Heartburn is often described in the early weeks of starting or increasing a GLP-1 dose, and it tends to ease as your body adjusts to the current dose.
Why it happens
Your appetite-suppressing effect and your gastric-emptying effect don't move on exactly the same timeline. Food can end up sitting in the stomach longer than it used to, especially after a larger meal — and that increases the odds of reflux, independent of how hungry you actually feel.
What's reported to help
- Smaller, more frequent meals instead of a few large ones.
- Not lying down soon after eating — give it at least a couple of hours if you can.
- Avoiding heavy, fatty, or spicy meals particularly right after a dose increase, when symptoms are typically at their worst.
If you're already on a reflux medication
Mention the new pattern to whoever prescribed it. Timing or dosing may need a look now that your eating pattern has changed — this isn't something to just layer more over-the-counter antacids onto indefinitely.