Kate Moss’s sister, Lottie, said she had an Ozempic attack. An expert weighs in on the importance of using this medication correctly.

Model Lottie Moss spoke out against the use of diabetes medication for weight loss after she allegedly had a seizure after taking Ozempic.

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

Moss initially sought the drug when she felt insecure about her weight and hoped to use it to lose weight. He said a friend helped connect him to a doctor who could prescribe medication. “It’s kind of below the board, not going to lie, it’s from the doctor, but it’s not like you go into the doctor’s office and he prescribes it for you, he gets your blood pressure, he takes all these tests. That’s what you need when you do something like Ozempic,” Moss said.

Ozempic consists of the active ingredient semaglutide and is used for the management of diabetes. It is unclear, however, whether Moss received Ozempic, specifically, or a different version of the drug.

“I took it for two weeks, and you like, the pen, and then used a different dose,” Moss shared. “And you take one injection a week, one injection the next week, and you take it, every week. And I’ve never felt so sick in my life. I threw up. It was horrible. I took a lower dose when I first took it , then I went higher, and I ended up in bed for like, two days.

Moss said she ended up having a seizure in the hospital from “how dehydrated” she was, describing the ordeal as “one of the scariest things that has ever happened in my life.”

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

What experts say

Dr. Melanie Jay, associate professor at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and director of the Comprehensive Program on Obesity, told Yahoo Life that it is important to note that Moss is not under the supervision of a doctor, and therefore “is not a good candidate for medication.” He also stated that Moss did not take the drug as intended by the drug manufacturer. For Ozempic, in particular, “you began [on a] 0.25 mg dose weekly for a month before going to the next dose so your body can adapt to it,” says Jay. “Then, you go to the next weekly dose for another month.”

Moss, however, entered a higher dose the next week, after which he became very ill.

Jay also said it was unclear whether Moss was on Ozempic or a different version of the weight-loss drug, which could explain the discrepancy in dosage. When you get a box of Ozempic from the pharmacy, you get four pens of the same dose for that month.

How common is an Ozempic overdose?

In December 2023, the poison control center reported a 1,500% increase in calls related to injectable weight loss drugs. 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 overdose of semaglutide, which is also the active ingredient in Wegovy, a medication made by pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk that specializes in weight loss.

The FDA states that people who take too much semaglutide have symptoms such as:

• vomit

• rear

• fainting

• Headache

• migraine

• dehydration

• Acute pancreatitis

• Gallstones

Few people sought hospitalization for their symptoms, the FDA reported.

The warning, however, is not about the medicine made by Novo Nordisk but about the combined version of semaglutide. Compounded semaglutide is made by compounding pharmacies, which make customized medications by mixing or changing ingredients to meet the specific needs of a patient. 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 is in the dosage: while Ozempic and Wegovy are in pre-filled pens, the combined version is usually in vials, so patients can mistakenly give themselves a higher dose than recommended.

Joseph Lambson, director of the New Mexico Poison and Drug Information Center, previously explained to Healthline: “Most of these pens only give one dose, and you click the pen into action. You inject it like an EpiPen, and you have your dose. But this combination formulation, what makes them more likely to cause an overdose is that they are usually administered in vials and accompanied by needles and syringes.

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

“A compounded drug is only used to meet a patient’s need if the patient’s medical need cannot be met by an FDA-approved drug,” the federal agency explained.

Bottom line

If you’re interested in taking semaglutide for weight loss, it’s important to talk to your doctor, who can help you get a prescription for one of the medications on the market. They can also assess whether this drug is really suitable for you, as it is supposed to be prescribed only to people who meet certain health criteria, such as having a BMI above a certain target or weight-related conditions such as hypertension.

Compounding pharmacy is a way for people to get access to medication during the drug shortage that many people looking for weight loss drugs face. It may also be an option for individuals who may benefit from these medications but cannot get their insurance due to cost concerns. (Out of pocket, Ozempic and Wegovy can cost more than $1,000 per month.)

However, it is important to know that these combined drugs also have risks, such as more complex doses. A doctor can guide you through this process, which is why it’s best to seek medical attention before embarking on your weight loss drug journey.