Dr. Ahmed Here are 7 simple and magical pieces of advice for Ozempic nausea relief. However, always consult your doctor if you have persistent nausea, nausea associated with fever, weight loss, diarrhea, abdominal pain, or other systemic features.
Nausea, vomiting, abdominal fullness, bloating, and constipation are among the most common side effects of Ozempic (Semaglutide).
Persistent nausea is awful and very unpleasant. It may be the reason to discontinue Ozempic.
Some natural ways to get relief from nausea and other abdominal symptoms associated with Ozempic are mentioned in this article.
You may not even need to take medicines for nausea if you adhere to the following advice when on Ozempic (or other brands of Semaglutide).
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How Common is Nausea with Ozempic?
Nausea is one of the most common side effects of Ozempic. It is probably “The Most Common Side Effect of Ozempic“.
Nausea with Ozempic is due to the effect of GLP-1 analogs on the stomach. Ozmepic, like all other GLP-1 analogs, reduces the movements of the stomach.
The stomach does not propel the food forward toward the intestines. This causes fullness and distension of the stomach.
With a full stomach, the gastroesophageal valve remains open. This causes the fluid in the stomach to move upwards. Furthermore, the stretch of the stomach wall also sends a signal to the brain to empty the stomach.
Nausea and vomiting centers in the brain cause salivation, a nauseating feeling followed by vomiting.
In some cases, nausea may be a result of an underlying serious side effect of Ozempic. Bad side effects of Ozempic that may result in nausea include [Ref]:
Ozempic-induced pancreatitis
- Patients with pancreatitis may develop abdominal pain radiating to the back, nausea, vomiting, and fever.
Renal failure
- Patients with renal failure may notice a reduction in the volume of their urine or swelling of the feet and around the eyes.
Gastritis
- Patients with gastritis may develop heartburn or stomach pain. Sometimes patients may develop black-colored stools due to bleeding in the stomach.
Gallstones
- Patients with gallstones may develop severe colicky abdominal pain with nausea, vomiting, and jaundice.
Heart attack or myocardial infarction
- Patients with angina or myocardial infarction may develop chest pain, heaviness, nausea, and sweating.
Sometimes nausea may also occur as a result of diabetic gastroparesis. In fact, nausea with Ozempic is more common in patients with diabetic gastroparesis.
Diabetic gastroparesis is a complication of diabetes that affects the nerves supplying the stomach. The stomach becomes like a balloon and does not fully function.
In addition, fatty food may also worsen the symptoms of nausea and vomiting. Fatty foods, slow stomach motility, thereby inducing nausea.
7 Simple and Magical Pieces of Advice for Ozempic Nausea Relief!
Ozempic causes delayed gastric emptying or in simple words, the stomach doesn’t move the food forwards. So, now that we know how Ozempic causes nausea, we can manage it by ourselves at home.
Take Small Meals:
Taking a large meal will cause heaviness and fullness. With Ozempic, large meals are going to make problems for you.
Small and frequent meals are easily digested without causing stomach problems like nausea and vomiting.
Avoid Fatty Foods, and Eat More Proteins:
Fatty foods inhibit stomach motility. Thus, it worsens your stomach fullness. Fatty foods also inhibit the secretion of digestive juices into the stomach.
Thus, avoid fatty foods to get relief from persistent nausea. At the same time, you will also start losing weight with Ozempic since fatty foods usually have lots of calories.
Take more proteins instead. Proteins help you maintain your weight. At the same time, proteins are better than fatty and carbs-rich meals for nausea.
You may add certain spices to your meals that help in relieving nausea and digestion. Cinnamon, cumin extract, and fennel powder are some of the spices that may help you relieve nausea. However, choose the spices that you like.
Try not to lie down after you finish your meal:
When you lie down after taking your meal, your stomach acid and food may rise to cause heartburn and nausea.
It is better to sit upright at least or walk around after you eat. Walking and moving your body may cause the food contents in the stomach to move down. This relieves abdominal fullness and bloating that you experience with Ozempic.
However, its better not to read a book or travel in a car as this may worsen nausea.
Avoid carbonated drinks and too much water after meals:
Carbonated drinks may increase your stomach acidity. Some people use carbonated drinks after meals to enhance digestion, however, carbonated drinks may worsen acid reflux.
Simple water to dilute your food is the best. Drinking too much water may also cause nausea as the stomach stretches out.
Drink Lemon and Ginger Tea:
Lemon and Ginger tea is the most commonly used home remedy for nausea.
Ginger has got anti-emetic properties. It is considered to be as potent as certain OTC pills used to treat vomiting and nausea.
Ginger tea may be made by pouring boiled water over a piece of ginger. The soaked ginger may be squeezed to get the extract out of it.
Ginger tea may also be available in grocery stores and online.
Lemon relieves nausea through its pleasant scent. When taken with warm water, it also increases bowel movements and relieves constipation. Thereby, it relieves constipation-induced nausea as well.
Other than Ginger and lemon tea, you can also take chamomile tea which is a popular anti-nausea tea with sedative properties.
Avoid taking lots of supplements:
Supplements can have gastrointestinal side effects. Most supplements contain iron. Iron can cause nausea, vomiting, and constipation.
Supplements, especially iron-containing supplements, should be taken at least one hour before or two hours after a meal. This way, it does not cause nausea and is better absorbed too.
Similarly, calcium supplements may also worsen reflux and cause nausea.
Vitamin B6 or Pyridoxine is used to treat nausea in pregnant women. It may be used to relieve nausea induced by Ozempic too.
OTC Medicines for nausea relief:
Lastly, you may need to take pills to get relief from nausea induced by Ozempic. Pills work by lowering your stomach acid and increasing your gut movements.
Antacids like Gelusil, Pepto-Bismol, Alka-seltzer, and other sodium-carbonate-containing antacids rapidly lower your stomach acid. These pills may be used if you have reflux and acidity along with nausea.
Specific nausea OTC medicines that may be used include Pepto-Bismol, Benadryl, and prokinetic drugs like metoclopramide and domperidone.
Prokinetics drugs are especially helpful as they increase stomach motility and do not cause drowsiness. Zofran (Ondansetron) is a serotonin inhibitor that may help with nausea and anxiety as well.
Domperidone is available under the brand name Motilium. Metoclopramide is available under the name Maxolon, Metozolv ODT, and Reglan.
In addition to all these simple maneuvers, it is very important to start Ozempic at a low dose (0.25 mg once weekly) for four weeks and then increase the dose gradually.
Never exceed the maximum recommended dose of 1 mg per week. If you are taking Semaglutide for weight loss, you’ll take Wegovy in a dose of 2.4 mg per week.
Wegovy and Ozempic dosing schedules should be followed properly to avoid nausea and other gastrointestinal side effects.
Don’t be in haste to increase your dose if you are not losing weight or your blood glucose is not controlled.
In summary:
Ozempic causes nausea which may be a simple side effect of the drug or a symptom of an underlying serious disease. You need to make slight changes in your dietary routines for persistent nausea.
These include taking small meals, avoiding fatty foods and carbonated drinks, and taking over-the-counter anti-nausea medicines.
Here is a list of the 7 pieces of advice for Ozempic Nausea Relief:
- Take small meal
- Avoid fatty meals
- Do not lie down immediately after a meal
- Avoid carbonated water
- Take ginger and lemon tea
- Avoid too many supplements
- Take OTC antacids and pills for nausea relief
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