Woman will never eat solid food again after weight-loss drug caused horror bowel injury that nearly killed her – as ‘thousands’ suffer devastating side-effects from Ozempic and Mounjaro, bombshell lawsuit claims

The litany of grim medical conditions allegedly caused by Ozempic and similar weight loss drugs are laid bare in a landmark lawsuit that claims thousands of patients suffered life-threatening side effects.

Some users have become bedridden after taking the drugs, while others are in constant pain and may never consume solid food again.

A patient taking Mounjaro, Eli Lilly’s flagship diabetes and weight-loss drug, told DailyMail.com that she can no longer consume solid food and will likely receive nutrition and fluids through a tube directly into her small intestine for the rest of her life.

“It ruined my life,” said Meredith Hotchkiss, 56.

Conditions associated with Ozempic, Mounjaro and similar drugs include gastroparesis, intestinal obstruction and intestinal blockage. Lawyers claim the drugs have also caused “malnutrition, dehydration, neurological disorders and even death.”

Meredith Hotchkiss, 56, told DailyMail.com that her life has been ‘ruined’ by alleged side effects of weight loss drug Mounjaro. She said the drug caused stomach paralysis and she might never eat a hearty meal again

Hotchkiss, pictured with her husband James, gets most of her fluids and nutrition through an IV tube and another tube in her small intestine

Hotchkiss is one of nearly 100 patients who have joined the legal action against the drug manufacturers. Thousands more patients who also suffer extreme side effects are expected to join the legal action as it progresses, lawyers say.

Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, the Danish company that makes Ozempic and Wegovy, are accused of failing to warn patients and doctors about certain side effects caused by the drugs.

Both companies have said they will “vigorously defend against these claims” and deny the allegations in the lawsuits.

DailyMail.com revealed in January that patients across America have filed lawsuits against Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, including one woman who will suffer from diarrhea forever after taking Ozempic.

The cases have now been combined into a multidistrict litigation, similar to a class action lawsuit.

A new filing in the case lists the “most common types of injuries” and provides several examples of patients who have been hospitalized or left permanently ill.

Hotchkiss, a nurse from Meridian, Idaho, was diagnosed with gastroparesis — a condition also known as gastric paralysis — after taking Mounjaro and Trulicity, another Eli Lilly weight-loss drug, according to the filing.

She has not eaten a proper meal since February last year and is now dependent on intravenous feeding and a feeding tube in her small intestine as she can no longer consume solid food.

“I’m angry,” she told DailyMail.com. ‘If you look at the side effects, it says no gastroparesis.

“My doctor didn’t tell me gastroparesis. And you see [the companies] they’re just pushing these drugs, even Weight Watchers as a program, they’re pushing these drugs.

“It scares me that you don’t know the long-term effects and how people will react to it.”

Drugs such as Ozempic, produced by Novo Nordisk, contain semaglutide, which mimics a hormone in the brain that regulates appetite

Mounjaro, a diabetes and weight loss drug made by Eli Lilly, works in a similar way to Ozempic

Hotchkiss was prescribed Mounjaro from July 2022 to approximately June 2023. She was also briefly prescribed Trulicity from December 2022 to March 2023.

She has diabetes, but the condition is ‘well controlled’ and the medication was given off-label for weight loss.

‘My diabetes is so well controlled. But I thought if I could lose weight and get Mounjaro, I could try it because you see everyone doing it,” she said.

‘The doctor told me I could lose weight and that it works very well. He said I would be very sick for four weeks and that after four weeks I would feel a lot better.’

After four weeks of using Mounjaro, Hotchkiss was “bloated, not very hungry.” She briefly stopped taking the drug due to insurance issues, but restarted it in early 2023 and combined it with a “whole-food, plant-based diet.”

Meredith Hotchkiss, pictured with her husband, said the side effects of Mounjaro are devastating

Her condition rapidly deteriorated and she developed gastroparesis.

‘When I started again, I could only eat cottage cheese, or macaroni and cheese or yoghurt. Even though I was completely plant-based, I couldn’t tolerate anything,” she said.

‘In April I went to [a gastroenterologist]and he said I had terrible gastritis and duodenitis [inflammation in the small intestine] and everything was inflamed. He did a gastric emptying test and it showed that I had the most severe form of gastroparesis.’

Hotchkiss was fitted with a central line, a tube in a vein to deliver nutrition directly into the bloodstream, along with tubes to her stomach and small intestine.

She has also been hospitalized three times due to the ordeal, including with life-threatening sepsis.

Hotchkiss said she lost some weight after taking the drugs, but her weight has now stabilized because her body has gone into “starvation mode” and is “holding on to every calorie,” she said.

The side effects have changed her life and kept her from doing the things she loves. Doctors have also told her that she can no longer travel abroad due to her health problems.

‘I can’t swim, I can’t get into the water. I love swimming, I have a boat, I can’t get in the water at all. “I loved swimming in the ocean,” she said.

‘It affects me socially, because you go out with your friends and what do you do? You go out for dinner, or you go to barbecues… the whole holiday is all about food.

“The other thing I worry about is whether I’ll live long enough to pay off the house with my husband, because I worry about him.”

Dina Fioretti, 60, of Illinois, has sued Novo Nordisk over claims that Ozempic caused extreme vomiting, pain and a blocked intestine. The vomiting was so severe that she ruptured her esophagus

Zakareeya Gregory was hospitalized for four weeks and had her gallbladder removed due to complications allegedly caused by her use of Ozempic

Advocates say Hotchkiss’ ordeal is far from unique.

The recent court statements reference another patient, Delisa Jones, who “used Ozempic for a few months before experiencing severe vomiting and gastrointestinal burning, which led to gastroparesis.”

Jones “requires medication to relieve vomiting, and suffers from persistent, severe stomach pain that leaves her essentially bedridden.”

The filing also references Billie Farley, who DailyMail.com previously reported will “never have solid bowel movements again” due to complications allegedly caused by Ozempic.

Other patients have also told DailyMail.com about the horrific consequences.

Zakareeya Gregory, 46, of Walker Mill, Maryland, said she had her gallbladder removed after experiencing side effects allegedly caused by Ozempic, which she took for seven months until February 2020.

Dina Fioretti said Ozempic caused her to vomit so much that she suffered a ruptured esophagus and had to spend a week in the hospital.

The companies are accused of failing to properly label the side effects of the products and of trying to “downplay the severity of gastroparesis symptoms and omit that they may be a marker of potentially life-threatening digestive disorders.”

Eli Lilly said: ‘Patient safety is Lilly’s top priority and we are actively involved in monitoring, evaluating and reporting safety information for all of our medicines.

‘Our FDA-approved labels clearly warn that tirzepatide and dulaglutide may be associated with gastrointestinal side effects, which can sometimes be serious.

‘The labels further state that tirzepatide and dulaglutide have not been studied in patients with severe gastrointestinal disease, including severe gastroparesis, and are therefore not recommended in these patients.

‘These risks have been communicated to and are generally known to healthcare providers. We are vigorously defending ourselves against these claims.”

Novo Nordisk said: ‘Novo Nordisk believes that the allegations in these lawsuits are without merit, and we intend to vigorously defend against these claims.

“Patient safety is our top priority at Novo Nordisk, and we work closely with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to continuously monitor the safety profile of our medicines.

‘GLP-1 drugs have been used for over eighteen years to treat type 2 diabetes (T2D) and for eight years to treat obesity. This includes Novo Nordisk GLP-1 products such as semaglutide and liraglutide which have been on the market for more than 13 years.”

‘Semaglutide has been extensively researched in robust clinical development programs, large real-world studies and has a total of more than 9.5 million patient-years of clinical experience.

‘The known risks and benefits of semaglutide and liraglutide medications are described in the FDA-approved product labels.

‘Novo Nordisk stands behind the safety and efficacy of all of our GLP-1 medicines when used as indicated and when taken under the care of a licensed healthcare provider.’