Elyse Ramsay will never forget the moment her mother called her at midnight to deliver the terrible news about her father, Tim. A farmer-turned-long-distance-truck-driver from South Australia, Tim was particularly proud of his daughter, his only child, for becoming a solicitor after humble beginnings on their family farm.
As her mum tried to explain what had happened, Elyse was numb with shock but the facts were clear: her 58-year-old dad had collapsed suddenly in the bathroom, and paramedics couldn’t revive him. The coroner put the official cause of death as ‘undetermined’, but both Elyse and her mother, Rita, believe that Saxenda, the ‘miracle’ weight-loss drug Tim had been taking for just 19 days, contributed to his death.
Just hours before he collapsed, Tim had been discharged from the hospital, complaining of severe stomach pains. Stomach pains are a well-known side effect of Saxenda, the sister drug of the wildly popular Ozempic, which is used to treat type 2 diabetes but has gained popularity for its off-label weight loss effect.
Tim wanted to lose weight in preparation for a surprise for Elyse at Christmas, and he was prescribed Saxenda by his GP. He started injecting it daily but began feeling unwell shortly after. As the days passed, nausea set in and intensified, leading to excruciating stomach pain.
On the night of November 27, 2022, Tim called Elyse around 2 AM for help. He was in agony and insisted on making light conversation, not wanting to worry her. Elyse rushed to pick him up, and they drove to the hospital, confident he would recover following his earlier discharge. Sadly, that confidence was shattered when Elyse received the call from her mother confirming Tim’s tragic death.
In July 2024, the South Australian coroner agreed to investigate the possible links between Saxenda and Tim’s death after protests from his family. Elyse carries the weight of her father’s loss, urging anyone considering weight-loss medications to reconsider, warning that these drugs were not designed for weight loss and could present life-threatening risks.
As more individuals seek out these drugs for weight loss without proper guidance, Elyse’s message resonates: using medications intended for diabetes treatment to satisfy societal pressures for thinness is not worth the risk to health or life.
Source: Daily Mail
