‘Ozempic Finger’: Latest Weight Loss Effect From New Diet Drug Has People Resizing Jewelry

People using Ozempic and related weight-loss medications are experiencing an unusual side effect. Along with altering their clothing sizes, the drug also results in weight loss around their wrists and fingers.

This issue has driven many users to visit a jeweler to adjust rings and bracelets. Despite summer usually being a slower time for jewelers, they are seeing women downsizing at more than double last year's rate, the New York Post reported.

"I never realized weight loss also happened in your hands, but my ring suddenly didn't fit," one woman told the Post. "I was worried I would lose it."

In cases where some jewelry, like certain bangles, can't be resized, customers have resorted to adding $125 stretch bracelets to their collection, preventing the bangles from falling off their wrists, according to the Post.

Ozempic, initially approved by the FDA in 2017 for diabetes treatment, is now a common "off-label" choice for doctors treating weight loss, meaning it can be prescribed to those without diabetes. Wegovy, another popular choice, has the same active ingredient as Ozempic and was approved for weight loss in 2021.

These injectable drugs, part of a relatively new class, can help people lose up to 20% of their body weight, equating to 60 pounds for someone weighing 300, USAToday states. Only surgery could produce such results in the past.

However, as many insurers do not cover weight loss medications, some patients have to pay up to $1,300 a month. Despite its popularity with celebrities and social media influencers, Ozempic remains inaccessible for most of the nearly 74% of Americans who are overweight or obese and could benefit from the drug, doctors say.

Those lucky enough to obtain Ozempic, despite intermittent shortages, report a variety of unpleasant physical side effects, including "Ozempic face," where rapid weight loss leads to a "droopy" and "hollowed-out" appearance. Users also report sagging skin and "deflated" buttocks.

Moreover, stopping the medicine can cause blood sugar levels to rise and weight to return, according to the New York Times. One study found that patients who stopped taking Ozempic and Wegovy had gained back two-thirds of their weight within the next year.