Alcohol & Ozempic®: What you need to know

Medical Review by Jennie Stanford, MD, FAAFP

Summary

• Alcohol may interfere with Ozempic® because both substances can affect your blood sugar—potentially increasing your risk of hypoglycemia or blood sugar spikes.
• Combining alcohol with Ozempic® may also make you more likely to experience side effects common to both. These include nausea, dehydration, and an increased risk of pancreatitis.
• The safest option is to avoid alcohol while taking Ozempic®, but if you choose to drink, limit it to 1 drink per day for women and 2 for men and don’t drink alcohol every day.
• People with diabetes should take extra precautions when drinking, such as avoiding alcohol on an empty stomach and regularly checking blood sugar levels.
• Ozempic® may help reduce alcohol consumption due to its appetite-suppressing effects and reduced alcohol cravings, but more research is needed.

Alcohol might make this medication less effective—but could semaglutide help curb your drinking?

Ozempic®, a branded form of the medication semaglutide, can help control blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes and has other potential benefits as well, including weight loss. But if you’re taking this medication, you may have questions about how it could impact your lifestyle and routines. For example, will you still be able to drink alcohol?

Lemonaid Health can help. Below, we explore the relationship between alcohol and semaglutide in detail so you can have an informed conversation with your healthcare provider about whether Ozempic® is right for you.

How alcohol can interact with Ozempic®

Drinking alcohol has numerous negative effects on your body—it affects your brain, heart, liver, pancreas, and more. But some of the ways alcohol affects you can also interfere with the way Ozempic® works. Here’s how.

Impacting your blood sugar levels

The semaglutide in Ozempic® works by helping to regulate blood sugar levels, which is what makes it so effective for managing type 2 diabetes and promoting weight loss. However, alcohol can interfere with blood sugar control in a few ways that may counteract these effects.

• Increasing your risk of hypoglycemia: Consuming alcohol can lower your blood sugar levels. Blood sugar that has dropped below a certain threshold is called hypoglycemia and comes with numerous risks, including seizures, brain damage, and even death in some cases. Since semaglutide has also been associated with hypoglycemia in some cases, there is a possibility that combining these two substances could lead to an increased risk for this condition.
• Potential blood sugar spikes: Although drinking alcohol generally lowers blood sugar, people who drink heavily actually have higher blood sugar levels, which could potentially counteract the stabilizing effects of semaglutide. That means you might not experience the best possible results from Ozempic® if you consume alcohol while taking this medication.

Increasing your risk of certain side effects

Ozempic® has several adverse effects in common with alcohol, so it is possible that taking them together could make these effects more likely or more severe. They include:

• Nausea and vomiting: Gastrointestinal issues, like nausea and vomiting, are common side effects of Ozempic®. Nausea and vomiting also typically occur when your blood alcohol content is between 0.2% and 0.4%.
• Dehydration: Like semaglutide, drinking alcohol can cause dehydration. That’s because alcohol slows down the rate at which your body produces a hormone that causes your kidneys to preserve fluids. When this happens, you can find yourself needing to urinate more frequently. Dehydration can cause numerous other health problems, some of which may be serious.
• Pancreatitis risk: Ozempic® has been associated with an increased risk of pancreatitis. Heavy alcohol consumption is also a known risk factor for this condition, so combining the two may elevate your likelihood of developing pancreatitis.

Learn more: The ultimate guide to Ozempic®: uses, benefits, side effects & more

Safety guidelines for alcohol consumption

The safest option is to avoid alcohol entirely while taking Ozempic®. However, if you make the choice to consume alcohol while taking Ozempic® and assume all the risks that come with doing so, here are some recommendations we urge you to keep in mind:

Avoid heavy drinking

The less alcohol you drink, the lower your risk. If you decide to consume alcohol, keep it in moderation—this still has risks, but it can help you avoid some of the consequences of heavy drinking we covered previously.

 For most women, moderate drinking involves 1 or fewer standard drinks per day, while men should consume no more than 2. Here’s a chart that shows you what a “standard drink” looks like in different forms:

Be especially careful if you have diabetes

Even if you only drink alcohol in moderation, it can interact with many different medications—including the ones that help control your blood sugar. As noted above, this can increase your hypoglycemia risk.

If you have diabetes and drink alcohol, taking the following additional precautions can help you lower your risk of experiencing hypoglycemia.

• Never drink alcohol without food or when fasting
• Keep the amounts you drink in moderation
• Drink no more than once or twice per week
• Leave 1.5-2 hours between individual drinks
• Avoid sugary drinks with alcohol in them—stick to light beer, dry wine, or drinks mixed with diet sodas
• Check your blood sugar levels, especially if you are feeling lightheaded or experiencing other signs of low blood sugar
• Look out for any alcohol that may be in prescription or over-the-counter medications

Warning signs of hypoglycemia

If you experience any of the following hypoglycemia symptoms while taking Ozempic® and/or drinking alcohol, seek medical attention immediately:

• Tremors
• Palpitations
• Anxiety
• Excessive sweating
• Tingling, numbness, or “pins and needles”
• Behavioral changes
• Confusion
• Fatigue
• Seizure

Do not wait to find medical assistance. Remember, hypoglycemia can also cause coma or even death in severe cases.

Alternatives to alcohol

If you’re looking to cut back on drinking, consider these alternatives:

• Non-alcoholic beverages: Nonalcoholic beverages can be enjoyable substitutes, and providing them has been shown to help people cut back on the amount of alcohol they consume.
• Engage in social activities: Focus on activities that don’t center around alcohol, such as sports or games. Research has shown that exercise may help decrease your alcohol consumption while improving your physical fitness.
• Leverage semaglutide’s appetite-suppressing effects: Perhaps one of the most surprising new findings related to GLP-1 medications like semaglutide is that they have been shown to help reduce alcohol consumption in animal studies. This suggests that taking Ozempic® might be able to help you cut back on the amount of alcohol you drink, although more research is needed to confirm these findings.

Learn more about how Ozempic® may fit into your life with Lemonaid Health

Drinking alcohol while taking Ozempic® can interfere with blood sugar control, potentially increase certain side effects, and raise your risk of serious health complications. While some people may tolerate moderate drinking while using this medication, abstaining is the safest choice.

Always consult with your healthcare provider to discuss how alcohol may affect your treatment with Ozempic®. They can help you determine what’s safest based on your individual health needs and offer personalized guidance to support your goals.

Lemonaid Health can connect you with US-based healthcare professionals who can provide more information about managing your health while taking semaglutide. Get started today and find the support you need to make informed choices about your wellbeing.

Ozempic® is a registered trademark of Novo Nordisk A/S.