Wegovy is a once-weekly prescription drug more and more in style for its effectiveness in weight reduction, but it surely comes with potential negative effects.
What’s Wegovy?
Wegovy, accepted 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.
It really works by lowering urge for food, slowing digestion, and enhancing blood sugar administration.
Obtainable in 5 doses, Wegovy is taken as soon as weekly, along with your physician steadily rising your dose.
What are the negative effects of Wegovy?
Many individuals expertise gentle to average negative effects. The commonest are:
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Abdomen ache
- Constipation
- Heartburn
- Fuel or bloating
- Fatigue
- Headache
- Runny nostril, sore throat, or congestion
Nausea is the most typical aspect impact and is one thing try to be ready to expertise, a minimum of quickly.
Uncomfortable side effects can begin as quickly as the primary dose and will happen at any time throughout therapy. Gastrointestinal negative effects, akin to nausea, are extra frequent through the first 4 months.
A lot of the negative effects will not be severe and have a tendency to fade as your physique adjusts to the remedy. Nevertheless, it’s necessary to report any negative effects to your healthcare supplier for correct administration.
What are the extra severe negative effects?
Wegovy might trigger uncommon however severe negative effects, akin to:
- Thyroid tumors, together with most cancers
- Pancreatitis
- Adjustments in imaginative and prescient (e.g., blurred imaginative and prescient, worsening of diabetic retinopathy, and adjustments to the macula)
- Kidney issues
- Psychological adjustments or melancholy
- Severe allergic reactions
- Hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar (particularly if taken with insulin)
Recognizing signs of low blood sugar, akin to dizziness, confusion, shakiness, and a quick heartbeat, is necessary.
In case you expertise any severe negative effects, cease taking Wegovy and search medical consideration instantly. Your healthcare supplier ought to talk about all potential negative effects with you and tackle any considerations.
Do most individuals expertise negative effects?
Many individuals taking Wegovy expertise negative effects, notably gastrointestinal points:
- About 44 % of these on a most dose report nausea
- 30 % expertise diarrhea
- 25 % expertise vomiting.
General, 71.4 % of scientific trial individuals had some negative effects, with round 10 % stopping the drug attributable to points like nausea.
How can I cut back the negative effects of Wegovy?
To assist cut back frequent negative effects, the producer recommends a number of methods:
- Emphasize bland, low-fat meals like crackers, toast, or rice.
- Embrace water-rich meals in your weight loss plan, akin to soups and gelatin.
- Keep away from mendacity down instantly after consuming.
- Get contemporary 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 negative effects proceed, report them to your supplier, who might regulate your dosage quickly.
Most negative effects reduce inside every week, and for those who cease taking Wegovy, they usually 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 negative effects to cease?
The frequent negative effects often lower inside a number of days to every week.
If signs final past every week, report them to your healthcare practitioner, even when they appear minor.
Docs usually begin with a decrease dose and steadily improve it to assist your physique acclimate and reduce negative effects like nausea. If greater doses are tough to tolerate, your supplier may quickly decrease the dose earlier than steadily rising it once more.
Most negative effects cease inside every 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 medicine.
Based on the Mayo Clinic, Wegovy might trigger agitation, irritability, irregular behaviors, and even suicidal ideas and melancholy in some individuals.
Though unusual, it’s important to tell your physician instantly for those who discover any adjustments in your temper or psychological state.
Does anybody achieve weight on Wegovy?
Whereas most individuals lose about 16 % of their physique weight after a yr on Wegovy, not everybody experiences weight reduction.
Trial knowledge from 2022 confirmed that over 20 % of individuals didn’t lose 5 % or extra of their physique weight on semaglutide medicine like Wegovy.
A small quantity might even achieve weight, although that is uncommon and never listed as an antagonistic impact in scientific trials. Weight regain after stopping Wegovy, nevertheless, 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 % of individuals in a single scientific trial reported hair loss whereas taking the drug.
This can be because of the physique’s stress response to speedy weight reduction, much 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 in regards to 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), shouldn’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 individuals in scientific trials developed these tumors. It’s important to pay attention to thyroid tumor signs and talk about 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. In case you unintentionally do, contact your physician or name the Poison Assist line at 1-800-222-1222.
An overdose could 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.
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