Emmy Award-winning actor Mayim Bialik experienced weeks of severe side effects after a single low dose of a GLP-1 medication. Bialik, known for her roles in Blossom and The Big Bang Theory, wrote about the experience in an essay published by The Free Press.
"To say I had an adverse reaction would be somewhat of an understatement," she wrote.
Bialik is 48 and was diagnosed with Graves' disease, an autoimmune condition, at age 23. After perimenopause, she consulted multiple specialists about new symptoms she was experiencing, and each gave her a separate autoimmune diagnosis. Three separate doctors suggested she try a GLP-1 medication, not for the roughly 20 pounds she had gained during early menopause, but because of evidence that the drugs may help reduce inflammation associated with autoimmune conditions.
The side effects began after her first injection. In her essay, Bialik described "explosive, uncontrollable diarrhea. Sulfur burps so violent, they left me afraid to open my mouth in public. Sneezing attacks every time I tried to eat or drink — which apparently has a name: snatiation."
She also wrote: "Cramping. Bloating. Full-body aching, as though I had the flu."
The symptoms did not stop there. She also described "an inability to keep down even small sips of water without sprinting to the bathroom with yet more explosive diarrhea. More than three times, I didn't make it."
When Bialik consulted a gastroenterologist about her symptoms, that doctor told her that dramatic side effects from GLP-1 drugs can be quite common. The doctor also noted that the other medications Bialik was already taking may have made her reaction worse.
According to Healthline, gastrointestinal side effects from GLP-1 medications are not unusual. Jeffrey Lee, MD, a double board certified plastic surgeon and founder of JL Plastic Surgery in Boston, had previously told Healthline that "the most common side effects I see in practice are gastrointestinal, things like nausea, bloating, or constipation."
Despite her experience, Bialik made clear in her essay that her reaction should not overshadow the widespread success that millions of people have had with GLP-1 medications.