roy Webster said she saw 'on TV', along with the prescription injection Saxenda and lost about 35 pounds in five months.
Roy said that she was prescribed Ozempic by a doctor, ‘who thought it was a good idea’, however, he clarified that she did not have diabetes.
“She went back to the doctor a couple times saying she is sick. She had diarrhea and nausea,” he said.
On 16 January - just a few months before her daughter’s wedding - Roy is said to have found her unconscious with 'brown stuff' seeping from her mouth.
In an interview with 60 Minutes Australia last week, he said: “She had a little bit of brown stuff coming out of her mouth, and I realized she wasn’t breathing and started doing CPR.
“I was just pouring out, and I turned her onto the side because she couldn’t breathe.”
Webster died that night, and her cause of death was listed as acute gastrointestinal illness.
Her death has not been officially linked to her Ozempic and Saxenda usage, however, her husband believes that the drugs had caused the issues she was suffering.
He told the programme: “If I knew that could happen, she wouldn’t have been taking it.
“I never thought you could die from it.
“She shouldn’t be gone, you know. It’s just not worth it, it’s not worth it at all.”
In a statement provided to 60 Minutes Australia, the manufacturer of Zempic, Novo Nordisk, said that ileus was only reported following its ‘post-marketing setting’, suggesting that the company only became aware of the issue after the drug was released.