Rhonda Fleming, 54, of Elk Grove Village, went nearly three weeks without the diabetes medication she relies on. She had been searching for Ozempic since late December and had missed two weekly shots before her insurer finally sent three months of the drug by overnight delivery from a mail-in pharmacy.
Fleming has Type 2 diabetes, and she said that without the injection even a midmorning apple sent her blood sugar climbing. "Everything that I see that I want to eat for breakfast, lunch or dinner, I have to make a conscious decision," she said before the package arrived. "It's extremely frustrating."
The Food and Drug Administration approved semaglutide, sold as Ozempic, for Type 2 diabetes in 2017. Its maker, Novo Nordisk, later developed a weight-loss product with a higher dose of semaglutide and sold it as Wegovy. When demand for Wegovy surged, doctors began writing more off-label prescriptions of Ozempic for weight loss.
Dr. Susan Hudec of Edward-Elmhurst Medical Group, who specializes in endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism, said shortage notices reach her constantly. "I would say I get a message about an Ozempic shortage almost every day, and usually it's more than one," she said. She added that the shortfall is creating a "ripple effect" on supplies of other diabetes drugs.
Her clinic has had to improvise. Staff call pharmacies, and when a pharmacy has only one dose in stock, patients are moved to that dose for a short period to keep them on the medication. Some patients phone multiple pharmacies themselves, and clinic employees check in with some smaller pharmacies each morning. An alternative injection exists, Hudec said, but it must be given daily and is not quite as effective. The clinic also has emergency approval to give out samples of Ozempic during the shortage.
Leaving diabetes uncontrolled carries risks. Hudec said the kidneys are the biggest concern with short-term high blood sugar, while over the long term the heart, eyes and vascular flow can be affected.
Public attention to the drug as a weight-loss aid has grown. TikTok videos on the topic have drawn millions of views, and a Variety headline called it Hollywood's "new weight-loss drug." Fleming said the publicity makes her angry. "I wish diabetes wasn't a part of my life where I needed to give myself an injection every single week. But I have no choice," she said, adding that she should be able to get her medication ahead of someone who wants it for weight loss when other options exist for them.
A Novo Nordisk spokeswoman said one- and two-milligram doses are now available across the United States for people with Type 2 diabetes. She said the company is seeing intermittent supply disruptions for the Ozempic pen that delivers 0.25 mg and 0.5 mg doses, citing "incredible demand coupled with overall global supply constraints." The company expects those disruptions to continue through January.
Hudec said more doses have been available this month than in December. Doctors have been asked to hold off on prescribing the drug for weight loss. Because diabetics should get priority, she said, they have asked for a halt until the supply chain problems improve.
Semaglutide slows digestion, leaving people feeling fuller longer, Hudec said. In diabetics, it helps the pancreas make insulin "only when you need it." Fleming began taking it after an allergic reaction to another medication. During the gap, she said, her blood sugar swung between highs and lows, rising to 260 after the apple before a two-mile walk brought it down to 92. When the delivery truck arrived with her medication, she said she felt "so relieved."
