What are the most common side effects of Wegovy?

The label lists nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, constipation, abdominal pain, dysesthesia — altered skin sensation such as tingling or burning, mostly at 7.2 mg 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; A prior serious hypersensitivity reaction to semaglutide or any excipient.

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 Wegovy price page.

← Wegovy (semaglutide injection)

Wegovy (semaglutide injection) side effects

Wegovy's FDA label lists 17 common reactions, 9 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 2026-06-30 — the version of the FDA label this page quotes. Read and dated by Alex Seot.

What are the side effects of Wegovy?

The FDA label for Wegovy lists nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, constipation and abdominal pain 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; acute gallbladder disease; hypoglycemia; and acute kidney injury from volume depletion. 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 WEGOVY rather than summarized from a secondary source, because a side-effect list paraphrased twice stops being the label. That label version was published 2026-06-30. 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
diarrhea
vomiting
constipation
abdominal pain
dysesthesia — altered skin sensation such as tingling or burning, mostly at 7.2 mg
headache
fatigue
indigestion
dizziness
bloating
burping
low blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes
flatulence
gastroenteritis
reflux
hair loss

Nausea, diarrhea, vomiting and constipation are the reason most people stop. They are worst in the first days after each dose increase and usually settle; a schedule held longer at one step is the standard answer, and it is a conversation with the prescriber rather than a reason to quit unannounced.

Serious, and worth knowing before you start

Acute pancreatitis, including fatal and non-fatal hemorrhagic or necrotizing pancreatitis: persistent or severe abdominal pain, sometimes radiating to the back. The label says to stop the drug if it is suspected
Acute gallbladder disease: cholelithiasis in 1.6% of injection-treated adults against 0.7% on placebo, and in 3.8% of 12- to 17-year-olds against none on placebo
Hypoglycemia: the drug lowers blood glucose, and the risk rises when it is taken with insulin or an insulin secretagogue such as a sulfonylurea
Acute kidney injury from volume depletion, in some cases needing dialysis, reported mostly in people who became dehydrated through nausea, vomiting or diarrhea
Severe gastrointestinal reactions: 4.1% of injection-treated adults against 0.9% on placebo. Not recommended in severe gastroparesis
Hypersensitivity reactions including anaphylaxis and angioedema, which the label says are a reason to stop
Diabetic retinopathy complications in people with type 2 diabetes: 4% of injection-treated patients against 2.7% on placebo in the weight-reduction trial in that group
Heart rate increase: a mean rise of 1 to 4 beats per minute, and a rise of 20 bpm or more at some visit in 26% of injection-treated adults against 16% on placebo. The label says to stop if a raised resting rate is sustained
Pulmonary aspiration during general anesthesia or deep sedation: the drug delays gastric emptying, and stomach contents have been found despite normal preoperative fasting. Tell any surgeon or anesthesiologist you are taking it
Never share a FlexTouch pen between patients, even with a new needle (5.11) — sharing risks passing on blood-borne infection

Who cannot take it

A personal or family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma, or MEN 2
A prior serious hypersensitivity reaction to semaglutide or any excipient

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

Everything on Wegovy

Questions

What are the most common side effects of Wegovy?: The label lists nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, constipation, abdominal pain, dysesthesia — altered skin sensation such as tingling or burning, mostly at 7.2 mg 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; A prior serious hypersensitivity reaction to semaglutide or any excipient.
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 Wegovy price page.

Source: FDA prescribing information for WEGOVY, the version published 2026-06-30. Information only, not medical advice: a side effect you are having is a conversation with your prescriber, not with a comparison site.