Jennifer Fessler revealed she was hospitalized after taking semaglutide, the active ingredient in medications like Ozempic. After sharing what happened, she addressed the drug’s possible “side effects.”
The Real Housewives of New Jersey star is allegedly one of many cast members using the drug for weight loss purposes – though it was designed for diabetes patients. Many people fear the potential long-term effects.
Speaking on her Two Jersey Js podcast, which she just launched with castmate Jackie Goldschneider, Jennifer addressed her semaglutide use.
“I have been on, and I’m not going to call it Ozempic — that’s been the umbrella name. But I’ve been on semaglutide for over a year now, and I’ve lost maybe 22 pounds,” said the 55-year-old.
Though Fessler called herself “a raging hypochondriac,” she said her anxiety goes “out the window” when it concerns her “physical appearance.”
The star explained, “I’m not afraid of Ozempic but I will tell you I have had an experience that was not good where I’m pretty positive it was about the semaglutide, but where I had to go to the hospital for an impacted bowel.”
She said “constipation” can be one of the drug’s “side effects.”
“I was drinking no water, eating no vegetables because something that happens, a new experience for me, is being able to eat what I want even when it’s not the most healthy choices and still lose weight,” said Jennifer, who shared she was eating “pizza and bagels and ice cream.”
She went on, “I was having constipation, and in true Jenn Fessler form, I just did nothing about it… I wasn’t taking Miralax right, [which] you take every morning or any kind of stool softener. I hadn’t gone in a week. Then it was a week and a half.”
Jennifer claimed she changed her habits and is now doing fine: “Now I drink water. I take Miralax. I am trying to eat in a more healthy way than I used to. And I haven’t had a problem since.”
Her castmate Jackie said, via Page Six, that “muscle loss” is also a side effect. Jennifer then admitted she lost some muscle and began seeing the doctor to have it checked “every month.”
“When I’m not in clothes, I look 90 [years old] because I have gone up and down by more than 20 pounds in my life,” said Jennifer. “So there is a lot of skin that exists now when you lose muscle and fat.”
“Again, I have to take responsibility for that in the sense that, you know, you don’t put on muscle when you just lay horizontal on your bed eating chips. It doesn’t work like that,” added the star, who said she hired a personal trainer.
Jackie claimed “more than half” of RHONJ’s cast is taking it. “I am an outspoken advocate for eating disorder recovery and a very strong opponent of semaglutides for losing those last 10 pounds,” she said. “I think it’s a very dangerous trend but out of respect for each other and our friendship, we have never discussed it.”
According to iheartmedia.com, Jackie and Jennifer’s podcast is executive produced by Tamra Judge, and it is a spinoff of Tamra’s podcast with Teddi Mellencamp, Two Ts In A Pod.
The show will give listeners “a refreshing and relatable twist on the reality of being a real housewife. From menopause to making the most of your 40s and 50s, these two Jersey Js will explore the unfiltered, unapologetic, and often hilarious realities of women who are chasing that spark in life, finding love, navigating deep friendships, and finding satisfaction in everything.”
“Jackie and Jennifer prove that opposites not only attract but are better for it.”
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