Medications · FAQ
What side effects can tirzepatide cause?
Short answer
Tirzepatide can cause nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, constipation, stomach pain, and indigestion. Serious risks include pancreatitis, gallbladder problems, dehydration-related kidney injury, and severe allergic reactions. Contact your physician about ongoing symptoms. Get urgent care for severe belly pain, trouble breathing, fainting, or swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat.
Common tirzepatide side effects include nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, constipation, stomach pain, and indigestion. These can occur when treatment begins or after a dose increase. Do not increase your dose while having troublesome symptoms without first speaking with your prescribing physician.
Smaller meals and avoiding large, high-fat meals may make stomach symptoms easier to manage. Results vary. Drink fluids regularly unless your clinician has told you to limit them. Contact your care team if you cannot keep fluids down, urinate much less, or feel dizzy.
Get urgent medical care for severe or ongoing belly pain, especially if it reaches your back or comes with vomiting. This may be pancreatitis. Upper belly pain with fever, yellow skin, or pale stools may signal a gallbladder problem. Trouble breathing or swelling of the face or throat requires emergency help.
Tirzepatide carries a warning about thyroid C-cell tumors seen in animal studies. It is not known whether this occurs in humans. Report a neck lump, persistent hoarseness, or trouble swallowing to your physician.
Sources
Written by the Verra clinical team · Medical review pending
General information, not medical advice. If you're in crisis, call or text 988.