What are the most common side effects of Saxenda?

The label lists nausea, low blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes, diarrhea, constipation, vomiting, headache and others among reactions reported in at least 5% of patients. The full frequency table is in the label itself, linked below; any percentage quoted on this page is the label's own figure.

Do the side effects mean the price is not the issue?

They meet at titration. Most of these reactions are worst in the weeks after a dose increase, and those are also the weeks when some sellers charge a lower starting price. So the months people are most likely to stop are not the months that show what the drug costs. The maintenance price is on the Saxenda price page.

← Saxenda (liraglutide)

Saxenda (liraglutide) side effects

Saxenda's FDA label lists 11 common reactions, 7 serious warnings and 2 contraindications, plus a boxed warning. All of them are below in the label's own order; any percentage is the label's own figure, and nothing here is a recommendation.

No clinician has reviewed this page. Label and trial statements are quoted from the FDA label or the trial cited beside them. General guidance is marked as such, and every price carries the date it was verified. That is sourcing, not medical review. What we do and do not check · Who checked the price

Last updated 2026-06-15 — the version of the FDA label this page quotes. Read and dated by Alex Seot.

What are the side effects of Saxenda?

The FDA label for Saxenda lists nausea, low blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes, diarrhea, constipation and vomiting among the reactions reported in at least 5% of patients. It carries a boxed warning, the strongest the FDA issues: In rodents this molecule caused thyroid C-cell tumors at human-relevant doses. The label's serious warnings include acute pancreatitis; gallbladder disease; raised heart rate; and acute kidney injury from dehydration. It is contraindicated in 2 cases, among them a personal or family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma, or MEN 2, meaning the label says not to prescribe it at all. Every line above is quoted from FDA prescribing information for SAXENDA rather than summarized from a secondary source, because a side-effect list paraphrased twice stops being the label. That label version was published 2026-06-15. Frequencies are not repeated here second-hand: the percentage table lives in the label itself, which is linked on the page.

Boxed warning — the strongest warning the FDA issues

In rodents this molecule caused thyroid C-cell tumors at human-relevant doses. Whether it does so in people is unknown, and the label carries that as a boxed warning. It is contraindicated outright with a personal or family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma or MEN 2.

Common, and usually manageable

Reactions the label reports in at least 5% of patients.

nausea
low blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes
diarrhea
constipation
vomiting
headache
indigestion
fatigue
dizziness
abdominal pain
injection-site reactions

In the adult trials 9.8% of people on Saxenda stopped because of side effects, against 4.3% on placebo, most often for nausea (2.9%), vomiting (1.7%) or diarrhea (1.4%). If a dose increase is not tolerated, the label says to consider waiting about one more week before the next one, which is a conversation with the prescriber rather than a reason to quit unannounced.

Serious, and worth knowing before you start

Acute pancreatitis
Gallbladder disease
Raised heart rate
Acute kidney injury from dehydration
Severe gastrointestinal reactions
Hypersensitivity reactions including anaphylaxis and angioedema
Pulmonary aspiration under general anesthesia
Never share a pen between patients, even with a new needle (5.9) — sharing risks passing on blood-borne infection

Who cannot take it

A personal or family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma, or MEN 2
Known serious hypersensitivity to liraglutide

Each of these, on its own

What the label says, why it happens, how it tracks the dose schedule and the point at which it stops being ordinary.

What it costs Dosage schedule

Questions

What are the most common side effects of Saxenda?: The label lists nausea, low blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes, diarrhea, constipation, vomiting, headache and others among reactions reported in at least 5% of patients. The full frequency table is in the label itself, linked below; any percentage quoted on this page is the label's own figure.
Who should not take it?: The label contraindicates it in these cases: A personal or family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma, or MEN 2; Known serious hypersensitivity to liraglutide.
Do the side effects mean the price is not the issue?: They meet at titration. Most of these reactions are worst in the weeks after a dose increase, and those are also the weeks when some sellers charge a lower starting price. So the months people are most likely to stop are not the months that show what the drug costs. The maintenance price is on the Saxenda price page.

Source: FDA prescribing information for SAXENDA, the version published 2026-06-15. Information only, not medical advice: a side effect you are having is a conversation with your prescriber, not with a comparison site.