How to Relieve Nausea from Semaglutide

Key Takeaways

• Nausea is a common side effect that is most often seen after 2 to 4 weeks of receiving semaglutide injections. 
• Semaglutide slows digestion which can potentially cause nausea. 
• Nausea lasts a few weeks but should slowly subside as your body adjusts to the medication. 
• Call 911 if you are experiencing signs of semaglutide overdose.

How to Relieve Nausea from Semaglutide

If you are currently receiving semaglutide injections and experiencing nausea, there are ways to find relief—these include adjusting your dose, gradually increasing doses, listening to your body, and making dietary adjustments. Ultimately, it’s one of the common gastrointestinal side effects and can be managed easily. Below, we will discuss exactly how to manage nausea caused by semaglutide, how long your symptoms may last, and in-depth strategies to alleviate the symptoms. 

Understanding Semaglutide and Its Common Side Effects

Semaglutide is a GLP-1 receptor agonist, meaning it mimics the hormone GLP-1, which stimulates insulin secretion from the pancreas in response to food intake. By encouraging insulin production, semaglutide helps aid in blood sugar control. This process is typically used for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Additionally, it slows digestion and suppresses brain pathways that trigger feelings of hunger, leading to reduced appetite and calorie intake.

Common side effects of semaglutide include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, fatigue, and allergic reactions like mild itchiness or redness at the injection site. While nausea is one of the common mild side effects of several medications, it is important to understand how to specifically manage the type of nausea caused by semaglutide injections. Management advice may vary on a case-by-case basis and your current condition, other medical conditions, and medical history should always be considered. 

If you have previously been on a semaglutide regimen with other branded alternatives or similar diabetes medication and found that nausea was a significant issue for you, you may be wondering how compounded semaglutide offered by Ahara could be any different. Compounded semaglutide through Ahara is tailored to meet individual patient needs and promote effective weight loss. 

Why Does Semaglutide Cause Nausea?

Since semaglutide works to slow digestion, it also slows gastric emptying: the process of food leaving the stomach and entering the small intestines. When food remains in the stomach for longer, your body naturally tries other measures, like nausea and vomiting, to eliminate the food left in your stomach. 

How Long Does Semaglutide Nausea Last?

Nausea caused by semaglutide is typically experienced about 2 to 4 weeks after starting the medication and may last into week 20 when the dose is increased to its recommended maintenance dose. Adverse effects may be experienced by users anytime their dose is increased.  

Nausea caused by semaglutide typically only lasts for a few weeks as your body adjusts to the prescription medication. While that may not sound like an encouraging time frame if you’re presently experiencing the symptom, rest assured that it will subside over time. We’ll discuss various strategies you can take to assist with the mild side effects in more detail below. 

Strategies to Alleviate Nausea from Semaglutide

Compared to severe side effects, nausea is relatively easy to alleviate through various over-the-counter medications, dietary modifications, and rest. Strategies to specifically alleviate nausea from semaglutide include: 

• Adjusting your dose
• Gradually increasing doses 
• Listening to your body
• Making dietary adjustments, such as eliminating high-fat foods

Adjust Your Dose

If you find that you are experiencing severe nausea beyond the expected time frame, feel that it is not improving with any home remedies, or generally find it intolerable, you may consider consulting with your healthcare provider on how to adjust your dose to a more tolerable level. Compounded semaglutide doses offered by Ahara are adjustable and can be adjusted to meet your personal needs while keeping you safe and still promoting weight loss. 

Gradually Increasing Doses

Another strategy for managing and preventing nausea caused by semaglutide is gradually increasing doses in smaller increments. While there is a recommended schedule for increasing the dose, this can be modified to meet your needs to mitigate semaglutide side effects, such as nausea, that you may be experiencing. If you are still meeting your weight loss goals at your current dose, you may discuss with your healthcare provider the benefits of staying where you’re at for a while longer. 

Listen to Your Body

A good rule of thumb to keep when coping with the adverse effects of medication is to listen to your body. If you find that you are feeling particularly nauseous and fatigued, let yourself rest. 

Since semaglutide causes you to feel fuller for longer, you might also need to take a slightly different approach to how you eat. This could mean eating slower and/or eating smaller portions as you adjust to the prescription medication. Furthermore, if your symptoms progress from nausea to vomiting or severe abdominal pain and you find that you are unable to tolerate liquids, you may consider going to the emergency room and following up with your healthcare provider or other healthcare professionals.

Dietary Adjustments

Since semaglutide slows down your digestion, it is recommended that you eat easily digestible meals such as oatmeal, yogurt, bananas, chicken, pureed vegetables, and sweet potatoes. Eating smaller portions at meal times also aids in digestion and may assist your stomach in completely emptying between meals. Drinking plenty of water is also key to aiding in the digestion process.

Ahara offers medical and non-medical dietary solutions to help fill in the gaps as you begin semaglutide and adjust your diet in the process. Our service also connects you with certified dietitians for ongoing nutritional guidance.

Seeking Medical Assistance for Persistent Nausea

If you find yourself still nauseous after intervention and dietary adjustments, or if your feelings of nausea have progressed to vomiting, it will be necessary to seek medical attention. Similarly, if you are unable to eat or drink anything for 48 hours it will be necessary to contact emergency services and visit the emergency room. Dehydration is a serious risk of persistent nausea and vomiting that should be treated immediately. Signs and symptoms of dehydration include: 

• Decreased urination, which could be a sign of acute kidney injury
• Dark urine
• Dry mucous membranes (lining of mouth and lips) 
• Feelings of lightheadedness upon standing 
• Lack of urination despite increased fluid intake

Precautions While Using Semaglutide

It is very important that you administer semaglutide exactly as prescribed by your healthcare provider to help lessen the likelihood of potential side effects. You should also always discuss other medical conditions you may have with the involved healthcare professionals. You should maintain a well-lit, clean, clear space when you are self-administering semaglutide at home. Steps for self-administration and disposal include: 

• Ensure that you clean your injection site prior to injection with an alcohol pad or swab. 
• Let the site dry before your injection. 
• Once you have completed the administration, dispose of or store the cartridge as prescribed. 
• Clean the injection site once more with alcohol and place a clean bandage on the area after injection. 
• Ensure you have a sharps container nearby to dispose of the needle, pen, or cartridge once it is empty. Medical-grade sharps containers can be purchased online or created from household items that have lids such as used plastic water bottles, empty laundry detergent bottles, and/or other hard plastic containers that are difficult to puncture.

Do not attempt to increase or adjust doses without your healthcare provider’s advisement and knowledge as this can lead to serious and/or harmful side effects and the potential risk of overdose. Signs and symptoms of overdose include: 

• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Abdominal pain 
• Sweating 
• Feeling weak 
• Symptoms of low blood sugar which can include: dizziness, lightheadedness, rapid or unsteady heart rateas well as any of the symptoms listed above

If you experience any of these adverse effects, you should first contact emergency services to be evaluated and treated immediately. Be sure to inform them that you are on semaglutide, when you administered your last dose, how much you administered, and any medications you used to treat your current symptoms.  

Managing Semaglutide Use for Overall Health

Semaglutide is meant to be a catalyst for weight loss assistance, both for people with type 2 diabetes and without. With this in mind, we also recommend making healthy and holistic lifestyle modifications for diet and physical activity. This will also aid in managing the semaglutide side effects. Remember to listen to your body and keep track of any new or different issues or concerns that may arise. 

Efficient Purchasing: Semaglutide Online

Ahara makes the process of getting started on semaglutide simple. If you are interested, you can begin the process by filling out an introductory form to begin a consultation with one of our certified providers. Upon completing your consultation and meeting the criteria to start semaglutide, you will receive your prescription online, compounded specifically for you, and mailed to your house. 

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