Page last checked 2026-08-20

Symptom question · incretin class

Does GLP-1 medication cause nausea?

Yes. 11 of the 36 compounds here list nausea as a reported side effect. The rate differs by drug and study. The table below gives each source’s figure.

Source: checked against 36 compound guides; rates are shown exactly as reportedFDA label

Yes. Every GLP-1 compound on this page with published human safety data reports nausea. Two trials also report a placebo rate, which makes those comparisons more useful.

The molecules behind the brand names in these searches are semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy, Rybelsus) and tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound). Both are in the table below, alongside three investigational compounds whose trial reports state their own figures.

Medically reviewed by Jennifer Montecillo, MD · non-practicing medical reviewer

Information checked 2026-08-20

At a glance

Compounds that list it

12 of 36

Only in a combined category

No published human safety data

Best available source

FDA label

Which compounds list nausea

Every compound with published human safety data lists nausea. FDA label ranges and percentages from individual trials are shown separately because they were measured in different ways and should not be averaged.

◆ Nausea across 36 compoundssource shown for every row

Every compound covered on this site, showing whether it lists nausea and at what frequency its own cited source states.
Compound	How it appears	Frequency reported	Source type
TirzepatideZepbound, Mounjaro	Nausea	Very common (≥10%)	FDA label
SemaglutideWegovy, Ozempic, Rybelsus	Nausea	Very common (≥10%)	FDA label
LiraglutideVictoza, Saxenda	Nausea	Reported in Saxenda trials (≥5%)	FDA label
Retatrutide	Nausea	Reported in trials (dose-dependent)	Human trial
Cagrilintide	Nausea	Reported in 20–47% across trial doses (vs 18% placebo)	Human trial
Cagrilintide	Stomach and gut events overall (nausea, constipation, diarrhea)counted inside a grouped figure, not on its own	Reported in 41–63% across trial doses (vs 32% placebo)	Human trial
Survodutide	Stomach and gut events overall (nausea, vomiting, constipation)counted inside a grouped figure, not on its own	Reported in 75% of survodutide recipients (vs 42% placebo)	Human trial
Survodutide	Nausea	Reported in trials (dose-dependent)	Human trial
BPC-157	No published human safety dataNo human trial has published enough safety data to list reactions for this compound.	—	no human dose shown to work
TesamorelinEgrifta SV, Egrifta WR	Not listed in the source checkedThe label or study checked for this compound does not list this reaction.	—	FDA label
PT-141Vyleesi	Nausea	40.0% vs 1.3% on placebo	FDA label
PT-141	Severe or persistent nauseacounted inside a grouped figure, not on its own	Anti-emetic therapy needed by 13% and 8% stopped treatment because of it	FDA label
CJC-1295	Not listed in the source checkedThe label or study checked for this compound does not list this reaction.	—	limited human data
Ipamorelin	Not listed in the source checkedThe label or study checked for this compound does not list this reaction.	—	Human trial
TB-500	No published human safety dataNo human trial has published enough safety data to list reactions for this compound.	—	no human dose shown to work
GHK-Cu	No published human safety dataNo human trial has published enough safety data to list reactions for this compound.	—	no human dose shown to work
Sermorelin	Short-term flushing, nausea, dizziness and headachecounted inside a grouped figure, not on its own	Named in the review literature as reported reactions; no incidence figure has been published for them	limited human data
MOTS-c	No published human safety dataNo human trial has published enough safety data to list reactions for this compound.	—	no human dose shown to work
AOD-9604	Not listed in the source checkedThe label or study checked for this compound does not list this reaction.	—	limited human data
NAD+	Not listed in the source checkedThe label or study checked for this compound does not list this reaction.	—	limited human data
Epitalon	No published human safety dataNo human trial has published enough safety data to list reactions for this compound.	—	no human dose shown to work
Kisspeptin-10	No published human safety dataNo human trial has published enough safety data to list reactions for this compound.	—	no human dose shown to work
DSIP	Not listed in the source checkedThe label or study checked for this compound does not list this reaction.	—	limited human data
Hexarelin	Not listed in the source checkedThe label or study checked for this compound does not list this reaction.	—	limited human data
IGF-1 LR3	No published human safety dataNo human trial has published enough safety data to list reactions for this compound.	—	no human dose shown to work
PEG-MGF	No published human safety dataNo human trial has published enough safety data to list reactions for this compound.	—	no human dose shown to work
LL-37	Not listed in the source checkedThe label or study checked for this compound does not list this reaction.	—	limited human data
KPV	No published human safety dataNo human trial has published enough safety data to list reactions for this compound.	—	no human dose shown to work
Thymosin alpha-1	Not listed in the source checkedThe label or study checked for this compound does not list this reaction.	—	limited human data
SS-31Forzinity	Not listed in the source checkedThe label or study checked for this compound does not list this reaction.	—	FDA label
Semax	Not listed in the source checkedThe label or study checked for this compound does not list this reaction.	—	limited human data
Selank	No published human safety dataNo human trial has published enough safety data to list reactions for this compound.	—	no human dose shown to work
Melanotan II	Nausea	Mild, at most dose levels in the 1996 trial, and not severe enough in any subject to need treatment for it	limited human data
Mazdutide	Nausea	Reported by 46.9% on 9 mg weekly (vs 3.2% on placebo)	Human trial
Pinealon	Not listed in the source checkedThe label or study checked for this compound does not list this reaction.	—	limited human data
AHK-Cu	No published human safety dataNo human trial has published enough safety data to list reactions for this compound.	—	no human dose shown to work
VK2735	Nausea	Treatment-related event in 64 of 175 participants in the phase 2 safety population	Human trial
Zenagamtide	Not listed in the source checkedThe label or study checked for this compound does not list this reaction.	—	Human trial
Pemvidutide	Nausea	In RECLAIM, the sponsor reported 44% with pemvidutide versus 24% with placebo	Human trial

A blank result means the label or study checked here does not list the reaction. It does not prove the reaction cannot happen, and it does not replace the full prescribing information. A pharmacist or clinician can review the complete label alongside the rest of a person’s medicines.

What people reported to the FDA

The first table summarizes labels and published trials. This table shows reports filed with the FDA after the medicines went on sale. Each percentage is the share of reports for that product that mention this symptom—not the share of patients who experienced it.

Each GLP-1 brand in the FDA snapshot, and what share of its reports names this symptom.
Product	Share of its own reports	All reports
Ozempicsemaglutide	15% of Ozempic reports	66,161 reports
Victozaliraglutide	15% of Victoza reports	44,086 reports
Rybelsussemaglutide	14% of Rybelsus reports	7,379 reports
Saxendaliraglutide	14% of Saxenda reports	10,040 reports
Wegovysemaglutide	14% of Wegovy reports	21,044 reports
Trulicitydulaglutide	12% of Trulicity reports	88,332 reports
Zepboundtirzepatide	11% of Zepbound reports	70,141 reports
Mounjarotirzepatide	10% of Mounjaro reports	93,975 reports

A row reading “below” is not a zero. The snapshot keeps each product’s 25 most-reported terms, so a term missing from that list was either never reported or reported and ranked 26th. All that can be proved is that it sits under the 25th. Read from FDA on 2026-08-17.

Reports are not rates and a report is not proof the drug did it. How to read this data, and the questions it answers on its own.

3Read deeperWhy it happens, when it appears, and what the page proves

Why nausea can travel with the appetite effect

The same GLP-1 signal can affect appetite and nausea. In the body, it slows how fast the stomach empties. In the brain, it acts on areas involved in appetite, fullness, and nausea. That overlap helps explain why the symptom travels with this drug class.

That overlap helps explain why nausea is common with this drug class and why approved doses usually increase in steps. It explains the general pattern, not what will happen to one person.

No study describes a way to keep the appetite effect while removing nausea.

The reaction next to it that changes the stakes

Vomiting and Stomach and gut events overall (nausea, vomiting, constipation) is also listed for Tirzepatide (common (1–10%)), Semaglutide (very common (≥10%)), Liraglutide (reported in Victoza trials (≥5%)), Retatrutide (reported in trials (dose-dependent)), Survodutide (reported in 75% of survodutide recipients (vs 42% placebo)), Tesamorelin (3% vs 0% on placebo (26 weeks)), PT-141 (4.8% vs 0.2% on placebo), Mazdutide (reported by 53.1% on 9 mg weekly (vs 1.3% on placebo)), VK2735 (treatment-related event in 22 of 175 participants in the phase 2 safety population) and Pemvidutide (in RECLAIM, the sponsor reported 18% with pemvidutide versus 6% with placebo). Each result links to its original source.

Vomiting is listed separately on several records here. It matters because it is where a question about side effects turns into a question about fluids. Sudden kidney injury appears on the labeled records by way of dehydration. That makes vomiting you cannot stay ahead of the one stomach and gut side effect worth reporting early rather than absorbing.

What the comparison groups make visible

Two of the trial reports cited here state a placebo figure next to their own, and those rows are the most informative on the page. Nausea was reported in the placebo arms too. A rate on its own tells you how often something was recorded. Only the comparison tells you how much of it the compound accounts for. Most published discussion of this question quotes the first number without the second.

FDA label ranges summarize whole approval programs, while trial percentages describe individual study groups. Because they were measured differently, they cannot be used to rank the drugs.

As with the rest of this class, the sources put these reactions at the start of treatment and at each dose increase. They describe them as easing while a dose is held. None commits to how long that takes.

What the evidence shows—and what remains unknown

The rows below separate the claims these sources carry from the ones layered on top of them in most coverage.

The claim	What the evidence shows
Nausea is the most commonly reported reaction on this class.	Supported. Every compound with published human safety data reports nausea. Some list it by name; others include it in a combined stomach-and-gut figure.
Compound A causes more nausea than compound B.	Not supported. The figures in the table come from separate studies with separate populations, definitions and escalation programs. Ranking them treats numbers that were never measured against each other as if they had been.
The percentage is the chance it happens to me.	Not supported. Each figure is a population rate under one study’s conditions. Two rows here show that a share of the placebo arms reported nausea too. That on its own shows why a raw rate is not a personal risk.
It goes away after a few weeks.	Not supported as stated. The sources describe attenuation on a held dose as a population-level pattern and commit to no timeframe. A specific number of weeks is not in these documents.
Nausea means the dose is too high.	Not supported, and not this page’s call in either direction. The labeled schedules say two things. Each step is held for a stated minimum. And the next one depends on the current one being tolerated. How that applies to one person is a prescriber’s decision.

When nausea and vomiting need medical attention

Nausea alone is not listed as a serious side effect in these sources. But nausea can appear with pancreatitis, kidney problems or gallbladder problems. The warning signs below need medical attention.

Acute pancreatitis

Urgent

Signs: Severe pain high in the abdomen that will not let up and may bore through to the back, often with nausea or vomiting that does not settle. People describe it as different from ordinary post-dose nausea, in that it does not come and go with meals.

The prescribing information lists this as a reaction that needs medical assessment. Call a clinician without waiting for the next appointment, or emergency services if the pain is severe.

Gallbladder disease

Prompt

Signs: Pain in the upper right side of the abdomen, sometimes after eating, with fever, yellowing of the skin or the whites of the eyes, unusually pale stools, or dark urine.

These are signs to get seen promptly rather than wait and watch.

Acute kidney injury from dehydration

Prompt

Signs: Vomiting or diarrhea bad enough that you cannot keep fluids down, passing much less urine than usual, dizziness when you stand up, or unusual weakness.

The label links the risk to dehydration, so ongoing fluid loss is worth reporting early. A clinician can check kidney function.

Recognition is the only job of this section. Assessment belongs to a clinician, who can weigh a symptom against the rest of the picture in a way no page can.

EmergencySome symptoms should not wait for an appointment. Call emergency services (911 in the US) if they are severe, getting worse fast, or involve trouble breathing, chest pain, fainting or confusion.

Common questions

Which GLP-1 compound causes the least nausea?

No head-to-head study supports a least-nauseating ranking, so the comparison is not sorted from best to worst.

The figures come from different studies with different populations, different definitions of a reported event and different escalation programs. Comparing them would be the same mistake as charting two separate trials on one axis. This site applies that rule on its comparison pages too.

Is nausea worse on semaglutide or tirzepatide?

Both labeled records here band nausea identically, at the very common level, each cited to its own label.

That is agreement between two documents rather than a head-to-head result. Ranking the two drugs on side effects would need a trial built to compare them on exactly that. This page has none to cite.

How long does GLP-1 nausea last?

No label or trial reports a set duration for nausea.

The pattern the sources describe is reactions concentrated at the start and at each dose increase, easing while a dose is held steady. That is a shape across trial populations, not a timetable for one person. A reaction that is getting worse, or that has not settled on a held step, is information for the prescribing clinician.

Does the placebo group really report nausea too?

Yes, on the two records here whose trial reports state a placebo figure alongside their own.

It is the single most clarifying fact on this page. In any trial, some nausea belongs to the people enrolled, the protocol, and the act of being in a study at all. That is exactly why a rate quoted without its comparison group overstates what it shows.

What should I do if I cannot keep fluids down?

That is the point where this stops being a question about side effects. It is a reason to contact a clinician rather than wait.

The labeled records list sudden kidney injury by way of dehydration. That makes lasting vomiting and passing less urine the specific things worth reporting early. The care section above describes what those look like. Emergency services rather than a clinic are the right call if symptoms are severe or escalating.

Does eating differently reduce it?

No trial cited for this comparison evaluates a diet for preventing nausea, so no diet is recommended.

Clinicians commonly raise meal size, pace, and timing relative to the dose. Those are useful mainly because you can describe them precisely at the next appointment. A specific account is worth more than a general one, whichever way the outcome goes.

Do the investigational compounds have the same nausea profile?

Their sources provide the reaction, but they carry it in a different form, and the table prints that difference rather than smoothing it.

Two of them report it inside a combined stomach-and-gut figure rather than counting it alone. One reports it as bigger at bigger doses, without a band. None of them has an approved label, so none has a label frequency band at all. That is a gap in regulatory review, not a finding about the compound.

Want the full picture for one compound? Open its guide for uses, dosage information, side effects and serious warnings.

The full tirzepatide profile behind its nausea entry

Frequencies as the tirzepatide source states them, read directly rather than via nausea.

What else semaglutide lists besides nausea

Including the semaglutide boxed warning, on the semaglutide page rather than on nausea.

Fatigue across every page, as with nausea

Which sources name fatigue, under what wording and at what frequency, beyond nausea.

Constipation read the same way as nausea

8 of 36 pages carry constipation, counted class-wide rather than within nausea.

All source-checked pages, not only those listing nausea

From label-backed entries to compounds with no established human dose, including Nausea

Every Melanotan II reaction, not only nausea

3 common and 5 serious Melanotan II reactions, in full past nausea.

Reading nausea for a length nobody published

Three different questions hide inside this one, and each needs a different study, including nausea

The full PT-141 profile behind its nausea entry

Frequencies as the PT-141 source states them, read directly rather than via nausea.

Every VK2735 reaction, not only nausea

3 common and 1 serious VK2735 reactions, in full past nausea.

Every symptom in this section is listed on the symptom questions index.

Questions readers ask

How do you get rid of nausea from GLP-1?

No cited study tests a remedy. The studies only show a general pattern: side effects cluster near the start and after dose increases, then often ease while a dose is held.

That is why the step-up schedules exist, and why each step is held for a stated minimum. What to do next belongs to the prescriber, and that is not a dodge. The answer turns on the rest of your medicine list, which no general page can see.

Does semaglutide nausea ever go away?

The sources describe it easing while a dose is held steady, and none of them commits to a timeframe. They also put it back at the top of the list at every increase, so a settled month can restart at the next step.

Semaglutide’s label bands nausea at the very common level. A band counts how many people reported it in a studied group. It says nothing about how long any of them had it.

Why am I always nauseous on GLP-1?

Every medicine covered here with published human safety data lists nausea. That makes it the closest thing to a shared effect in these sources. The signals that reduce appetite also affect brain circuits involved in nausea, while the stomach empties more slowly.

Nobody in these sources describes a way to keep the appetite effect and drop the symptom. Why it persists for one person and not another is a clinical question, and no reaction table answers it.

31primary sources, each with the day we read it — open the documents used on this page

Zepbound (tirzepatide) — FDA-approved Prescribing Informationretrieved 2026-07-22FDA label
Wegovy (semaglutide) — FDA-approved Prescribing Information (DailyMed)retrieved 2026-08-20FDA label
Saxenda (liraglutide) injection — FDA-approved Prescribing Information (DailyMed)retrieved 2026-08-15FDA label
Jastreboff AM et al. Triple-Hormone-Receptor Agonist Retatrutide for Obesity — A Phase 2 Trial. N Engl J Med 2023;389:514-26 (PMID 37366315)retrieved 2026-08-12Human trial
Lau DCW et al. Once-weekly cagrilintide for weight management: dose-finding phase 2 trial. Lancet 2021;398:2160-72 (PMID 34798060)retrieved 2026-08-17Human trial
le Roux CW et al. Glucagon and GLP-1 receptor dual agonist survodutide for obesity: dose-finding phase 2 trial. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol 2024 (PMID 38330987)retrieved 2026-08-20Human trial
EGRIFTA SV (tesamorelin) for injection — FDA-approved Prescribing Information (DailyMed SPL)retrieved 2026-08-12FDA label
EGRIFTA WR (tesamorelin) for injection — FDA-approved Prescribing Information (DailyMed SPL)retrieved 2026-08-12FDA label
VYLEESI (bremelanotide) injection — FDA-approved Prescribing Information (DailyMed SPL)retrieved 2026-08-12FDA label
Teichman SL, Neale A, Lawrence B, Gagnon C, Castaigne JP, Frohman LA. Prolonged stimulation of growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor I secretion by CJC-1295, a long-acting analog of GH-releasing hormone, in healthy adults. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2006;91(3):799-805retrieved 2026-08-12Human trial
Ionescu M, Frohman LA. Pulsatile secretion of growth hormone (GH) persists during continuous stimulation by CJC-1295, a long-acting GH-releasing hormone analog. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2006;91(12):4792-7retrieved 2026-08-12Human trial
Dominikowski A, Rękoś Z, Olejarz M, Szczepanek-Parulska E, Domin R, Ruchała M. The emerging landscape of performance-enhancing peptides modulating GH-IGF1 axis: bridging the gap between clinical evidence and patient self-administration. Front Endocrinol 2026;17 — Table 1, CJC-1295 (with DAC) safety-signal rowretrieved 2026-08-12limited human data
Beck DE, Sweeney WB, McCarter MD; Ipamorelin 201 Study Group. Prospective, randomized, controlled, proof-of-concept study of the ghrelin mimetic ipamorelin for the management of postoperative ileus in bowel resection patients. Int J Colorectal Dis 2014;29(12):1527-34retrieved 2026-08-12Human trial
Reyna K, et al. Intravenous infusion of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) versus nicotinamide riboside (NR): a retrospective tolerability pilot study in a real-world setting. Front Aging 2026;7:1652582retrieved 2026-08-12limited human data
Dick P, Costa C, Fayolle K, et al. DSIP in the treatment of withdrawal syndromes from alcohol and opiates. Eur Neurol. 1984;23(3):188-93retrieved 2026-08-12limited human data
Massoud AF, Hindmarsh PC, Brook CG. Hexarelin-induced growth hormone, cortisol, and prolactin release: a dose-response study. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 1996;81(12):4338-41retrieved 2026-08-12Human trial
Rahim A, O’Neill PA, Shalet SM. Growth hormone status during long-term hexarelin therapy. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 1998;83(5):1644-9retrieved 2026-08-12Human trial
Maccario M, Veldhuis JD, Broglio F, Di Vito L, Arvat E, Deghenghi R, Ghigo E. Impact of two or three daily subcutaneous injections of hexarelin, a synthetic growth hormone (GH) secretagogue, on 24-h GH, prolactin, adrenocorticotropin and cortisol secretion in humans. Eur J Endocrinol 2002;146(3):310-8retrieved 2026-08-12Human trial
Induction of Antitumor Response in Melanoma Patients Using the Antimicrobial Peptide LL37 (NCT02225366) — MD Anderson Cancer Center, phase 1/2, completed, results postedretrieved 2026-08-12Human trial
Dermatologic toxicity from novel therapy using antimicrobial peptide LL-37 in melanoma: a detailed examination of the clinicopathologic features (Journal of Cutaneous Pathology, 2018)retrieved 2026-08-12limited human data
Wu J, et al. The efficacy and safety of thymosin alpha1 for sepsis (TESTS): multicentre, double blinded, randomised, placebo controlled, phase 3 trial. BMJ 2025;388:e082583retrieved 2026-08-12Human trial
Wu J, et al. The efficacy of thymosin alpha 1 for severe sepsis (ETASS): a multicenter, single-blind, randomized and controlled trial. Crit Care 2013;17(1):R8retrieved 2026-08-12Human trial
FORZINITY (elamipretide) injection, for subcutaneous use — FDA prescribing information, Stealth BioTherapeutics Inc., initial U.S. approval 2025 (NDA 215244). Source for the accelerated approval, the Barth syndrome indication, the 40 mg once-daily dose, the 20 mg renal reduction, the 280 mg/3.5 mL solution, and the reaction rates against placeboretrieved 2026-08-13FDA label
Alekseeva GV, Bottaev NA, Goroshkova VV. [Use of semax at a follow-up of patients with posthypoxic encephalopathy]. Anesteziol Reanimatol. 1999;(1):40-3 — a follow-up of 73 patients recovering from oxygen starvation of the brain, fourteen of them in a persistent vegetative state. Reports paroxysmal activity on the electroencephalogram in some cases, and advises monitoring during the first injection. Russian; read through the indexed English abstractretrieved 2026-08-13limited human data
Dorr RT, Lines R, Levine N, Brooks C, Xiang L. Evaluation of melanotan-II, a superpotent cyclic melanotropic peptide in a pilot phase-I clinical study. Life Sci. 1996;58(20):1777-84retrieved 2026-08-13limited human data
Gao L et al. Treatment With 9-mg Mazdutide for Weight Reduction in Chinese Adults With Obesity: The GLORY-2 Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA 2026;336(5):377-388 — 60 weeks, ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06164873 (PMID 42251595)retrieved 2026-08-17Human trial
Meshchaninov VN et al. [Effect of synthetic peptides on aging of patients with chronic polymorbidity and organic brain syndrome of the central nervous system in remission]. Adv Gerontol 2015;28(1):62-7 — 32 patients aged 41 to 83; reports prooxidant activity on chemiluminescence and a fall in CD34+ haematopoietic markers (PMID 26390612, in Russian)retrieved 2026-08-13limited human data
Bays HE et al. Weekly Subcutaneous VK2735 for Weight Management: Phase 2 VENTURE Study. Obesity 2026;34:537-549 (NCT06068946, PMID 41508550)retrieved 2026-08-16Human trial
Knop FK et al. Oral amycretin in adults with overweight or obesity: phase 1 trial (NCT05369390, PMID 40550229)retrieved 2026-08-17Human trial
Jastreboff AM et al. Subcutaneous amycretin in adults with overweight or obesity: phase 1b/2a trial (NCT06064006, PMID 40550231)retrieved 2026-08-17Human trial
Altimmune SEC exhibit — RECLAIM phase 2 topline results in alcohol use disorderretrieved 2026-08-17Phase 2 results in a company SEC filing