What I Wish I’d Known About GLP-1 Side Effects

Well being and wellness contact everybody’s life in another way. That is one individual’s story. The views and opinions expressed are these of the speaker and don’t essentially mirror the views or positions of Healthline Media.

It hit me at a Mexican restaurant. The chips and salsa had been on the desk — heat, salty, scrumptious — and after having fun with just some, I used to be performed. Not as a result of I used to be being “good” or disciplined, however as a result of I used to be happy.

Prior to now, I might have eaten my option to the underside of the basket. Then it dawned on me: the meals noise was gone.

Six months earlier than that chips-and-salsa second, I began taking compounded semaglutide after leaving an abusive marriage and studying my A1C was nearing prediabetic. The subsequent 16 months reshaped my physique and my relationships with meals, my children, and myself.

The “meals noise” disappeared, however so did my consciousness of some fundamental wants. As an example, I’d overlook to drink water and prepare dinner meals for my children.

I had realized the arduous manner that you just want medical oversight when taking GLP-1 drugs, which I’d obtained compounded versions of by way of medical professionals at a neighborhood medspa and a compounding pharmacy.

I weighed 180 kilos after I began GLP-1 medicine in November 2023and stopped at 135 kilos in July 2025.

If I may return to that first shot of semaglutide, I’d know I’d want a timeline and an exit technique. I might additionally know that I’d want neighborhood help from individuals who perceive this explicit weight loss journey. I don’t remorse taking GLP-1 medicine, however right here’s what I want I’d recognized earlier than beginning them.

Earlier than I began GLP-1s, food noise was a continuing mind-set.

My ideas swirled across the subsequent snack or meal as in the event that they had been an in depth companion. Meals noise was ever-present after which, surprisingly and abruptly, absent.

One surprising casualty was my baking pastime. A couple of months into my weight reduction journey, I ended baking. The need merely dissipated.

Earlier than I began the injections, I’d been on a pound cake kick, baking weekly only for the enjoyable of it. In hindsight, meals noise might have been driving the pastime, regardless that I actually loved the method of baking.

Sooner or later, I simply stopped baking and didn’t appear to overlook it. The meals noise that’d prompted weekly fixes for pound muffins was gone. The absence of that noise — the silence, actually — was deafening.

Because the psychological chatter round meals quieted, I spotted I had missed different indicators my physique was sending. Painful constipation compelled me to confront how little water I used to be consuming. Seems dehydration could be a facet impact of GLP-1 medicine.

I spoke with Mir B. Ali, MD, a bariatric surgeon and medical director of the MemorialCare Surgical Weight Loss Heart at Orange Coast Medical Heart in California, to realize a greater understanding of what occurred.

He defined that the remedy slows your digestive system. That slowdown, mixed with even delicate dehydration, can create intense constipation.

Ali advises his sufferers to drink water and different non-sugary liquids all through the day, aiming for 48 ounces. Extreme dehydration is uncommon with GLP-1 use, he stated, however the issue is extra delicate.

“Sufferers simply overlook to drink, and you’ll’t gulp a complete bunch without delay as a result of your abdomen is emptying slower, and it’d make you nauseous,” Ali stated.

That was my expertise. I merely forgot to drink water.

Staying hydrated is about greater than avoiding discomfort. Research means that chronic dehydration may cause severe well being dangers as we age. Whenever you overlook to eat or drink, these dangers can accumulate silently.

So, I tracked my water bottle refills, generally including electrolyte powders. My dehydration wasn’t simply an uncomfortable facet impact. It had the potential to derail every part I labored towards. This could have been useful to know up entrance.

Docs advise individuals taking GLP-1 medicine — and most of the people on the whole — to train not less than half-hour every day.

Common train helps your physique preserve metabolism and muscle, that are each in danger whereas taking GLP-1 medicine.

Nonetheless, I’d misplaced the motivation to train. After I began taking GLP-1s, I discovered I had little or no power. At instances, I may barely summon the power for even essentially the most mundane duties, comparable to answering an electronic mail, folding laundry, or taking my toddler to the playground.

Exercising undoubtedly wasn’t going to occur, which was complicated since I’d all the time been athletic and liked being lively.

After I requested Ali about this, he stated he wasn’t shocked. He defined that the physique has much less power when it’s burning calories. I additionally realized I seemingly wasn’t consuming sufficient protein.

“When sufferers are low in power, they’re most likely not getting sufficient protein. Protein is critical for muscle preservation, in addition to for common power wants. So, we emphasize protein and greens within the weight loss plan and decreasing carbohydrate consumption,” Ali stated. “That type of directs your physique towards burning fats extra.”

I routinely forgot to prepare dinner meals for my children. Decide me for those who should, however I used to be hardly ever fascinated with meals for myself, not to mention anybody else.

I’ve a teen and a toddler who’d get residence and ask, “What’s for dinner?” and I’d be like, “Oh, proper, dinner!” I felt responsible as a result of meals was so removed from my thoughts, however my children nonetheless wanted to eat.

I keep in mind my 2-year-old opening the freezer one night and pulling out a bag of frozen greens. That good child was telling me she was prepared for dinner. Ouch. I ready a fast meal and he or she devoured the entire thing. That night time, I spotted I wanted higher techniques in place to forestall this from taking place once more.

I relied on air-fryer meals for my toddler and inspired my teen to prepare dinner, which labored out nice as a result of he enjoys being within the kitchen — however not the half the place he has to do the dishes. We additionally ordered takeout fairly a bit.

Cooking for my children jogged my memory that I nonetheless needed to eat, too.

My weight plateaued for months, so my main care doctor (who didn’t prescribe my semaglutide injections) really helpful I cease chilly turkey. In hindsight, I ought to have deliberate an exit technique.

There was no dramatic shift. My appetite returned step by step, virtually imperceptibly. Just a little extra curiosity in meals one week, a basket of tortilla chips the subsequent. 5 months handed, and 10 kilos returned. I keep in mind trip photos and realizing my hard-earned physique was slipping away.

I made a decision to strive semaglutide once more, however I knew I couldn’t simply restart the injections and anticipate completely different outcomes.

On many days, I ate one meal a day. Nonetheless, this consuming sample was setting the stage for a probably harmful facet impact. I merely wasn’t getting sufficient vitamin.

My nails had been brittle, and my beautician observed my hair was dry and weak, slicing off two inches of what regarded like straw on the salon ground. I blamed work stress.

I discussed it casually throughout my annual bodily, prompting my physician to ask questions like: What was I consuming every day? Was I monitoring protein? How usually was I really consuming?

My physician wasn’t managing my GLP-1 therapy; I did my very own factor whereas conserving her knowledgeable. However she linked the dots I missed. The hair loss, brittle nails, and my weight loss plan: we suspected malnutrition.

I ended the compounded remedy at 135 kilos, which was 5 lbs from my goal. I set the goal weight low as a result of expertise taught me I’d seemingly settle at the next weight as soon as off the meds.

I later realized that malnutrition whereas taking GLP-1s is uncommon. Ali stated that what I skilled may have been triggered by a hormonal shift ensuing from speedy weight reduction.

I realized you want somebody watching greater than the dimensions — a medical skilled who can see patterns you’re too shut to acknowledge. Weight reduction was by no means presupposed to be the one metric that mattered.

My girlfriends had been on GLP-1 medicine earlier than me, and understood the expertise in methods analysis couldn’t seize.

We rapidly grew to become one another’s sounding board at completely different levels on completely different drugs and with completely different objectives, like weight regain after I plateaued.

We traded sensible methods: Pepto-Bismol capsules earlier than injections helped alleviate nausea, intermittent fasting worked for upkeep, and lengthy walks had been simpler when performed collectively. The information helped, however that wasn’t the actual present.

This neighborhood gave me permission. After years in survival mode, I wanted to see girls prioritizing themselves — taking over area, investing money and time, asking for what they wanted. They confirmed me what that regarded like. Watching them confirmed me I used to be allowed to need it, too.

I’ve been off semaglutide since August and am sustaining my new wholesome weight.

For me, intermittent fasting, deliberate daily movement, and a balanced weight loss plan wealthy in protein and fiber assist me keep robust, wholesome, and motivated. I nonetheless select solely the carbs value consuming — good bread, not mediocre bread.

And the meals noise? Effectively, it’s again, however I’m keenly conscious of it now. After I open the pantry, I pause and ask: Does my physique really really feel hungry proper now? Typically the reply is not any, and I eat anyway.

However the distinction is the pause. The notice. The selection.

GLP-1 didn’t treatment my relationship with food — it gave me the silence I wanted to start out listening to my physique once more after years of survival mode had skilled me to disregard it.

Now, after I sit down at that Mexican restaurant, the chips and salsa in entrance of me, I don’t all the time make the selection to be “good,” however in that cut up second between impulse and motion — I make a selection.

That little second of company earlier than my hand reaches my mouth is the present I’m going to carry onto.