Sulfur burps on a GLP-1: the labels call it eructation and put it at 7 percent
Eructation, the label word for belching, reached 7 percent on Wegovy 2.4 mg against under 1 percent on placebo, the only row on that table where the placebo arm came in under 1 percent. Zepbound's label reads 4 to 5 percent against 1 percent. No label reports a smell. GLP Chart read both on DailyMed, revised June and August 2026.
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| Label and dose | Who was in the trial | On the drug | On placebo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wegovy 2.4 mg (June 2026 label) | adults with obesity or overweight, n=2,116 | 7% | <1% (n=1,261) |
| Zepbound 5 mg (August 2026 label) | adults with obesity or overweight, n=630 | 4% | 1% (n=958) |
| Zepbound 10 mg (August 2026 label) | adults with obesity or overweight, n=948 | 5% | 1% (n=958) |
| Zepbound 15 mg (August 2026 label) | adults with obesity or overweight, n=941 | 5% | 1% (n=958) |
The one row where the placebo arm reported almost nothing
Every other reaction on Wegovy's table has a placebo column of 1 percent or higher. Nausea is 16 percent on placebo. Constipation is 11. Eructation is the only row that reads under 1 percent, against 7 percent on the drug.
Nausea's treated column is under three times its placebo column. Eructation's is more than seven times.
On Zepbound the same row reads 4 percent at 5 mg, 5 percent at 10 mg and 5 percent at 15 mg, against 1 percent on placebo. It flattens out after the first step up rather than climbing with the dose.
What a slower ladder costs
Neither label says what the slower route costs. On some programs the lower dose is the cheaper one and on others the price does not move at all.
| Drug | Cheapest program we track | At the maintenance dose | At the top dose it publishes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wegovy | Knownwell | $299 a month | Publishes one figure only |
| Zepbound | Sam's Club Member Health | $399 a month | $449 a month, with refills inside 45 days |
LifeMD charges $200 a month more at the top of its ladder than at the dose you stay on. Ask the program what it charges at each dose before you agree to climb.
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The label and the search box use different words
Nobody types eructation. People type sulfur burps, because the smell is the part that makes it memorable. The labels record the belching and say nothing about the smell.
Mounjaro carries no eructation row. Its table prints reactions reported by at least 5 percent of treated adults, and this one did not clear the cut in the diabetes clinical trials. Ozempic does carry a figure for it. In the sentence under its own table it prints 2.7 percent at 0.5 mg and 1.1 percent at 1 mg, against 0 percent on placebo.
What the labels tell a prescriber
- The Ozempic figures sit in a sentence rather than a table. Its lead-in reads:
In addition to the reactions in Table 1, the following gastrointestinal adverse reactions with a frequency of <5% were associated with OZEMPIC.
So a label with no eructation row is a label whose rate fell under its own cut, not a label reporting none.Ozempic label, section 6.1, below-threshold list - No label in this set names a food to avoid, an antacid or anything else to take for it. None of them reports a smell either.Wegovy, Zepbound, Ozempic and Mounjaro labels
- Neither weight-management label prints an instruction aimed at burping. The two dose sentences the weight-management labels carry are general. Wegovy's reads:
If patients do not tolerate a dose during dosage escalation, consider delaying dosage escalation for 4 weeks.
Zepbound's reads:If patients do not tolerate a maintenance dosage, consider a lower maintenance dosage.
Wegovy label, section 2 and Zepbound label, section 2
How long it lasts
No label prints how long the burping lasts. Zepbound's duration sentence covers nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, and eructation is not in it.Zepbound label, section 6.1
What a dose change costs
Both weight-management labels answer a tolerability problem the same way, by slowing the ladder or stepping back down. What that does to the bill depends on the program. Shed lists $199 a month, the same figure at every dose. Strut Health lists $149 a month, with auto-refill. Medvi lists $299 a month, after $179 for the first month. None of the three sets its price by the dose, so holding a step costs the same as taking it.
Frequently asked questions
Do the FDA labels mention sulfur burps?
No. They count eructation, which is belching, and they do not describe a smell. Wegovy's label puts eructation at 7 percent at 2.4 mg. Zepbound's puts it at 4 percent at 5 mg, 5 percent at 10 mg and 5 percent at 15 mg. The sulfur description comes from patients, not from the source documents.
How common is it?
Less common than nausea and more distinctive. On Wegovy the treated arm reported 7 percent against a placebo arm under 1 percent, the only row on that table with a placebo figure that low. On Zepbound it is 4 to 5 percent against 1 percent on placebo.
Why is the placebo figure the interesting part?
Because a big treated number means little on its own. Nausea reads 44 percent on Wegovy, but 16 percent of the placebo arm reported it too. Eructation is the only row on that table where fewer than 1 in 100 placebo patients reported it, so nearly all of the treated figure sits above the background rate.
Why is there no figure for Mounjaro?
Its table only prints reactions reported by at least 5 percent of treated adults. Eructation did not clear that cut in the diabetes clinical trials, so the label carries no row for it. Ozempic does carry a figure for it. In the sentence under its own table it prints 2.7 percent at 0.5 mg and 1.1 percent at 1 mg, against 0 percent on placebo.
What does the label say to do about it?
Nothing about belching specifically. What both weight-management labels give the prescriber is the dose lever. Wegovy's says to consider delaying escalation for 4 weeks if a dose is not tolerated. Zepbound's says to consider a lower maintenance dosage.
Every dosage sentence on this page is written to a prescriber, not to you. Holding a dose, dropping back or stopping changes what the drug is doing. Take the label language to the appointment.
Sources
Evidence checked August 31, 2026
Every figure above is taken from the document beside it, the FDA label or the trial that produced it, so you can read the source instead of trusting us. No clinician reviews these pages. What that means.
- The 7 percent eructation figure, the <1 percent placebo column and the tolerability sentence about delaying escalationFDA prescribing information for Wegovy, injection and tablets (DailyMed, revised June 2026)
- The Zepbound eructation rates at 5 mg, 10 mg and 15 mg and the sentence about considering a lower maintenance dosageFDA prescribing information for Zepbound (DailyMed, revised August 2026)
- The Ozempic adverse-reaction table and the sentence under it, which prints eructation at 2.7 percentFDA prescribing information for Ozempic injection (DailyMed, revised June 2026)
- The Mounjaro adverse-reaction table, which cuts at 5 percent and carries no eructation rowFDA prescribing information for Mounjaro (DailyMed, revised August 2026)