In 2025, TikToker Hayley (@h8yley0) went through the biggest health scare of her life, and she has now decided to share her story.
So, she graduated from college in December 2023 and had gained a lot of weight around that time. She went to the doctor, and by April 2024, she was put on a GLP-1 called Wegovy to help her lose weight.
However, it ended up ruining her health.
GLP-1 is a naturally occurring hormone that helps regulate digestion, blood sugar, and appetite. For over a year, her doses of the drug continued to increase, as was standard procedure. By April 2025, she remained on a maintenance dose for a couple of months.
“I had lost 50 pounds at this point,” Hayley said. “When you’re on a GLP-1, they tell you do not stop when you’re happy with your weight. Keep going and stay on a maintenance drug, or everything it did for you will reverse.”
Hayley had not experienced any bad side effects with Wegovy. She felt so much healthier and better about herself. But in mid-July, she had a cocktail one night and could not stop throwing up all night long.
She thought it was just the alcohol not sitting well with her.
Then, there was another time she went to the movies, and even though she had not consumed any alcohol, she started violently throwing up.
She went to the emergency room, where they ran a bunch of tests, but they couldn’t find anything wrong with her and sent her home. At that point, she had stopped taking Wegovy. Toward the end of August, the vomiting spells returned.
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In September, she became unable to keep solid food down. So, she spent all of September and most of October eating only soups, protein shakes, and other liquids. She had lost an extra 20 pounds and was constantly in and out of the hospital.
After getting more stomach tests done, she was told that she appeared to be having symptoms of gastroparesis, which is a chronic stomach disorder that slows or stops the movement of food from the stomach to the small intestine.
“My GI doctor basically looks at me, and she’s like, the conclusion is the Wegovy,” recalled Hayley.
“She kind of broke it down to me that my body had gotten used to that paralyzed stomach that the drug gives you, and wouldn’t get out of that routine on its own.”
“It got kind of stuck in the loop of not being able to digest anything, and then of course, brain-gut connection is impossible to reconnect once it’s already messed up.”
She has been healing slowly and has gained back 10 of the 20 pounds she had lost. She wanted to share her story because no one had warned her this could happen, yet no doctor was surprised when they found out she had developed this issue.
She hopes people will now be more aware of the risks that come with taking a GLP-1.
By Emily Chan
Emily Chan is a writer who covers lifestyle and news content. She graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in... More about Emily Chan
