Over the past couple of years, Ozempic has develop into vastly common as a weight reduction remedy. Whereas designed to deal with kind 2 diabetes, Ozempic, together with its larger dose cousin Wegovy, can also be prescribed to drop some pounds. The lively ingredient in each drugs is a GLP-1 receptor agonist known as semaglutide.
Whereas semaglutide does an efficient job of supporting weight reduction, it comes with a nasty facet impact: nausea. About 20% of Ozempic and 44% of Wegovy takers will expertise nausea. This text presents ten confirmed methods to beat semaglutide nausea.¹
1. Drink Extra Water
It is doubtless that semaglutide’s slowing impact on meals emptying contributes to nausea. Staying nicely hydrated helps with the emptying of meals from the abdomen. Consuming loads of water helps dilute the contents of your abdomen. This can cut back the semaglutide focus in your intestine, probably decreasing its affect on the central nervous system.
Goal to drink half a gallon (slightly below 2 liters) of water every day. Fairly than gulping it down, sip your water. This can assist to stop the sensation of fullness that outcomes from semaglutide.
2. Eat smaller, extra frequent meals.
In case you are experiencing nausea, you in all probability will not really feel like consuming. Nonetheless, your physique wants the vitamins from meals. By consuming smaller, extra frequent meals, you may be extra doubtless to have the ability to deal with your meals if you’re fighting nausea.
Fairly than having three giant meals, eat 5-6 smaller meals. Unfold them about three hours aside. This can cease your abdomen from turning into overly full, which can be a reason behind nausea. Smaller meals might be simpler to your physique to course of and digest and can guarantee a continuing provide of power to your physique’s cells.
Consuming smaller meals additionally helps to regulate blood sugar ranges. You can be much less more likely to have giant fluctuations in blood glucose ranges. Wild swings in blood sugar may cause cravings for candy meals, resulting in carb overload and much more blood glucose instability.
Sustaining steady blood sugar ranges is particularly essential for individuals with diabetes.
This is an additional tip: don’t lie down instantly after consuming. Doing so might upset your abdomen acids and trigger acid reflux disease.
3. Eat Slowly
While you consciously decelerate your consuming, you permit your digestive system to course of your meals extra effectively. This turns into much more essential if you take semaglutide, which slows down abdomen emptying.
Nausea might be brought on by overeating. While you decelerate, you permit your physique to acknowledge when you’re full. Listed below are 5 issues you are able to do to just be sure you’re not consuming your meals too rapidly:
Chew your meals completely. This breaks the meals particles down into smaller parts, which extra readily stimulates the discharge of digestive enzymes.
Put your knife and fork down between bites. You will be much more more likely to converse along with your dinner companions, chew, and luxuriate in what’s in your mouth.
Sip water through the meal. This can assist help with hydration and sluggish you down as your physique takes a second to digest the liquid. By the best way, many individuals mistake thirst for starvation, so consuming a glass of water earlier than your meal will assist distinguish the 2.
Incorporate conscious respiration. Take a deep nasal breath earlier than you begin the meal. Then, take extra deep breaths as you’re chewing your meals and between bites.
Use smaller utensils: By utilizing a smaller knife, fork, and spoon, you’ll routinely cut back the dimensions of your servings.
Time your meals. It ought to take round twenty minutes to eat your dinner meal. But, many individuals gulp it down in lower than 5. Slowing down takes observe and self-discipline. Prepare your self by setting a timer for twenty minutes and ensuring you are still consuming when that timer buzzes.
4. Monitor Your Carb Consumption
Fluctuations in blood sugar can contribute to emotions of nausea. Carbohydrates have an effect on your blood sugar ranges greater than some other macronutrient. While you management the categories and quantities of carbs you are consuming, you are in a position to maintain your blood sugar ranges steady.
Meals which can be excessive on the glycemic index trigger spikes in blood sugar ranges. They need to be prevented in favor of low glycemic meals, which launch their carbs into the bloodstream extra slowly.
Listed below are 5 high-glycemic meals to keep away from:
White bread
White rice
Sugary breakfast cereals
On the spot mashed potatoes
Sodas and comfortable drinks
Not solely do excessive glycemic index meals like these spike your insulin ranges, however they’re additionally excessive in empty energy. So, eradicating them out of your weight loss program will enable you obtain your weight reduction targets.
As a substitute of sugary, high-calorie carbs, eat meals which can be extra bland and simpler to digest, like rice crackers, entire wheat bread, and bananas.
It’s best to eat bland meals, reminiscent of rice crackers, bananas, and entire wheat bread, as they’re simpler to digest.
5. Get rid of Greasy Meals
We have already mentioned the impact that semaglutide’s capability to decelerate abdomen emptying might have on unwanted side effects like nausea. While you eat greasy, fatty meals, you may decelerate abdomen emptying even additional. That is not factor.
Greasy, fatty meals are onerous work to your abdomen to digest. They’re additionally more likely to trigger gasoline, belching, and acid reflux disease. If you happen to’re already coping with semaglutide-induced nausea, consuming greasy meals is like pouring gasoline on a hearth – do not do it!
You also needs to keep away from spicy meals, which can additional upset the digestive system. Consuming mendacity down is one other no-no.
6. Take Ginger Root
Ginger root has been used all through historical past as a pure treatment for nausea. Researchers have recognized the lively ingredient gingerol, which has been proven to have antiemetic results. That implies that it may well alleviate nausea and vomiting.²
Ginger might soothe the gastrointestinal tract, serving to to loosen up the muscular tissues. It promotes a extra comfy digestive surroundings, decreasing the severity of any nausea that an individual could also be experiencing.
Ginger additionally has anti-inflammatory properties, which can assist offset nausea.
7. Drink Peppermint Tea
Peppermint has results much like ginger on the digestive system. It has been proven to loosen up the gastrointestinal tract and customarily soothe the abdomen.³ This may occasionally assist to stop abdomen spasms, making peppermint probably efficient for Ozempic nausea aid.
Whereas the menthol in peppermint has the principle soothing impact, the aroma may also be useful. By inhaling the scent of peppermint, you might be able to do away with that feeling of queasiness that accompanies nausea.
8. Cut back Stress
Stress has an impact in your digestive system. The extra confused you’re, the much less effectively your gastrointestinal system goes to work. That is why chronically confused individuals typically expertise nausea and diarrhea.
If you find yourself confused, you may launch extra of a hormone known as cortisol. This impacts the steadiness of mind neurotransmitters, one in every of which is serotonin. Semaglutide interacts with serotonin, so fluctuations in its ranges have an effect on how your physique will react to semaglutide.
Decreasing stress will assist to offset emotions of nausea. One other issue right here is that confused individuals are extra more likely to eat high-glycemic, fatty, and greasy meals. We have already seen how detrimental these meals are by way of combating nausea.
Listed below are 5 issues you are able to do to assist cut back stress:
Apply deep respiration
Conscious meditation
Train
Be taught to say no
Get 7-9 hours of sleep every evening
9. Common Train
Common train helps to steadiness blood sugar ranges. It additionally helps to enhance insulin sensitivity so your physique can higher handle its glucose ranges. Each of those elements are in concord with semaglutide’s goal and will assist cut back the results of Ozempic nausea.
Exercising stimulates your digestive system, serving to to make it extra environment friendly. This may occasionally assist to cut back digestive tract issues. As famous within the final part, train additionally acts as a pure stress reliever. While you work out, really feel good endorphins are launched that promote a constructive feeling. This reduces emotions of stress, which can assist cut back your nausea.
Common train might end in a extra environment friendly, sooner metabolism. This may occasionally end in a extra trouble-free response to semaglutide, probably decreasing unwanted side effects like nausea.
10. Get 7-9 Hours of Sleep Every Evening
The significance of getting evening’s sleep each evening will assist your physique carry out higher in all areas. It can additionally assist offset the principle unwanted side effects of semaglutide remedy, together with nausea.
Getting the quantity of sleep your physique wants helps to control the discharge of cortisol, the stress hormone. This helps cut back stress, which, as we have seen, contributes to gastrointestinal well being.
High quality sleep additionally helps steadiness out your whole hormones. This consists of these liable for starvation and fullness. When your hormones are ideally balanced, your physique will higher reply to drugs, together with weight reduction drugs like Ozempic and Waygard. This can assist relieve nausea.
How Does Semaglutude Trigger Nausea?
Whereas researchers haven’t got a conclusive reply to what semaglutide causes nausea, they do have some theories. The activation of GLP-1 receptors within the central nervous system could also be a contributing issue. Semaglutide delays abdomen emptying so that you just really feel fuller for longer.⁴ This may result in gastrointestinal discomfort and nausea.
Nausea is extra extreme when an individual first takes Ozempic or Wegovy, suggesting that the physique wants time to adapt to the results of the remedy. Increased doses are additionally more likely to produce extra extreme results.
In case your Nausea Persists…
If, after having tried every of the earlier strategies, your nausea persists, you would possibly take into account altering the dosage of your remedy. Nonetheless, this could solely be completed beneath the supervision of your healthcare supplier.
Your physician will be capable to assess the severity of your nausea and test your general well being to see if there’s some other underlying trigger for the issue. He might determine to cut back the dosage to see whether or not the nausea goes away. The dosage can then be progressively elevated because the physique will get used to it.
It is essential that your physician usually monitor your progress to make the wanted changes. Common blood exams ought to be taken to maintain a test on blood glucose ranges.
If the nausea doesn’t go away, your physician might think about using an alternative choice to semaglutide or combining semaglutide with one other remedy in order that the dosage might be decreased.
FAQs
How lengthy does semaglutide nausea final?
For most individuals, nausea introduced on by semaglutide will subside after two or three weeks. In case your nausea persists after making an attempt all the above strategies, we suggest seeing your physician and suggesting that the dosage be adjusted.
The place is the subsequent place to inject Ozempic to keep away from nausea?
There was no recognized particular a part of the physique to inject Ozempic that may cut back nausea. Nonetheless, the very best injection web site seems to be across the stomach button, the place most individuals have essentially the most subcutaneous fats. It’s best to inject about two inches beneath the stomach button.
Is it higher to inject Ozempic at evening?
There is no such thing as a therapeutic profit to taking Ozempic at evening. Medical professionals sometimes prescribe therapy on the charge of 1 injection per week. There is no such thing as a have to time your administration along with your meals.
Some individuals discover that taking Ozempic at evening helps to take care of any nausea results as they’re sleeping for a number of hours after administration.
What’s the darkish facet of semaglutide?
Semaglutide is usually nicely tolerated amongst most individuals. The principle unwanted side effects relate to the digestive system and embody nausea, diarrhea, and constipation. In case you are combining semaglutide with different diabetes remedy, there could also be a threat of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia).
As a result of semaglutide is run by injection, some individuals might expertise some injection web site ache. There might also be swelling or redness on the injection web site.
Though uncommon, pancreatitis has been related to the usage of GLP-1 receptors like semaglutide.
Wrap Up
Ozempic and Weygard’s recognition as weight reduction remedies is hovering. Lots of people who’re taking these drugs are coping with persistent nausea. If you happen to’re one in every of them, you’ve got now acquired eleven suggestions to assist overcome the issue.
Begin implementing our suggestions right away. If, after three weeks, your nausea hasn’t gone away, make an appointment to see your physician to debate altering the dosage. This may occasionally present extra time to your physique to regulate to semaglutide, after which you’ll be able to return to your earlier dosage.
References
Wharton, Sean, et al. “Gastrointestinal Tolerability of As soon as‐Weekly Semaglutide 2.4 Mg in Adults with Obese or Weight problems, and the Relationship between Gastrointestinal Hostile Occasions and Weight Loss.” Diabetes, Weight problems and Metabolism, 4 Oct. 2021,
Marx, Wolfgang, et al. “Is Ginger Helpful for Nausea and Vomiting? An Replace of the Literature.” Present Opinion in Supportive and Palliative Care, vol. 9, no. 2, June 2015, pp. 189–195,
Mohr, Carla, et al. “Peppermint Important Oil for Nausea and Vomiting in Hospitalized Sufferers: Incorporating Holistic Affected person Determination Making into the Analysis Design.” Journal of Holistic Nursing, vol. 39, no. 2, 27 Sept. 2020, p. 089801012096157,
Wilding, John P. H., et al. “As soon as-Weekly Semaglutide in Adults with Obese or Weight problems.” The New England Journal of Drugs, vol. 384, no. 11, 10 Feb. 2021, www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2032183,