The Risks of Skipping an Ozempic Dose
If you’ve ever been tempted to skip or delay a GLP-1 dose in advance of a special occasion, such as a vacation or large holiday meal, experts warn that one missed dose is not likely to have a big effect on your hunger or gastrointestinal fitness.
Dr. Saunders says when her patients have tried to indulge in big meals after skipping a dose, they often learn that overeating can still provoke punishing side effects: “Eating heavy foods or large portions while on semaglutide or tirzepatide can lead to heartburn, nausea, and vomiting. Sometimes people feel fine while they’re eating and even afterwards for a while, but then they vomit out of nowhere several hours later,” she says.
Andrew Kraftson, MD, the director of the weight navigation program at Michigan Medicine in Ann Arbor, agrees that skipping a single dose is unlikely to quickly alleviate any gastrointestinal side effects. “Individuals should still be counseled to chew very thoroughly, eat slowly, and moderate their portions to avoid getting into trouble,” he says.
Sean Hashmi, MD, the regional director of clinical nutrition and weight management for Kaiser Permanente Southern California and a medical reviewer for Everyday Health, says that delaying or skipping a single dose of your medication is medically harmless in the short term — but he still cautions against doing it.
Dr. Hashmi says that the biggest risk of missing a dose is potentially breaking the good habits people build on GLP-1 drugs. “This concept that we can stop this medicine to do something that we know isn’t good for us, it sets us up for failure in the long run,” he says.
Altering dose timing by a day or two, however, may be a viable option. Many people experience their worst digestive issues during the first day or two after their weekly injection, and have learned to delay their shot on days when vomiting or diarrhea would be particularly inconvenient, such as during job interviews, air travel, or holiday parties. Dr. Kraftson calls these short delays “totally reasonable.”
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