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Liraglutide side effects

Liraglutide side effects

Liraglutide is the medicine in Saxenda, a daily weight loss injection. Sickness and bowel changes lead the list, strongest in the first month while the dose builds.

By Gary Atmos, Penzilla Editorial Team. Last reviewed 8 October 2026.

Side effects ranked by frequency

Most frequent (over 1 person in 10): nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, constipation, headache.
Common (up to 1 in 10): dry mouth, indigestion, heartburn, stomach ache, bloating, wind, gallstones, poor sleep, dizziness, altered taste, fatigue, soreness where you inject, low blood sugar.
Uncommon (up to 1 in 100): pancreatitis, gallbladder inflammation, faster heart rate, dehydration.

Frequencies come from the product licence.

Pancreatitis

The MHRA's 29 January 2026 update on pancreatitis covers liraglutide along with the rest of the GLP-1 family.

Red flag. Strong, lasting stomach pain, sometimes reaching through to your back, needs same day medical attention. The MHRA names this as the main warning sign of pancreatitis. Tell the MHRA about any suspected reaction on the Yellow Card site.

Easing stomach side effects

Smaller portions help most. Eat slowly and stop at the first sign of fullness. Go easy on rich, greasy food in the week after an increase. Keep fluids up. If a new dose hits hard, ask the prescriber about staying put for another four weeks.

The dose builds weekly

Saxenda starts at 0.6mg a day and adds 0.6mg each week until 3mg. Side effects tend to track each rise.

Missed Saxenda doses

Within 12 hours, inject. Later than 12 hours, skip until tomorrow. After three or more missed days, the licence says to restart at 0.6mg and build up again.

What the main trial found

SCALE enrolled 3,731 adults. Over 56 weeks, liraglutide 3mg produced 8.0% average weight loss against 2.6% on placebo.

The 12 week stop rule

After 12 weeks on 3mg, check your weight. Under 5% lost means the licence says stop.

Wegovy vs Saxenda.

Questions people ask

What is the most common side effect of liraglutide?

Nausea.

Is Saxenda the same as liraglutide?

Saxenda is the brand name of liraglutide 3mg for weight management.

What if I miss Saxenda for three days?

Restart at 0.6mg and increase weekly, as the licence directs.

How do I report a reaction?

Through the MHRA Yellow Card site.

Sources

Novo Nordisk, Saxenda Summary of Product Characteristics (electronic medicines compendium)
Pi-Sunyer X and colleagues, SCALE Obesity and Prediabetes, New England Journal of Medicine, 2015
MHRA Drug Safety Update, GLP-1 and dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonists: strengthened warnings on acute pancreatitis, 29 January 2026
MHRA, Yellow Card reporting site