In this episode, Jill discusses the potential link between the weight loss medication Ozempic (semaglutide) and kidney stones. While there is no direct scientific evidence on this topic, she analyzes the known side effects of Ozempic and how they could increase the risk of kidney stones.
Dehydration, caused by side effects like nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and decreased appetite, can lead to an increased risk of kidney stones. She emphasizes the importance of staying hydrated and consulting with a doctor if experiencing severe side effects. She also discusses the need for proper nutrition and long-term lifestyle changes after using weight loss medications.
Takeaways
- There is no direct scientific evidence linking Ozempic (semaglutide) to kidney stones, but the known side effects of the medication can increase the risk of kidney stones.
- Side effects such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and decreased appetite can lead to dehydration, which is a major risk factor for kidney stone formation.
- It is important to stay hydrated and consult with a doctor if experiencing severe side effects while taking Ozempic.
- Proper nutrition and long-term lifestyle changes are crucial after using weight loss medications to prevent weight regain and associated health issues.
Sound Bites
- “Dehydration mainly, for me, absolutely can cause an increased risk of kidney stones.”
- “If you’re not hungry, so you’re not eating properly, you’re not getting your calcium needs met, you’re throwing up all the time, you have diarrhea, throwing up and having diarrhea, you’re going to lose a lot of fluids. And if you’re nauseous, it’s gonna be really hard to get fluids back in. So the dehydration mainly, for me, absolutely can cause an increased risk of kidney stones.”
- “If you’re experiencing really robust side effects from the drug Ozempic, please talk to your doctor so they can understand what to do with you and that you can feel better.”
- 00:00 Introduction: Exploring the Link Between Ozempic and Kidney Stones
- 00:39 The Rise of Weight Loss Medications and Their Impact
- 03:00 Understanding the Side Effects and Their Connection to Kidney Stones
- 04:24 The Role of Dehydration in Kidney Stone Formation
- 09:42 Duration of Side Effects and Their Impact on Kidney Stone Risk
- 10:40 Consulting with a Doctor and Addressing Concerns
Jeff Sarris (00:00)
Does ozempic or semaglutide cause kidney stones? Let’s talk about that.
Welcome back to the Kidney Stone Diet podcast, the show about reducing your kidney stone risk and living your best life. I’m your host and fellow student, Jeff Sarris.
Jill Harris (00:20)
And I’m Jill Harris, your kidney stone prevention nurse. Good to see you, Jeff.
Jeff Sarris (00:24)
Good to see you as always.
Jill Harris (00:27)
This is a great little topic, huh?
Jeff Sarris (00:29)
Yeah, this is, an interesting time for weight loss, weight loss medication, semaglutide, ozempic. It’s, it’s really, it’s out there.
Jill Harris (00:39)
It’s out there. You know, I was walking down the block and they even had, you know, ozempic injections, you know, in a hair salon. You know, somebody’s coming in. I mean, it really is all over the place. Now this drug has been used for diabetics, as most of us know that. But a lot of people are just taking it to lose weight. Now, I am saying this. I’m going to preface this conversation by saying,
Jeff Sarris (00:48)
wow.
Jill Harris (01:07)
Everybody, our motto at Kidney Stone Diet is you do you. There is no judgment here. People need to do what they want to do to lose weight. this is about does this cause kidney stones? There’s no science, by the way, on this, So that’s why, you know, Jeff had said it, he what about this, Jill, for a topic? And I’m like, you know, it’s interesting because a lot of my patients are on Ozempic. And that doesn’t mean
They make kidney stones now. They’re making kidney stones for other reasons. But I’m just saying, so I have a lot of patients on it for diabetes and or weight loss. So yeah, let’s just talk about it. So I’m on Ozempic’s website. Again, there’s no science on Ozempic and kidney stones. But I’m just going to give my off the cuff, as I usually do, but I have 25 years of experience of just being off the cuff. This I don’t.
So I thought it would be interesting to talk about today. So let’s talk about the only thing we can figure out here is what are the side effects, the most common ones from Ozempic and then based upon the knowledge I have and science and everything else, we can say, well, we know yes or no, do these side effects, can they increase one’s risk of kidney stones? So that’s what we’re going to do. Okay. So on their website on Ozempic.com,
They list all their side effects. Osemic may cause serious side effects including inflammation of your pancreas, changes in vision, that’s not going to affect kidney stones, low blood sugar, kidney problems, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting may cause loss of fluid. So this will make you dehydrated if you have those side effects.
which may cause kidney problems to get worse if you have kidney, chronic kidney disease, also known as TKD, kidney stones of course. being nauseous all the time, which is a very common side effect, can cause, and also throwing up a lot, can cause you to be dehydrated. Absolutely that can increase your risk of kidney stones. So that’s a red flag as far as what we’re talking about here.
So that could be a big deal as far as kidney stones. It can cause gallbladder problems. It can cause serious reactions. But mostly, for what we’re concerned about here, are the side effects that could cause dehydration. So we have nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain, and constipation. So those things.
could increase your risk of kidney stones. If you’re not hungry, so you’re not eating properly, you’re not getting your calcium needs met, you’re throwing up all the time, you have diarrhea, throwing up and having diarrhea, you’re going to lose a lot of fluids. And if you’re nauseous, it’s gonna be really hard to get fluids back in. So the dehydration mainly, for me, absolutely can cause an increased risk of kidney stones. Now,
There is no science, but we don’t need science specifically for ozempic because the side effects of ozempic for many people can cause, we know dehydration causes kidney stones. So, you know, my overall feeling, yes, of course, it could increase your risk of kidney stones if you’re running around dehydrated because you’re not hungry or you’re losing everything because you’re nauseous or having diarrhea, which are the most common side effects from it.
what can you do you can try your very best well first of all obviously if you’re dehydrated you must talk to your doctor about that and when people are on ozempic I’m sure their doctors are saying let me know if there’s any side effects if things get really bad let me know so make sure that you’re really having good conversations with your doctor as you take ozempic and as side effects come if they do okay most people
are not on Ozempic long term. are a lot of people that just use it for weight loss. some of the things like the problem I have with weight loss drugs or you know elimination diets or restrictive diets that’s a better way now elimination diets different but really restrictive diets are going under 1000 calories a day.
At some point, you’re going to lose weight fast when you do these types of things, for sure. But you still need to, once you get off the diet or off the drug or if you’ve had a bariatric surgery, you still need to learn how to eat properly so you don’t regain weight and you don’t have the issues that sought out the fix to begin with, whether it’s the diet or drugs or whatever.
That always makes me a little bit nervous. There was a new study, I read it in the New York Times, and there was a researcher that was showing, so far the research shows that when people get off Ozempic, they tend to gain weight back because no one’s really taught them to eat properly. And so we still have that problem. I think Ozempic is very helpful for a lot of people, don’t get me wrong. But I don’t think it should be abused or misused.
is all I’m saying because once you get off the drug and especially you may have to get off the drug if you’re having these side effects you know you’re probably going to gain weight back which is what often happens to us when we don’t learn how to eat properly and that’s a problem and that always makes my heart break and also when we lose weight really fast we have to worry about losing muscle mass really quickly so that’s important too and so
There are many people that need this drug, whether they’re morbidly obese or they have diabetes and they need this drug. But what is going to happen to people once they get off the drug because they’re done with that cycle or they just can’t tolerate the drug anymore? So that’s what I always worry about. I hope that people are also seeking nutritional advice along with the medication, along with bariatric surgery, along with…
because these are measures that are, they’re pretty drastic. mean, you know, it’s, it just, I worry about it. That’s all I’m saying. I think everybody should do what they need to do, of course, under the advice of a doctor, but there are serious side effects, whether you’re having a bariatric surgery, whether you’re taking weight loss drugs, there are always going to be side effects with everything. There’s tons of side effects with the surgeries. I’ve had abdominal surgeries. And with those kinds of things come malnutrition.
malabsorption, those two things can absolutely increase risk of kidney stones. So there’s a lot of things that could increase your risk of kidney stones for non -stone formers and stone formers alike. So we’ll see. We’ll see what kind of studies come out long term. But of course, if people are running around dehydrated, that’s definitely going to increase your risk of kidney stones. And if you’re having malabsorption issues,
that will definitely increase your risk of kidney stones. So we just have to go in into these things, whether they’re bariatric surgeries or drugs, with our eyes wide open. And if you’re experiencing really robust side effects from the drug Ozempic, please talk to your doctor so they can understand what to do with you and that you can feel better. That’s all. I think, you know, I mean, this is just off the top of my head, folks. It’s just common sense that if people are going to have drastic side effects of nausea,
vomiting, diarrhea, they’re going to be dehydrated and they may not be able to eat because they decreased appetite. it could, depending on how long, which is the key factor, you’re on the drug or you’re having these side effects. That’s key too. If you’re just having those side effects for a week, which usually doesn’t happen, but let’s just say you’re having those side effects for a week and then you start being able to tolerate it and you’re better, that’s not causing a kidney stone. So I want to be clear with that. So it’s a time thing.
how long are these side effects going on? I think that’s about it, Jeff. That’s just my take. You know, I’d like to hear any comments. Also, for you guys who are on Ozempic, have you experienced any new kidney stones? Have you been dehydrated? What are your symptoms? Has anything increased your risk? Let us know in the comments. Many, many people are on this drug, so don’t feel bad about talking about it. I was telling Jeff, too, you know, there’s a lot of shame around taking Ozempic, and there shouldn’t be.
You’re having a conversation with your doctor. If you need to be on the drug and it’s working for you, then you need to be on the drug. Don’t worry about that. You do you. That’s what I always say. And everybody else mind their own business. think that, I mean, that’s people are all grown and they can make their own decisions and no one should have anything to say about it. So feel free to leave a comment and let us know how that’s working for you. And if you too have any, had any worries about
Jeff Sarris (10:25)
-huh.
Mm
Jill Harris (10:40)
is this going to increase my risk of kidney stones? Because I’ve had consults where patients are like, I’m a little nervous about this. So I tell them to please talk to the doctor, obviously, because they’re on the drug for a reason.
Jeff Sarris (10:51)
Absolutely. Yeah. And I like, like, there isn’t, there aren’t direct studies, kidney stones and ozempic semiglutide, however you want to look at it, but you’re able to translate what they have studied, which they say right on their site, which I think is so valuable, like just to sort of just remind everyone like this is the science for that drug. And now where you are interpolating what we could expect when it comes to kidney stones. So I think that’s
Jill Harris (10:55)
No.
Mm hmm.
Mm -hmm.
Jeff Sarris (11:19)
immensely valuable, but you have so many years of experience sort of knowing what those side effects could potentially result in.
Jill Harris (11:26)
Yes, it’s very common for people who have, you know, with whatever they’re doing in their life, if they are experiencing dehydration, that is definitely going to increase your super saturations. Your urine will have higher saturations of these crystals, which makes sense. You’re not flushing them out constantly because you’re not peeing, you’re not drinking, you’re dehydrated, you’re throwing up, you have diarrhea. So, you know, it makes perfect sense. You’re not producing enough urine to flush these crystals out. So…
You know, think Ozempic has done a wonderful job too. When you go to their website, they’re very upfront about what can happen. And I like that about it. So that’s why I used Ozempic.com for this information on what the very common side effects are for this drug. went to the mama itself. So, and I do like that about them, you know? So, yeah.
Jeff Sarris (12:12)
You
For sure. Yeah. So thank you for tuning in. If you want to dive deep into kidney stones, head over to kidneystonediet.com where you can find everything Kidney Stone Diet related and we’ll see you next week.
Jill Harris (12:25)
Bye guys.
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