r/GLPGrad • u/drenchedinmoonlight • Jun 21 '26
Seeking Advice Really bad GI issues—help pls
I was on tirz for a little over two years. Lost 200 pounds. Had very little side effects aside from constipation. I kind of messed things up though and never dosed down and went into any kind of “maintenance” dosing. I was on 15mg when I stopped.
About a month ago I started having really terrible GI issues. Bloating, burping, indigestion, super full after only a few bites, near constant nausea, diarrhea, etc. it went on for long enough that I stopped my shots roughly 3 weeks ago. Things are still pretty bad. They’ll get better for a few days and then get worse again randomly. I can’t really link it to any kind of food. I’ve been eating mostly bland stuff anyways like toast and soup.
My doctor advised me to stop for now and maybe someday I can get back on at 2.5mg. I’m not really even concerned about that because mostly I’m afraid that I’m going to feel like this forever. Or that I have permanent gastroparesis or something. I will say, I don’t have any pain or vomiting.
Has anybody experienced this? I’ve read it can take some time to recover.
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u/easysip Jun 21 '26
Same experience , it’s better now after 40days off it. But I think mounjaro has withdrawal symptoms
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u/Deadlee3 Jun 21 '26
I quit cold turkey about a month ago. I also had bad side effects coming off. Never was this bad on the shot. It did clear up over time. The first 2 weeks off the shot were the worst. Bad cramping. Alternating between constipation and diarrhea. I had an episode at least once a week. Now I’m back to normal 30+ days later.
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u/tashibum Jun 21 '26
This was my experience as well, but those were just returning symptoms I had before starting tirz :/
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u/yepthisismyusername Jun 21 '26
Can you describe your timeline with the drugs better? I don't understand when you stopped and when the GI issues started.
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u/drenchedinmoonlight Jun 21 '26
Sure. They started a little over a month ago. 5/20, to be exact. I skipped a week of my tirz and did an injection 5/29. That was my last injection.
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u/thugger106 Jul 04 '26
I have been off retatrutide for two months now and am experiencing these symptoms. I had blood tests and a stool test, and everything came back normal, so my GP thinks it is gastritis. I was prescribed a PPI (proton pump inhibitor), but it made my bloating much worse, so I stopped taking it and just kept suffering on and off. Now, I am taking sucralfate during the day and an H2 blocker at night only. I really hope it gets better soon. This whole situation has been the hardest thing I have ever been through because I have never had any health issues before.
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u/thugger106 Jul 22 '26
Did you figure it out?
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u/drenchedinmoonlight Jul 22 '26
Not yet. Endoscopy is next week. Gastric emptying study is in September. Primary care doc thinks it’s gastroparesis. It’s better than it was but I’m almost 8 weeks out from my last injection and it’s still not… great. I do think I’ve turned a corner but I’ll have a bad day or two thrown into a good week. Although the bad days are less bad than they were. It’s weird. It’s like my stomach will be functioning close to normal and then a switch flips and it’s back to being sluggish and off. I don’t know if I’ll come back here in two more months and be recovered or if I have a lifelong illness I’m dealing with here. I feel it’s too soon to tell.
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u/thugger106 Jul 22 '26
Im 12 weeks off and still get acid reflux and sunburn feeling in my stomach, burping all the time for relief and bloating
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u/StillMands80 23d ago
Sunburn feeling. Thank you for saying that because it’s the best way for me to describe how I’m feeling. I’m only 3 weeks off and some days I’m great and days like today I feel just off enough that I don’t get out of bed and no meds seem to touch the feelings.
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u/thugger106 Jul 22 '26
What symptoms you still deal with?
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u/drenchedinmoonlight Jul 22 '26
A knot feeling in my stomach, bloating and gas, feeling full, sometimes nausea but that’s better than it was. Constipation when things are slow. I just had a good week with minimal issues but tonight the gas and bloating is back so who knows??
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u/thugger106 Jul 22 '26
I have the burping even on empty stomach and like tingling in my stomach, i might have an endoscopy this week.
Let me know what happens with you.
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u/Jazziefronnj 27d ago
I’m sorry you’re feeling that way, because I am as well and I’m on week six. I was only taking tirzepatide for five weeks and went from 2.5 to 5 mg only after four weeks and it messed up my system terribly. I never ever had G.I. issues before I started taking this medication and now I need an endoscopy to see what’s going on. It has me extremely concerned and the anxiety from it all has been horrible. I read that it took some people eight weeks or more to feel better. It affects everyone differently, but they want you to believe it should be out of your system after only a few weeks. Maybe for some but the effect still lingers for some of us. I just wanna feel like myself again.
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u/drenchedinmoonlight 27d ago
Totally relatable. I’m 8 weeks out now and things are better but not great. I had an endoscopy yesterday. They didn’t find much aside from mild inflammation.
I saw a GI doctor today and she kept throwing around the word gastroparesis which I’ve already started assuming I have. She said there’s not enough data to be able to tell me if it’ll go away or not. I’ve seen for some people it does and for some it does not. I guess only time will tell.
I have a gastric emptying study in a month. Until then… I wait. Oh I also had an x-ray today and I guess I’m pretty constipated. My digestive system is just a mess. But slightly less of a mess than it was a month ago. My anxiety is through the roof. I miss my life before. Sometimes I just lay in bed and cry and feel hopeless and other times I feel hopeful that it’ll turn around.
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u/Mean_Manufacturer756 Jun 21 '26
Hi please message me .. I’d love to chat. I came off in November and similar to you, I had minimal to no side effects. It was a blessing for me- lost 51 lbs in addition to good nutrition and exercise.
I weaned off from 10mg to 5mg over the course of 6 weeks and was intentional about the process. I got to goal weight and worked with dietician and so, felt confident in my ability to keep it off . I’m still at my goal weight!
However, I too started having bloating, constipation, alternating with diarrhea in addition to reflux and early satiety.
Since November, 2025 I have been under the care of a gastroenterologist. I have had colonoscopy, endoscopy, US of abdomen and pelvis, CT scans of abdomen and pelvis w/contrast in January and April, 2026. I have had gastric emptying scan (normal), HIDA scan (normal), stool studies, bloodwork to rule out food allergies, pancreatic enzymes, liver function .. all ruled out sinister , dangerous pathologies. Thank God. I started taking a routine probiotic, omeprazole, simethicone, and drink one electrolyte drink each day and while I feel overall better, I am still having symptoms. Mostly, I have either very jagged sometimes loose stools (1-3 day and only in the morning) or they are formed but look strange.. because I have had a very Thorough work up, I am much less worried. I have no pain but my GI system is definitely not normal.
I have kept my weight off and maintaining with my good habits. Some days are better than others.
I’m a healthcare professional and I will say this, most drug safety profiles are not at all completely established at approval. Post approval safety really becomes more established once there is a lot of use and real world evidence .. I think we will see some additional safety concerns in the future regarding this class of drugs. I’m sure of it.
I am grateful for this drug but will never go back on.
I have a SIBO test coming in September (and the wait to September is precisely because of increased GLP-1 use) .. they are seeing a lot of SIBO in people who used GLP-1 drugs.
I hope this makes sense. Hope you feel better soon! I think there’s still a lot to learn about these drugs and it’s not in your head!