Wegovy is a once-weekly prescription drug more and more common for its effectiveness in weight reduction, however it comes with potential unwanted effects.
This text offers an outline of each frequent and fewer frequent unwanted effects related to Wegovy.
What’s Wegovy?
Wegovy, accredited by the U.S. Meals and Drug Administration (FDA) in June 2021, is a weight-loss drug containing semaglutide, the identical lively ingredient as Ozempic.
Learn extra in: Ozempic vs. Wegovy: Which Drug Is Proper for You?
It really works by lowering urge for food, slowing digestion, and bettering blood sugar administration.
Accessible in 5 doses, Wegovy is taken as soon as weekly, along with your physician steadily rising your dose.
Study extra in: The whole lot You Have to Know About Wegovy.
What are the unwanted effects of Wegovy?
Many individuals taking Wegovy expertise delicate to reasonable unwanted effects. The commonest are:
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Abdomen ache
- Constipation
- Heartburn
- Fuel or bloating
- Fatigue
- Headache
- Runny nostril, sore throat, or congestion
Nausea is the commonest aspect impact and is one thing you need to be ready to expertise, not less than quickly.
Uncomfortable side effects can begin as quickly as the primary dose and will happen at any time throughout remedy. Gastrointestinal unwanted effects, equivalent to nausea, are extra frequent through the first 4 months.
A lot of the unwanted effects aren’t critical and have a tendency to fade as your physique adjusts to the remedy. Nevertheless, it’s vital to report any unwanted effects to your healthcare supplier for correct administration.
What are the extra critical unwanted effects of Wegovy?
Wegovy could trigger uncommon however critical unwanted effects, equivalent to:
- Thyroid tumors, together with most cancers
- Pancreatitis
- Modifications in imaginative and prescient (e.g., blurred imaginative and prescient, worsening of diabetic retinopathy, and modifications to the macula)
- Kidney issues
- Psychological modifications or despair
- Severe allergic reactions
- Hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar (particularly if taken with insulin)
Recognizing signs of low blood sugar, equivalent to dizziness, confusion, shakiness, and a quick heartbeat, is vital.
Should you expertise any critical unwanted effects, cease taking Wegovy and search medical consideration instantly. Your healthcare supplier ought to focus on all potential unwanted effects with you and handle any considerations.
Do most individuals who take Wegovy expertise unwanted effects?
Many individuals taking Wegovy expertise unwanted effects, significantly gastrointestinal points.
About 44 p.c of these on a most dose report nausea, 30 p.c expertise diarrhea, and 25 p.c expertise vomiting.
Total, 71.4 p.c of medical trial members had some unwanted effects, with round 10 p.c stopping the drug resulting from points like nausea.
How can I cut back the unwanted effects of Wegovy?
To assist cut back frequent unwanted effects of Wegovy, the producer recommends a number of methods:
- Emphasize bland, low-fat meals like crackers, toast, or rice.
- Embody water-rich meals in your weight loss program, equivalent to soups and gelatin.
- Keep away from mendacity down instantly after consuming.
- Get recent air for those who really feel nauseous.
- Decelerate your consuming tempo.
Many customers additionally counsel breaking meals into smaller parts all through the day.
If unwanted effects proceed, report them to your supplier, who could alter your dosage quickly.
Study extra in: Wegovy Dosage Information: How A lot Ought to You Take?
Most unwanted effects reduce inside per week, and for those who cease taking Wegovy, they sometimes resolve inside 1 to 2 weeks, with the drug totally leaving your system in about 5 to 7 weeks.
How lengthy does it take for the unwanted effects of Wegovy to cease?
The frequent unwanted effects of Wegovy normally lower inside just a few days to per week.
If signs final past per week, report them to your healthcare practitioner, even when they appear minor.
Docs sometimes begin with a decrease dose of Wegovy and steadily enhance it to assist your physique acclimate and decrease unwanted effects like nausea. If larger doses are troublesome to tolerate, your supplier may quickly decrease the dose earlier than steadily rising it once more.
Most unwanted effects cease inside per week or two after discontinuing Wegovy, with the remedy totally leaving your system in about 5 to 7 weeks.
Does Wegovy trigger temper swings?
Temper swings are a uncommon aspect impact of Wegovy and different semaglutide medication.
In response to the Mayo Clinic, Wegovy could trigger agitation, irritability, irregular behaviors, and even suicidal ideas and despair in some individuals.
Though unusual, it’s important to tell your physician instantly for those who discover any modifications in your temper or psychological state.
Does anybody achieve weight on Wegovy?
Whereas most individuals lose about 16 p.c of their physique weight after a 12 months on Wegovy, not everybody experiences weight reduction.
Trial information from 2022 confirmed that over 20 p.c of individuals didn’t lose 5 p.c or extra of their physique weight on semaglutide medication like Wegovy.
A small quantity could even achieve weight, although that is uncommon and never listed as an opposed impact in medical trials. Weight regain after stopping Wegovy, nonetheless, is frequent.
See extra in: Can Wegovy Assist You Lose Weight?
Does Wegovy trigger hair loss?
Wegovy itself doesn’t trigger hair loss, however 3 p.c of members in a single medical trial reported hair loss whereas taking the drug.
This can be because of the physique’s stress response to speedy weight reduction, just like what some individuals expertise after bariatric (weight-loss) surgical procedure.
Since each Wegovy and weight reduction surgical procedures can result in speedy weight reduction, hair loss can happen in a small variety of circumstances.
Is Wegovy linked to thyroid tumors or most cancers?
The FDA’s approval of Wegovy features a field warning concerning the threat of thyroid C-cell tumors.
Folks with a private or household historical past of thyroid tumors, particularly medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) or A number of Endocrine Neoplasia syndrome kind 2 (MEN 2), mustn’t take Wegovy or different semaglutide drugs.
This concern stems from research in rodents, the place some developed thyroid tumors, together with most cancers, after being given the drug.
Nevertheless, this threat has not been confirmed in people, as no members in medical trials developed these tumors. It’s important to concentrate on thyroid tumor signs and focus on your medical historical past along with your physician.
What are the signs of taking an excessive amount of Wegovy?
By no means take extra Wegovy than prescribed. Should you by chance do, contact your physician or name the Poison Assist line at 1-800-222-1222.
An overdose may cause extreme nausea, persistent vomiting, and dangerously low blood sugar (hypoglycemia).
Since Wegovy stays in your system for a very long time, you could want medical monitoring to make sure correct hydration and protected blood sugar ranges.
Study extra in The whole lot You Have to Know About Wegovy. Did you discover this text useful? Click on Sure or No beneath to tell us!
