MACLEANS_TINA KNOWLAN OZEMPIC_BY 447ALANA PATTERSON
photography by alana paterson

My Ozempic Nightmare

I was supposed to shed pounds on the so-called miracle drug. Instead, I became sicker than ever.
By Tina Knowlan

I’ve struggled with my weight my whole life. Like many people in my family, I’m predisposed to obesity, diabetes and a slow metabolism. I’ve been officially overweight since I turned 25 and, over the years, yo-yo and fad dieting only made it worse. I tried the keto diet, Weight Watchers, everything. You lose weight, then you gain it back—plus a bit more. 

During Covid, I was bored at home and sedentary like everyone else. Within just a few months, I gained 20 pounds. I knew I needed to lose weight for health reasons—it wasn’t about vanity for me.  

In 2022, I ran into a friend I hadn’t seen in a while. She’d lost a bunch of weight. I knew she struggled just like I did, so I asked her what she’d done. She said, “Ozempic! It’s like magic!” When I asked her if the drug had any downsides, she said she was tired, but that’s all. Ozempic had completely erased her appetite. She made it all sound so easy. At the time, there was already lots of chatter about Ozempic in the media, but it mostly focused on Hollywood. My friend was the first real person in my life that I knew was on it. 

I soon visited my doctor and told him that Ozempic was working wonders for my friend. I left with a prescription that day. I spent $236 on my first one-milligram vial, which was supposed to last me a month. The price seemed cheap compared to what the drug cost in the U.S.: about US$900. I paid out of pocket. And I really, really wanted it to work.

I started on the lowest dose—0.25 milligrams—and, after two weeks, I upped my weekly dosage to 0.5 mg. That’s when the side effects really started. I was exhausted. It felt like someone had tied a piano to me and I had to drag it around. I was so depleted that I could barely move my body off the couch. I remember being at the supermarket, turning to my husband and saying, “I can’t do this. I don’t have the physical capability to push this cart around.” 

Exhaustion wasn’t my only symptom. I was terribly constipated and had to take Restoralax every day. Ozempic also made my existing reflux disorder so much worse. I didn’t vomit, but I was nauseous and horribly bloated all the time, always feeling like I’d just eaten a rock. I couldn’t wear any restrictive clothing because I was so swollen and sore. 

My body was supposed to adjust to Ozempic, but it didn’t. I felt like I was three months pregnant the whole time I was on it—and I still hadn’t lost any weight. Finally, I decided I’d suffered enough and stopped taking my doses. When I returned to my doctor, he said he’d seen so many Ozempic success stories that my symptoms couldn’t possibly have been caused by it. Great stuff, he’d say. A miracle drug

MACLEANS_TINA KNOWLAN OZEMPIC_BY 448ALANA PATTERSON

I know my doctor had my best interest in mind and wanted something to work for me. I wanted badly for it to work, too. A year after I went off Ozempic, I started to think that maybe I hadn’t given the drug a fair shake. I decided to try it again.

During my second round, I didn’t really notice any side effects until one night at dinner with my in-laws. I took a bite of my meal—a healthy, homemade, low-fat chili—and it turned me off so much that I just couldn’t put any more of it in my mouth. "I’m sorry, I hate to be rude, but I’ll just watch while the rest of you eat,” I said.

That might sound like the drug was working, but, in reality, it didn’t reduce my appetite across the board. Instead, it made me selectively crave all the wrong foods. I was supposed to eat protein, but beef and chicken were hard nos—even fish was disgusting to me. Healthy food was repulsive, but I could eat french fries all day. The higher my Ozempic dose, the more intense those cravings became. 

If I ever ate too much, I’d be sick. Once, when I ordered Chinese food, I only had a few pieces of sweet-and-sour pork, some noodles and a bit of wonton soup. Forty minutes later, it felt like I had food poisoning. I was on the toilet almost all night. The reflux was so bad, it was like I’d drank battery acid. My husband, meanwhile, had eaten way more than I did. He was just fine. 

I liked sweets in my pre-Ozempic life, but regulation usually wasn’t a problem. But every day on Ozempic, around 2 p.m., sugar cravings would overwhelm me. It wasn’t just that I wanted a sweet treat; I had a physical need for something sweet, like if I didn’t get one, I’d expire. I’d never had cravings that intense before, not even while pregnant. If I didn’t get the sugar, I’d just have to go to bed. 

I had all the signs and symptoms of hypoglycemia: exhaustion, confusion, blurry vision. I was taking double my amount of gastro medications trying to moderate my symptoms. I also stopped driving because it didn’t feel safe. At the time, I was looking for a job in sales, but I knew I was unemployable. I was stuck on the couch all day, just trying to stay awake. I couldn’t function, let alone work. Nobody can live the way I was and not be depressed. And through it all, was I losing weight? Not at all. Because I was so sedentary—and eating mostly starches and carbs—I actually started gaining weight. I couldn’t believe I was paying all that money to feel like garbage. 

Every time I had to take an injection, I’d sit there with the vial against my skin and waver back and forth: Should I just quit? Should I keep going? Would these side effects ever wear off? I thought that, if I could just get used to it and my body adjusted, maybe I’d feel better. Maybe Ozempic would finally work its wonders. My doctor kept saying it would, but it never did. After four months, enough was enough. I quit. Again. Five days after my first skipped dose, I felt so much better. Within three weeks, I was completely back to normal. 

Afterward, people would say to me, “You’re going to gain all the weight back!” To them, I’d say, “Oh, so you mean I’ll lose 20 pounds?” I can only hope so. Off the drug, I’m still working on that, but at least now, I have my life back. I feel motivated. I wake up with vigour; I swim and take long walks and ride my bike. I have energy to do things, rather than trying to just exist around Ozempic. 

As with any medication, each person’s experience may vary. It seems that for many, Ozempic will provide enough benefits to offset the side effects that may crop up. For me, it delivered nothing but complications. Ozempic is not for everyone. That’s true for me, unfortunately. But we need to hear those stories, too. 

—As told to Rosemary Counter