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'I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN'

GLP-1 Overdose Sends 54-Year-Old Woman to Hospital

“I asked the doctor if I could be put in a coma until it was over.”

Roosa RahkonenReporter, The Looker

PublishedJul 16, 2026, 4:50 PM EDT

UpdatedJul 16, 2026, 4:50 PM EDT

Updated Jul 16, 2026, 4:50 PM EDTPublished Jul 16, 2026, 4:50 PM EDT

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A 54-year-old woman says she ended up at the hospital after taking a popular weight loss drug.

Leslie Gammon from North Carolina got on GLP-1 medication during menopause with the goal of losing weight, but horrors soon followed.

“I wouldn’t stop throwing up, and it was like every 20 minutes,” Gammon told NBC’s Anne Thompson about her experience.

In October 2025, Gammon began using the telehealth company, Amble.

She said she was only in contact with her doctor through email, but received a vial of compounded GLP-1 drug and a syringe in the mail.

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Dr. Fatima Syed, an associate professor of medicine at Duke University and a medical weight management specialist at Duke Health in Durham, told NBC that compounded GLP-1 drugs are not reviewed by the FDA, unlike brand-name weight loss drugs such as Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro.

Yet these custom-made drugs are often prescribed by telehealth companies because of lower prices.

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Gammon, who had previously lost 18 pounds in four months with a GLP-1 prescribed through another telehealth company, noticed shortly that the new medication was not adequately suppressing her appetite.

After two weeks, Gammon emailed her provider, who sent her a new vial with instructions to increase her dosage from 8 units to 46 units.

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“That sort of scared me,” Gammon told NBC. “I contacted the doctor, and I said this seems to be a little bit more than what I’m supposed to be taking. And then the response I got back, I think a day later, was just follow the doctor’s directions.”

Because she was worried about the new amount prescribed, Gammon said she injected 30 units—16 units less than prescribed.

Gammon felt the effect on her body in two hours. She began throwing up and could not stop for days.

“I was hurting, I mean, it hurt. I couldn’t talk, like, nearly a week after, my ribs felt like they were being beaten up,” she said.

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After visiting the emergency room, Gammon spent three days in the hospital.

“I asked the doctor if I could be put in a coma until it was over,” she told the outlet, further recalling that the doctors told her boyfriend that Gammon had suffered a GLP-1 overdose.

Gammon said she later heard from a nurse that the 46-unit prescription was almost five times the amount she should have been taking.

Although the worst symptoms began to ease, Gammon was unable to keep solid food down for the next month.

NBC asked Gammon about who she thought was responsible for the GLP-1 overdose.

“I think the doctor,” she said. “I think it was a mistake. They’re human, they make mistakes. But myself, too, as well. I should have educated myself more.”

She added, “I’m not dumb. I mean, I have a college degree. I should have known.”

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Gammon said she contacted Amble about her hefty $9,000 hospital bill, but the company has yet to respond. She has since stopped using GLP-1 drugs.

GLP-1 overdoses are a growing phenomenon.

The symptoms might be similar to well-known side effects of GLP-1s, such as vomiting and diarrhea, and can lead to issues such as serious dehydration.

The Looker reached out to Amble for comment but did not immediately hear back.

Roosa RahkonenReporter, The Looker

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