If you're on a GLP-1 medication for diabetes or weight loss, you've probably heard these drugs can affect your gallbladder. Here's the short version of why, and what symptoms are worth paying attention to.
GLP-1 medications can slow down how well your gallbladder empties. Combined with the rapid weight loss many people experience on these medications, that's a recipe for gallstones to form. Your liver also dumps extra cholesterol into your bile during fast weight loss, and if your gallbladder isn't emptying well, that bile sits around and concentrates rather than getting flushed out regularly.
None of this means you should stop your medication — for most patients, the benefits far outweigh this risk. But it does mean a few symptoms are worth knowing:
- Pain in the upper right part of your abdomen, especially after eating something fatty
- Pain that spreads to your back or right shoulder blade
- Nausea that doesn't have an obvious cause
If that sounds familiar, it's worth getting evaluated. Most of the time, this is very manageable — and if surgery does end up being the right answer, it's typically a same-day, minimally invasive procedure.
Read more in our full guide to gallbladder disease.