Adam Katz was the embodiment of fitness.
As a prominent fitness influencer and content creator boasting a following of over 100,000, the 25-year-old Katz adhered to a disciplined regimen. He consumed a diet abundant in protein, meticulously tracked his macronutrients, devoted hours to gym workouts daily, and even resorted to steroid use, all in pursuit of what he termed ‘optimal human performance.’
His trajectory seemed set towards becoming an elite bodybuilder, making it all the more surprising when he found himself hospitalized.
Katz was diagnosed with necrotizing pancreatitis after self-administering retatrutide, a weight loss drug not approved by the FDA and often referred to as the ‘Godzilla’ of slimming injections, in preparation for a bodybuilding event.
“I began using retatrutide to manage my appetite,” Katz shared with the Daily Mail. “It was touted as a groundbreaking drug that accelerates fat loss and curbs hunger, so I figured starting my cutting phase with retatrutide was a smart move.”
Katz initiated the drug regimen in April 2025, aiming to reach peak condition by his August competition. Throughout this period, he maintained a rigorous workout schedule and strictly adhered to a clean, calorie-restricted diet.
He started by taking one milligram twice per week, which then progressed to one milligram three times a week, then one milligram every other day.
‘I continued losing body fat, getting leaner,’ Katz said.
Adam Katz was on track to become a top body builder – but his dreams were put on hold after he took a non-FDA approved weight loss drug. He’s seen while taking the drug
He couldn’t believe when he ended up in the hospital with necrotizing pancreatitis after injecting himself with retatrutide to prepare for a bodybuilding competition
Retatrutide is a triple-agonist, and not only suppresses appetite but also speeds up metabolism, targeting three key hormones in the body – GIP, GLP-1 and glucagon. In comparison, popular weight loss jab Mounjaro only targets hormones GLP-1 and GIP.
‘Glucagon seems to have introduced a novel weight loss mechanism in that it [speeds up] metabolism – which pairs nicely with a reduction in appetite from the other hormone targets,’ Dr Stephanie Redmond, PharmD, CDCES, BC-ADM, told the Daily Mail.
In clinical trials, the drug helped patients lose up 28.7 percent of their body weight over 68 weeks, in comparison to Mounjaro, which delivers 15 to 20 percent of body weight loss over 72 weeks.
Due to the rapid weight loss that it can trigger, the drug has been sweeping Hollywood. Comedian Becky Robinson, Bunnie XO, and ‘looksmaxxing’ influencer Clavicular have all confessed to taking it.
And while Katz initially took retatrutide for his bodybuilding competition, he admitted he kept taking the drug to maintain his physique and prevent his hunger levels from skyrocketing.
‘I was making great progress, controlling appetite, you know, the best I could for about two months after I competed,’ Katz said.
Katz, pictured before taking retatrutide, started taking it to prepare for a bodybuilding competition
Katz began taking it in April 2025, in order to prepare for his competition that August. During that time, he was working out and was eating completely clean foods in a calorie deficit. He’s seen before (left) and after (right) taking the drug
However, things began to change when a variety of personal stressors began to creep into his life, causing him to ‘eat his feelings.’ At the same time, he was also indulging in restaurant meals because of a busy social life.
Soon, he said he developed severe digestive issues, including constipation, bloating and diarrhea.
A visit to the gastroenterologist in October had doctors suspecting that it could be small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), a condition often associated with GLP-1s.
But things only continued to get worse, as he began suffering from severe stomach pain. His symptoms became so serious that he could barely sleep and found himself writhing in pain.
‘Basically every night, from like 9pm to 5am, I would have to be either standing up. I couldn’t lay down or else it would hurt, or I’d have to go lay in an Epsom salt bath in order to fall asleep,’ he said.
One night, in December, his mom convinced him to go to the hospital to get medical attention – which ended up saving his life.
After undergoing tests, doctors diagnosed sub acute necrotizing pancreatitis, a severe, life-threatening illness in which part of the pancreas dies.
It’s a rare but known side effect associated with GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic, as listed on its website.
Not only can pancreatitis trigger dangerous infections, it can also lead to internal bleeding, organ failure and long-term damage that leaves patients unable to properly digest food.
He started off by taking one milligram twice per week, which then progressed to one milligram three times a week, and then one milligram every other day. He’s seen before (left) and after (right) taking the drug
But soon, he began developing severe digestive issues, including constipation, bloating, and diarrhea
Katz ended up in the hospital for four days, with doctors giving him very strict instructions to follow a carb-heavy diet with little to no protein.
‘When the doctor walked back in and told what me diagnosis was, I didn’t think he was gonna say pancreatitis. That wasn’t even on my mind,’ Katz said.
‘Imagining [necrotizing tissue] inside my body, on my pancreas, was crazy.’
After being released from the hospital, he was still in pain – and only a month later, his condition flared up again after an especially active day in which he walked 12,000 steps while in Florida’s Downtown Disney, landing him back in the ER.
Doctors later told him the pancreatitis was still present, but the dangerous necrotizing phase had resolved.
He stayed again in the hospital for four more days before finally getting released. Meanwhile, he had to work hard to rebuild the muscle he had lost – and slowly he was able to increase his protein level without stomach pain, and to complete a moderate workout without his pancreas hurting.
‘From the middle of February up until now, I’ve been able to progress back up into the gym and start training hard again and eating like normal again,’ Katz said.
‘I can have a nice meal at a restaurant, and not worry… if I went out [to eat] back in October, November – anytime I had anything from restaurant, I would have pain that night.’
According to Jillian Kavanagh, MSN, RN, CNP at Aviva Wellness & Aesthetics in Massachusetts, this is all just part of the risk of taking drugs that aren’t cleared by the FDA.
They can trigger serious side effects, including severe constipation, dehydration, pancreatitis and gastroparesis – a condition that slows or even partially paralyses the stomach.
‘The consumer is at higher risk not being under the care of a licensed clinician,’ Kavanagh told the Daily Mail.
Since the medication is not yet FDA approved, it ‘cannot be considered safe,’ Kavanagh added.
After undergoing tests, doctors found that he had sub acute necrotizing pancreatitis, a severe, life-threatening illness in which part of your pancreas dies, as he’s seen here in the hospital
He had to work hard to rebuild the muscle he had lost while he was recovering – and slowly he was able to increase his protein level without stomach pain, and to complete a moderate workout without his pancreas hurting
This means that it cannot be legally prescribed by doctors or sold for use – but like everything else, people are still finding a way through the gray market.
‘I would get stuff from very trustworthy sources that do their testing and show their testing for each batch, so I knew what I had was real and dosed properly,’ Kavanagh said.
And it’s more common than you think. Bunnie Xo, the wife of famed singer Jelly Roll, warned against taking unregulated drugs after she obtained retatrutide from a ‘reputable wellness center’ in Nashville, Tennessee.
The 46-year-old, whose real name is Alyssa DeFord, opened up about the harrowing experience on a January 2026 episode of her Dumb Blonde podcast, telling the audience that the drug led her to feeling depressed, sick and having ‘no emotion.’
‘I literally got sent into the worst suicidal depression that I’ve had since 2020,’ she explained during the January 11 episode.
According to Kavanagh, some people are even selling this unregulated peptide on social media.
‘There are even some TikTok with account names that include “doctor” or “nurse” that are selling this product,’ Kavanagh said.
‘Not only is this illegal, it is incredibly dangerous as there is no way of knowing what someone is injecting.’
Medicine company Lilly also issued a stark warning against purchasing the peptide.
A spokesperson told the Daily Mail in September: ‘Retatrutide is an investigational molecule that Lilly is studying for the treatment of obesity – it is in phase three clinical trials and is not available to patients outside of these trials.
‘Any product falsely representing itself as a Lilly investigational product not yet approved… may expose patients to potentially serious health risks.’
Thankfully, Katz has completely healed from his pancreatitis, and recent CT scans showed no signs of inflammation.
While he wouldn’t tell people that they absolutely shouldn’t take unlicensed retatrutide, he stressed to the Daily Mail that the drug is definitely not ‘harmless.’
‘It’s not a perfect miracle drug,’ Katz concluded. ‘I don’t think there ever will be a perfect miracle perfect miracle drug.’
