Side effects
Diarrhea on GLP-1 medication
The diarrhea rates recorded in the trials behind semaglutide, tirzepatide and oral semaglutide, each shown against the placebo arm of the same trial.
This page is general information, not medical advice. Compounded medications are not FDA-approved and have not been evaluated by the FDA for safety, efficacy, or quality. A qualified clinician determines whether treatment is appropriate for you.
Generated from the family's dataset. No clinician has reviewed this page as a document.
What it is
Diarrhea appears in the gastrointestinal section of all three documents cited below.
It is worth reading the control arm on this one in particular: the placebo groups in these trials reported it too, and the figures below show both.
How often it was reported
The figures below come from the trials the branded products were approved on, and each one is shown against the placebo arm of the same trial. They describe the people in those studies — not anyone on this program, and not the compounded preparations this program dispenses.
The prescribing information for Wegovy lists diarrhea among the adverse reactions reported in the trials it was approved on. Measured in 30% of 2,116 adults taking 2.4 mg semaglutide weekly for 68 weeks, against 16% of 1,261 adults on placebo in the same trials. DailyMed, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2026-06-30
The prescribing information for Zepbound lists diarrhea among the adverse reactions reported in the trials it was approved on. Measured in 23% of 941 adults taking 15 mg tirzepatide weekly for 72 weeks, against 8% of 958 adults on placebo in the same trials. DailyMed, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2026-09-02
The prescribing information for Rybelsus lists diarrhea among the adverse reactions reported in the trials it was approved on. Measured in 10% of 356 adults with type 2 diabetes taking 14 mg oral semaglutide daily in placebo-controlled trials, against 4% of 362 adults with type 2 diabetes on placebo in the same trials. DailyMed, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2026-08-19
What happens on this program
Raise it at the refill check-in, or message your care team before it. Neither this page nor anyone on the support side of this program can adjust a prescription.
If you are taking anything else, tell the prescribing clinician — that is a conversation for them, not for a page.
When to get help
Everything above reports what those documents themselves list. None of it is a judgement about what is happening to you: nobody who wrote this page has seen you, and reading a page is not a consultation.
If something is happening and you are not sure what it means, contact your provider or the pharmacy that dispensed to you. If it is severe, or you think it may be an emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.
The prescribing information for Wegovy says nausea, vomiting and diarrhea can cause a loss of fluids, which may lead to kidney problems or make existing kidney problems worse, and directs a patient to tell a health care provider if they occur. DailyMed, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2026-06-30