Mayim Bialik details weight loss jab 'nightmare'

Mayim Bialik has spoken out about a severe reaction she says she experienced after taking a GLP-1 medication.

In an essay penned for The Free Press titled My GLP-1 Nightmare, the former Blossom TV star revealed that a single low-dose injection led to weeks of debilitating gastrointestinal symptoms.

The actor has grappled with body image issues since she was a teenager, but emphasised that weight loss was not her primary reason for taking the medication.

Bialik revealed that she had been diagnosed with the autoimmune disorder Grave's disease at age 23.

"I went on a weight-loss drug because a doctor told me it might help ease symptoms I've struggled with for basically my entire adult life," The Big Bang Theory star explained.

Three different doctors suggested the medication because "the drugs have shown promise in reducing the systemic inflammation that drives autoimmune conditions".

"I took one shot of the lowest dose of a synthetic GLP-1, and to say I had an adverse reaction would be somewhat of an understatement," Bialik wrote.

"Explosive, uncontrollable diarrhea. Sulfur burps so violent they left me afraid to open my mouth in public. Sneezing attacks every time I tried to eat or drink.

"Cramping. Bloating. Full-body aching, as though I had the flu," she continued. "And an inability to keep down even small sips of water without sprinting to the bathroom with yet more explosive diarrhea. More than three times, I didn't make it."

Bialik shared that she was surprised by how unfazed her medical providers seemed by her reaction to the medication, recalling that they told her severe side effects were not uncommon.

She wrote that she later discovered gastrointestinal symptoms, including nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, are among the most commonly reported side effects of GLP-1 medications.