Ozempic’s most bizarre side effect yet as weight loss scams ‘fuel risky, impulsive sex and gambling’

WE’VE HEARD how weight loss injections can leave weight-loss people with some unwanted physical changes, such as a saggy bum and a sagging chin.

But scientists have warned that the breakthrough injections could bizarrely affect people’s behavior, leading them to act recklessly and engage in risky sex or gambling.

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Slim jabs like Wegovy and Mounjaro – as well as the diabetes medicine Ozempic – work by mimicking a hormone naturally produced by the gut when you eat food, to slow digestion, reduce hunger and lose body weight.

But according to London-based researchers, vaccines can interfere with normal decision-making and cause some users to act “out of the ordinary,” leading to risky sexual adventures, compulsive gambling or even hasty divorce filings.

They believe the vaccines may be linked to a change in levels of dopamine – a brain chemical involved in feelings of pleasure and reward – which could be behind these strange behavioral side effects.

A report, published in the Quarterly Journal of Medicine, suggested that weight loss is causing patients to show signs of impulse control disorder (ICD), a group of behavioral conditions that make it difficult to control your actions or reactions.

Its authors – Professor Raymond Playford, of the University of West London, and Professor Martin Deahl, of the Institute of Psychiatry – said patients should be warned about these bizarre side effects and cautioned against making hasty decisions that change life.

Prof Playford, an expert in molecular medicine, said Online Mail: “We have some patients who suddenly file for divorce or separate from what appeared to be stable relationships and change their domestic situation, such as moving house on short notice.

“To date we have not seen excessive gambling or sexual activity in patients, but we would not be surprised if this were happening.”

Speaking with The mirrorthe expert said: “Reckless decision-making due to impulsivity can have serious life-changing repercussions for the patient and their families, which in the worst cases can result in bankruptcy, change in sexual relationships and divorce.”

He noted that CDI is considered a side effect of medications to treat Parkinson’s disease, such as Levodopa and Capergoline, as they can affect dopamine levels in the brain.

But none of these warnings are included in patient information leaflets about weight loss vaccines, also known as so-called glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RA).

Parkinson’s in the UK notes that Levodopa may cause impulsive or compulsive behaviors in some users, including “gambling, becoming a ‘shopaholic,’ compulsive eating, or focusing on sexual feelings and thoughts.”

As for Capergoline, the SNS alert that “a strong desire to gamble or a greatly increased sexual desire” may be rare side effects of the drug.

The study authors now want doctors to warn patients taking GLP-1 medications about the possibility of engaging in rash, impulsive behavior.

Professor Playford said Online Mail: “We advise that doctors also warn patients to be aware of impulses that are ‘out of character’ or unusual, have personal costs or repercussions – for example, divorce – and to ‘step back’ and consider whether this it is a sensible decision.

“It can also be helpful if they share the fact that they are starting [drugs such as Ozempic] with a loved one or close friend so they can give you a heads up if they see anything unusual.

“This alert should allow patients and doctors to reflect and consider whether the decisions that some patients have made are inappropriate and riskier than would be expected.

“If they’re not aware that it’s a possibility, then they don’t make the association.”

As the popularity of weight-loss vaccines has increased, so have reports of the drugs’ bizarre side effects.

People claimed that the rapid weight loss fueled by the drugs left them with sagging skin around their faces and butts, while some women paradoxically claimed that it made their breasts larger.

Meanwhile, anecdotal evidence suggests that weight-loss vaccines may be leading to a baby boom, as some women using them have reported becoming unexpectedly pregnant.