Tennessee Poison Center seeing increase in calls related to weight loss medications

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WBIR) - The Tennessee Poison Center is seeing a sharp increase in calls related to tirzepatide and semaglutide exposure — two FDA-approved medications used for weight management and treating type two diabetes — over the last five years.

Rebecca Bruccoleri is the medical director of the Tennessee Poison Center and said the increase over the past five years is a result of the wide availability and more easily accessible

“They’re getting new approvals for these drugs, new formulations are getting approved, new discount programs,” Bruccoleri said. “There’s also been a move to make them less expensive.”

Data from the Tennessee Poison Center showed 28 cases in 2021, 49 cases in 2022, 87 cases in 2023, 134 cases in 2024 and 239 cases in 2025. Bruccoleri said the center does not seek data — the data is from people who call them.

“Somebody could be at home, and they don’t know how to use the pen correctly, and they give themselves a tenfold overdose,” Bruccoleri said. “Then they call the poison center for advice on how to manage that.”

Bruccoleri said it’s not uncommon or difficult to overdose on these medications. For example, if someone is supposed to take 0.25 mg, they may accidentally take a tenfold increase of 2.5 mg.

“There’s a miscommunication about how frequently to take these medications,” Bruccoleri said. “But you want to make sure that, however you’re supposed to inject the medication, that you know how much you’re supposed to use.”

Brooke Nix, owner of Brooke Nix Medical Aesthetics, said that some patients may overdose on purpose.

“These are not medical individuals,” Nix said. “They are actually usually giving themselves more just because they’re not losing the weight the way they want to.”

This could lead to serious side effects like nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Nix said these medications are for individuals with a BMI over 30, which is not really the population taking them.

“Most medications you don’t try to overdose yourself with,” Nix said. “This isn’t the case where — we’ve seen a lot of people do that.”

Nix had prescribed some of her patients these medications, but said she likes to make sure she sees her clients in-person. She said telehealth is an option in some cases, but for weight loss medications like Ozempic, Zepbound and Wegovy.

“We actually draw it up for them,” Nix said. “They get the syringe with the exact amount in it.”

This isn’t always the case for people taking these medications. Many people can get these medications prescribed without ever seeing their provider in-person.

Hence, both medical professionals expect these numbers to continue rising. Bruccoleri said there is talk about another pill formulation approved, which will possibly prevent some of the injection dose errors, but they will inevitably fall into oral medication errors instead.

“I am concerned that we may see an increase in these calls,” Bruccoleri said.

The Tennessee Poison Center serves all 95 counties and is staffed with trained nurses, pharmacists and physicians to answer any questions. The center’s number is 1-800-222-1222.