User Reviews for Ozempic (semaglutide)

A few side effects starting with the 0.25 mL dose and, naturally, progressing with the 0.5 and 1.0 mL doses. The side effects (GI upset, fatigue, brain fog) can be devastating. I do believe the manufacturer recommendations regarding timing of step up doses, for most, is optimistic at best. But, here's the thing; there is no set standard, or real medical necessity, for the manufacturers step up dose timing. It is entirely possible to stay at the 0.5 mL dose for longer than a month if needed with no ill effect. My doctor agreed and prescribed me the 1.0 mL dose and recommended very incremental increased dosing. Just because you have a 1.0 mL pen, doesn't mean you have to use the entire 1.0 mL dose. From the 0.5 mL dose, I stepped up to 0.6 mL, then 0.7, 0.8, etc. This absolutely helped manage side effects and allowed a far more realistic adjustment period than the manufacturers recommended jumps of 0.25 to 0.5 to 1.0 mL. Read More Read Less

So many serious side effects (January 2022 - September 2022), Headaches, er pain level abdominal pain radiating to back, crazy dreams fatigue and more After 3 ER visits, Multiple GI and Endo visits not one Identified this drug as a potential problem. After self research and discussing with my Primary I stopped taking and feel so much better so fast. I would never recommend this drug.

I started on .25 end of June beginning of July went to .5 after 4 weeks I just upped to 1mg today… to date I’ve lost 25 pounds in just over 2 months without much effort…I have nausea the day I take my shot and the day after… I’m super happy with the results so far!

I began taking this medication about 4 months ago. I started at the lowest dose of .25mg and then moved up monthly. I'm currently at 1mg and will be moving to 2mg next week. I'm so pleased with this medication. I've lost approximately 35lbs so far. I've been on a strict diet and also go to the gym when I can, as well. But, I attribute most of the loss to this drug because nothing was moving the needle, until I started using it. I have barely no appetite and have to force myself to eat. I never really realized how much my life revolved around food until I didn't depend on it for comfort anymore. The only side effect I have is constipation, which I take stool softeners for. You can't expect to eat large meals with this and feel well. You really have to pretend like you just got bariatric surgery and can only digest small portions and nothing heavy. I feel this is why a lot of people report getting sick with GI issues. They continue to eat like usual. This MUST be a full lifestyle change to be effective and if you can power through some of the side effects and make the necessary healthy changes, you will be so pleasantly surprised. This changed my life for the better and I feel like a new person. Read More Read Less

I’ve been taking Ozempic for 10 weeks, started at.25 then increased every 4 weeks to my current dose which is 1mg per week. The only side effects I’ve noticed are slight constipation, acid reflux and tiredness. I have no appetite at all and try to eat two healthy meals per day but to date I’ve not had ANY weight loss. ???? What am I doing wrong? I don’t understand. It just doesn’t seem to be working for me. I’m going to increase my water intake which is something I haven’t really been doing and continue for 4 more weeks if still no weight loss then I’ll stop taking it.Read More Read Less

Started in June. At first I loved how the weight would slowly come off. Then I started to have weird side effects such as heavy menstrual bleeding with clots, so long and heavy that I had to go to OB GYN to start oral contraceptives to stop the bleeding after 30 straight days of bleeding. OBGYN did ultrasound and said that I shouldn’t be bleeding as my endometrial tissue was very thin. I have had very low blood pressure reading of 80s/60s, calf cramps, and a random frozen shoulder that I had to go to orthopedics for. Never these issues before starting medication. Very bizarre. HSV 1 that started after many years of being dormant. Not sure the weight loss is worth the side effects? Read More Read Less

I have been taking .25 for two weeks and have had mild nausea and headaches along with fatigue. During this second week I have had horrible joint pain in my knee after using my thigh as an injection site. I have lost 0 pounds. My appetite is gone my cravings are gone but the scale does not move. Trying to power through the side effects in hopes that this will work for me. It’s hard to move and exercise with such horrid pain in my knees.

Type 2 diabetes has been hard to control. Started with 25 for four weeks and had to stop. Felt weak, lightheaded and blacked out three times. My blood pressure began dropping dramatically. I had no appetite. Wasn’t a right fit for me. I don’t have weight to lose. Can’t have blood pressure dropping and have risk of injury or worse.

Started taking the 0.25 started feeling sick after i had eggs. So i'm going to see what food works best and skip one that don't work.

I have a BMI of 50.5 and am on the border of type II Diabetes. A1c of 6.2. I am taking Ozempic as a first line treatment for the impending diabetes and the obesity. I have other issues related to auto-immune disease such as hidradenitis suppurativa, atopic dermatitis, and IBS. I also have asthma, elevated cholesterol, and high blood pressure. The first thing I noticed about taking Ozempic is that my IBS was immediately relieved but I started getting mood swings and irritability. The effect of 0.25mg wore off within 3 days and I immediately got rebound diarrhea and felt lethargic. After increasing to 0.5mg per week, the effect lasted 5 to 6 days and then began the IBS rebound and feeling bad. On 1mg per week, everything seems normal and I only loose control of my appetite on the 6th and 7th days, no other effect noticed. This medication actually makes me feel normal at a full dose. I have a bowel movement every 36 to 48 hours and have good control over my eating habits. The only thing I have a hard time giving up are the grains, especially wheat, that seem to cause a lot of inflammation in my body. I notice that I feel good when I especially avoid wheat. But sadly, I like bread a lot. The hardest thing to get over is psychological dependency on eating as a way to find happiness in life and to deal with my emotions. I am free to enjoy other things now besides eating. My whole life seemed to revolve around eating and the planning of meals. My experience seems to be different from others I have read here but I hope this helps. God bless you all.Read More Read Less

Sunday Sept 4. Type II. Average blood sugar was running @ 180-220, weight 328. So I needed to do something to address these issues. Started Ozempic Friday morning. Immediate result was a decided lowering of my blood sugar, which read 149 Saturday Morning, and 128 this (Sunday) morning. Appetite gone. however this morning minor stomach cramps - and unusual number of Bowel movements, - usually 1, this morning 2 and diarrhea, but nothing major. Look, with these kinds of positives, I'ma stick with it through the (for me) minor negatives.Read More Read Less

It did take a little while to get past some stomach aches but we’ll worth the results. I started in 2020 weighing 230 pounds. Now with the help of ozempic I am down to 168 pounds and feeling great.

So many horrible side effects, abdominal pain radiating into back, headaches, extreme fatigue, ... You may be one with no side effects, good for you! If one has nor taken I suggest the severity of these side effects are not worth the risk

It's a good treatment and looks good. Weight loss good but not enough meds in the pen to last full month. At first I thought I messed up becauee I was taking. 50 twice because doc had just upped my dosage. But 1mg pen only lasted 3 weekd..pretty hard to screw up ..this is second pen to do this. My copay isn't cheap..I can't get discount. Please help

I have been taking ozempic for about two months. I'm down 40lbs. Appetite is absolutely gone. I am never hungry. I also believe ozempic could be the reason I drink a lot less alcohol than I use to. The day after my .5 injection is still the toughest and I just feel weird for a day or two but then I'm back to normal.

I just finished 8 weeks on Ozempic and about to start week 9 with the 1.0 dose. I started with .25 dose and lost about 5 pounds without really trying. Increased to .50 after 4 weeks and lost another 5 pounds. Side effect have been minimal. Mostly troubled by constipation and acid reflux. Nausea not a problem. Not really thirsty so don’t think I am drinking enough water. Will make and effort next 4 week and getting ready to start an exercise plan. I started at 170 lbs and today I weigh 156 lbs. Overall happy with drug. Reduces my appetite and has allowed me to effortlessly reduced the amount of food I eat in a day.Read More Read Less

I haven’t been on Ozempic long, but I’m not thinking it’s doing anything for me, beside the constipation, headaches, nausea, dizziness, and exhaustion. I’ve been on it long enough to take 5 once-a-week doses now, four at 0.25 and one at 0.5. Each week, I’ve had different side effects. The first week, there was mild nausea, diarrhea, dizziness, and exhaustion, Second week brought stronger nausea to the point of vomiting. Doc prescribed something for it, but it didn’t really help. Third week, the nausea went away, but there was severe constipation. Fourth week, I had sharp abdominal pains (probably due to the continuing constipation) and some dizziness. Fifth week (upped dose to 0.5), I had the first migraine that I’ve had in years, along with more nausea again, and still with the constipation. The reason that I’ve stuck it out this long is because the doc and my mom (who has been on this med for a while) told me that the side effects would dissipate and the weight loss would be worth it. I was also told that I would lose interest in eating and I would feel full almost all of the time. Neither has been true for me. I still have the same late-night snacking urges that helped me put on the weight. The only thing that I’ve noticed is that I can’t eat as much, because I start feeling nauseous after eating about half of what I used to. The bad thing about that, though, is that I had a sleeve gastrectomy, so I was already eating about half of what a non-sleeved person eats. I plan to try to stick it out until my next A1c (which was 9.3 at my last appointment), to see if it makes any change there. If it makes enough of.a difference there and I do actually see a dissipation of side effects, then I’ll stay on it. If the A1C doesn’t come down significantly, then I don’t see a point to the suffering that this medicine is causing me.Read More Read Less

I had my first dose yesterday starting with 0.25mg. I read many scary comments here but keeping my fingers crossed and hoping I don't get any of those. 24 hours now, I can feel the hunger but do not have crave for food. I am hoping this will continue till I lose the extra 15 pounds.

4 weeks at 0.25 dose; a bit of nausea and stomach bloating and acid reflux. Manage it with pepcid and omeprazole; drink cold water. YOU MUST EAT HIGH QUALITY PROTEIN AND VEGETABLES. You will want to eat less, make sure it's proper building blocks. I lost all sugar cravings! down 10 pounds in 6 weeks. Get your walking or biking in - read the insert! do the 150 minutes per weeks exercise. Ozempic works to support changes I have been making, nothing is a miracle cure - but this one helps nudge all your work in the right direction - you will lose weight. If the nausea gets bad eat a graham cracker, use ginger ale with sugar. Don't be afraid of foods any longer - just eat better since you will not feel like eating much. Start tracking your calorie intake - you will be amazed. If you are not motivated to lose weight then don't use the medication.Read More Read Less

I started this med beginning of April 2022 and have lost 40 lbs. Here's the thing. I started on 0.25 mg for 4 weeks. Not realizing it, but I got so sick, I couldn't eat, had to force myself, dizzy, vomiting, diarrhea (which I have IBS, so was used to that) severe stomache pain, nausea. I missed 2 weeks of work, couldn't drive because I was so dizzy, didn't do anything around my house. At the end of 2 weeks, my husband took me to the hospital. My blood pressure was 66/55 (I have high blood pressure, and on meds for it) blood tests showed my kidneys were not happy (Doctors words) they gave me 2 bags of Saline and my blood pressure went up. I was very dehydrated. I went and seen my GI Doctor, she did some tests on me and my white blood cells were high, my potassium low, she actually called it Anorexic. After 5 months I'm happy that I've lost 40 lbs, but all of the symptoms are still there. I've missed way too much work. I have one more dose in my pen for 1.0 mg that I'm not going to take. My doctor has given me the lower dose pen. They suggest not to quit cold turkey so I will do a 0.25 shot tomorrow. But if I'm still feeling this way, I have come to the conclusion it's not worth it. My son gets married on September 10th and I want to enjoy myself. I just hope I don't gain much weight back and these symptoms go way soon.Read More Read Less