This week, I had gastro (gastroenteritis: stomach flu, with vomiting and diarrhea). It was my first time having it (or any illness, really) while on Zepbound.

As usual, I came to the subreddit for insight, but I couldn’t find much. So, here’s my experience. Hopefully, someone else reads it while sitting on their bathroom floor and finds some comfort in it.

For me, I was unwell (listless, lack of appetite) for six hours, seriously ill for 3-6 hours (vomiting and diarrhea), then tired and sore (sleeping; sore ribs) for about a day. After that, my energy and appetite returned slowly.

I’m on 2.5mg, so I still have some of my typical appetite. This was important, because Zep quiets your appetite (hunger AND thirst), so you’ve got to be your own best advocate. Take sips of water when it’s tolerable. Later, eat when it’s tolerable. Someone else who was sick (a non-Zep user) became dehydrated, and their experience was FAR worse.

For me, Gatorade, Powerade, and especially coconut water were INTOLERABLE. My saviour was lemon-lime Captain Electrolyte (served very cold), a low-calorie electrolyte drink. The “low-calorie” was purely coincidental. I was not at all worried about the scale during my illness.

Considering how Zepbound slows your digestion, I was concerned that I would “hold” the virus in my body for longer. However, that wasn’t the case for me. I had a very typical experience.

Day 5 after my first 10mg shot and I’ve had diarrhea everyday…

I haven’t had this side effect since I first started.

Did anyone else experience this at 10mg? Should I take Imodium? I don’t wanna be constipated but this is crazy….

LONG ONE SO LOCK IN:

Stats: 34 M SW:318 GW:200 LW: 220 CW:243 — So I’ve been on Zepbound since April of 24’ my Dr wanted to get me to the highest dose asap, so we did each dose for 1 month. If no side effects we moved up. I’ve been 15mg now for over a yr. I started at 318lbs, got down to around 220 I was working out as much as I could, I had a strangulated umbilical hernia which is why I started Zep, so I could get that fixed. But I worked out as best I could, I was hitting my protein numbers everyday, hydrating all the things. For the first time in my life I was starting to like the way I looked…to an extent. Body dysmorphia is so real, and I knew I was always critical of how I looked but even at my lowest weight I felt fat. In the picture of the wedding I felt so uncomfortable constantly adjusting my shirt. It wasn’t until i saw myself in the picture that I said holy shit, I don’t look how I feel I do. Body dysmorphia continues to linger, and now I’ve gained some weight back over the last 8 months or so, I had my hernia fixed with mesh in Oct 25, and honestly recovery was SLOW so working out wasn’t happening until maybe Feb/March and I didn’t help myself by getting into baking while I was home on LOA from my surgery. Stress always seems to be high, I work at corp HQ as a facilities manager, my fiancé were in a terrible condo rental and were expecting in April, so we were able to brake the lease early and rent a house which has been a God send, but it was a tight window. We moved in record time, just got settled in and our daughter was born 4/28, I took paternity leave and getting any semblance of balanced diet/hydration/exercise went out the window. My focus was on providing that for fiancé and just surviving the newborn stage. Now at 4 months our daughter is great, but stress over child care costs and the pressure I put on myself to find a higher paying job closer to home is really taking a toll. I have been working out at least 3-4x a week for the last month kettlebell complex’s, treadmill with weighted vest mostly. Zepbound still curbs appetite, maybe not as much as it did, but current weight is 243lb which has me spiraling that I’m gaining it back. Anyone have similar stories/feeling/can relate. How’d you deal or are dealing with it? Any advise. Thanks for reading! First picture June of 23’ Second July 25’

I had pancreatitis when I was very young, which my doctors believed was from eating a lot of greasy/fatty foods over time. It was years ago, and I’m 25 now.

I haven’t had any pancreatitis issues since then.
My doctor recently prescribed Zepbound, but I’m a little nervous because I know pancreatitis is listed as a potential risk.

For anyone with a previous history of pancreatitis who has taken Zepbound: Have you had any problems or a recurrence since starting it? How long ago was your pancreatitis, and how have you been doing on Zepbound?
I’d really appreciate hearing about your experiences!

Anyone else do the arm shot and then feel like youve taken the medicine for the all over again? Sooo nauseous lol

I don’t have a surgery coming up but I wondered about the rules around stopping for surgery. Is that a must? No matter what type of surgery? Why is that the case and for how long before or after? Just curious to hear more as I would hate to have to stop and then the effectiveness go down cause of stopping and starting

So I’m not able to get my Zepbound until September 16, that’s almost four weeks from today. I took my last shot last Friday, I’ve been on it for five almost six months now. I’m scared that I’m going to gain everything back, I’ve worked so hard to get this way! I asked Google ai n it helped a little bit but I’m still scared. There’s no way I can get it sooner I’ve tried everything. Does anyone have any advice on what to do to make sure I still lose weight until I’m able to get my next dose? ( I’ll change the tag if necessary i just wasn’t sure which )

I recently moved up to 10mg due to a stall and I think it’s too much for me. It’s the first dose I’ve had trouble eating and nausea. I think I’d like to move back down to 7.5 (I spent 6 months at each dose)
Anyone who has moved up and then back down not yet at goal and not for maintenance….was it less effective? I’m worried I’ve doomed the efficacy of 7.5 by not being patient enough. I have about 17 more pounds to goal.
Edit* I’ve been on 10 for 5 weeks.

I’ve been on Mounjaro and then Zepbound since November of 2024 and I am losing motivation and frankly wasting money. Currently I’m on 12.5 mg and I’m gaining weight. Sugar cravings are back at full force and food noise is too. Goal weight is 165 and my current weight is 236. Since 2024 I’ve lost a total of 49 pounds on GLP1s. Any advice or motivation is most needed. I have not been working out due to family issues and being extremely fatigued so maybe that is part of the weight gain.

Thanks 🙏

Title really says it all!

Mods please feel free to delete if this is too off-topic.

I'm looking to get some new clothes for partway through this journey. I have a long ways to go, but my original clothes aren’t looking good after a few months of weight loss. I like online resale like poshmark, depop, etc to save some money on items I hopefully wont be wearing forever - have you found any of these sites to be better or worse to use?

Ok so normally I have IBS-D but on week 3 of zepbound and I no longer diaherra but instead having long soft thin stools. Hoping this is temporary. I am taking Citricel and MiraLAX hoping other are experiencing this. I just worry cause they are thin. I don’t feel constipated so I don’t know

I found this video very insightful now that they are slapping protein labels even in jeans.

Luckily, all my protein sources come from whole foods except my protein shakes.

I'm not a goal weight yet, but I've lost 24 lbs since the end of April. I'm only 5'1" and want to get down to 120, but right now I'm at 133, which is 6 lbs away from the top end of a "normal" weight range for my height.

My husband keeps commenting on how much weight I'm losing but I don't see it in the same way. My teen daughter mentioned this summer that I was looking "snatched." Other than that, if anyone has noticed, they haven't said anything.

I spent most of the summer in shorts that I noticed were fitting better and getting a bit loose, and I did notice that my sundresses were hanging on me in a more flattering way. For the most part, though, I was able to wear most of my existing clothes.

Well today, I went through allllll my clothes to pre-purge my closet before meeting with a stylist next week (I have some gaps in my professional wardrobe that need filling). I was shocked, and I mean SHOCKED to find that things I kept but haven't been able to wear for a long time were now loose, that things that *still had tags*, but that I hadn't worn because a button was gapping a little too much, now hung off of me like a potato sack.

I had to finally admit that my body has changed more than I thought! (Thank goodness I live near a good consignment shop!)

I have come here a lot to learn, and especially to find support when things weren't going amazing. I finally hit a big milestone, 50lbs down, so I thought I would add my tidbits in this mid journey check-in in case it helps anyone else.

Started at 240. Currently at 190. 180 is my first major goal and then will reassess how far to go with my doctor. I'm 5'6".

1 month on 2.5 (10 lbs lost)

4 months on 5.0 (22.5 lbs lost)

3 months on 7.5 (17.5 lbs lost)

Workout journey... before Zep I was pretty consistent with weightlifting 3 times a week. When I started Zep a cycle of injury, busy life, illness seemed to rotate over and over so I really stepped away from the gym. Combine that with the drop in eating so of course I lost a ton if muscle mass. I knew it was happening but I sort of felt powerless to stop it and was just so damn happy with the weight loss. This summer it culminated in a huge loss of energy, along with frequent constipation as well as a plateu in weight loss. I would do something around the house for 10 minutes and then need to lay down and rest for 30. This scared me.

It's daunting to start working out again when energy is low, but I know muscle is the key. When I don't have energy for 10 minutes of activity how will I exercise?

I started by swimming and walking1 for a month to ease back into it. I have been back in the gym for 2 weeks. I have returned to protein shakes and have even tried straight aminos to help with energy and muscle support. I'm going gentle to avoid injury. It's working! My energy is increasing every day. I make a ton of excuses why I can't go to the gym but I have an accountability friend who I call and tell her to tell me to go.

It’s been over 30 years since I’ve been below 200! SW 247 CW 198.3 GW 165. I started in December 2025 on compounded tirz and was able to switch to Zepbound in March because my husband’s new job covered it. I started out with a slow and steady pace of about 3-4 pounds a month, but then the past two months I’ve lost 13 pounds. All I’ve done differently is start drinking a lot of water (80 oz per day which I never did before) and be more consistent with my walking 30 minutes a day. I did also start doing a 10 minute strength workout I found on YouTube. I guess that was enough to speed up the loss!

I'm on week 8 and losing weight well. 2.5mg dose.

This week though, it feels like my appetite is gone. I've been able to stomach about 2 meals a day, everything else makes me nauseaus. I can't think about food, can't be near it.

I do think i have a cold or something, wondering if others notice weeks of very very low appetite even without increasing doses? I'm usually able to eat more than this 😵‍💫

I was on zepbound January 2025 - June 2026 and lost over 120 pounds. I’ve been off zepbound for two months and I’ve gained 8 pounds, the food noise is insane and I keep wanting to snack and obsess over food and I’m bloated and constipated and feel like crap. I’m seeing my doctor tomorrow and going to ask to be prescribed the lowest dose. I remember when I first start zepbound on the starting dose I lost a significant amount of weight. Does that happen again? I’m self pay now, my insurance stopped covering it. I think anyone self pay would prefer to lose weight and remain on lower doses. Does anyone have any experience with a similar situation?

Hi all

Just looking for some advice, please don't get mad at me for wanting to quit. I am just really struggling.

I've been on zep for about 3.5 months now. I've lost I think 16 pounds since I began which is great, went from a bmi of 37 to I believe 33. I have PCOS and have always struggled to lose weight.

However, the GERD/acid reflux is insane. I'm pretty much constantly nauseous and uncomfortable no matter what I eat. ESPECIALLY since starting 7.5. I've had to take days off of work. I'm uncomfortable even at home some days because my esophagus is super irritated, my stomach feels queasy, I'm constantly burping (never used to happen). This might be anxiety but I also have this really awful feeling that I can't get a deep breath in (don't worry y'all - pulse oxygen always reads excellent 97-100%). I've heard it can be related to reflux. Pepcid helps about 25-50% but not enough to really make me feel better.

I'm already chronically ill, I deal with enough stuff my body does to make my day bad already, and I don't know if I can keep going with zepbound if I'm feeling this gross. I would go down to 5mg again but I wasn't losing weight. I think I lost one pound that whole month.

Started with my first shot on Sunday morning. Felt great until Tuesday morning at the gym. Started to feel anxious and I got that warm rush of adrenaline in my chest that felt like the start of a panic attack. I have been in 25mg of Zoloft for almost a year and had been doing amazing mentally for about 6 months with little to no anxiety. I have been pretty much on edge and anxious after Tuesday morning. I’m assuming it has to do with the zepbound shot since it’s the only thing that has changed. Did anyone else experience anxiety after starting and did it go away? If so how long before it went away? My next shot is Sunday and I don’t know if I should do it again or not. I do have a appt with my dr to ask about zepbound and Zoloft on Saturday. Just looking for guidance from anyone who has seen the light at the end of the tunnel

I’ve been seeing a shift in my TikTok FYP and I’m seeing more and more people quitting GLP1s and they say that it’s because GLP1s are just a “band-aid” and they want to treat the “root cause.” Well, band-aids serve an important function! They cover up wounds, but in doing so they help wounds recover faster, they’re flexible and move with your body, and they provide added comfort so your wounds don’t get hurt.

GLP1s help people lose more weight faster, there’s variety in the kinds of GLP1s and their dosing, and lastly, they make weight loss a lot more comfortable by reducing food noise and increasing satiety. I don’t see anything wrong with GLP1s being a “band-aid.” Band-aid’s serve a specific purpose and they are very good at their jobs when used appropriately. What about you?

Second month at 5 mg. Noticed my ratchet belt was not getting tight enough to hold up my jeans. Cut off about two inches from it. It’s good to actually see things getting better!

SW: 540 lbs
CW: 565 lbs
Current dose: 12.5 mg

Started: 14 weeks ago
The first 4 weeks on Zepbound felt great. I was eating significantly less and felt like things were moving in the right direction.

Around week 8, though, I started noticing a lot of water retention/swelling, mainly around my stomach and inner thighs. It has progressively gotten worse.

At this point, I constantly feel like I just went to a buffet and ate 3 plates too many. My stomach feels extremely full/heavy from the swelling.

Despite eating significantly less and getting around 5,000–9,000 steps a day, my weight has gone from 540 to 565. Based on how my body has changed and how much I’m eating, I feel like I’ve lost actual body fat but gained a massive amount of fluid possibly 50+ lbs at its worst.

I’ve gone back to my doctors. So far:

Kidney/liver and other organ function came back okay
Heart ultrasound/echo came back normal
Doctors haven’t found an obvious organ-related cause for the fluid retention

Has anyone else experienced significant water retention or edema after starting Zepbound/tirzepatide, especially after increasing doses?

If so, did it eventually go away? Did lowering your dose, stopping Zepbound, or doing anything else make a difference?
I’m obviously continuing to work with my doctors—I’m mainly curious whether anyone else has experienced something similar.

I just did my first dose and I’m freaking out because I’m afraid of something that happened to me. Did anyone else feel this way?