Awareness of the potentially dangerous side effects of Ozempic’s protagonist as a school teacher, aged 24, is harmed by the weight loss drug.

Doctors warn of a rare known fatal side effect associated with weight loss after treating a patient with liver problems.

The 24-year-old teacher had been taking a high dose of Mounjaro for weight loss, which works in the same way as Ozempic.

Seven months after she started using the drug, she developed severe vomiting, nausea and abdominal pain – prompting her to rush to the ER.

Tests showed the unnamed patient had horrific liver damage that would have killed him within days had it not been reversed.

The patient, who was obese and had a BMI of 34, had ‘alarming’ levels of liver enzymes, proteins that help to break down and toxins.

This was a sign that his organ was weak and he was admitted to the ICU where he was given plasma to remove toxins from his blood.

He was transferred to the transplant team because if it was not treated, he would have lost his ability to function completely, and a transplant would be his only chance of survival. .

Writing in the European Journal of Case Reports, the Kuwaiti doctors who treated him said Mounjaro was ‘the most likely cause.’

Last year, a 37-year-old patient from Seattle was treated for similar liver damage after taking the same drug. Doctors said his condition was ‘drug-induced liver injury.’

Experts do not know exactly what causes the unusual side effects, although they believe that high doses of the drug reduce liver fat.

If this happens too quickly, it can kill healthy cells, leading to injury.

Surprisingly, some studies have even shown that tirzepatide, the active ingredient of Mounjaro, can treat liver failure.

The patient in the case report, who had given birth to her first child last year, was taking a 12-milligram dose of Mounjaro after working up from a lower dose.

Dosages start at 2.5 milligrams and go up to a maximum of 15 milligrams.

When the patient first went to the ER in early July, his liver tests were normal, and he responded well to fluids and IV medication.

He was released but returned to the hospital two days later with the same symptoms, as well as low blood sugar.

Examinations when the woman was admitted showed that her pancreas and other organs were normal, but the liver appeared to be slightly enlarged.

He was found to be free of hepatitis, herpes and other viruses previously associated with inflammation of the liver.

Doctors diagnosed him with acute liver injury, or rapid liver failure due to damage or stress to the organ.

He was admitted to the intensive care unit and kept in the hospital for 10 days before his liver improved and he was stable enough to go home.

The patient, who was treated in Kuwait, was advised not to take Mounjaro. When he was released, his BMI dropped from 34 to 25.

Tirzepatide has not been shown to cause liver damage in clinical trials, and this is also not mentioned in its warning label.

But doctors say rapid weight loss can ‘overload’ the liver and cause inflammation – leading to injury.

During weight loss, fat is sent from other parts of the body to the liver where it is broken down into something that can be used by the cells.

But if too many are sent at once or too many are being sent over a long period of time, the member can become ‘overworked’—causing problems.

Severe liver damage has been reported after bariatric surgery – such as gastric bypass, which reduces the size of the stomach – which doctors also associate with rapid weight loss.

Writing in the paper, doctors at Adan Hospital in Kuwait said: ‘Ho [time] The association of tirzepatide with severe liver injury makes it a susceptible cause.’

They added: ‘This case emphasizes the need for further research and frequent monitoring of liver enzymes when using tirzepatide for weight loss.’