In a tearful confession, singer Avery shared a harrowing revelation that left her and her fans in shock. After using the popular weight-loss drug Ozempic for a year, the 30-year-old artist from Phoenix, Arizona, was diagnosed with osteoporosis—a bone-thinning disease that significantly increases the risk of fractures.
Avery’s story has become a cautionary tale about the potential dangers of misusing weight-loss medications, particularly for those who do not meet medical guidelines for their use. Her emotional testimony has sparked urgent conversations about the off-label use of Ozempic, the risks of extreme weight loss, and the impact these drugs can have on long-term health.
For many artists in the music and film industries, body image expectations are unforgiving. In a heart-wrenching admission, Avery revealed that she turned to Ozempic after being dropped by her record label for being ‘too fat’. The pressure to conform to industry beauty standards led her to believe that drastic weight loss was the only way to remain relevant and successful.
“I thought I needed Ozempic to be beautiful and successful,” she confessed.
But what she didn’t anticipate was the toll it would take on her health. After discontinuing the drug two months ago, a routine medical check-up delivered devastating news—she had lost significant bone density, leaving her bones fragile and weak.
Ozempic, a GLP-1 receptor agonist, was originally developed to help patients with Type 2 diabetes regulate blood sugar. However, its ability to induce rapid weight loss has led to its widespread, and sometimes reckless, use by those seeking to shed pounds quickly.
While the medication has been linked to numerous health benefits—including a reduced risk of heart disease, kidney disease, and even Alzheimer’s—some unintended consequences are emerging. One recent JAMA Network Open study found that patients using GLP-1 drugs had reduced bone mineral density in the hips and spine, a risk factor for osteoporosis.
Avery’s case highlights the dark side of extreme weight loss, especially when done without medical supervision. Rapid weight loss can lead to nutritional deficiencies, hormonal imbalances, and weakened bones—a reality Avery is now facing.
Taking to Instagram, where she has 250,000 followers, Avery urged others not to fall into the same trap.
“I just want to be an example of why you need to be careful. Ozempic can cause bone density loss, and I didn’t think that would happen to me. But I have osteoporosis and osteopenia. That’s what happens when you use Ozempic for weight loss and lose too much weight,” she said.
She also admitted that she never obtained Ozempic through a doctor and that its availability has made it dangerously easy for people with eating disorders to access.
“It is very easy to get nowadays, and many people with eating disorders are getting their hands on it. I made a mistake. I take responsibility for my actions.”
Medical experts have long warned that sudden and excessive weight loss can have severe consequences for bone health. This occurs due to several factors:
For young women, in particular, this can accelerate osteoporosis—a condition typically associated with older adults.
Under NHS guidelines and FDA recommendations, Ozempic should only be prescribed to individuals who:
- Have Type 2 diabetes and require blood sugar control.
- Have a BMI over 30 (classified as obese).
- Have a BMI between 27-29.9 and a weight-related medical condition, such as high blood pressure.
Despite these restrictions, many people without these conditions are obtaining and using Ozempic purely for cosmetic weight loss, often without understanding the risks.
Following her diagnosis, Avery has been placed on medication and a strict treatment plan to help rebuild her bone density. However, osteoporosis is not always reversible, and damage done at a young age can have long-term consequences.
Her case underscores the importance of regular medical monitoring when taking weight-loss medications and highlights why these drugs should never be used without professional guidance.
Avery’s story is a powerful reminder that quick fixes can come with lasting damage. While weight loss can have benefits for those who truly need it, taking drastic measures without considering long-term health consequences can be dangerous.
To those considering Ozempic for weight loss, Avery has one simple message:
“Please, be careful. Learn from my mistake.”
Her experience serves as a crucial warning about the real dangers of using powerful medications for the wrong reasons—a risk many might not realize until it’s too late.
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Schizophrenia (SCZ), bipolar disorder (BD) and major depressive disorder may share the same genetic roots, a Nature study shows.
While experts have long classified each of these mental disorders as individual illnesses with their own causes, researchers from across China have discovered that these three diseases share about 70 percent common genetic and environmental risk factors.
Schizophrenia is a severe, chronic brain disorder that can lead psychosis, hallucinations, delusions, disorganized thinking and reduced emotional expression. It can affect how a person's thinks, feels and behaves, making it hard to distinguish reality.
While bipolar disorder is a chronic mental illness which causes extreme mood swings, from emotional highs (mania/hypomania) to lows (depression), affecting the brain's energy, activity and focus levels.
On the other hand, major depressive disorder or clinical depression, is a serious mood disorder that causes persistent sadness and loss of interest in a person. It can affect feelings, thoughts and daily activities and can be identified by symptoms such as low energy, sleep/appetite changes, guilt, concentration issues and thoughts of death.
Using advanced techniques, they identified 238 genetic variants that raise risk across multiple disorders and showed that five major genetic patterns explain most of the differences between people with and without mental illness.
Read More: Study Shows Depression Can Accelerate The Onset Of Chronic Illnesses
Based on these genetic patterns, the disorders clustered into five broad groups: internalizing conditions such as depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder; neurodevelopmental conditions including autism and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder; substance use disorders; compulsive conditions such as obsessive-compulsive disorder and anorexia and lastly, a fifth group that included bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.
The findings explain why many individuals are diagnosed with more than one mental health condition as many genes affect multiple brain pathways. This indicates that the same genetic changes can lead to different disorders depending on other biological and environmental factors.
Even though medications such as antidepressants are useful in treating multiple mental illnesses including depression, anxiety and PTSD, the researchers concluded that more research is needed to understand the biology behind the genetic factors to understand the links between the disease.
One of the study’s authors compared the current system to diagnosing a patient with separate illnesses for a cough, sore throat and runny nose instead of recognizing a single underlying infection.
Nearly one in eight people globally, around 970 million individuals, were living with a mental disorder in 2021, with anxiety and depression being the most common globally.
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Amazon has confirmed that 10 employees at its Coventry, UK warehouse have tested positive for tuberculosis (TB) as calls for site shutdown continue to grow.
Cases emerged at the hub, which has about 3,000 employees, in September 2025 and were found to be non-contagious. However, the retail giant acknowledged the breakout on January 16.
Officials from Amazon noted: "In line with best practice safety procedures, we immediately followed guidance from the NHS and UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and made all potentially affected employees aware of the situation. Out of an abundance of caution, we are currently running an expanded screening program with the NHS.
"We will continue to follow guidance from the experts in the NHS, and would respectfully remind public organizations of the need for responsible communications where matters of public wellbeing are concerned."
A spokesperson also assured that no new cases have been recorded in the area and a "screening program" being carried out amid "an abundance of caution" in collaboration with NHS and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).
Since being diagnosed with TB, the unidentified patients have been receiving treatment from the UKHSA in West Midlands. Dr Roger Gajraj, consultant in health protection with UKHSA West Midlands also revealed that tests are being offered to those who may have had close contact with the patients and assured the overall risk remains low.
He told the BBC: "The small number of individuals affected by tuberculosis (TB) are responding well to treatment and are no longer infectious, so pose no onward risk.
"As a precaution, and in line with national guidance, we are offering testing to those who may have had closer contact with the affected individuals. The overall risk remains low. TB is fully treatable with antibiotics. We continue to work closely with Amazon to monitor the situation."
Read More: WHO’s Latest TB Guidelines Highlight Nutrition as Key to Treatment
Common signs and symptoms of TB include unexplained weight loss, loss of appetite, chills and fever, fatigue, getting night sweats, weakness or fatigue. Symptoms of TB disease in the lungs may include coughing up blood or sputum, a cough lasting for more than 3 weeks and chest pain.
TB is typically diagnosed through the Mantoux Tuberculin Skin Test(TST). Here, a small amount of tuberculin is injected into the skin of the forearm and is monitored for a reaction 48 to 72 hours after the injection. A positive skin test result indicates the presence of TB and there is a need for additional tests to determine to determine if it is active or latent.
If positive, blood tests are done to determine or rule out if the patient has active or latent TB. There are two blood tests approved by the Food and Drug Administration for TB- T-SPOT TB test(T-spot) and the QuantiFERON-TB Gold-In-Tube test(QFT-GIT). Doctors may also prescribe a chest X-ray or CT scan after a positive skin test.
Despite being preventable through vaccine and and curable through antibiotics, TB remains a leading infectious killer and causes over a million deaths annually worldwide, with millions falling ill each year.
In 2024, about 10.7 million people were diagnosed with TB out of which 1.23 million died from the disease.
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The Tamil Nadu government has prohibited the manufacture, sale, distribution, and use of the cough syrup Almond Kit after laboratory testing confirmed it contained the highly toxic chemical ethylene glycol, according to a press release issued by the state’s drug control authority. Officials said the syrup, which is produced in Bihar, was found to be contaminated with ethylene glycol, a substance known to trigger serious and, in some cases, fatal health problems. But what exactly is ethylene glycol poisoning, and what health conditions can it cause?
The Tamil Nadu government has imposed a complete ban on the manufacture, sale, distribution, and consumption of the cough syrup Almond Kit after laboratory tests detected the presence of ethylene glycol, a highly dangerous chemical, the state drug control department said in a press statement. Citing news agency IANS, officials confirmed that the syrup is manufactured in Bihar and was found to be contaminated with ethylene glycol, a compound associated with severe and sometimes life-threatening health complications.
Ethylene glycol is a colourless, odourless liquid with a sweet taste, most commonly used in antifreeze. It may be consumed accidentally or intentionally, including in cases of self-harm. Once inside the body, ethylene glycol breaks down into glycolic acid and oxalic acid, which are responsible for most of its toxic effects.
According to Medline Plus, early symptoms of ethylene glycol poisoning include a feeling of intoxication, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. As the poisoning progresses, symptoms can worsen and may include reduced consciousness, headaches, and seizures.
As per the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), exposure to ethylene glycol can result in severe and potentially fatal health conditions, particularly when ingested through contaminated medicines.
One of the most serious effects is acute kidney failure, which can develop rapidly and may cause the kidneys to shut down within a few days if treatment is delayed. Ethylene glycol can also harm the brain and nervous system, leading to confusion, poor coordination, seizures, and even coma.
The toxin can cause severe metabolic acidosis, a condition in which the blood becomes dangerously acidic, interfering with normal heart function and breathing.
In certain cases, ethylene glycol exposure can also lead to lung-related complications, including fluid accumulation in the lungs that makes breathing difficult.
Without prompt medical intervention, ethylene glycol poisoning can be fatal, especially in children and individuals with existing kidney or liver disease. This is why its detection in any oral medication is treated as a serious public health concern.
According to IANS, consumers have been advised to check for batch number AL24002 and strictly avoid using the syrup. People who already have the product have been asked to contact authorities for instructions on safe disposal. The Directorate has also stepped up inspections and monitoring across pharmacies and hospitals in Tamil Nadu to ensure the contaminated cough syrup is fully removed from circulation.
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