Almost nine in 10 patients on blockbuster weight loss drugs are quitting them early, a new analysis shows.

Researchers analyzed more than 3,000 US pharmacy claims from patients prescribed injections like Ozempic and Wegovy. 

They found that just one in four patients who were taking the drugs for weight loss and not diabetes, stayed on Ozempic for at least two years. 

And just one in 15 stuck with less popular medications which work the same way, such as Saxenda and Victoza.

The findings come as weight loss drugmakers face as many as 10,000 lawsuits due to severe side effects like stomach paralysis, tears in patients' food pipes, blindness, and suicidal thoughts. 

The findings are also significant because previous research shows that when patients come off the drugs, as many as 80 percent fput the pounds back on. 

The researchers cautioned that it's unclear why the patients came off the drugs, though they suspect it could be due to side effects like nausea and stomach paralysis, as well as shortages and lack of insurance availability. 

Novo Nordisk, the maker of Ozempic, said that it 'does not believe these data are sufficient to draw conclusions about overall patient adherence and persistence to various GLP-1 medicines, including our treatments.'

Reports of unpleasant side effects have become more prevalent, with patients citing that they have suffered organ failure, suicidal thoughts, and had the fun sapped out of their lives. 

The analysis, from pharmacy benefits manager Prime Therapeutics and Magellan Rx Management, reviewed pharmacy and medical claims for 3,364 patients with insurance that covers weight loss medications. 

It is one of the first long term studies on the use of the drugs, which have only recently come on to the scene as treatments for diabetes and weight loss.  

All patients had received new prescriptions between January and December 2021 an were either diagnosed as obese or had a BMI over 30. 

The participants were prescribed one of the following medications: Ozempic, Wegovy, Trulicity, Rybelsus, Saxenda, or Victoza. 

Ozempic, Wegovy, and Rybelsus contain the active ingredient semaglutide.

This mimics the hormone GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) which slows the movement of food through the digestive system, signalling to the body that it's full.

Ozempic and Wegovy come in the form of weekly injections, while Rybelsis is available in tablets.  

Liraglutide, which works similarly, is the active ingredient in Saxenda and Victoza, while Trulicity uses GLP-1 agonist dulaglutide.

The average participant age was 46.5, and 81 percent were female. Patients with type 2 diabetes, for which the drugs were originally made, were excluded from the research. 

The team found that, for all of the drugs, only about 15 percent of patients still took them two years later. 

Additionally, 24.1 percent of Wegovy patients kept taking the drugs, along with 22.2 percent of those on Ozempic. 

For Trulicity, 13.8 percent of participants persisted, along with 10.4 percent of those on Rybelsus. And just seven percent of patients stayed on Saxenda and Victoza.

According to a 2024 Pew Research report, 8.2million precriptions were written for semaglutide medications in 2021, four times more than in 2019. Now, it's estimated that 15.5million Americans have taken a weight loss drug at some point.  

The reserach team noted that one in four patients switched drugs at some point during treatment, which they said could be due to shortages or changes in insurance coverage. 

They also suggested that patients could have stopped due to side effects, as well as shortages and a lack of continued insurance coverage. 

The findings come as drugmakers like Ozempic's Novo Nordisk and Wegovy's Eli Lilly face allegations of several severe side effects. 

Meredith Hotchkiss, 56, of Idaho, joined nearly 100 patients in a lawsuit against Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk after she was diagnosed with gastroparesis.

Ms Hotchkiss had been taking Mounjaro and Trulicity, another Eli Lilly injection for type 2 diabetes. She was prescribed Mounjaro from July 2022 until around June 2023. She was also briefly prescribed Trulicity from December 2022 to March 2023.

Though she has diabetes, her condition is 'well-controlled,' so she was given the drugs off-label for weight loss. 'I thought if I could lose weight and get Mounjaro, then I could try because everybody you see everybody's doing it,' she previously told DailyMail.com. 

'The doctor told me that I could lose weight and that it works really well. He said that I would get really sick for four weeks and then after four weeks I'd feel a lot better.' 

Within weeks of starting the medications, her condition deteriorated and she couldn't stomach anything other than cottage cheese, mac and cheese, and yogurt. 

Doctors have also told her she can no longer travel overseas because of her health conditions, and she said she now fears she may never eat a solid meal again. 

And Dina Fioretti, 60, from Illinois, told DailyMail.com that she is suing Novo Norisk after Ozempic allegedly caused her to vomit so much that she tore a hole through her esophagus.