Common Ozempic Side Effects and How to Treat Them, According to Experts

Last month, the Trump administration announced major plans to slash prices of GLP-1s, including Ozempic, Wegovy, Zepbound, and Mounjaro. The agreement will lower prices of these medications from roughly $1,000 a month to $350, depending on the drug and your insurance.

If you’ve been struggling to lose weight, maybe you see 2026 as the year you’ll give one of these meds a try now that they’re becoming more accessible. But you’ve probably heard rumblings that the side effects can be hard to, well, stomach. What exactly are you in for?

We talked to bariatric doctors who regularly prescribe GLP-1s about the most common ozempic side effects, along with those of other commonly used GLP-1s. Here’s everything you need to know, including what side effects you can expect, how long they last, tips for treating them, and when you should consider another weight-loss method.

The most common side effects of GLP-1s

Even if you’ve just casually looked into GLP-1s, you probably know that there are a few different types. While Ozempic and Wegovy are both often taken for weight loss, technically, Ozempic is meant for helping manage type 2 diabetes, though both drugs contain the same active ingredient, semaglutide. Zepbound and Mounjaro are also commonly prescribed for weight loss, but their primary active ingredient is tirzepatide.

These medications have exploded in popularity in recent years, making them hard to get. This had led to people taking compounded versions, which are custom-made by pharmacists or doctors and are not FDA-approved.

Hector Perez, MD, a bariatric surgeon at Renew Bariatrics and an adviser at BestSurgeons.com, an online database that helps patients in the US and Mexico locate qualified surgeons, says that, for the most part, all of these weight loss drugs have the same side effects.

“Although each medication has its own nuances, all GLP-1 agonists act on similar hormonal pathways, so their side effect profiles generally overlap,” adds Michael Snyder, MD, FACS, the medical director of the Bariatric Surgery Center at Rose Medical Center in Denver, Colorado, and in-house obesity specialist at FuturHealth.

It might go without saying that, usually, the intended purpose of GLP-1s is to cause decreased appetite and early fullness. But on top of that there are a few less welcome symptoms. Whether you’re taking a semaglutide-based medication or a tirzepatide-based one, both Dr. Synder and Dr. Perez say that gastrointestinal symptoms are the most common and can include nausea, reflux, constipation, and diarrhea. “If you start one of these, expect some GI upset as a rule, although you can hope to be the exception,” Dr. Perez says.