The growing popularity of GLP-1 drugs such as Ozempic and Zepbound has some unfortunate consequences. In other words, some people, including children, overdose on drugs.

This week, Indiana news outlet WTHR reported in the frightening case of Jessa Milender, a 7-year-old girl who experienced severe pain and frequent vomiting after receiving her mother’s GLP-1 injection. The woman eventually recovered, though not without repeated hospitalizations. Similar reports of poisonings tied to GLP-1s have skyrocketed in the state and across the country recently.

“She can’t walk because she’s so tired and in so much pain,” Melissa Milender, Jessa’s mother, told WTHR. “He won’t even let them touch his stomach. He screams in pain in his sleep. It’s horrible.”

A terrible mistake

GLP-1 drugs such as semaglutide (Ozempic and Wegovy) and tirzepatide (Zepbound and Mounjaro) have changed the treatment of obesity for the better, allowing people to lose more weight on average than they would with diet and exercise alone. But like any drug, GLP-1 drugs have side effects, mostly gastrointestinal. These side effects can be worse if people take more of the drug than prescribed or if people who shouldn’t take it end up doing so. There are even cases of people getting sick FAKE drugs with other drugs.

According to medical records seen by WTHR, Jessa injected her mother with Mounjaro in her stomach around December 16, 2024. Melissa soon noticed what was happening and called her local poison control center. The center advised her that Jessa would likely experience symptoms such as vomiting and abdominal pain. However, the warning hardly prepared the family for what happened next.

Jessa started vomiting profusely hours after the injection, to the point where she couldn’t hold down a glass of water. He was admitted to a local medical center on December 18, where he was given medication and an IV. He came home the next day and seemed fine that night. But soon, the vomiting returned—10 to 15 times a day, her parents reported. He was returned to the hospital, and doctors feared his kidneys were at risk of shutting down, according to medical records. Fortunately, despite two more days in the hospital, Jessa’s symptoms eventually subsided, and she was discharged on December 23.

More than a year later, Jessa has fully recovered from her ordeal, her family said.

A growing trend

Serious cases like Jessa’s are rare, but reports of GLP-1 overdoses are overall increase.

The Indiana Poison Center told WTHR that poison control calls linked to GLP-1 doubled last year, from 153 calls in 2024 to 320 calls in 2025. The national organization, America’s Poison Centers, also has reported a dramatic spike, with a nearly 1500% increase in calls related to injectable weight loss drugs since 2019. Between 2019 and 2025, there will be nearly 23,000 calls made to poison centers nationwide.

Most of these reports concern people who accidentally overdosed on their prescription medication, but some involve children who took medications that weren’t meant for them. And with GLP-1 therapy just looking to be easier, cheaper, and easier over time, the risk of poisoning and overdose tends to increase with it.

Experts recommend that people read their dosage instructions carefully, buy their medications from trusted sources, and keep their supply safe from children who are curious enough to try it themselves.

That last tip is a lesson Melissa Milender knows firsthand. He now keeps his GLP-1 medication in a lockbox.