Semaglutide and Diarrhea: What Users Say (Page 4)

• Gra...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 1, 2022

For Type 2 Diabetes "If you have any form of stomach or bowel disorder or a history of pancreatitis, you may want to steer clear of Ozempic or any of the other similar drugs in its class. They slow gastric emptying, which can really get your system out of order and wreak havoc. If you start having sulfur burps, extreme nausea, horrific vomiting, and diarrhea, you’ll know it isn’t for you. For me, it got so bad, I was having to resort to wearing adult diapers. I initially thought I was having episodes of food poisoning or giardiasis, but it turned out to be medicine-induced gastroparesis and pancreatitis. Ozempic and the drugs like it may work great in some people, but be downright dangerous in others. Use with caution and pay attention to the warning signs. I just hope this will help someone else not have to go through what I did."

• don...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 15, 2021

For Type 2 Diabetes "I started this drug 2 weeks ago. First week okay, then the trouble began! Horrible abdominal pains, diarrhea, chills, hands became very cold, felt like I had a fever, nausea, just felt horrible. In my case, the cure was worse than the disease! Called my doctor, quite obviously, I am off this medication. May you have better luck than me!"

• Wor...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• February 25, 2025

For Weight Loss (Obesity/Overweight) "Beginning weight was 234 and began at 0.25 in June 2024, and just began 2.4 today at 177. Been going up very slowly, but weight loss has slowed way down. Still have 17 pounds to lose, but prefer 27 more. Have gone from 2XL/Size 22 to size 14. Have dealt with nausea, headaches, occasional constipation/diarrhea, depending on what I eat. Small meals, five times a day, plus drinking lots of water is key. I get extremely tired the day or two after taking the shot. I take the shot at night, hoping to be at my goal weight by the end of May 2025. 63-year-old woman and all blood work now within normal limits."

• Eri...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 27, 2021

For Weight Loss (Obesity/Overweight) "Taking Wegovy for weight loss and prediabetic. Into the third week of 0.5 mg and tolerated it well so far. No severe nausea and a few bouts of diarrhea. However, I had gastric bypass a few years back, and my stomach is always off with dumping syndrome. In 18 days, I’ve lost only 4.5 lbs, and that is tracking macros and eating about 600 calories per day and keeping carbs under 80g. It definitely has taken my urge to eat away, and I have to force myself to eat. I don’t have intense fullness, as I believe due to my stomach size I already eat tiny meals like 4 ounces, so I'm not pushing my stomach and having the medicine cause me to be sick. I can tell each week the side effects do lessen. I would hang in there. I know the weight loss hasn’t been terrific, but I have to remember this could help me stave off becoming diabetic."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 7, 2019

For Type 2 Diabetes "Loved the weight loss, everything else sucked! Nausea, diarrhea, heartburn, sulfur burps, no appetite. I ended up with a nasty gallbladder that was poisoning my body. I turned septic and ended up hospitalized. The doctors, nurses, and hospital were wonderful, but my ordeal was not over. Ten days later, I had seizures and two small strokes. Had no calcium or magnesium left in my body. The most horrible experience ever! Yes, this medicine may be great. Please be vigilant about getting your blood work done on a monthly basis, especially if you are losing fluids through digestive upset. Like I said, the drug worked as far as weight loss (47 lbs) and A1C (6.6). But I came close to losing my life and am still recovering and working with my doctors to get back to a healthy life."

• Wen...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 30, 2018

For Type 2 Diabetes "Hospitalized twice with severe abdominal pain and nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting. Second visit had a gastric emptying study done. Normal gastric emptying is 30 min, mine was 800 min. Basically, this med damaged the vagus nerve and paralyzed my stomach, not allowing food to empty. Severe symptoms. Missed work, hospitalized a total of over 2 weeks. Praying my stomach returns to normal. Diagnosed with gastroparesis caused by Ozempic."

• Dan...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 4, 2019

For Type 2 Diabetes "Two days after the injection, I get a pretty bad headache, indigestion, and a bloated feeling that lasts the day. This week (6th shot) has been different. It’s the second week the dose was raised from .25 mg to .5 mg. I felt like I had to throw up. The indigestion, burping, constipation, sore muscles, aches, and heavy sweating all felt like I had a horrible flu. I stayed home from work. I went back to work today, when I normally get the headache, and had heavy sweating, burping, indigestion, cold clammy skin, bloating, diarrhea, and depression and anxiety (years since I had either one). Tonight I still have bloating, wrists and shoulders sore, and indigestion with burps. My neck is really stiff. The normal headache has started with a little dizziness. I am still debating what to do as this has been an effective medicine. My blood sugar has gone from 290 to 90 to 140 when I check it. I have lost weight as well."

• Clo...
• September 2, 2019

For Type 2 Diabetes "Tried Ozempic for the first time on Thursday. Friday night, a bit of diarrhea, Saturday, just felt off, Sunday went out for breakfast, discovered I had little appetite. And then it was non-stop vomiting and diarrhea, to the point I was in the ER. Spent several hours there as they tried to bring the lactic acid back down into a normal range. They told me the higher the lactic acid, the more severe the dehydration. Multiple IVs, anti-nausea shots, and something to stop the diarrhea, plus one CT scan, they said stomach bug. I could go home and recover in bed. Stupid me believed them. Took the injection for the second time on Thursday...same thing, only this time the abdominal cramping was so bad it doubled me over, to the point I was sent by ambulance to the ER. Same round of tests, same results. Only this time, add in pain meds. After comparing the previous Sunday to the current Sunday, they pretty much concluded no stomach bug the first time, but it was due to the injection."

• Suz...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 3, 2019

For Type 2 Diabetes "I started on Ozempic in January this year. I have been type 2 diabetic for over 15 years. I was on metformin but found my A1C increasing, so it was recommended that I try this. I have had no problems with nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or stomach pains, etc. that others have had. I have lost 26 lbs and am using 1 ml per week. I started with the .25, after two weeks increased to .5, and then after 4 weeks increased to 1 ml. My daily blood test has decreased down from around 10-11 to 4.5-6, and my A1C reduced down from 11 to 8, that was 2 months ago. I will redo next month. I truly think it will be down under 7 when I do it. For me, it is the miracle drug, I feel so much better, and with the weight loss, I feel less tired. I am sure it does not work for everyone, but for those it does, it is a very good product. I did have to get approval through my endocrinologist for my drug plan to cover this. Those without a drug plan would be well advised to think carefully as it is very expensive."

• CJa...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 8, 2020

For Type 2 Diabetes "I have taken Ozempic, 1 injection of .25 on Feb 1st, 2020. I have had diarrhea ever since: nausea, gastritis (inflamed stomach), reflux, stomach pain (can't touch my stomach), dizzy, tired all the time, had to call an ambulance as I almost passed out, shaky, dehydrated from going to the washroom so often. I was in bad shape, and I live on my own. Supposed to take this needle again tonight, don't think this is going to happen."

• AJa...
• July 4, 2021

For Type 2 Diabetes "I have been taking 3 mg Rybelsus since June 4th. I am not experiencing nausea nor diarrhea, however, I am experiencing constipation and loss of appetite. Since I have been taking this medication, I notice I get tired very quickly. Overall, I notice that it has helped my diabetes tremendously, and I have lost 8 lbs with very little exercise. I also take metformin 750 ER. Before starting Rybelsus, my A1C was 8.1, I do expect it to be much lower on my next visit in September."

• Mac...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 13, 2020

For Type 2 Diabetes "Well I took the shot on a Wednesday. And by Saturday I felt weak. I had severe diarrhea and no appetite. That lasted for about 3 days. Then I started itching all over my body. So I got some cortisone to help with the itching. Then as I continued to itch, my body was turning red, and I'm African American. Then I began to blister and then peel. I peeled from my legs, arms, my buttocks, and then my hands, and now my feet. I told my doctor, she insisted it was my laundry detergent, but I tried to tell her different. Anyways, I believe that there was an ingredient I was allergic to in the Ozempic. I do not recommend this shot. I've been dealing with this for a month. The only upside, I lost 7 to 8 lbs. But look what I went through. Good luck!"

• Gor...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 6, 2019

For Type 2 Diabetes "Currently lying in a hospital bed in the gastric ward, horrendous diarrhea. I would never use this Ozempic if I knew of the side effects. I came into the hospital severely dehydrated, have been on a drip for four days, and symptoms still continuing."

• Hea...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 14, 2023

For Cardiovascular Risk Reduction "My doctor put me on Ozempic for Type 2 diabetes even though my A1C was at goal. It was a huge mistake. After 3 weeks at 0.5 units and 4 weeks at 1.0 units, I still had terrible nausea and diarrhea. I could barely leave my house. My diet changed from healthy legumes and vegetables to less healthy foods in an attempt to reduce the diarrhea and soothe my stomach. I couldn't exercise. I quit Ozempic about six weeks ago, and both my A1C and cholesterol were elevated at my checkup this week. I would not advise Ozempic for anybody who already has slow gastric emptying. I regret trying it."

• Kda...
• September 20, 2019

For Type 2 Diabetes "This is the worst drug I have ever been prescribed. I took my first shot on Sat at 4 p.m. By 10 p.m. I had a horrible headache and acid indigestion unlike anything I have ever experienced. By Sunday morning, the fatigue was so bad I could not get out of bed. Following was total lock down of my digestive system and then uncontrollable diarrhea for 5 days. The fatigue and nausea I could not shake. I spent most of the next 5 days trying to sleep and not eating due to the nausea and overall horrible sick feeling. I am a person who works out and runs 3 miles a day and is very active. I feel like a week of my life has been sucked away from me. Today is Thursday and still feeling terrible. I can only hope it wears off soon. Think very long and hard before using this drug. Do your research and read about it, it is very concerning that this is actually approved to be injected into people."

• Jol...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 24, 2024

For Weight Loss (Obesity/Overweight) "I started on Wegovy .25 mg mid-August and felt no side effects but no weight loss neither. Difficult stool movement right away. After 6 weeks, I started taking .50 mg after difficulty finding this dose in any pharmacy in Miami. I stayed on this dose for 4 weeks without any weight loss or bad side effects, other than constipation. Then I started taking 1 mg and immediately started feeling very bad: severe nausea and indigestion and bad diarrhea. Obviously, you can’t eat anything, so yes, I finally started losing weight, but felt so bad, I could not function, slept a lot, did not eat, was on the toilet a lot, and decided this was not worth it and stopped after two injections. Perhaps other people can deal with these kinds of side effects or they just react easier. Since I started on low doses for so long, I was disappointed the side effects were still so strong. After about three days (after stopping), I feel normal again but weight comes back quickly if you don’t have an iron will!"

• Fay...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 22, 2025

For Weight Loss (Obesity/Overweight) "I started Wegovy 2 weeks ago. I have acid reflux and constipation. I took 1 magnesium/citrate gummy to help with the constipation and ended up with severe cramping with diarrhea in the middle of the night. The acid reflux happens every evening, and acid reflux meds cause constipation. I’m not enjoying the Wegovy."

• Dis...
• August 30, 2018

For Type 2 Diabetes "I started Ozempic and had no issue with the initial dose of .25. When I had the second dose, I had minor nausea and definitely noticed not feeling as hungry. Five days later, I had severe diarrhea and very foul-tasting burping. The next day, I was okay. Then the following day, I had diarrhea again. I thought maybe stomach virus. Imodium helped me get through the rest of the day. Then it was the day I take my shot (Sunday night). Monday was okay, and then it started again with the terrible-tasting burps, severe diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting. I was unable to eat anything except ice chips. The diarrhea has continued for now the third day. I literally can’t be more than 10 steps from the bathroom. I’ve only had water, chicken broth, 1 banana, 1/2 cup applesauce, 1/2 cup plain rice, and 1 cup apple juice and still can’t stay away from the bathroom. I’ve lost 7 pounds since starting Ozempic, 4 of them have been this week. This is not how I want to lose weight."

• boo...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 15, 2022

For Cardiovascular Risk Reduction "Working with a board-certified obesity physician who suggested I try Ozempic. I am not diabetic but was pre-diabetic in 2015 and was on 1,000 mg Metformin until February of this year. I LOVE Ozempic. I feel like a normal human who doesn't think about food constantly, who can now leave food on my plate (because of Ozempic) and not pick at other people's plates. I've lost 32 pounds in 19 weeks!! I never had any gastrointestinal problems with the exception of being constipated, so I take something for that a couple of times a week. It is much better than the diarrhea I had with Metformin. I started on .025 mg for the first four weeks, then went to .05 mg and plan to stay on that as long as it works. BUT PLEASE BE AWARE, you have to cut down on carbs like breads, pastas, and sweets. I don't have a craving for sweets anymore. My doctor said Ozempic doesn't work as well if you keep eating those kinds of carbs, and I have noticed that when I cheat. I'm 74, something about 'old dog new tricks'"

• Bil...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 7, 2019

For Type 2 Diabetes "Ozempic is dangerous! I started to get unbearable stomach pains, bloating, diarrhea, increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, and a host of other problems. It got to the point where if I really had to go to the bathroom, I almost couldn't hold my stool because it was frequent, urgent diarrhea. I suffered through a nightmare. One day I went to visit NY, and I forgot to take my shot of Ozempic. My symptoms all disappeared after a few days. Ozempic was the culprit. My blood pressure, heart rate, and everything else went back to normal. I was so happy and felt great again. Doctors are not God. My doctor gave me the Ozempic even though he knew my insurance didn't cover it and it would cost over $550/month. He kept giving me the free samples so I wouldn't have to pay. What kind of doctor puts you on a long-term med knowing you can never afford it? Bottom line is... do not take this drug. You'll regret it."

• Mar...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 28, 2021

For Type 2 Diabetes "I was on Metformin and had an A1c of 8. The doctor told me to get off Metformin and gave me a sample of 3 mg Rybelsus and prescribed the 7 mg dose after 1 month. My morning blood sugars with Metformin were 111 to 88. With Rybelsus, my blood sugar in the morning has been 148 to 208! I had diarrhea with Metformin, but that went away with Rybelsus, however, my stomach has become bloated, lots of burping, slightly nauseous, no appetite, a tightness in my chest, and now that I am using the 7 mg dose, I have become exceedingly tired with zero appetite. Today my blood sugar was 177. This is unacceptable. It was way lower with Metformin. I am quitting this. I can't be this tired and feeling so ill. I used to have energy with Metformin, but Rybelsus has completely drained it. I feel the doctor had just been visited by the Big Pharma salesman and gave her the sales pitch, and she started prescribing it. Is she getting a kickback? This Rybelsus is not good and causes cancer."

• Nei...
• April 16, 2021

For Type 2 Diabetes "Month 1, I was started on Ozempic at 0.25 mg and had very mild symptoms of bloating and reduced appetite. Month 2 & 3, uncomfortable. Stomach cramps, gas, and diarrhea probably for 4 days after injection. This can be really embarrassing in a small office. By the end of Month 3, I was feeling quite a bit better. At this point, my HbA1c was down to 5.2 from 9.4, I had virtually no diabetic symptoms. No blurred vision, no numbness in fingers and toes, and I was sleeping through the night without visits to the bathroom. And I lost 16 kilo in weight. Month 4 to 7. OMG. Increasing to 1 mg, the side effects are horrendous. Weight loss has stalled, though this is probably due to lockdown. The sickness and eggy burps are constant, and now my doctor says it will be at least 6 months before the side effects could be gone. But I have no diabetic symptoms, my HbA1c is pretty much normal, and I think the effort has been worth it. Not an easy journey, but worthwhile."

• NP2...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 24, 2021

For Type 2 Diabetes "28 days in! Started on 7 mg and will continue with 7 mg. I am also on Metformin 500 mg daily and have been for years. To be fair, my A1c was never above 6.3, and my weight was 179 lbs and height is 5-6. I have a strong family history of insulin-dependent diabetics, and I don’t want to go there! I’ve been losing weight like crazy with no exercise, which is why I came to read some of these reviews to see if this is common. Current weight is 164. Lost 15 lbs in 28 days! Mild nausea and dry mouth after taking the med in the morning. Pill is also bitter and not overly large, but a little hard to swallow. Nausea disappears with ginger ale or fruit. Appetite is gone! I have to force myself to eat at times. I suggest a vitamin supplement. Mild stomach ache and loose stool later in the day, but have solid soft stool in the morning. Want to continue to reach the weight goal of 155 lbs and A1c below 5.8. Then maybe go to a reduced dose if necessary. I definitely recommend this drug."

• mac...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 21, 2018

For Type 2 Diabetes "After the first 0.25 mg injection, I was extremely bloated and burping within 5 hours. I woke the 2nd day with extreme bloat, diarrhea, nausea, and abdominal pain. I could not eat or drink a thing because of severe bloating. This lasted 5 days. Foolishly, I did a 2nd dose the next week of 0.25 mg. This time, I became much, much sicker with the same symptoms but more severe. Abdominal pain severe, bloating was so bad I had to go to the ER, my stomach was as tight as a drum. They were talking about sticking a tube in my stomach to release the incredible pressure, instead, I came home and rolled around in agony for 3 days. I stopped using it, but the side effects continued. 7 weeks of severe gastroenteritis that caused so much inflammation in my body, I have been in so much pain. No amount of weight loss is worth this level of suffering. If you have any GI issues like gastroparesis, you really should not be risking it with this drug, it says so right in the insert."

• Lyn...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 18, 2021

For Type 2 Diabetes "I took 3 mg for 2 months and then started the 7 mg. The 3 mg I had heartburn, nausea, some diarrhea. Was uncomfortable but doable. But once on 7 mg, I had the same symptoms plus vomiting, constipation to the point of hemorrhoids, and severe heartburn to the point I almost went to the ER. I got out the label on this medicine, Rybelsus, and relooked up side effects symptoms on the computer. I immediately stopped on my own, messaging my doctor. Within 2 days, I felt so much better. This medicine is costly too, luckily I had insurance because I will not use this and it had to be disposed of. $ wasted."