Side effects
Gallbladder problems on GLP-1 medication
Gallstone rates from the semaglutide and tirzepatide trials, and the gallbladder symptoms those labels direct a patient to report.
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
Gallstones are hardened deposits that form in the gallbladder. The labels record them under the name cholelithiasis, and record inflammation of the gallbladder separately.
Both documents cited below attach a named list of symptoms to this one, which is why this page's last section is longer than its siblings'.
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 cholelithiasis, the clinical name for gallstones, among the adverse reactions reported in the trials it was approved on. Measured in 1.6% of 2,116 adults taking 2.4 mg semaglutide weekly for 68 weeks, against 0.7% 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 cholelithiasis, the clinical name for gallstones, among the adverse reactions reported in the trials it was approved on. Measured in 1.1% of 2,519 adults taking 5 mg, 10 mg or 15 mg tirzepatide weekly for 72 weeks, against 1% of 958 adults on placebo in the same trials. DailyMed, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2026-09-02
What happens on this program
Tell your care team, and tell the prescribing clinician. This is one where the labels themselves name what to look for, and that list is below rather than in our words.
Nothing on this page is a reason to stop or continue a medication. That decision is the prescribing clinician's.
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 directs a patient to contact a health care provider if symptoms of gallbladder problems occur, and lists pain in the upper stomach area, fever, yellowing of the skin or eyes, and clay-colored stools. DailyMed, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2026-06-30
The prescribing information for Zepbound lists gallbladder problems, including gallstones and inflammation of the gallbladder, among the possible serious side effects a patient should contact a health care provider about. DailyMed, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2026-09-02