The price of Ozempic is already sky-high — but experts warn extreme weight loss could also cost your life.
Dr. Terry Dubrow, the mastermind plastic surgeon behind the hit series “Botched,” is slamming the drastic methods an increasing number of patients are risking to achieve drastic weight loss following the autopsy results for Lisa Marie Presley.
The late daughter of Elvis Presley died in January at the age of 54. It was revealed this week that she lost her life due to a small bowel obstruction after bariatric surgery.
Dubrow, 64, is now urging experts in the weight loss community to raise awareness of the dangers of weight loss treatments, such as Ozempic and bariatric surgery. In an exclusive interview with TMZ, he warned it could result in a deadly situation — especially when the treatments are combined.
Bariatric surgery can create scar tissue that can strangulate the intestines, and the case of Lisa Marie was a prime example, according to Dr. Dubrow, who has a unique viewpoint into the Hollywood realm as the husband of actress and reality TV star Heather Dubrow, 54, of “Real Housewives of Orange County” fame.
Other long-term risks associated with the procedure include hernias, gallstones, malnutrition, low blood sugar, ulcers acid reflux and dumping syndrome, which can cause diarrhea, flushing, vomiting and lightheadedness.
Oftentimes, Dubrow claimed, patients don’t lose enough weight with bariatric surgery alone and will turn to weight loss drugs like Ozempic to shed more pounds.
However, the drug, popularized in the last year by A-listers, can further slow bowels.
It’s a perfect storm: The combination of bariatric scarring, slowed intestines from weight loss drugs and opioids to mask the pain can prove to be a fatal concoction.
While there is no current evidence that Lisa Marie was taking an Ozempic-like weight loss drug after her procedure, Dubrow warned patients of the risks.
“If you’re going to go on the Ozempic-type drugs and you get intestinal pain, you get stomach bloating, you get pain, you drink alcohol with this, you’re predisposed to intestinal obstruction and pancreatitis,” the Hollywood doc told the outlet.
Ozempic has also been linked to a myriad of unwanted or unsightly side effects, such as excessive and putrid belching, diarrhea and sagging skin. Most recently, patients reported that the Hollywood-hailed drug triggered suicidal thoughts.
Currently, three of Dubrow’s patients are hospitalized due to intestinal problems and pancreatitis linked with Ozempic use, he claimed — and they haven’t even gone under the knife yet.
“Nobody’s talking about this right now — but we need to talk about it,” he warned.
According to the LA County Coroner’s report released on Thursday, Lisa Marie had “therapeutic” levels of oxycodone in her system when she died, as well as Buprenorphine, an opioid used to treat addiction, and Quetiapine, an antipsychotic.
The autopsy noted that there was “no evidence of injury or foul play,” and that the “manner of death is deemed natural.”
It’s so sad, she was a drug addict for many years and had bowel problems just like her father!!! Her doctors must have overlooked something by giving her surgery knowing that she was a drug addict and at any time she could start taking drugs again!!! I believe they don’t want to tell us what really happened to her!!! Eventually it will come out!!!
We’ll find out about the same time we find who the coke found in the White House belongs to!
this is scary…..there are tons of people who go in and get that bariatric surgery to lose weight…also any kind of surgery that anyone has causes scar tissue…i had a hysterectomy and gall bladder removal and bowel lowering…endoscopies…part of my bowel was growing to my stomach because of the scar tissue…i had it taken care of….its been a long while…but one never knows…just be careful and pay attention to how you are feeling
The headline is so misleading. Apparently, Ozempic played no role in Lisa Marie Presley’s death but the headline definitely implies such. It appears the combination of bariatric surgery PLUS Ozempic is the real problem.
I am not stating that there are no risks associated with either bariatric surgery OR Ozempic but the title seems to be another slam on a medication that helps many with diabetes or pre-diabetes control their A1C levels thus mitigating more severe diabetes problems. The fact that some of these people experience weight loss is a benefit.
I do oppose prescribing Ozempic as a primary treatment for obesity but when used as it was initially intended it is a boon in the health management of many.