: Dr. Palmer: You look fantastic.
Christine: Thank you, I feel it.
Narrator: Christine lost 150 pounds through diet and sheer will power.
Michael lost 140 pounds when he combined exercise and meal planning with his lap band surgery.
And Josh lost 180 pounds with the help of gastric bypass surgery.
All that hard work and dedication can pay off handsomely.
Josh Jarvis : I was taking medicine for high blood pressure, medicine for cholesterol, started taking diabetes medicine. I was off all three medicines two weeks after my surgery.
Michael Kay: I certainly notice people who smile or flirt, or express kind of an interest that maybe hadn't before. That's different for me, I'm not used to that.
Christine Judy: I'm happy with what I've done, where I'm at now, and I'm excited to go on.
Narrator: Despite their success, each knows that if they revert back to old habits, the weight could easily return.
Michael Kay: Some people think that weight loss surgery is the easy way out. They look at me and see all this weight that I've lost, but they don't see the effort that I've put into it.
Narrator: Michael has reached his goal weight, yet still works closely with his dietitian and attends regular support groups.
Julie Schwartz, RD: It's not a magic bullet. It’s not going to do this for you.
With the lap band,if you don't make behavior changes as a patient, you probably won't see weight loss, or you'll see very minimal weight loss.
With the bypass, you're going to see weight loss, but you may see all of your weight come back if you don't make behavior changes.
Narrator: For Josh and Michael, that means carefully chosen meals of no more than a cup of food, eaten slowly and cautiously chewed into mush.
Doing otherwise can stretch those small stomachs and lead to weight gain, or worse.
Michael Kay: If it can't fit through that opening, it's got to come back up.
Josh Jarvis: it just comes back up itself, like I ain't got nowhere to go that way, here I come so. it does make some situations awkward.
Narrator: About as awkward as Christine felt about her now "saggy" skin.
It's a common but often overlooked result of losing a vast amount of weight that can be devastating, medically and emotionally.
Christine Judy: It kind of holds you back, because you want to be so proud of yourself.
But then to have all of that stare back, it's kind of like haha, you really didn't get rid of me.
Josh Jarvis : Yea, so that's pretty much all skin. I got lucky in my face, I mean I've kind of got a little bit of excess but it shrank back
Michael Kay: I have it where I carried the bulk of weight, so I feel like I have some excess skin in my abdomen, I have excess skin in my thighs. It's not a big issue for me
Narrator: It was a big issue for Christine. She's undergone several surgeries to remove skin off her arms, thighs, and tummy, even her face.
Christine Judy: And now, anytime I pass the mirror, it's like, there I am again, and I didn't know that it was going to make me feel so much more confident, like my old self again
Narrator: Old self, meet new self. For many who have lost 100 pounds or more, coping with the way the world now views them is challenging.
Josh Jarvis : It was kind of depressing, really at the moment. I'm the same exact guy that I was, just in a smaller body.
Michael Kay: People didn't look at me because I was attractive. They looked at me just because of my physical appearance. And I like just blending in.
To the woodwork, you know I like just being an average person.
Christine Judy: I feel like me for the first time, like I feel like me, this is who I am. I couldn't go back.
Narrator: For WebMD, I'm Sandee LaMotte.
The short answer is yes. It’s typically OK to drink an alcoholic beverage when you’re taking GLP-1 drugs like semaglutide (Ozempic). There’s no evidence GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and alcohol interact with each other. The FDA-approved drug label for semaglutide doesn’t include any warnings about drinking alcohol while taking the medication for weight loss.
Of course, it’s never a good idea to drink in excess, whether you’re taking GLP-1 drugs or not. Drinking too much comes with risks for illness, injury, and death. Even moderate drinking may come with health risks. Drinking in moderation generally means two drinks or less for men and one or less for women.
There aren’t any specific guidelines about how much is OK to drink when taking GLP-1 drugs, but there are some things to consider when it comes to mixing the two. For example, alcohol is full of calories and drinking will make it harder to lose weight. Changes in your eating habits while taking GLP-1 drugs also may change the way alcohol affects you.
“There is no interaction between alcohol and semaglutide products like Ozempic,” says Diana Thiara, MD, medical director of the University of California San Francisco Weight Management Clinic. “But it is important to remember that your body’s response to alcohol may be different while on the medication. You may feel the effects more strongly, especially if you have lost a significant amount of weight or are not eating as much as you used to.”
GLP-1 Drugs Like Ozempic and Alcohol Interactions
Even though it’s OK to drink alcohol and there’s no evidence of any direct interaction between GLP-1 drugs and alcohol, you may find yourself drinking less while taking this weight loss drug. There’s growing evidence that semaglutide can affect your interest in drinking alcohol. You may find you aren’t craving alcohol like you used to and that you’re naturally drinking less than you did before taking GLP-1 drugs.
A randomized clinical trial tested the effects of low-dose semaglutide compared to a placebo on the amount of alcohol people with alcohol use disorder drank. It found that over nine weeks, taking semaglutide led to reductions in alcohol use by some but not all measures. It also significantly reduced alcohol cravings while leading people to smoke fewer cigarettes. So while it’s OK to keep drinking alcohol in moderation, you may find that you don’t want to as much.
“The working theory is that there are GLP-1 receptors in the parts of the brain that are involved with desire for food intake and alcohol intake,” Thiara says. “Agonizing these receptors leads to decreased interest in both food and alcohol.”
What Are the Side Effects of Combining Alcohol and GLP-1 Drugs Like Ozempic?’
More study is needed to understand any risks associated with semaglutide or other GLP-1 drugs and alcohol.
“There are no clear indications that GLP-1 medications increase the risks associated with alcohol consumption,” says Christian Hendershot, PhD, an addiction researcher at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine in Los Angeles, California, who led a clinical study testing semaglutide’s effects on alcohol use. “We know that large numbers of people are consuming alcohol during treatment with GLP-1 drugs, and we don’t yet have any clear signals that the combination of alcohol and GLP-1 treatment is dangerous above and beyond the existing risks associated with alcohol use. But it’s important to point out that potential interactions with alcohol have not been studied comprehensively or over long periods.”
It’s possible using GLP-1 drugs like semaglutide and alcohol together could amplify certain side effects or risks that come with each of them individually.
Blood sugar effects
Ozempic comes with a warning that it could cause hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), especially if you’re taking insulin or other medicines for diabetes.
Alcohol also can lower your blood sugar and has been linked to severe hypoglycemia in people with diabetes who take insulin. If you have diabetes, it’s a good idea to be aware that alcohol can lower your blood sugar. Ask your doctor about concerns related to hypoglycemia when drinking alcohol while taking GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic, especially if you’re taking other medicines to treat diabetes.
Gastrointestinal side effects
Both GLP-1 drugs and alcohol can come with gastrointestinal side effects, including:
- Constipation
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Appetite loss
”If you are having gastrointestinal side effects from your Ozempic like nausea and vomiting, then drinking can make these worse as drinking excessively can cause the same issues,” Thiara says. “If you have greatly suppressed appetite and are not eating adequately, you may feel the effects of alcohol more significantly.”
Pancreatitis risk
Semaglutide comes with a warning about pancreatitis based on reports in clinical trials. You shouldn’t take semaglutide if you have or think you may have pancreatitis. Chronic alcohol use or alcohol use disorder is a common cause of pancreatitis, too. Up to 70% of all cases of chronic pancreatitis may be related to alcohol use.
“There have been some concerns about the potential for increased risk of pancreatitis while taking GLP-1 medications since people who drink heavily are also at increased risk for pancreatitis,” Hendershot says.
Weight loss goals
It’s a good idea in general to cut back on or avoid alcohol when you’re trying to lose weight. The reason is that alcohol has a lot of calories in it. It’s also lacking in nutritional value. So using alcohol and semaglutide at the same time may make it harder for you to reach your weight loss goals. The good news is that GLP-1 drugs may make it easier for you to cut calories from both food and alcohol at the same time.
Worsened hangovers
A hangover is a sign that you’ve had too much to drink. It may come with symptoms including:
These symptoms usually resolve quickly, but they can last for more than a day.
There’s no evidence that semaglutide will make your hangovers worse. You may be less likely to have hangovers if you’re not drinking as much. But there are anecdotal reports that GLP-1 drugs can change the way alcohol makes you feel. If you’re having worsening hangovers after drinking while taking GLP-1 drugs, talk to your doctor and consider cutting back on the amount of alcohol you’re drinking.
Takeaways
More long-term study is needed, but it’s generally OK to drink alcohol while taking GLP-1 drugs like semaglutide (Ozempic) for weight loss.
There’s no evidence alcohol and GLP-1 drugs interact, but there are potential risks due to similar side effects and risks of alcohol and GLP-1 drugs, including hypoglycemia and pancreatitis.
GLP-1 drugs may cause you to lose interest in drinking alcohol or curb your alcohol cravings, so you may naturally find yourself drinking less.
Talk to your doctor if you’re taking GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic for weight loss or are thinking about starting and have concerns about the amount of alcohol you drink.
GLP-1 Drugs and Alcohol FAQs
How much alcohol can you drink on GLP-1 drugs like semaglutide (Ozempic)?
More long-term study is needed. So far, there are no specific guidelines about how much alcohol you can drink on Ozempic. It’s never a good idea to drink alcohol in excess. However, GLP-1 drugs like semaglutide (Ozempic) may cause you to drink less alcohol naturally as your cravings are reduced. Ask your doctor if you have concerns about how much alcohol you’re drinking while taking it.
Do GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic reduce alcohol cravings?
Some people taking GLP-1 drugs report less cravings for food and alcohol. There’s also some evidence for this, although more study is needed.
“Our preliminary trial found evidence for reduced alcohol craving in people with alcohol use disorder who completed about two months of treatment with semaglutide, relative to those in the placebo group,” Hendershot says. “This finding aligns with what many people have reported anecdotally about diminished cravings or reduced interest in alcohol.”
Do GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic change alcohol tolerance?
It’s possible GLP-1 drugs could change your alcohol tolerance, the way alcohol makes you feel, or the amount of alcohol you want to drink. But more study is needed, and everyone is different. Some people taking GLP-1 drugs say they’re more sensitive to alcohol’s negative effects. But you may feel like you’ve lost any positive effects alcohol had on you before taking a GLP-1 drug. You may also find you’re satisfied after fewer alcoholic drinks. It’s not clear if the reasons for such changes are related to the effects of Ozempic on your alcohol tolerance or some other mechanism.
Do you get drunk faster on GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic?
Not necessarily. It’s possible GLP-1 drugs could change the way alcohol makes you feel in different ways. Some people say they feel the effects of alcohol faster, while others don’t feel like they get drunk on GLP-1 drugs. You may feel satisfied after fewer drinks or lose interest in drinking alcohol while taking these types of meds for weight loss. You may feel you’re getting drunk faster because you’ve lost weight or are eating less.
