I want to share a less rosy experience because the communities tend to be overwhelmingly positive and people who had bad experiences often feel dismissed.
I started Wegovy in January 2024. The first month on 0.25mg was fine — mild nausea, reduced appetite, lost 5 pounds. Great. Then I moved to 0.5mg and the problems began.
The nausea became constant. Not just after eating — all day, every day, a low-grade seasickness that never fully resolved. I tried every remedy the communities suggest: small meals, ginger everything, peppermint, avoiding fatty food, eating slowly. Nothing made it go away completely.
At 1.0mg, I developed what I can only describe as gastroparesis symptoms. Food would sit in my stomach for what felt like 8+ hours. I would eat a small lunch and still feel uncomfortably full at bedtime. I had episodes of vomiting partially digested food from many hours earlier. One night I vomited up recognizable pieces of a salad I had eaten 10 hours prior. That was the moment I called my doctor.
I also developed severe constipation — going 5-6 days without a bowel movement despite fiber supplements, water, and miralax. When movements did happen, they were painful.
The appetite suppression worked — I lost 18 pounds in 3 months. But I was miserable. I dreaded eating because I knew how my stomach would feel afterward. Social dinners became anxiety-inducing. I started associating food with suffering rather than pleasure.
My doctor had me stop. She said my GI system was unusually sensitive to the gastric emptying delay and that not everyone can tolerate these medications. Within 2 weeks of stopping, the nausea resolved completely. Within 3 months, I had regained 12 of the 18 pounds.
I do not regret trying it and I do not think these are bad medications. But they are not for everyone, and the side effects can be genuinely debilitating for some people. If you are vomiting regularly or cannot keep food down, talk to your doctor rather than pushing through because a Reddit thread told you it gets better.