Ozempic and Wegovy are both made with semaglutide. They are the same medicine with two FDA labels for different uses. Ozempic is for type 2 diabetes. Wegovy is for weight management and some heart and liver uses.
Each label lists the side effects seen in its own placebo-controlled trials. The tables below copy those numbers. Placebo means a shot with no medicine in it. A problem in a table is not proof that the medicine caused it.
The two tables come from separate trials. The Ozempic trials enrolled adults with type 2 diabetes for 30 weeks. The Wegovy trials enrolled adults with obesity or overweight for up to 68 weeks, and 19% of them had type 2 diabetes. Different people and different trial lengths can change how often a problem is reported. So the gap between the two tables is not a test of one label against the other.
The boxed warning on both labels
Ozempic and Wegovy (semaglutide): Both labels have a boxed warning, FDA's strongest kind. Semaglutide caused thyroid C-cell tumors in rodents. It is not known whether it causes them in people, including medullary thyroid cancer (MTC). People with a personal or family history of MTC, or with a condition called MEN 2, must not use it. The labels list signs of a thyroid tumor to watch for: a lump in the neck, trouble swallowing, shortness of breath, or hoarseness that does not go away.
Ozempic vs Wegovy: side effect tables
The Ozempic label lists problems that reached 5% of people on Ozempic and were more common than on placebo. Its middle column shows the lowest and highest share across two Ozempic dose groups, so one group can be under 5%.
The Wegovy label lists problems in at least 2% of adults on Wegovy that were more common than on placebo. Its table here shows the ones that reached 5%. It is for the standard Wegovy shot, not Wegovy HD or the Wegovy tablet.
A problem missing from one table may still have happened. The Wegovy label also lists irritated stomach lining (gastritis), stomach flu from a virus, hair loss, and changed skin feeling in 2% to 4% of adults, more often than on placebo. They are in the less common table on the semaglutide page.
Low blood sugar is only in the Wegovy table, where only people with type 2 diabetes were counted. The Ozempic label reports it separately. One Ozempic trial added Ozempic to long-acting insulin. There, 0% to 1.5% of the Ozempic groups needed another person's help for low blood sugar. No one on placebo did. That counts only the most serious kind. Milder low blood sugar was more common in that trial, in both the Ozempic and placebo groups. Low blood sugar was more likely when semaglutide was taken with insulin or a diabetes medicine called a sulfonylurea.
Compare each Ozempic or Wegovy number with its own placebo number.
Ozempic label
Ozempic trials in adults with type 2 diabetes 30 weeks
Adults with type 2 diabetes in 2 trials. One tested Ozempic alone. The other added it to long-acting insulin. 521 adults took Ozempic in two dose groups and 262 took placebo.
| Reported problem | Ozempic groups | Placebo |
|---|---|---|
| Nausea | 15.8% to 20.3% | 6.1% |
| Vomiting | 5.0% to 9.2% | 2.3% |
| Diarrhea | 8.5% to 8.8% | 1.9% |
| Belly pain | 5.7% to 7.3% | 4.6% |
| Constipation | 3.1% to 5.0% | 1.5% |
Source for Ozempic trials in adults with type 2 diabetes: Ozempic prescribing information on DailyMed , label revised .
Wegovy label
Wegovy trials in adults with obesity or overweight Up to 68 weeks
Adults with obesity or overweight in 3 trials. 2,116 got Wegovy and 1,261 got placebo. 19% had type 2 diabetes.
| Reported problem | Wegovy | Placebo |
|---|---|---|
| Nausea | 44% | 16% |
| Diarrhea | 30% | 16% |
| Vomiting | 24% | 6% |
| Constipation | 24% | 11% |
| Belly pain | 20% | 10% |
| Headache | 14% | 10% |
| Tiredness or weakness (fatigue) | 11% | 5% |
| Indigestion (dyspepsia) | 9% | 3% |
| Dizziness | 8% | 4% |
| Bloated belly | 7% | 5% |
| Burping | 7% | Under 1% |
| Low blood sugar (only people with type 2 diabetes were counted) | 6% | 2% |
| Gas | 6% | 4% |
| Stomach flu (gastroenteritis) | 6% | 4% |
| Acid reflux (GERD) | 5% | 3% |
Source for Wegovy trials in adults with obesity or overweight: Wegovy prescribing information on DailyMed , label revised .
What these numbers do not show
- These tables come from separate trials with different people, so they cannot be compared directly.
- Each label lists more warnings than these tables show, such as gallbladder problems, eye problems in people with diabetes, and a faster heart rate. The full tables, notes, and warnings are linked below.
- The Ozempic label lists problems reported after approval, such as pancreatitis that can be deadly, blocked bowels, and kidney injury. How often these happen is not known.
- The Wegovy label does not recommend using it with other semaglutide products or with any other GLP-1 medicine.
- Each label covers its own uses. Ask the prescriber before changing, stopping, or combining any of these medicines or other diabetes medicines.
- Rybelsus and Ozempic tablets, taken by mouth for diabetes, share a separate label that is not shown here. On this page, Ozempic means the Ozempic shot. The Wegovy label says side effects of the Wegovy tablet were similar to those in the Wegovy table.
- Trials can miss rare harms and harms that take years to appear.
- These numbers describe Ozempic and Wegovy. They do not describe compounded semaglutide or products sold online as research semaglutide.
Full tables, notes, and warnings
Report a side effect
You can report a suspected side effect to the FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 or through FDA MedWatch . If a reaction feels serious, get medical care first.
Other label comparisons
- Zepbound vs Wegovy: side effects in the weight-management labels
- Mounjaro vs Ozempic: side effects in the type 2 diabetes labels
- Mounjaro vs Zepbound: the same medicine in the diabetes and weight labels
- Saxenda vs Zepbound: side effects in the weight-management labels
- Victoza vs Ozempic: side effects in the type 2 diabetes labels
- Saxenda vs Wegovy: side effects in the weight-management labels
- Forteo vs Tymlos: side effects in the osteoporosis labels