One of the biggest recent allies for weight loss, Ozempic, has been causing a series of side effects in its users, including hair loss. Type 2 diabetes user Claudia Oshrya, author of the book The Girl With No Job, reported that she suffered a lot of hair loss while taking the drug.
“[The hair] didn’t get thinner, but it started to fall out — which is literally worse,” the writer shared on her Instagram stories, responding to a follower’s question.
Other Ozempic users have also taken to social media to share their problems with the drug.
“I took Ozempic and almost lost all my hair. Nothing to that. It’s been a real nightmare,” one person posted on Reddit in a thread about the drug.
Another user said that she lost “15 kilos in 4 months”, but that “it wasn’t worth it”, as she lost 300 to 500 strands of hair per day during use.
Hair loss is not listed as a side effect by the manufacturers of diabetes drugs, which are commonly used for weight loss, however it has caused concern in doctors, who have reported a growth in side effects linked to the use of the drug to get rid of a few pounds – the problem has also been noticed by hairdressers, as published by The New York Post.
“There are many reports of people experiencing hair loss while taking medications like Ozempic,” hair loss dermatologist Christina Han told The Post.
The dermatologist stated that the drug may not be directly related to the problem, however, sudden weight loss can “lead to a disruption in the natural growth cycle of hair follicles.”
In this “telogen phase of the growth cycle . . . The follicles are not actively growing and more hair strands are pushed into the shedding phase,” she added.
The most common side effects of weight loss injections are nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and constipation.
