Mom, 58, Used a ‘Miracle’ GLP-1 to ‘Be Thin’ for Her Son’s Wedding. She Says It Made Her So Sick She Almost Missed the Big Day

A woman who began taking a GLP-1 weight-loss drug ahead of her son’s July wedding nearly didn’t make it to the celebration after her appendix burst — an emergency she believes was triggered by the medication. She says the ordeal “could have killed me.”

Ali Eastburn, 58, told PEOPLE she had been battling stubborn post-menopausal weight gain for years. “I gained like 20 to 25 pounds and just couldn’t seem to get the weight off,” said the Nashville mom and Realtor. She opted for a compounded GLP-1 rather than a brand-name version and later founded a Facebook group called NO-Zempic Join the Movement to share her experience and warn others about potential risks.

At the time, Eastburn wore a size 12 and weighed 185 pounds. Concerned about her appearance for her son Chase’s wedding, she met with a functional medicine nurse practitioner in March. “When I said I wanted to lose weight, she mentioned this would be a great option for me,” Eastburn recalled.

After bloodwork and a month-long wait, she was prescribed a semaglutide weight-loss drug from a compounding pharmacy. She began injections on April 29.

“I’m not a medication person, so for me to take this, it was like, ‘Okay, I’m going to do exactly what I’m told,’” she said. She even photographed her syringe before each dose to ensure she was doing it correctly.

GLP-1s — which include Ozempic and others containing semaglutide, marketed under brand names like Wegovy and Mounjaro — work by influencing satiety. While Ozempic is FDA-approved for type 2 diabetes, it is not officially approved for weight loss, though it has become a popular tool for shedding pounds.

A spokesman for Novo Nordisk, maker of Ozempic, told PEOPLE: “Semaglutide has been extensively examined in robust clinical development programs, large real-world-evidence studies and has cumulatively over 33 million patient years of exposure.” They added that its efficacy and safety have been widely demonstrated, noting improvements in cardiovascular outcomes when used as directed.

Early on, Eastburn experienced mild heartburn and reported her symptoms weekly via her health portal. The weight started coming off, but by July, her progress plateaued. With minimal side effects reported, her provider recommended a higher dose.

After increasing the dosage, her weight dropped to 165 pounds and she fit into a size 10 dress — but her symptoms worsened. “That’s when everything went a little haywire because the heartburn became pretty bad,” she said. Soon, eating became difficult: “I would put something in my mouth and literally have to spit it out because I just wanted to throw up.”

Following her second higher-dose shot, the symptoms intensified: “It was violent diarrhea, crazy to the point that it was nothing but water.” On July 11, four days before she was to travel for the wedding, she went to the ER, unable to keep fluids down or eat. Doctors gave her IV fluids, performed a CT scan, ruled out appendicitis, and diagnosed gastritis. A second ER visit yielded the same conclusion.

On July 15, she boarded a flight from Nashville to Orange County, Calif., for the wedding — only to be doubled over in pain mid-flight. She ended up lying on the floor with a trash bag as a pillow. Upon landing, an ambulance rushed her to the hospital, where doctors diagnosed a burst appendix. “When we got there, I knew it was bad. I asked a doctor, ‘Am I going to die?’ And he said, ‘I don’t know.’”

A burst appendix is a medical emergency, as the Cleveland Clinic notes, because it can spread bacteria throughout the body, risking life-threatening complications. Eastburn spent four days hospitalized. “Everybody was praying for me — our Bible study, our church, everybody,” she said.

She missed the rehearsal dinner but made it to the July 19 wedding. “You wait for this your whole life. I’ll be darned if I’m going to miss this wedding. They can take me on a stretcher, but I’m going,” she said. Despite being in pain, she managed the mother-son dance — albeit barely moving.

In that moment, weight was the last thing on her mind. “All I cared about was that I was alive, I made it, and I got to enjoy this amazing moment with my child.”

Eastburn believes the drug triggered her health crisis. While some case studies suggest a potential risk of appendicitis, there is no proven direct link between GLP-1 use and the condition. Still, she warns others: “This is being handed out like candy to everybody who wants to lose 20 pounds, but this is not an easy fix… It’s not a magic pill.”

Through her Facebook group, she hopes to reach people who may not be aware of possible dangers. “I hope I’m the last one this happens to,” she said. “I put myself out there with terrible pictures so people could see this is serious. Really think about it before you do this.”

After returning to the hospital post-wedding and learning she had “burns and lesions” in her esophagus and stomach from severe heartburn, Eastburn is now focusing on recovery “the right way — the natural way,” with exercise, walking, and portion control.

Ultimately, she says, her perspective has shifted: “I could have been dead instead of seeing my son get married. Do I care about the 20 pounds now? I could care less.”