Wegovy is a once-weekly injectable remedy that may assist folks shed extra pounds.
It has additionally been proven to assist folks handle their blood sugar ranges and reduce their HbA1c.
There are 5 completely different dosages of Wegovy obtainable. The dose you are taking relies on your well being historical past and well being objectives, in addition to your weight loss program and life-style.
Determining how a lot Wegovy to take can take time. It ought to at all times be a choice made together with your physician or medical care staff.
This text will describe all the pieces it’s worthwhile to find out about Wegovy dosing.
What’s Wegovy?
Wegovy is the model title for Novo Nordisk’s model of the drug semaglutide for weight reduction, however it has the identical energetic ingredient as different medicine you’ll have heard of like Ozempic.
Wegovy is available in an auto-injector pen which is designed to be straightforward to make use of, even for individuals who have by no means used an insulin pen or different injectable drug prior to now.
Wegovy is an artificial model of a naturally occurring hormone that works within the physique in a number of methods without delay.
It helps folks cut back the quantity of meals they eat by reducing their urge for food and by slowing down the digestive course of.
By delaying the emptying of meals out of your abdomen into your small gut, it lets you hold feeling full for longer after every meal.
Wegovy additionally stimulates the pancreas to launch insulin and slows down your liver’s manufacturing of glucagon.
These modifications are inclined to lower insulin resistance, decrease total blood sugar ranges, and assist folks to shed extra pounds.
What Wegovy dose do you usually begin with?
Your physician will wish to begin you off on a low dose when you’re new to Wegovy.
Beginning with a low dose is an effective approach to reduce the negative effects that Wegovy—and different semaglutide medicines—could trigger.
Based on the producer, a typical beginning dose is 0.25 milligrams (mg) as soon as per week for the primary 4 weeks.
For those who tolerate that dose effectively with out negative effects, your physician is more likely to improve your dose over time.
What are the completely different Wegovy pen doses?
Despite the fact that the pens could look related, there are 5 completely different dose-sized Wegovy pens:
A pen that accommodates a 0.25 mg dose is for the start of therapy. These pens often have a teal label.
A pen that accommodates a 0.50 mg dose. These pens often have a pink label.
A pen that accommodates a 1 mg dose. These pens often have a brown or orange label.
A pen that accommodates a 1.7 mg dose. These pens often have a blue label.
A pen that accommodates a 2.4 mg dose. These pens often have a darkish grey label.
Every pen operates the identical because the others. The one distinction between them is the completely different pre-measured dosing sizes. Every pen is designed to provide solely a single weekly dose.
It’s a good suggestion to be sure that the packaging and the pen are each clearly labeled with the dose possibility in mg that you simply had been prescribed.
Pen colours or labels could change over time, so it’s vital to confirm that the dose is appropriately listed.
By no means take extra Wegovy than you might be prescribed by your physician. For those who overdose on Wegovy, you could expertise hostile negative effects.
What’s a traditional Wegovy dose?
It’s powerful to say what a “regular” dose is.
Completely different folks will tolerate a distinct most dose of Wegovy with out negative effects.
The FDA’s approval is for sufferers to start out with a low dose of 0.25 mg per week and progressively escalate over time as much as the utmost dose of two.4 mg per week.
The two.4 mg pen is the dose particularly designed for long-term upkeep. It’s the dose that many individuals will arrive at throughout Wegovy remedy.
How and when are you able to improve your dose?
Your physician or medical care staff will assist information you thru the gradual will increase in your dose of Wegovy till you attain a upkeep stage that works for you long-term.
For those who’ve by no means taken a semaglutide remedy prior to now, it is rather doubtless that your physician will begin you off at a dose of 0.25 mg as soon as weekly for the primary 4 weeks.
Then, in 4-week intervals, your dose will likely be slowly elevated till a dose of two.4 mg is reached.
A typical schedule seems to be like this:
Weeks 1-4: a beginning dose of 0.25 mg
Weeks 5-8: a dose of 0.5 mg
Weeks 9-12: a dose of 1.0 mg
Weeks 13-16: a dose of 1.7 mg
Week 17+: a upkeep dose of two.4 mg
Nonetheless, this typical schedule for rising doses could must be adjusted by your physician.
In case you are having negative effects like persistent nausea after rising your dose, you may have to proceed taking your earlier (decrease) dose for a number of extra weeks earlier than attempting to extend to the subsequent dose.
The FDA’s approval is for all sufferers to ultimately arrive on the 2.4 mg dose.
Nonetheless, some individuals who expertise negative effects at that dose are stored at a decrease quantity by their docs, even past the four-week timeline that the approval requires.
It’s vital to maintain your physician knowledgeable of any signs you’re experiencing in order that they may help replace your prescription and dose accordingly.
It’s best to by no means take extra Wegovy than your physician prescribes you or attempt to improve your dose by yourself with out course out of your medical care staff.
What do I do if I overlook to take my dose of Wegovy?
For those who miss a dose of Wegovy, take it as quickly as doable inside 5 days of your missed dose.
Nonetheless, if the dose you missed ought to have been taken 5 days or extra in the past, then it’s worthwhile to skip that dose.
If that occurs—which means you’d usually take your subsequent dose inside two days—then don’t attempt to make up for the dose you missed.
Simply take the remedy in your subsequent commonly scheduled day.
What’s the largest dose of Wegovy?
The biggest weekly dose of Wegovy comes within the 2.4-milligram dose pen. This pen often has a darkish grey label.
Whereas a health care provider may prescribe an “off-label” dose in some restricted circumstances, the most important dose that’s at the moment obtainable is 2.4 milligrams per week.
Above this weekly dose, many individuals expertise extra noticeable negative effects.
What are the negative effects of Wegovy?
Many individuals who take Wegovy will expertise some delicate negative effects. The most typical negative effects are:
Nausea
Vomiting
Diarrhea
Abdomen ache
Constipation
Heartburn
Gasoline or bloat
Tiredness
Some folks can even expertise hypoglycemia (low blood sugar ranges), particularly in the event that they take insulin on the similar time.
It’s vital to pay attention to the signs of low blood sugar and know methods to act to right it.
Low blood sugar will be harmful if untreated, so be looking out for the next:
Dizziness or light-headedness
Confusion
Sudden modifications in your temper or notion
Shakiness
A quick heartbeat
Signs of hypoglycemia
There are additionally uncommon, however extra critical, negative effects and issues that try to be conscious of:
Thyroid tumors, together with most cancers
Pancreatitis
Modifications in imaginative and prescient
Kidney issues
Psychological modifications or despair
Severe allergic reactions
The priority relating to thyroid tumors relies on the outcomes of trials of semaglutide medicines in rats and mice the place a number of the rodents developed thyroid tumors.
It’s not but identified if this danger is critical in people.
Your physician ought to focus on all of the potential negative effects, from frequent to critical, and might reply the questions you will have concerning the remedy and its potential dangers and advantages.
How a lot Wegovy do it’s worthwhile to take for weight reduction?
Scientific trials of people who find themselves chubby or overweight and start taking the energetic ingredient in Wegovy confirmed appreciable weight reduction, notably at increased doses of the remedy.
Individuals who took the utmost 2.4 mg dose per week noticed their common physique weight drop by almost 15%.
This was compared to simply 2.4% with the placebo, regardless of each teams being given the identical steerage to train and eat a restricted weight loss program.
