Cork woman, 66, died of organ failure after ‘severe vomiting’ while taking weight loss drug Ozempic, inquest told
A GRANDMOTHER died of total organ failure after severe vomiting while taking weight loss drugs Ozempic and Metformin to control her diabetes, an inquest in Cork heard today.
Breeda O’Donoghue, 66, of West End in Carrigtwohill, Co Cork died on December 9, 2023 at Cork University Hospital having been hospitalised three days earlier.
A family member told Cork Coroner’s Court that Breeda was “fine” and in “good health” until she took Ozempic in a bid to lose weight.
The family appealed for people to be aware of the dangers posed by potential side effects of the weight loss drug which has been hailed as a miracle drug – including excessive vomiting.
The mum-of-two died on December 9, 2023 in the Intensive Care Unit at Cork University Hospital after being rushed there by ambulance after she complained of being very sick three days earlier.
Cork City Coroner Philip Comyn indicated he had been in touch with the HPRA (Health Products Regulatory Authority) in relation to the inquest and would advise them of the details of the case.
He also expressed concerns about members of the public sourcing Ozempic outside of the GP setting including online and Dr Bolster agreed that such practices by members of the public were dangerous in nature.
Assistant State Pathologist Dr Bolster, who carried out an autopsy, said that she tried in vain to get a laboratory to test levels of Ozempic in the blood of Mrs O’Donoghue – having checked both in Ireland and internationally.
She said: “We can’t do levels of Ozempic. No lab in the world could do the levels of Ozempic for me.”
She said that she would like to see such testing carried out and described what had happened to Mrs O’Dongohue as “very rare.”
She said that while she read newspaper reports about court actions being taken in deaths which were possibly linked to Ozempic, there was no “scientific literature on mortality rates of this drug.”
Dr Bolster said that the use of Metformin, a diabetic drug was “less likely” to have been an issue in the case but she was unable to rule it out. The benefits of both drugs were “well recognised” but every drug given to a patient comes with a risk factor.
She added that “gastrointestinal issues” were a “known side effect” of Ozempic and this was a “complex, multi-factorial case.”
The PH level in Mrs O’Donoghue’s blood changed due to profound vomiting impacting her cell activity and leading to total organ failure.
Breeda’s doctor Sushil Ranga who was treating her from 2017 said Breeda was diagnosed with Type two diabetes, and also had osteoarthritis, restless legs and hypertension.
She began taking Metformin after she was prescribed it by her GP in Youghal in 2016.
WEIGHT STRUGGLE
She said: “She was seen on a regular basis and monitored along with blood tests. Her diabetes was very well controlled at this point on medication and diet so she did not require endocrinology.”
Dr Ranga said Breeda was struggling to lose weight through diet and exercise and was “very self conscious.”
The medic said: “Her diabetes was controlled, but she was unable to lose weight. So per protocol, she was started on Ozempic 0.25mg on 19/09/23 and after four weeks the dose was increased to 0.5mg on 19/10/23. She was reviewed on 26/10/23 and her weight had reduced to 85.7kg (13 stone and 6.94 pounds) and her BMI was now 33.4.
“She was very happy and managing well and denied any problems.”
DOSE INCREASED
On October 26, 2023 the dose of Ozempic was increased to 1.0mg.
Dr Ranja said: “She was again reviewed in November and was very happy with the results, denying any problems and said that she was tolerating the medication well.
“Her husband rang on December 6 reporting that she was not well, so I immediately reviewed her in the clinic. On examination she was feeling weak, dehydrated and was generally unwell, so she was immediately sent to A&E via ambulance for further hospital management.”
The inquest heard Brenda died at lunchtime in the Intensive Care Unit on December 9 after various treatments failed to improve her condition. When she presented at hospital she told the registrar that she had “multiple episodes of vomiting every day” having started on Ozempic three months earlier.
LACK OF DATA
She said that she had been unable to keep anything down and that her condition had worsened prior to her hospitalisation.
The cause of death was given as “total organ failure due to profound electrolyte abnormalities” along with other factors.
Coroner Philip Comyn said there was a lack of scientific data because Ozempic was a new drug and the long term effects were not yet known.
But there were risks with every drug and Mrs O’Donoghue was well monitored by her GP. She fell into the category of those who are affected by side effects of medication.
STUDIES ‘NOT IN PLACE YET’
He said: “The literature and scientific studies are not in place yet because Ozempic is a new drug on the market, so it will be some time before we can have a more considered review of Ozempic.
“Dr Bolster tried to get tests carried out to ascertain the level of Ozempic in the blood. The State Laboratory didn’t have the facilities.”
Mr Comyn said he was unaware if such testing is available now and expressed his belief that it is something that should be available going forward.
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Viral video shows man stealing reporter’s mic at Maha Kumbh. Here’s what actually happened
Katy Perry, 40, is all smiles as she squats on a toilet in green PVC set while holding a guitar ahead of UK tour
KATY Perry looks flushed with success — as she hopes her pan-global tour is a big hit.
The Dark Horse singer, 40, posed with a guitar to show her love of toilet humour.
Katy Perry posed on top of a toilet holding a guitar[/caption] Katy’s Lifetimes Tour kicks off in April[/caption]Her Lifetimes Tour kicks off in Mexico City in April.
It arrives in the UK in October with dates in Glasgow, Manchester, Sheffield, Birmingham and London.
Katy, whose 2021 Las Vegas show featured a giant toilet and dancing poo, released her album, 143, in September.
We’re sure it will be more than bog-standard.
In November, Katy announced in The Sun that she will play five huge arena shows across the country as part of her Lifetimes Tour — a celebration of her biggest hits.
The Sun’s Ellie Henman quizzed Katy on her excitement about returning to the UK to perform.
“I have seen EastEnders, I’ve had pie and mash, bubble and squeak and I love Sunday roasts,” Katy said.
Undoubtedly Katy’s Anglophile nature is, in part, down to her fiancé, British actor Orlando Bloom, with whom she has a four-year-old daughter, Daisy.
“We love going for a pint,” Katy added with a laugh.
“When we’re in the country we’re always going to the pub.
“We have a lot of pub dinners. I love pubs that are hundreds of years old. You just walk in and it’s just got so much history and storytelling. It’s so beautiful.”
Apple’s ‘self-destruct’ button wipes your iPhone if someone tries to break in – it only takes seconds to activate
MILLIONS of iPhones have a well-hidden button that triggers a “self-destruct” effect when someone tries to break into it.
If they guess your passcode wrong too many times, your iPhone will completely erase all of its contents.
Your Lock Screen is one of the main defences against snoopers trying to break in[/caption]The person trying to guess your passcode will only get 10 tries.
After that point, Apple says that your iPhone will “erase all information, media, and personal settings”.
The 10 wrong attempts will need to be consecutive – so if you’ve entered it correctly between their guesses, the counter will have reset at that point.
It’s designed to stop someone from doing a “brute-force” attack where they guess your passcode over and over until they get it right.
With the “self-destruct” active, it’ll stop this type of attacker from being able to get access to your texts, photos, and data.
However, note that it’s a total wipe – so turn it on with caution.
Once your iPhone’s data is erased, the only way to get it back is to restore it from a back-up.
If you haven’t backed your iPhone up then you’ll need to set it up as a brand new device.
So if you have young kids, make sure they’re not at risk of potentially tapping in loads of wrong passcodes – and accidentally wiping your iPhone.
At the very least, ensure you back up your iPhone first before activating the feature.
HOW TO SET UP IPHONE ‘SELF-DESTRUCT’
Firstly, make sure that your iPhone is set to back up.
You can back up manually by connecting to Wi-Fi then going to Settings > [Name] > iCloud.
Then you can tap on iCloud Backup > Back Up Now to make sure that your data is saved,.
You can also automatically back up your iPhone.
Head into your Face ID or Touch ID settings on your iPhone[/caption]Just go to Settings > [Name] > iCloud > iCloud Backup and make sure that you’ve got Back Up This iPhone is turned on.
You’ll need your iPhone connected to a Wi-Fi network and a power source for automatic back-up to take place.
If you don’t have enough iCloud storage, your back-up might not complete. If that’s the case, you’ll need to buy more iCloud storage.
Once you’re happy with your backups, you can then activate the “self-destruct” feature.
IPHONE LOCKING TOO QUICKLY?
You can change that...
If you think your iPhone locks too quickly on its own, you can change the time.
Just go to Settings > Display & Brightness > Auto-Lock.
You can then choose from one of the following time options:
- 30 seconds
- 1 minute
- 2 minutes
- 3 minutes
- 4 minutes
- 5 minutes
- Never
It’s worth noting that if you put your iPhone on the Home Screen and don’t do anything, the Auto-Lock time is “reduced by half”, according to Apple.
Picture Credit: The Sun
Just go to Settings > Face ID & Passcode or Settings > Touch ID & Passcode.
Then scroll to the bottom of the page and turn on the toggle for Erase Data.
Once that’s active, you’ll only ever have 10 consecutive attempts to enter a correct password before your iPhone auto-wipes.
If you ever change your mind about this feature, you can just go straight back into the Settings app and turn it off.
The setting that you want to look for is called Erase Data[/caption]You should also read The Sun’s guide to making your iPhone “snooper-proof”.
There are some clever ways to send secret and even “invisible” texts on an iPhone.
And learn the signs that someone has unlocked your iPhone to read your texts.
Family of Limerick hit-&-run victim ‘disgusted’ at criminal’s sentence as sister cries ‘our suffering will never end’
THE family of student hit-and-run victim Joe Drennan said they were “disgusted” by his killer’s sentence of six and a half years after a judge said it would run concurrent to another sentence imposed on the driver for firing an automatic firearm in a separate incident.
Limerick gangland criminal Kieran Fogarty was jailed for eight years for firing the illegal automatic firearm at the front of a house where children played in Limerick City in April 2023.
Limerick gangland criminal Kieran Fogarty crashed into and killed Joe Drennan[/caption] Joe’s family said they were ‘disgusted’ by his killer’s sentence[/caption]Six months afterwards, and while he was on bail and disqualified from driving for road traffic offences, Fogarty crashed into and killed Joe Drennan, 21, a University of Limerick journalism student who was standing waiting at a bus stop on October 13, 2023.
Before fleeing the crash scene and failing to offer assistance to Mr Drennan or alert the emergency services, Fogarty attempted to wipe his forensic presence from the car, but forensic gardai matched his DNA on an airbag that deployed in the hit and run.
Fogarty received further concurrent sentences for engaging in violent disorder, possessing cocaine, MDMA and alprazolam drugs for sale or supply, and his guilty plea to threatening to kill Raymond Collins Jnr in April 2023 was taken into consideration by the judge.
In court, after the sentences were imposed, Tim Drennan, the father of Joe Drennan, asked Judge Daly: “Sorry, your honour, does that mean that this fella (Fogarty) will not serve a day (in jail) for killing my son?”
Earlier the judge had said the hit-and-run sentence would run in addition to the shooting sentence, but later the judge corrected this.
The judge, rising from his bench, did not respond to Mr Drennan’s query and retired to his private chambers.
Afterwards, speaking outside the court, Joe Drennan’s parents Tim and Marguerite Drennan said they were “disgusted” by the outcome.
In their eyes, they said, Fogarty “would not serve anything” for Joe’s death.
Holding a picture of their son in a keyring, Tim Drennan said Kieran Fogarty had left his son to “die like a dog on the street”.
He said he felt like Fogarty had got away without punishment for “killing my son”.
‘HE GOT A FREE RIDE’
Marguerite Drennan said Fogarty’s sentence for her son’s death was “absolutely unbelievable” and “really hard to take”.
Tim Drennan said: “He (Fogarty) did an awful lot of crime for a few years in jail, he got a free ride for killing Joe, he got nothing.
“He (Fogarty) got eight years for shooting into a wall, and he got six and half years for killing Joe, and he’s not going to be serving anything for Joe because the other one is a longer sentence.”
Paying tribute to her son, Marguerite Drennan said: “Joe was amazing, the bubble of our lives, he was just everything to us, he was the chief editor of the Limerick Voice (University of Limerick student newspaper), he worked for Gay Community News, he was the voice for the voiceless.”
‘DIED LIKE A DOG ON THE STREET’
Tim Drennan added: “That man (Fogarty) gave Joe no help after he crashed into him and killed him and left him lying under the car. At the end of the day, Joe was a unique individual, and he basically died like a dog on the street in Limerick when (Fogarty) left him there, and now today he gets nothing for it.”
Tim and Marguerite Drennan said they hoped that the Director of Public Prosecutions would appeal Fogarty’s sentence in respect of their son’s death, that it would be served consecutively or additionally to Fogarty’s sentence for the shooting.
The Drennans said they were also disappointed for the Gardai “who put in an awful lot of work” into the prosecution against Fogarty for their son’s death, “it’s a kick in the teeth for that”.
Tim and Marguerite said, in their opinion, they got “no justice” for their son.
‘NO SENSE TO IT’
They added: “Hopefully it will be appealed, they have 28 days to appeal it, the DPP has to make up its mind, we can’t say, but hopefully it will be appealed, it has to be appealed, because there is no sense to it.
Tim Drennan said: “He (Fogarty) won’t serve a day for Joe, he did all them other things first, so it was a free run for Joe. What people should understand is that, Joe was on his own at the bus stop, there could have been ten people at that bus stop, there could have been ten people dead, and would he (Fogarty) have got a concurrent sentence for (ten deaths)?”
Fogarty, 21, of Hyde Avenue, Ballinacurra Weston, Limerick, killed Joe Drennan while he was on bail, disqualified from driving for other driving offences and subject to five outstanding arrest warrants,
Moments before ploughing into Mr Drennan, from Mountrath, Co Laois, Fogarty was filming himself on a mobile phone and sharing the video on social media, while still driving his BMW 5 Series, while he outpaced a garda car at 122km/h in a 50km/h zone.
‘ALARMED’ AT SPEED
Fogarty broke a red light, stuck a car, lost control of the BMW and slammed into Mr Drennan, 21, who was waiting at a bus stop at Dublin Road, Castletroy, Limerick.
The garda who was driving the patrol car behind Fogarty was “alarmed” at his speed, but as they were travelling in a busy built-up residential area, the garda followed Fogarty from a safe distance and ultimately lost him in his sights prior to the collision.
Fogarty went on the run following the hit-and-run and communicated with family members and a criminal associate by text and voice messages.
Believing he had killed two people, Fogarty messaged an associate, telling him, “I’m after killing a 21-year old and a woman”.
‘DON’T KNOW HOW I WAS ABLE TO WALK OUT’
Despite his mother asking him to give himself up, Fogarty remained on the run until he was arrested by gardai a month later.
Fogarty had messaged his mother: “What do you want me to do, go up to the (Garda) Barracks and say I killed someone stone dead on the road and I don’t even think they know it was me.
“I got to to wipe the car down a small bit before I even got out of it (the car). Ye don’t realise that though do ye.”
A voice message Fogarty sent to a criminal associate which was played in court, stated: “I don’t know how I was able to walk out of that son, watch how bad the beamer (BMW) is in that, boy it’s wrapped around the pole and all.
‘OUT OF CONTROL’
“I spun about 10 times I’d say, I bounced off a wall and took that young fella with me at the bus stop cause his bus wasn’t there in time.”
A letter of apology written by Fogarty to Joe Drennan’s family read: “I was reckless and out of control, I did not realise I hit Mr Drennan, it was never my intention to hurt anyone on the night. I am truly sorry.”
Inspector Padraig Sutton, who led the investigation into the fatal hit and run, told the court that in his opinion, Fogarty’s apology had rung “hollow” given the evidence against him.
In her victim impact statement, Joe Drennan’s sister, Sarah Drennan, said her brother’s death had “left an unbearable emptiness” in her family.
‘RECKLESS DISREGARD FOR HUMAN LIFE’
She said: “Joe was taken in a most violent, senseless way possible, in a moment of senseless, reckless disregard for human life.”
Fogarty’s own barrister, senior counsel, Mark Nicholas, said Fogarty’s driving on the night was “appalling, undeniably serious, reckless, dangerous, disgraceful and inexcusable”.
Fogarty, who had 46 previous convictions including 41 for road traffic offences including dangerous driving, pleaded guilty to all of the offences against him.
Speaking outside court on behalf of her family, Sarah added: “Our suffering will never end. Joe should be here. My brother didn’t deserve to die and this sentence is disgusting. We have been given a life sentence.”
Sarah Drennan said: ‘Joe should be here. My brother didn’t deserve to die’[/caption]‘It can be terminal’ – Emma Raducanu warned about ‘much greater concern than all other nonsense that goes on with her’
EMMA RADUCANU’S tennis technique has come under fire from one of Andy Murray’s former coaches.
The Brit, 22, served seven double faults in her last appearance on court, a three-set loss to Spain’s Cristina Bucsa in the Singapore Open first round.
Emma Raducanu has been sent a warning from Andy Murray’s former coach[/caption] The 22-year-old struggled with her serve in her latest loss[/caption]In her opening match of the Australian Open this month, Raducanu produced 15 double faults in a double tie-break win over Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Mark Petchey, who coached Muzza from 2005-06, is concerned she is nowhere near the same player that won the US Open in 2021.
Petchey told JeffBet: “There’s definitely been some tinkering with her technique.
“I don’t think it’s as smooth as it was in 2021.
“That’s a much greater concern to me than all the other nonsense that goes on with Emma, all the time that people want to write about.
“Because if that doesn’t get fixed, then it makes it incredibly hard for her to win.
“If you lose confidence in your serve for too long, it can become terminal.
“I do think for the first time, looking at her game, I would be concerned.”
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World No 56 Raducanu will play tomorrow as a wildcard in qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Open.
It’s her first tournament qualifying tie since that US Open victory.
Raducanu is currently searching for the seventh coach of her professional career after parting ways with Nick Cavaday.
The 38-year-old stepped down from his position to “get back to full health”.
Raducanu thanked Cavaday for his service after 14 months of working together.
She said: “I’d like to thank Nick for a great partnership over the last year and a bit, especially post-surgeries.
“I wish him all the best in his next chapter and no doubt we’ll stay in touch.”