Rybelsus, a daily tablet manufactured by Novo Nordisk, can help adults with type 2 diabetes manage their blood glucose. It’s one brand name for semaglutide, the same active ingredient in the injectable diabetes and weight loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy.
Clinical trials didn’t find tiredness as a side effect, but there’s plenty of anecdotal evidence suggesting otherwise.
Below, we’ll cover why Rybelsus can make you tired and how you can use the RISE app to boost your energy levels and get better sleep.
Heads-up: Rybelsus was approved by the (FDA) in 2019, so it’s a relatively new drug. More research is needed into its side effects, especially as more people use the drug.
“From the studies we have so far, fatigue isn’t a common side effect of Rybelsus," says Dr. Chester Wu. "But some users report tiredness. We’re not sure why Rybelsus may cause tiredness, but it may be because you’re cutting calories or side effects like GI issues and anxiety are disrupting your sleep,”
Dr. Chester Wu is double board certified in Psychiatry and Sleep Medicine, and provides sleep medicine services, medication management, and psychotherapy to adults at his private sleep medicine and psychiatry practice.
Rybelsus may make you feel tired. Tiredness isn’t listed as a side effect of Rybelsus, but common side effects like GI issues and anxiety may disrupt your sleep. Plus, users have reported that Rybelsus makes them tired.
Fatigue wasn’t reported as a side effect in a handful of clinical trials, but the states these trials were done under “widely varying conditions” and side effect rates “may not reflect the rates observed in practice.” In everyday life, there are many variables that could affect side effects, like medical conditions and medications.
Plus, these trials were done on type 2 diabetics. It’s unclear whether Rybelsus can cause fatigue in other groups. For example, Rybelsus can be prescribed off-label for weight loss and obesity.
And side effects need to be reported by 5% or more of users to be listed as common. Fatigue may affect a smaller percentage of users, but as use increases, this can still add up to a lot of people.
Fatigue is a side effect of semaglutide drugs like Wegovy — reported fatigue in trials.
As more people use Rybelsus, there’s more anecdotal evidence that it can make you tired.
A published in Brain Sciences analyzed Reddit, Youtube, and TikTok posts about the side effects of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 receptor agonists), a class of medication Rybelsus belongs to.
Users mentioned sleep-related issues the most, including insomnia, anxiety, depression, and general mental health issues.
Rybelsus can also cause side effects that may disrupt your sleep — like GI issues and anxiety.
Heads-up: Did you know there’s a difference between feeling tired and feeling sleepy? Tiredness is when you feel fatigued — like after a workout — but you may not be able to fall asleep. Sleepiness is when you could fall asleep if you tried. Rybelsus may make you both tired and sleepy.
If you’re comparing weight loss and diabetes medications, know that some others can make you tired, too.
We’ve covered other GLP-1 receptor agonists (active ingredient: semaglutide):
And drugs that are dual-acting GLP-1 receptor agonists and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptides (GIP) receptor agonists (active ingredient: tirzepatide):
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More research is needed to know why Rybelus makes you tired. It could be due to eating fewer calories, low blood sugar, changes in dopamine or exercise, or side effects like GI issues, anxiety, and increased heart rate causing sleep loss.
Here’s what we mean:
Rybelsus may not be to blame. Sleep debt and circadian misalignment are common causes of tiredness. More on how to fix these soon.
Rybelsus can affect sleep by causing side effects like GI issues and anxiety. You may also change your lifestyle on Rybelsus, which can impact your sleep, both positively and negatively. For example, eating healthier, smaller meals may help you drift off, but eating fewer calories may cause hunger pangs, which can wake you up at night.
Rybelsus may cause insomnia. Some users have reported insomnia when they first start the drug, and a found social media reports of semaglutide drugs improving insomnia for some, but worsening it for others.
Rybelsus can cause sleep problems that look like insomnia. But it’s not clear whether these problems can be classified as clinical insomnia.
The (ICSD-3) defines insomnia as having:
If you have these sleep problems at least three nights a week for at least three months, it could be a sign of insomnia. If you have them for one to three months, it could be a sign of episodic insomnia.
Get medical advice if you think you have insomnia. You may need different, or additional, treatments compared to other Rybelsus sleep problems.
Rybelsus may improve sleep, if not right away, then over time. It can help type 2 diabetics get lower blood sugar levels and lose weight. Both diabetes and being overweight are linked to and sleep disorders like sleep apnea.
We’ve covered more on whether Ozempic can potentially help sleep apnea here.
Losing weight also lowers your odds of conditions like high blood pressure and heart disease — which have been linked to like insomnia.
You may also make lifestyle changes on Rybelsus that improve your sleep, like eating healthier and exercising. And Rybelsus may even reduce your cravings for alcohol and cigarettes, and cutting down on these can also improve your sleep.
And the we mentioned earlier found reports of insomnia, anxiety, and depression improving for some people taking GLP-1 receptor agonists.
Learn how your sleep affects weight loss here.
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It’s unclear how long Rybelsus fatigue lasts. Some users have reported trouble sleeping in the first week or so of taking Rybelsus, with their sleep problems improving after that.
In clinical trials, GI issues, like nausea and diarrhea, happened when the dose of Rybelsus increased. You may stay on your starting dose of Rybelsus for 30 days before increasing to a higher dose. Side effects may get better as your body gets used to the drug, but it’s not clear how quickly your body adapts to a higher dose.
More long-term studies are needed.
Side effects of Rybelsus include:
Other possible side effects include bloating, burping, and flatulence, as well as more serious side effects like pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas), serious allergic reactions, kidney problems, diabetic retinopathy (which can cause vision loss), gallbladder problems, and kidney failure.
Animal studies found an increased risk of thyroid tumors and a type of thyroid cancer called medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC).
Look out for symptoms of thyroid cancer and tumors such as hoarseness, shortness of breath, trouble breathing, and trouble swallowing.
Seek medical attention if you experience serious or life-threatening side effects.
You can improve Rybelsus fatigue by lowering your sleep debt, getting in sync with your circadian rhythm, improving your sleep hygiene, managing GI issues and anxiety, eating a balanced diet, and getting some exercise.
Here’s what to do:
We’ve covered more ways to stop feeling tired here.
Expert tip: Find out how much sleep you need and aim for this number each night. This is the best way to get more energy in the long run. RISE works out how much sleep you individually need — it varies more than you think. When we looked at how much sleep 1.95 million RISE users aged 24 and over needed, we found it ranged from five hours to 11 hours 30 minutes.
Tiredness isn’t a listed side effect of Rybelsus, but users have reported it online. Rybelsus may disrupt your sleep through other side effects like GI issues and anxiety.
There are some steps you can take to feel less tired on Rybelsus. Use the RISE app to lower your sleep debt, sync up with your circadian rhythm, and fall asleep faster and wake up less often with bullet-proof sleep hygiene.
RISE users notice a big difference in how they feel.
“This app has been life-changing. I’ve always been irresponsible with sleep but I wanted to see some change...The difference I feel in terms of energy is night and day.” .
And it can happen fast — 80% of RISE users feel more energy within five days.
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RISE makes it easy to improve your sleep and daily energy to reach your potential