Zepbound side effects: 29 percent had nausea at 10 mg and 6.7 percent stopped
Nausea ran 25 percent at Zepbound 5 mg, 29 percent at 10 mg and 28 percent at 15 mg against 8 percent on placebo. Gut reactions of any kind hit 56 percent at all three doses. GLP Chart read the FDA label on DailyMed, revised August 2026.
| Reaction | Placebo (n=958) | 5 mg (n=630) | 10 mg (n=948) | 15 mg (n=941) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nausea | 8% | 25% | 29% | 28% |
| Diarrhea | 8% | 19% | 21% | 23% |
| Vomiting | 2% | 8% | 11% | 13% |
| Constipation | 5% | 17% | 14% | 11% |
| Abdominal pain (stomach pain) | 5% | 9% | 9% | 10% |
| Dyspepsia (indigestion) | 4% | 9% | 9% | 10% |
| Injection site reactions | 2% | 6% | 8% | 8% |
| Fatigue | 3% | 5% | 6% | 7% |
| Hypersensitivity reactions (allergic-type reactions) | 3% | 5% | 5% | 5% |
| Eructation (burping) | 1% | 4% | 5% | 5% |
| Hair loss | 1% | 5% | 4% | 5% |
| Gastroesophageal reflux disease (acid reflux) | 2% | 4% | 4% | 5% |
| Flatulence (gas) | 2% | 3% | 3% | 4% |
| Abdominal distension (bloating) | 2% | 3% | 3% | 4% |
| Dizziness | 2% | 4% | 5% | 4% |
| Hypotension (low blood pressure) | 0% | 1% | 1% | 2% |
- Diarrhea. The label counts diarrhea and frequent bowel movements in this row.
- Constipation. The label counts constipation and hard stool in this row.
- Abdominal pain. The label counts stomach pain, tenderness and discomfort in this row, wherever in the belly it sits.
- Injection site reactions. The label counts bruising, redness, itching, pain and rash at the injection site in this row.
- Fatigue. The label counts asthenia, fatigue, lethargy and malaise in this row.
- Hypotension. The label counts low blood pressure in this row, including the kind that hits on standing up.
The dose curve runs two ways at once
Nausea peaks in the middle. It reads 25 percent at 5 mg, 29 percent at 10 mg and 28 percent at 15 mg. That matters if you are at 10 mg and being told the next step will be worse. On this label the 15 mg column is a point lower.
Constipation runs the other way entirely. It falls from 17 percent at 5 mg to 14 percent at 10 mg to 11 percent at 15 mg. Diarrhea climbs across the same steps, from 19 to 23 percent. An "up to X percent" figure hides both moves.
Reactions of any gastrointestinal kind did not move at all: 56 percent at every dose, against 30 percent on placebo. The constipation and diarrhea rows moved in opposite directions inside that flat total.
How many people quit
4.8 percent stopped at 5 mg, 6.3 percent at 10 mg and 6.7 percent at 15 mg, against 3.4 percent on placebo. The label adds that most of those exits happened in the first few months and were gut reactions.
Stopping specifically over a gut reaction ran 1.9 percent, 3.3 percent and 4.3 percent across the three doses, against 0.5 percent on placebo. Reactions the label calls severe ran 1.7 to 3.1 percent against 1 percent.
What the dose does to your bill
LillyDirect prices Zepbound by dose. Every step it publishes, checked August 31, 2026.
| Dose | Cost / mo |
|---|---|
| Zepbound vial, starter dose (2.5mg) | $299/mo |
| Zepbound vial, maintenance (5mg) | $399/mo |
| Zepbound vial, higher doses (7.5mg+) | $449/mo |
| Program | At the dose you stay on | At the top dose it publishes |
|---|---|---|
| CVS MinuteClinic | $428/mo | $528/mo |
| Walgreens Weight Management | $448/mo | $548/mo |
| LifeMD | $498/mo | $698/mo |
| Ro Body | $548/mo | $598/mo |
| Hims & Hers | $598/mo | Not published |
Each figure is the total a month, membership and fees in, read off the program's own published pricing. A program that publishes no Zepbound price is not listed. See every price we track.
Compare every Zepbound route at its maintenance price →
What the label tells a prescriber to do
Zepbound carries no pause sentence. It carries a step-down one: If patients do not tolerate a maintenance dosage, consider a lower maintenance dosage.
Four weeks is a minimum. The label sets no maximum.
On timing the label says: The majority of nausea, vomiting, and/or diarrhea events occurred during dose escalation and decreased over time.
It puts no week number on that.
The label ties the gut reactions to a second risk. Dehydration from vomiting or diarrhea has caused kidney injury, so fluids are the thing to watch and the thing to report. Call the same day for severe stomach pain reaching your back, vomiting that stops you drinking for a day, or yellow skin or eyes. The triage list on the pillar page carries the rest.
Why Mounjaro reads lower for the same drug
Mounjaro is the same active ingredient from the same maker. Its label reads 15 percent nausea at 10 mg against Zepbound's 29 percent.
Two reasons, both on the labels. The clinical trials enrolled different people, adults with type 2 diabetes rather than adults with obesity. And Mounjaro's table cuts at 5 percent while Zepbound's cuts at 2, so Zepbound's bloating row at 4 percent and its low blood pressure row at 2 percent could never appear on it.
Read each figure against its own placebo column, not against the other drug's. Both tirzepatide tables side by side shows the gap on every row.
Frequently asked questions
What are the most common Zepbound side effects?
Nausea, diarrhea, vomiting and constipation, in that order on the label's table. At 10 mg they read 29, 21, 11 and 14 percent, against 8, 8, 2 and 5 percent on placebo.
Does 15 mg give you more side effects than 10 mg?
Not on every row. Nausea peaks at 10 mg (29 percent) and reads 28 percent at 15 mg. Constipation falls the whole way, from 17 percent at 5 mg to 11 percent at 15 mg. Diarrhea and vomiting do climb. Reactions of any gastrointestinal kind sat at 56 percent on all three doses.
How many people stop Zepbound because of side effects?
4.8 percent at 5 mg, 6.3 percent at 10 mg and 6.7 percent at 15 mg, against 3.4 percent on placebo. The label says most who stopped did so in the first few months, over gut reactions.
Do Zepbound side effects go away?
The label says this much: The majority of nausea, vomiting, and/or diarrhea events occurred during dose escalation and decreased over time. It gives no week number and no share of patients, so anything more specific than that is not on the label.
Does Zepbound cause hair loss?
The label lists it at 5 percent on 5 mg against 1 percent on placebo. On the cause the label says one thing: the reactions were associated with weight reduction.
Does holding at a lower dose cost less?
It depends on the program. Some publish one price at every dose and some charge more at each step up. The table on this page shows which programs do which.
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.
- Every rate in the Zepbound table, the 56 percent gastrointestinal figure, the discontinuation figures and the maintenance-dosage sentenceFDA prescribing information for Zepbound (DailyMed, revised August 2026)
- The Mounjaro comparison, including 15 percent nausea at 10 mg in adults with type 2 diabetesFDA prescribing information for Mounjaro (DailyMed, revised August 2026)
