Wegovy is a once-weekly injectable drug that’s used to assist regulate blood sugar ranges and support in weight reduction.
In case you’ve been prescribed Wegovy, this is likely to be the primary time you may have ever taken a self-administered shot.
However even when you’ve got expertise with self-managed injections, Wegovy is totally different sufficient that you simply would possibly nonetheless have questions.
This text will clarify all the things you could find out about the place and tips on how to inject Wegovy.
Get to know your Wegovy pen, prescription, and dose
Wegovy is a prescription medicine for weight reduction. It has the identical energetic ingredient—semaglutide—as different medicine like Ozempic.
It is available in an injector pen (which can also be known as a “medicine pen” or just a “pen”.)
Most individuals consider injector pens as being simpler to make use of than syringes. It’s because pens permit for easy and exact dosing of injectable medicine.
Wegovy pens are about six inches lengthy. There’s a pen cap on one finish and a small plunger button on the opposite finish.
Pens are available in 5 colours, similar to pre-measured doses.
In case you take off the pen cap and take a look at the ahead half of the pen, you will notice the pen tip and a transparent medicine chamber proper behind it.
Proper behind that on the physique of the pen, you’ll see the label with medicine and dose data
Wegovy pens don’t have a visual needle. It’s because, in contrast to many different injectable medicine pens, Wegovy pens have an auto-injector.
Wegovy pens are just like insulin or Ozempic pens, besides that Wegovy pens solely administer a single pre-loaded dose.
In case you’ve by no means used a pen, your physician’s workplace or pharmacist can describe to you tips on how to safely use a Wegovy pen.
The producer, Novo Nordisk, additionally maintains a webpage with particulars about safely utilizing the pen.
What does a dose appear to be?
The dose in milligrams that your physician prescribes to it is best to correspond to the dose listed on the label yow will discover on the physique of the Wegovy pen.
All Wegovy pens are designed to have only a single weekly dose in them—which means {that a} pen is designed for use as soon as after which discarded.
Though the pens could look roughly related, there are 5 totally different dose-sized Wegovy pens:
- A pen that comprises a 0.25 mg dose is for the start of therapy. These pens often have a teal label.
- A pen that comprises a 0.50 mg dose. These pens often have a pink label.
- A pen that comprises a 1 mg dose. These pens often have a brown or orange label.
- A pen that comprises a 1.7 mg dose. These pens often have a blue label.
- A pen that comprises a 2.4 mg dose. These pens often have a darkish grey label.
Make sure to confirm that the packaging and the pen are each clearly labeled with the dose choice in milligrams that you simply had been prescribed.
Pen colours or labels could change over time, so it’s necessary to confirm that the dose is accurately listed.
By no means take greater than you’re prescribed by your physician. In case you overdose on Wegovy, chances are you’ll expertise vital antagonistic uncomfortable side effects.
Learn Extra: Wegovy Dosing Information
The place is one of the best place on my physique to inject Wegovy?
To make sure that the medicine is efficient, it’s important to know the place to take it. Wegovy is designed to be administered proper below the pores and skin by injection.
Medicine injected below the pores and skin do greatest once they’re injected into elements of your physique with some fatty tissue.
Injections into lean or principally muscular elements of your physique usually are not beneficial, as they are usually painful, could bleed greater than regular, and might trigger the drug to be much less efficient.
Wegovy ought to by no means be injected right into a vein or artery.
In accordance with the drug’s producer, the three greatest locations in your physique to inject Wegovy are the entrance of your thighs, your stomach, and your higher arms—notably the backs of your higher arms.
Learn extra: How you can Keep away from Injection Web site Bruising
How you can inject Wegovy
The quantity prescribed by your physician needs to be injected below the pores and skin into fatty tissue as soon as per week, on the identical day every week.
The time of day on your injection usually doesn’t matter.
The steps to comply with for injecting Wegovy are outlined under.
Test your pen
Get your pen and an alcohol swab prepared.
Test your dose to be sure you have the proper pen.
Take away the cap from the entrance a part of your Wegovy pen and look via the pen’s plastic window to verify the liquid contained in the pen is evident.
Discover a great place in your physique and put together the positioning for the shot
Selecting an space in your physique with extra fatty tissue, corresponding to your stomach, higher thighs, and higher arms is right.
Nevertheless, keep away from injecting into the identical spot every week to cut back bruising, scarring, or different pores and skin reactions.
Put together the positioning in your pores and skin by shortly rubbing it with an alcohol swab.
Injecting Wegovy
Press the entrance a part of the pen in opposition to your pores and skin on the web site you’ve chosen in the way in which your physician has proven you.
The pen needs to be perpendicular to your physique, at a couple of 90-degree angle.
Press the pen down firmly in opposition to your physique. The auto-injector will start administering the drug as soon as the plastic base of the entrance of the pen is pressed firmly in opposition to your pores and skin.
Pay attention for an audible click on to let the injection has began.
In case you don’t hear the clicking, chances are you’ll have to press the entrance a part of the pen down extra firmly in opposition to the pores and skin.
Proceed holding the pen in place firmly in opposition to your pores and skin for about ten seconds. A second click on will let that the injection is ongoing.
You’ll discover a yellow plunger bar transferring contained in the pen widow and urgent the drugs via the needle.
As soon as ten seconds have elapsed and the yellow bar stops transferring towards the entrance of the pen, you may take away the pen out of your pores and skin.
Re-cap and discard the pen
Now that you simply’re carried out, change the pen cap. As a result of it is a single-use pen, it may be safely discarded.
Seeing a tiny quantity of blood is regular, and you may apply strain to the world along with your alcohol swab if wanted.
How do I do know if I injected Wegovy accurately?
As you inject your dose, pay attention for the 2 clicks and watch the clear window on the pen to verify the yellow plunger presses the drugs into your physique.
Be sure that it stops transferring earlier than you are taking the pen away out of your physique.
It’s a good suggestion to present the auto-injector no less than ten seconds of agency contact with the pores and skin to do its work.
Speak along with your physician or pharmacist when you’ve got questions or fear that you might have carried out one thing incorrectly.
What’s the greatest time of day to inject Wegovy?
There isn’t a clinically demonstrated greatest time of day to take Wegovy.
Fairly, crucial factor is to pick a day of the week and constantly take it on that very same day every week.
In case you determine to take the medicine on a Monday, you may take it any time of day—however it is best to plan to take your weekly dose of Wegovy every Monday for so long as you utilize the medicine.
Write the day of the week you are taking Wegovy on a calendar or on the field that your pen is available in.
Telephone reminders are additionally useful to be sure you don’t miss a dose.
What do I do if I miss a dose?
In case you miss a dose of Wegovy, take it as quickly as attainable inside 5 days of your missed dose.
Nevertheless, if the dose you missed ought to have been taken 5 days or extra in the past, then you could skip that dose.
On this circumstance, you’ll take it in your subsequent repeatedly scheduled day.
In different phrases, in case you’ve simply missed one dose and your subsequent scheduled dose is lower than 2 days away (48 hours), don’t take that missed dose.
Simply wait till your common day to take the common injection.
Why does my Wegovy pen not have a needle?
If you open a brand new Wegovy pen, you’ll discover that there isn’t a seen needle, in contrast to insulin pens.
It’s because Wegovy pens use an auto-injector. Auto-injectors have a tiny needle built-in into the physique of the pen.
Due to this, people who find themselves prescribed Wegovy don’t have to see or deal with a needle when taking the medicine.
