Concerns Rising Over GLP-1 Drug Overdoses
The increasing use of GLP-1 medications, like Ozempic and Zepbound, is leading to some alarming outcomes, including reports of overdoses among various groups, even children.
This week, Indiana’s WTHR shared a distressing story about Jessa Milender, a 7-year-old girl who suffered intense pain and relentless vomiting after mistakenly using her mother’s GLP-1 injection. Thankfully, she eventually recovered, but it required multiple hospitalizations along the way. Reports of such poisonings linked to these medications are on the rise, both in Indiana and across the country.
“She was so exhausted and in severe pain that she couldn’t walk,” Melissa Milender, Jessa’s mother, recounted. “She wouldn’t let anyone touch her stomach and would scream in pain even in her sleep. It was terrible.”
A Sad Error
GLP-1 medications, including semaglutide (found in Ozempic and Wegovy) and tirzepatide (in Zepbound and Mounjaro), have significantly improved the approach to treating obesity, offering more effective weight loss than traditional diet and exercise methods. Nonetheless, like any medication, they carry side effects, often affecting the gastrointestinal system. These effects can escalate if someone takes more than prescribed or if individuals who shouldn’t use them do. There have even been instances of individuals becoming ill from counterfeit medications mixed with unknown substances.
According to the medical records examined by WTHR, Jessa injected herself with her mother’s Mounjaro around December 16, 2024. Once Melissa realized what had happened, she reached out to the local poison control center, which warned her that Jessa could experience symptoms like abdominal pain and vomiting—though they didn’t fully prepare her for the severity of what followed.
Hours after the injection, Jessa began vomiting profusely, unable even to keep water down. She was admitted to a medical center on December 18, where treatment included IV fluids. After a brief homecoming, the vomiting resumed, escalating to 10 to 15 times daily, leading to a second hospital visit. Doctors feared her kidneys might fail, but after two more days in care, Jessa’s condition improved, and she was discharged by December 23.
Over a year has passed since the incident, and Jessa is reported to have fully recovered.
Rising Incidents
While cases like Jessa’s are somewhat uncommon, overall reports of GLP-1 overdoses are on the rise.
The Indiana Poison Center noted a doubling of poison control calls related to GLP-1 medications last year, increasing from 153 in 2024 to 320 in 2025. A national organization, America’s Poison Centers, showed a staggering nearly 1500% increase in calls about injectable weight loss drugs since 2019. From 2019 through 2025, about 23,000 calls linked to these medications were registered nationally.
Most cases involved individuals who inadvertently overdosed on their own prescriptions, but there were also instances of children consuming medications not intended for them. As GLP-1 therapy becomes more accessible and affordable, concerns over poisonings and overdoses are likely to grow.
Experts suggest that individuals should read their dosing instructions carefully, obtain medications from reliable sources, and securely store them out of children’s reach. This last piece of advice is something Melissa Milender has taken to heart; she now keeps her GLP-1 medication in a lockbox.
