Mayim Bialik is shedding light on what she calls her “GLP-1 nightmare.”
“From a young age, I was thrust into the public eye, with every aspect of my appearance under constant scrutiny since my days on my own NBC show at just 14,” Bialik, now 50, shared in an insightful essay for The Free Press released Friday, June 5. “During those years, I wasn’t conscious of my weight. I naturally maintained a lanky and athletic physique, enjoying the freedom to eat as I pleased without worrying about gaining weight.”
The actress, who found fame through her lead role in NBC’s sitcom Blossom in 1990, revealed that as a teenager, she was prescribed medication to stabilize her mood, which subsequently caused her to put on weight.
“By the time I reached my 40s, still in the acting profession, I developed profound shame concerning my body. Despite being a size 6, I felt as though I was overweight,” she elaborated. “As social media began emphasizing the need to be thinner, more toned, and surgically enhanced, I succumbed to these pressures, leading to a complex relationship with food that I have been striving to resolve for years.”
On a related note, influencer Carly Weinstein has also shared her experience with using a GLP-1 medication for weight loss after previously promoting body positivity. “Had you told me five months ago that I’d be discussing this, I would have said, ‘You’re out of your mind,’” she confessed in a TikTok video posted on Tuesday, April 28. “I felt so embarrassed and ashamed that I… ”
Bialik added that she put on an additional 20 pounds in the last several years due to early menopause, and she has struggled to shed the weight.
“Still, that’s not why I went on a GLP-1,” the Big Bang Theory alum wrote. “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.”
Bialik explained that she was diagnosed with Graves’ disease, an autoimmune disorder that causes the thyroid gland to produce excessive hormones, when she was 23 years old. She was prescribed a medication but did not make any diet or lifestyle changes, which she believes may have “very slowly made my condition worse.” She was later also diagnosed with connective tissue disease, mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), Sjögren’s syndrome and dysautonomia.
“A few months ago, three separate doctors all suggested I try a GLP-1,” she wrote. “Not because of the 20 postmenopausal pounds but because the drugs have shown promise in reducing the systemic inflammation that drives autoimmune conditions.”
Though Bialik hoped that a GLP-1 would be her “magic cure,” she ended up having a negative experience with the medication.
Joy Behar shared the secret behind her weight loss, revealing that she shed 25 pounds with the help of a GLP-1 medication. The topic was brought up on the Wednesday, February 18, episode of The View, as a growing list of public figures have turned to Ozempic and Mounjaro to slim down. (Both are FDA-approved […]
“GLP-1s have helped people in serious need. Of that I am certain. But nobody talks much about what happens when it goes wrong,” she warned.
Describing the extreme side effects she experienced on the lowest dose, Bialik continued, “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 — which apparently has a name: snatiation. Cramping. Bloating. Full-body aching, as though I had the flu. 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.”
Though Bialik said she “would not blame” anyone for wanting to power through the side effects, she realized that the medication was not right for her body.
“I wish I could say I’m in the clear, but I’m not. This drug has a very long half-life; my prescribing doctor had told me to expect at least a week of this, if not more,” she noted, recalling once having to “frantically” pull off a highway to find a convenience store bathroom.
Amy Schumer has been candid over the past couple of years about her experience using weight loss drugs on her health journey. In March 2025, Schumer explained that three years ago she tried GLP-1 medication Wegovy — and did not have a pleasant time on it. “I was puking. I couldn’t handle it,” Schumer said […]
Bialik said she ultimately visited a gastroenterologist, who reassured her that these “dramatic” symptoms were not unusual.
“These medications, he said, are extremely disruptive to the body and should not be used outside of a specific, regulated set of serious medical reasons — namely, life-compromising obesity and its related health consequences. I did not meet that bar,” she explained, adding that the doctor suggested the possibility that other medications Bialik was taking may have contributed to her gut health issues.
After noting that she felt “validated” by her gastroenterologist, Bialik concluded, “On my way out, I caught a glimpse of my reflection, and I did not recoil. I did not see under my first chin that second chin on which I had been fixating for months — because it wasn’t there. My cheekbones were visible. I gazed for a moment, flashed a Mona Lisa smile, and headed to the parking lot, stopping briefly to hike up my skirt, which had started to sag at my hips ever so slightly.”