Los Angeles, June 6 : â??The Big Bang Theoryâ?? actress Mayim Bialik has spoken about her experience taking a weightloss medicine, saying that a single dose left her battling severe gastrointestinal symptoms that lasted for weeks.

She wrote an essay, which was published by The Free Press, in which the actress detailed why she decided to try a GLP-1 medicine and the intense reaction that followed, reports people.com.

The 50-year-old actress said she initially sought the medication not to lose weight, but at the recommendation of several doctors who suggested it might help alleviate symptoms associated with autoimmune conditions she has dealt with for years.

"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 mentioned.

Bialik reflected on her long and complicated relationship with body image in the essay. She wrote that she was largely unconcerned about her weight as a child, but began gaining weight after being prescribed medication as a teenager.

Over time, she developed what she described as a sense of shame around her body and a disordered relationship with food. She also shared that early menopause contributed to weight gain in recent years, though she stressed that losing weight was not the primary reason she agreed to try the medication.

Instead, she said doctors believed the drug's anti-inflammatory properties might help address symptoms related to a series of diagnoses, including Graves' disease, connective tissue disease, mast cell activation syndrome, Sjogren's syndrome and dysautonomia.

After years of trying various treatments, Bialik said three separate doctors recommended a medication. Hoping it might offer relief, she agreed to try it.

What followed, she wrote, was far worse than she anticipated. "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 recalled.

She described experiencing explosive diarrhea, severe bloating and cramping, full-body aches and an inability to keep down food or water. At one point, she said she required IV fluids after becoming unable to stay hydrated.

"For the first two days, I ate maybe one cup of rice and half a banana," she wrote.

"I couldn't even keep electrolyte drinks down."

/IANS