How to Deal with Semaglutide Side Effects

Semaglutide side effects usually appear during dose escalation, which is required for the drug to work. The most common semaglutide side effects are gastrointestinal, including nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting. The good news is that they can be managed by adjusting the dosage and the diet. Moreover, patients report that most mild side effects go away after 3 to 8 days. 

Most common Semaglutide side effects

• Up to 44% of patients report nausea
• Up to 30% of patients report diarrhea
• Up to 30% of patients report hypoglycemia (when used in combination with basal insulin)
• Up to 24% of patients report vomiting 
• Up to 24% of patients report constipation
• Up to 20% of patients report abdominal pain
• Up to 14% of patients report headache
• Up to 13% of patients report increased amylase
• Up to 11% of patients report fatigue 

Who shouldn’t take semaglutide

There are some reasons why semaglutide could not be suitable for you.

You should not take semaglutide if you have at least one of the following conditions:

• diabetic retinopathy, a type of damage to the eye from diabetes
• low blood sugar
• disease of the gallbladder
• decreased kidney function
• pancreatitis
• medullary thyroid cancer
• multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2
• family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma
• kidney disease with likely reduction in kidney function
• pregnant or plan to become pregnant, breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed

How to handle semaglutide side effects

Now, if you take semaglutide and experience side effects, there are some ways you can reduce or get rid of them. The following recommendations are from actual semaglutide patients, as well as the manufacturer. 

Delay dosage increase

You lose weight with semaglutide by gradually increasing its dose. And most side effects appear as a result of dose escalation, as your body is exposed to a higher quantity of the medication.

The semaglutide dosage escalation schedule, posted in our Administration Guide, is based on clinical studies and is recommended only. This schedule is not mandatory for every patient as each individual responds differently to the medication. If you cannot tolerate dosage escalation, consider delaying the dose increase or reducing the dose for a few weeks.

Change your diet

Changing your diet might also help with gastrointestinal side effects, like nausea and vomiting. 

Drinking a lot of cold water is good for treating nausea. Patients also say that adding some electrolyte powder to your water once daily might be more effective. 

Try eating bland foods, such as crackers and rice, as well as food that contains water, like soups. Make sure you avoid fried, spicy, greasy, high-fat, or sweet food.

The manufacturer also recommends eating slowly, avoiding lying down after meals, and going outdoors for fresh air.

Here are some more foods recommendations from semaglutide patients to help you with nausea and vomiting:

• Drinks with dried ginger, lemon, and honey
• Chewable ginger tablets or ginger capsules
• Ginger ale
• Peppermint candy
• Peppermint tea or ginger tea

Take medicine

If delaying dosage escalation and changing your diet don’t make any difference, consider taking medications to ease semaglutide side effects. Here are some drugs recommendations for specified side effects: 

• Nauzene (for nausea) 
• Emetrol (for nausea) 
• Dramamine (for nausea) 
• B12 injections (for nausea)
• Pepto liquid (for nausea and diarrhea)
• Imodium (for diarrhea)
• Zofran (for vomiting)
• Nexium (for acid reflux)
• Prilosec (for acid reflux)
• Dexilant (for acid reflux)
• Pepcid (for acid reflux)
• Tums (for heartburn)
• Laxatives for constipation

Bonus tip

Some semaglutide patients found aromatherapy effective for nausea. Try breathing in peppermint or spearmint essential oils by using hot steam or a diffuser.

With this in mind,

We hope you are feeling well and are content with your weight-loss journey. Always remember that results take time. 

In case you experience side effects, we hope our recommendations come in handy for you. 

And if you have any other tips that helped you ease side effects, it would be great if you could share them to help other patients improve their weight-loss journey! Use the following contact form or write to us via email: support@semaspace.com