Research

Adherence

Gastrointestinal side effects (nausea, vomiting, feeling sick) are the primary drivers of discontinuation for GLP-1 receptor agonists in real-world practice, with patient-reported rates significantly higher than physician perceptions.

If you are taking a GLP-1 medication and stopping because of stomach issues, you are not alone. GI side effects are the most common reason patients quit, often more so than lack of effectiveness. These symptoms are frequently under-recognized by doctors. Talk to your provider about these specific issues; managing expectations and side effects can help you stay on the medication longer.

ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
Physicians (n=443) most frequently reported inadequate blood glucose control (45.6%), nausea/vomiting (43.8%), and gastrointestinal (GI) side effects (36.8%) as reasons for GLP1 RA discontinuation. Patients (n=194) reported the GI-related issues 'Made me feel sick' (64.4%) and 'Made me throw up' (45.4%) as their top reasons for discontinuation.
Mirko Sikirica et al. · Diabetes Metabolic Syndrome and Obesity · 2017

Why this rating

Cross-sectional survey data from real-world practice; subject to recall bias and self-reporting limitations, but large sample size.

Source

Reasons for discontinuation of GLP1 receptor agonists: data from a real-world cross-sectional survey of physicians and their patients with type 2 diabetes

Mirko Sikirica et al. · Diabetes Metabolic Syndrome and Obesity · 2017

DOI 10.2147/dmso.s141235

cross_sectional · n=2173Cited 209×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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