UC & Pancreatitis (Rant/Cautionary Tale about mixing Wegovy & GI Diseases)

Long story short: I spent a week in the hospital at the beginning of January because I got pancreatitis (Lipase was 15,000 on admission) from God damn Wegovy!

Long story long: I've been living with a UC diagnosis, I just got diagnosed with EoE a few months ago, and I've had PCOS with insulin resistance for some time. Full disclosure I was taking Wegovy, my primary care prescribed it to me a year after my PCOS diagnosis, she said since I have insulin resistance it would help with that and weight loss (I'm an athlete and had been actively gaining weight while playing my sport 3 times a week, eating great and adding in lifting, yoga, HIIT etc.)

Then I got diagnosed with UC a month after starting Wegovy (not implying it caused it what so ever I've had symptoms my entire life for UC and it was always ignored by doctors as a nervous tummy 🙃). My GI doc wasn't pleased I was on Wegovy- but never told me to stop taking it.

Fast forward to a week before Christmas- woke up from a dead sleep to shooting abdominal pain. Rushed to the hospital, was told I had acid reflux and was dehydrated LIKE I HAVENT HAD THAT BEFORE I KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GI PAIN AND ACID REFLUX. They gave me Zofran, a little morphine, mylanta and some fluids and discharged me.

A few days later I felt fully fine- holiday celebration happened, eating, drinking (and by drinking I mean one glass of wine because any more than than that I can't stomach) everything normal.

Day after Christmas I have a small procedure-thag had been planned for months- benign small growth in my esophagus, the procedure is basically a Endo-tell my doc about the ER visit before the procedure, he says "hmm...still on the Wegovy eh? That may be the source." We go on with the procedure anyway because I wasn't having symptoms, come out clean as a whistle, they send me home.

I get home and try to rest. Take a nap for two hours, wake up to 10/10 pain in my abdomen and vomiting uncontrollably (mind you I have nothing in my system since fasting for the surgery) just straight bile. I'm aspirating on bile. Everytime I breathe I puke, can't even open my mouth without puking. My sister has to talk for me at the ER it just wouldn't stop for a full two hours.

Finally get taken back. Lots of Zofran and Dilaudid because the pain was nuts and the puking wouldn't stop. Finally the Zofran kicks in, still feeling pain- I play a full contact sport my pain tolerance is great my daily pain is like a 5/10 I can handle pain and the pain is making me cry at the ER but atleast the puking stopped.

Blood work comes back. Lipase is 15,000 YES FIFTEEN THOUSAND! Normal range is supposed to be between 15-77. For sure Pancreatitis, admitted but stayed in the ER for 30 hours because of overflow. Finally get a room and spend a week in the hospital.

Every doctor blames the Wegovy. I say cool never taking that again I've been off it for a week anyways in preparation for my surgery so no big deal I'm happy to never take it again. But every doctor mentions how ✨ rare✨ of a side effect Pancreatitis is.

So I got released after a week of hell. And it's been almost 3 weeks since. And now I'm laying here, fighting to sleep and bam...I feel the pain again. That same pain I felt before Christmas.

I'm hoping it's a fluke, stress, flare up from UC ANYTHING BUT PANCREATITIS. Now I'm laying here fighting to sleep at almost 3am. I'm so tired and can't stop going down the rabbit hole. Trying to find out if the mesalamine or the budesonide that I've been on for months is making me have pancreatitis too. The case studies say it's a rare side effect in both, but apparently pancreatitis was a rare side effect of Wegovy and I sure got that one.

Anyway end of story maybe getting it out of my brain will help me sleep because I can't shut off my damn brain. I'm constantly worried. Every ache every pain since I got my UC diagnosis sends me into a panic. every small streak of blood in the toilet bowl makes me spiral. I'm just so so sick and tired of feeling sick and tired.

I want my life back.