“Drink a lot of cola.” You rarely hear this from a doctor. However, for a 63-year-old woman from Massachusetts, this was the prescribed therapy—documented in the prestigious journal New England Journal of Medicine. And it helped her eliminate weeks of torment.
Weeks of Nausea with No Relief
For about a month, the patient suffered from nausea and vomiting. Additionally, she experienced a burning pain in her upper abdomen that radiated to her right side and back. Her appetite was gone. Over-the-counter remedies for heartburn offered no relief, prompting her to visit the emergency room.
The Weight Loss Injection and Its Hidden Side Effect
A year prior, the woman had begun taking Semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic. She was dealing with Type 2 diabetes and significant obesity, having lost around 40 pounds since starting treatment. In the last month leading up to her hospital visit, she had lost weight particularly fast. What no one suspected was that this medication had caused a problem to develop in her stomach.
A Hard Clump That Few Know About
CT scans and an endoscopy revealed the issue: she had a bezoar in her stomach—a hard mass formed from undigested food. Such occurrences are rare, found in less than 0.5% of all endoscopic examinations. Medications like Ozempic can slow gastric emptying, suppress appetite, but also lead to food stagnation, resulting in clumping. The physicians chose to discontinue the medication immediately.
Instead of Surgery: One and a Half Liters of Diet Cola
Surgery was looming, but an unexpectedly straightforward alternative known in medical circles was proposed: cola. According to the case report, doctors recommended consuming about three liters within twelve hours to dissolve such a clump. The reasoning behind its effectiveness is still not fully understood—whether it’s due to acidity, carbonation, or something else entirely. Due to her diabetes, the woman was given a sugar-free version, and since she generally disliked carbonated drinks, the quantity was reduced from three liters to one and a half.
A Pulling Sensation, Then Silence
By the second day, the patient felt a “pulling” sensation in her abdomen. After that, her symptoms disappeared. A follow-up endoscopy confirmed it: the clump had dissolved.
How the Story Concluded
The woman soon returned to her normal diet and was discharged from the hospital without complaints. She did not resume the Ozempic medication but was placed on a daily treatment for heartburn. For more details, you can read the comprehensive case report on the US scientific site Live Science. It illustrates how often the solution to a significant medical problem can be surprisingly simple. Nevertheless, the cola treatment should not be attempted at home; it belongs in the hands of healthcare professionals, not on the kitchen counter.
