Semaglutide and Diarrhea: What Users Say (Page 4)

• 9ru...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 10, 2022

For Cardiovascular Risk Reduction "Absolutely horrific. I get it works for most people, but unfortunately not me (and should not be promoted as a miracle drug that can help all obese people lose weight, as it doesn't work for everyone). I took 0.25 (the smallest dose) for 3 weeks and nothing (I yo-yoed with my weight; lost a bit then gained it again). After 3 weeks (not sure why 3 weeks for me), the main side effects kicked in. Diarrhea/loose stools, constipation, vomiting, nausea. Worst side effect was for 3 nights in a row, at about 3 a.m. I projectile vomited. First night I almost aspirated and choked on my own vomit trying to make it to the toilet without throwing up. Second night, even though I had the bathroom bin next to my bed, I was still projectile vomiting, and I couldn't sleep as I had a panic attack that I'd pass away overnight and my family would find me dead as I couldn't breathe as I had undigested food stuck in my esophagus. Gave up after 5 weeks of the lowest dose."

• Dix...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 11, 2022

For Cardiovascular Risk Reduction "Two days after my first injection, I had horrible sulfur burps that were making me feel sick. By that evening, I had horrific stomach cramps; by 11:30 pm, I had uncontrollable diarrhea! My prescriber advised me to eat six small meals a day and that the symptoms would improve with each injection. I left it twelve days before my next one (as I had a couple of social things I didn’t want to miss if it happened again) and thought at first it was better. A headache day one, nausea on day two, but sulfur burps again by day three. I got indigestion medicine, but it didn’t even touch it. That night, same again; cramps, diarrhea, more burps, and this time intense nausea too. I decided at that point it might not be for me! I really hope it helps some people lose weight, but don’t expect a quick easy fix! I actually felt fatter the whole time I was on it as I was so bloated and tender."

• Bis...
• April 7, 2023

For Weight Loss (Obesity/Overweight) "I am going on week 11 with Ozempic, and have lost 24 pounds. I have had all 5 of the main side effects, nausea, stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhea, and constipation. I am happy with the weight loss, so am learning to manage these. By trial and error, I've found that I can't eat much at one time (don't really want to), need to avoid fatty foods, drink lots of fluids, and take Senna laxative every night for the constipation, and keep Zofran around to help with nausea. Yes, these first few weeks have been difficult, but the weight loss is worth it to me. Plus, the side effects get less the longer I'm on Ozempic. I am currently on 1.0 mg and think that's quite enough. I am rarely hungry and often have to make myself eat. I hope to lose 65 pounds total."

• Top...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 12, 2018

For Type 2 Diabetes "I started on the low dose of 0.25 in July - had no nausea, no loss of appetite, a little loose stool once a week. It's now December, I've stayed on the 0.25 dose and have lost 35 pounds! I feel great, better than I've felt in 10 years. I've even started riding my bicycle. I make sure to drink plenty of water daily and eat regular meals."

• Avi...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 16, 2024

For Weight Loss (Obesity/Overweight) "I am 58, have IBS-D, no gallbladder, GERD, and am 60 lbs overweight. This is my second attempt at taking Wegovy. The first attempt was disastrous! I didn't make it through the first week before I was hit with diarrhea, nausea, acid reflux, dizziness, cramps, and had headaches. I missed four days of work and went to ER twice. The doctor did tell me to stop taking this, but I honestly did not think it was the Wegovy (I had not done any research on side effects). Once I got back to my normal state of digestive issues, I became proactive. I started back on Wegovy (.25 lowest dose) 6 weeks ago, but now I take a dose of Pepto-Bismol daily (twice a day the day of and day after the shot) and I take an OTC daily antacid. I still get mild side effects (nausea, headache, and fatigue) the day after the shot or if I overeat. I have not lost any weight at this dose so I am going up to the .5 dose next week. As others have said - everyone will react to this med differently."

• Thi...
• June 27, 2018

For Type 2 Diabetes "I've been taking this for 2.5 months. I've lost a solid 10 pounds. I take it right before bed so I can sleep off the initial side effects, if any. There is a little bit of diarrhea, nothing too crazy. I have major loss of appetite, I can eat half meals or half kids' meals and I'm always full after a few bites. Sugars are low. The major side effect is nausea, but it isn't every day. I've thrown up 3 times within the past 3 months, which is something I never did prior. It comes out of nowhere, and honestly, I'm unsure if it is this injectable or just from taking an iron supplement and vitamin. Could be the vitamin. I feel tired also, not sure if it's just work or a side effect. Overall, I'm happy with the injectable, plus it beats taking a pill every day."

• Eri...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 17, 2023

For Weight Loss (Obesity/Overweight) "I am a 45-year-old woman. Started Ozempic .25 mg dose 6 weeks ago, increasing to the .5 mg dose after 4 weeks. Lost 13 pounds so far, which makes me happy. Started with some nausea, some explosive diarrhea, and a general fullness feeling, and no cravings. Now I’m experiencing more constipation, and after the last injection, a dizziness/lightheaded feeling. Don’t like that at all. It never goes away. Don’t know if it’s related, but also tingling and some numbness in one foot. I’ll try injecting my thigh next time and see if that helps the dizziness because I definitely do not enjoy that feeling. Almost a jittery feeling as well. Weird. So I’m hoping these will improve over time as I am liking the weight loss results so far. I’m wondering if anyone else has had this dizzy/jittery feeling and if it will go away."

• Gab...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 9, 2022

For Weight Loss (Obesity/Overweight) "Horrible, I had smelly sulfur burps and nausea at 1.7 mg. After the 2.4 mg limit, I became violently ill for two days. It was projectile from both ends. Very embarrassing. After that, just constant diarrhea for days. Throw it in the garbage."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 25, 2022

For Type 2 Diabetes "After 2 injections of .25, I started having watery diarrhea. On day 3, I woke up and the diarrhea had leaked out and was in my underwear. I started violently vomiting that same evening. This was day 4 of diarrhea, now with vomiting. My blood sugar levels kept crashing. I rushed to the ER, I had an X-ray, every lab work/panel you can think of, and a CT scan - nothing. Ozempic is the only culprit. I am texting this review from my hospital bed. I was admitted and put on fluids and a liquid diet. They are trying to keep the nausea under control and stop these symptoms before it affects my kidneys from being dehydrated. The Ozempic has been thrown in the garbage, but I don't know how long the nightmare from that so-called medicine will last."

• Jto...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 11, 2019

For Type 2 Diabetes "Been on Ozempic for a week. Using it with Metformin. I was taken off glipizide and Januvia. I’ve lost 6 lbs so far. Appetite is way down. A little nausea and diarrhea for a few days. Feeling better the last day or so. I highly recommend trying this medication."

• Ell...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 29, 2022

For Cardiovascular Risk Reduction "As someone who suffers with IBS diarrhea, this was the worst week of my life. I only started with .25 and had really bad side effects. The pain and diarrhea were so bad I thought I was going to die. Glad to see it works for some people, but if you are someone like me, you are losing weight because you’re constantly on the toilet and can’t eat because of nausea and diarrhea. One week of suffering because the doctor thought this would be a miracle drug and it was covered by insurance. I read some reviews where they were told to hang in there for a few months and it gets better. I would not wish this on anyone."

• Sic...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 2, 2022

For Cardiovascular Risk Reduction "My dr gave me this drug for weight loss. Omg, I took a higher dose than I was supposed to. But for the first two weeks taking it, I was so sick in bed. Now it’s been about 3 weeks since I took it, and I'm absolutely miserable. Have to constantly lay down. Dizzy, nausea, stomach pain, diarrhea, and my whole body just feels horrible. If this happens to you, drink tons of water, that seemed to help me a little. But I cannot wait for my body to go back to normal and never take this drug again. It’s been a horrible experience."

• Hop...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 7, 2022

"I've been on Rybelsus for about 6 weeks now and am up to the 7 mg dose. I was placed on it to help lose PCOS-induced weight gain. It took about a month to get used to (minor vomiting, nausea, constipation, and diarrhea during the adjustment). I've lost almost 15 lbs, my anxiety levels have plummeted, and my skin is the clearest it's been in ages. I no longer have sugar or processed carb cravings, which I think is helping all of this. I'm lucky that my insurance is fully covering the medication since it is pricey."

• Dia...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• June 2, 2019

For Type 2 Diabetes "I’ve been on Ozempic about 8 months. I went to the 1 mg dose pretty quickly. My sugars became normal. I was losing about 5 lbs every two weeks. My A1C went from 6.8 to 5.6. No side effects at all. I’ve lost about 30 pounds overall. About 6 weeks ago, I got sulfur burps, then nausea, then vomiting. I vomited 9 times over maybe 6 hrs. Thought it was food poisoning. Yesterday, I again got sulfur burps followed by nausea and then vomiting. This morning again, burps, vomiting, and watery diarrhea. Thought it odd it would again be food poisoning. I never get sick. Then thought maybe it was E. coli or gastroparesis. Then I happened upon this site and started reading the reviews of Ozempic. I don’t know why it would take so many months for any side effects to show, but it sounds like this is most likely the cause of my vomiting and diarrhea. I took my last dose two days ago. I take it every two weeks. I think I’ll cut back to 0.50 next time and see what happens."

• blh...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 31, 2024

For Weight Loss (Obesity/Overweight) "First dose 0.25mg, had slight stomach pain/discomfort. Later that same night, my appetite disappeared. Just seeing a fast-food commercial on TV made me feel nauseous. I thought if that's the worst of the side effects that affect me, then I'll be very happy with that. By the next day, stomach pain and nausea increased. By 4:00 am, BAM! Diarrhea, severe stomach pain, projectile vomiting, headache, chest pain, severe itching mainly on the palms of my hands and arms. I truly thought 'this must be what it feels like to be poisoned!' I was scared. It is now the next day and I feel fine. A little tired from lack of sleep from feeling so sick. I think I will do my second dose next week...but I'm quite nervous of a repeat of feeling like I was dying from the stomach pains and vomiting. Will I continue with this drug?...jury is still out! On the positive side, I've already lost 5 pounds; but of course, I can't & don't want to eat, too much nausea and vomiting."

• No ...
• March 1, 2020

For Type 2 Diabetes "Victoza was no longer working to lower my A1C, so my doctor prescribed Ozempic. It’s been 4 weeks. Since I’d been on the maximum dosage of Victoza, she assumed it would be a smooth transition to the maximum dose of Ozempic. While it did reduce my blood sugar, I’ve had every side effect: nausea, vomiting, explosive diarrhea, heart palpitations, heartburn, and disgusting burping. Some days, I can’t leave the house. I didn’t immediately realize that these symptoms were related to the medication, so I continued to inject the maximum dosage. I thought I had a horrible bug. After the second week, I made the connection. So I went down to a half dose, but that wasn’t enough. Now I’m down to .25. I’m still having side effects, so for now, I am on 2 Prilosec, 2 Zofran, and 4 Imodium per day. My blood sugars are down, sometimes dangerously low. I lost weight, but of course, I would with the nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. I’m going to try to stick it out."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 11, 2022

For Cardiovascular Risk Reduction "I started Ozempic for weight loss. I took dose 1 of 0.25 week 1 and had a little nausea. I took dose 2 on Saturday morning when I was supposed to. On Sunday, I felt terrible with nausea. Sunday night, I was vomiting and had diarrhea with major stomach pains. These symptoms have now lasted 6 days. My body is in so much pain and discomfort from vomiting and diarrhea and unable to eat or drink. I would never recommend this drug to anyone. The side effects are so terrible that I would not want to take the chance. I’m hoping these symptoms will go away soon."

• Ali...
• January 21, 2019

For Type 2 Diabetes "I'm a type 1 diabetic, and my doctor has been prescribing Ozempic 'off-license,' and it has really been working well for his patients. My doctor thinks I'm taking too much insulin, and my A1c has been quite high the last 5 years, so he wanted me to try this. The annoying thing is, it's worked so well. I've lost loads of weight, and my blood sugars are basically perfect, but the side effects are getting worse. I was meant to go up to 0.5, but I was too sick. I take my injection on a Wednesday night. The whole next two days, I'm nauseated and find it really hard to get out of bed. Then Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday is horrible. Terrible pain in my stomach, cramps all night to the point where I can't sleep at all, and diarrhea. This weekend I took Imodium really fast, but I was actually in the most pain yet. I thought I needed to go to the hospital, it was so bad. I'm on it 8 weeks now, did anyone's side effects go away? Feels like it's getting worse."

• Sli...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 1, 2022

For Weight Loss (Obesity/Overweight) "So I am 5'4" and I found myself at the weight I was when I delivered my children, 145 pounds. For three years plus, I desperately tried to approach my goal weight of 125 pounds, dieting and feeling miserable for 3 years. I told my doctor I was dieting and exercising and could not budge the scale. At 60 years of age, the weight just doesn’t come off like when you are young. I’ve been on Wegovy for 6 weeks and have lost 12 pounds-a miracle! Now at 133 pounds, I’m staying the course to my goal. I will say the nausea is the worst side effect and comes in intermittent waves. I have Zofran (ondansetron) for when I can’t take the nausea. One of the best side effects for me has been totally eradicating my diarrhea. I have irritable bowel on the diarrhea spectrum, and luckily I did not get the diarrhea side effect but more the constipation, which has totally normalized my GI tract! I am so happy about this and assume this is due to slowing gastrointestinal motility."

• Joe...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 5, 2021

For Cardiovascular Risk Reduction "Started on .25 and now onto .5 for the next 4 weeks. My side effects have been mild nausea, a lot of constipation, slight anxiety, mild diarrhea, mild tummy ache, intermittent tiredness, and feeling somewhat under the weather. There is no pattern, it’s random. I do think it’s the medication, as prior to this, I had none of these symptoms. It is not great, but tolerable. I think the meds are really kicking in now. If I have a small snack, the nausea subsides. I have little to no appetite, probably consume 1000 calories a day. And my mind is not consumed with food, and before I had an obsession with food. For me, it’s been life-changing. I put on 15 kg during Covid lockdown. Was 85 kg, now 81 kg."

• Jan...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 11, 2021

For Cardiovascular Risk Reduction "This was prescribed by a weight loss nurse, second time use. First time on .25 mg was okay, but as soon as I go up to .5 mg I am so sick. Diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, sulfur burps, it's horrendous!! I do not having tried twice now, with the same effects each time I can say 100% do not try this for weight loss. It is not worth it. It takes 5 weeks to clear the body too!"

• Dee...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 10, 2023

For Weight Loss (Obesity/Overweight) "I wish I did more research before starting this. I started on Saxenda and worked up to 3.0 mg, the max dose. I had a few bouts of severe diarrhea and vomiting. I lost a total of 15 pounds and then started getting ravenous. Then I got switched to Wegovy 2.0 mg and then moved up to 2.4 mg. I only had a couple of incidents of terrible nausea, usually when I ate greasy, heavy, or fried foods. But generally, I feel like crap every day. Once on the Wegovy, the weight literally fell off. Mostly because I just didn't think about eating anything, or my appetite would be satisfied with a very small portion of food. The biggest side effect is skin irritation; like a constant sunburn. Clothes touching my skin bother me. Or riding in a car and bouncing. It became intolerable. And chills make my skin ache. I easily surpassed my goal weight and now trying to decide if I want to quit it altogether or reduce the dosage and hope the skin irritation goes away."

• Pum...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 21, 2019

For Type 2 Diabetes "Endo gave me a 1-month sample for type II. Just into my second week at 0.25. Initially, upset stomach and diarrhea. Wouldn't say nausea per se, more like a stomach ache. Diarrhea wasn't crampy and prolonged like metformin. Appetite really decreased. Sugars started going down about 3-4 days in, and symptoms lessened by day 6. But.... weight gain of 3 lbs! What the...? Just on day 2 of the 2nd week, no nausea, but still eating less. Not peeing as much and waking up earlier and easier, and morning sugars down from 11-12ish to 8-9ish. I will be disappointed if I am the rare one that gains weight though."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 21, 2023

For Weight Loss (Obesity/Overweight) "I have lost 37 lbs in 3.5 months, but should be more due to the horrific side effects. Burping, belching, vomiting, diarrhea, chest pain, nausea, blurry vision, basically every side effect imaginable. I never had side effects from any medications before. I continued to increase the dose up to 1.7 mg and hope for the best with no success. I have three more weeks of misery, but due to the cost of $586, I refuse to trash this medication."

• ERM...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 25, 2019

For Type 2 Diabetes "This drug should be taken off the market. Side effects are severe. Belching, uncontrollable diarrhea, dehydration, nausea, vomiting. Be prepared to not leave your bathroom for 3 days every week. Not to mention, the ads are by far the most annoying on TV."