Wegovy is a weight loss medication. If you have type 2 diabetes or prediabetes, then you might be prescribed Wegovy as an option for weight management.
- What is Wegovy used for?
- How does Wegovy work?
- How to take Wegovy
- Who can take Wegovy?
- Your prescription
- Side effects of Wegovy
- More information and support
What is Wegovy used for?
Wegovy, a brand name for semaglutide, belongs to a group of drugs called GLP-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs or GLP-1s) they can also be known as GLP-1 analogues, GLP-1 agonists or incretin mimetics.
There are several different GLP-1 agonists available in the UK.
Wegovy is available on the NHS to support weight management it can also be prescribed to reduce the risk of major cardiovascular events such as heart attack and stroke in people living with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and obesity or overweight.
How does Wegovy work?
Wegovy is designed to reduce appetite, so you eat less. It mimics the action of a gut hormone called GLP-1, which is released after eating, and it slows down how quickly food is digested. This means it can help you stay full for longer, which can lead to weight loss.
Wegovy and weight loss
The amount of weight you might lose on Wegovy will depend on your personal circumstances, as well as the support you receive from your healthcare team and how long you take this medication for.
In a major study, the STEP 1 clinical trial, people who took the maximum dose of the drug lost 12% more of their body weight compared to those who did not take it.
Crucially, both groups received advice and support from healthcare professionals to reduce their calorie intake and increase their physical activity levels, which shows the importance of making those changes to get the best out of any weight loss medications.
Like other weight loss medications, there is evidence of weight regain when people stop using Wegovy so it is important to continue to receive support and advice from your healthcare team about your diet and physical activity levels.
How to take Wegovy
Wegovy is an injection that you take once a week. Your healthcare team will give you more information about how to take it, and how to inject. Make sure you are rotating your injection site to avoid skin problems.
Although Wegovy is given via injection, it is a different medication to insulin.
This drug should be taken alongside a healthy diet and regular physical activity with support from a weight management service - more on this below.
Always take this medication exactly as your healthcare team has told you. The Patient Information Leaflet inside the box will tell you how to take it but always check with your healthcare team if you are not sure.
Who can take Wegovy?
In September 2023, Wegovy was made available in the UK to people living with obesity, including some people with type 2 diabetes or prediabetes.
Adults aged 18 and over can take semaglutide for weight management alongside a reduced-calorie diet and physical activity.
Guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, or NICE for short, recommend Wegovy for adults who have a body mass index (BMI) of 35kg/m² and over, and at least one weight-related health condition, such as prediabetes or type 2 diabetes or a BMI of 30kg/m² to 34.9kg/m² and meet the criteria for referral to specialist overweight and obesity management services.
NICE recommends – due to their risk from obesity-related health problems at a lower BMI – that people from Black African, African-Caribbean, Asian, South Asian, Chinese, and Middle Eastern backgrounds receive at a lower BMI.
Cardiovascular disease
Wegovy might be prescribed to adults living with cardiovascular disease and obesity or overweight to reduce the risk of major cardiovascular events such as heart attack or stroke. This includes people living with or without type 2 diabetes.
Can children take Wegovy?
Wegovy is licensed for weight management in children and young people aged 12 and over who live with obesity and weigh over 60kg, it’s usually only prescribed in specialist weight management clinics by specialist doctors.
What are weight management services?
Weight management services are specialised services within the NHS. If you are referred to start taking Wegovy, these services will provide support with diet and exercise.
Unfortunately, access to specialist weight management services is varied, and there are many areas across England, Wales and Scotland where these services are not set up.
There are no Tier 3 weight management services in Northern Ireland so Wegovy can’t be prescribed through the Northern Ireland health service. It is expected that a new Obesity Prevention Strategy will recommend the use of specialist weight management services in Northern Ireland.
How many people can access Wegovy?
In June 2023 the Department of Health announced a two-year pilot to tackle obesity, which will explore how Wegovy can be prescribed outside of weight management services.
The government says the NICE recommendations on Wegovy mean that around 35,000 people will have access to the drug, but to make it available to more people who could be eligible, the pilot will explore how doctors could safely offer this medication, and how the NHS can provide support in the community or digitally.
There are other weight loss medications
Alongside Wegovy, there are currently three other weight loss medications licensed and approved for weight loss on the NHS:
- Orlistat, which has the brand name Xenical. This is a tablet that you swallow.
- Liraglutide, which has the brand names Saxenda, Biolide and and Nevolat. They are injections that you take every day.
- Tirzepatide, which has the brand name Mounjaro. This is an injection you take once a week.
Who can’t take Wegovy?
Some medications might not be suitable for some people, which might be because of medical conditions or other reasons. The list below shows some of the reasons why Wegovy might not be a suitable treatment for you:
- If you have end stage kidney disease, you might not be able to take Wegovy;
- If you have severe liver disease, you might not be able to take Wegovy;
- You might need to temporarily stop Wegovy if you’re going to have an operation;
- If you have severe heart failure, you might not be able to take Wegovy;
- If you’ve had pancreatitis before, Wegovy might not be suitable for you. Your doctor will tell you to stop taking Wegovy if you have pancreatitis.
- Your doctor will tell you to stop taking Wegovy if you develop diabetic ketoacidosis, or DKA;
- You should not take Wegovy during pregnancy. It should not be used if you are breastfeeding. If you are planning a pregnancy, it’s very important to speak to a healthcare professional if you are using this medication.
The patient information leaflet that comes with the medication will have an up to date list of warnings and precautions. When you start a new medication always check with your healthcare team that it’s a suitable medication for you to take, you can discuss any other medical conditions you have and any other medications you are taking.
Your prescription
You may choose to access Wegovy for weight loss via private prescription. It is important that your prescriber completes the same assessment that an NHS healthcare team would carry out. This includes checking your medical history and body weight. This is to ensure Wegovy is the right medication for you and that it is safe.
You should only be given a prescription for Wegovy following an assessment by your healthcare team to make sure that you meet the criteria and that you’ll benefit from its use.
This should be an individual assessment that includes how this medication will fit into your current treatment plan and considers any diet or activity programme that you are following, as well as the risk of side effects, the dose you’ll need, and your personal choices.
Your healthcare team should explain your prescription to you but it's important to make sure you ask if you don't feel you know enough.
And make sure you talk to your GP or your diabetes team if you struggle to take this medication. They might be able to help by giving you a different dose.
In England, if you need to take any medication to manage your diabetes, your prescriptions will be free. Ask your healthcare team about a prescription exemption certificate if you don't have one, to make sure you don't get charged for your medication. Prescriptions are already free for everybody in the rest of the UK, so you shouldn't pay for medication.
Wegovy side effects
Common side effects of taking Wegovy can include:
- feeling sick (nausea)
- being sick (vomiting)
- constipation
- diarrhoea
- risk of low blood sugar
- risk of worsening retinopathy
Risk of low blood sugar
When taken on its own, Wegovy does not often cause blood sugar levels to become too low - also known as hypoglycemia or hypos. However, hypos are more common when you take this drug with other diabetes medications such as insulin or a sulphonylurea.
Your healthcare team may advise reducing the dose of your sulphonylurea or insulin medicine when you start taking Wegovy to reduce the risk of hypos.
Risk of high blood sugar
If you take insulin and it is reduced too quickly it can cause high blood sugar levels, this is also called hyperglycaemia, and there is an increased risk of diabetic ketoacidosis. Your healthcare team should discuss with you the signs and symptoms of DKA.
Risk of worsening retinopathy
If you have diabetic eye disease, known as diabetic retinopathy, and you are taking insulin, Wegovy might make your retinopathy worse, and it may require treatment.
Tell your doctor if you have diabetic eye disease or if you experience eye problems while taking Wegovy.
Risk of Non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION)
NAION is a condition that affects the optic nerve in the eye. NAION happens when blood flow to the optic nerve is reduced. This can cause sudden loss of vision, typically in one eye. It’s often described as a blurring or cloudiness of vision. Semaglutide (Ozempic, Rybelsus, Wegovy) has been associated with very rare reports of NAION. If you notice a sudden change in your eyesight such as sudden vision loss or your eyesight gets worse very quickly in one or both of your eyes during treatment with Wegovy, seek urgent medical advice.
These are not all the side effects. You will find a full list of known side effects in the Patient Information Leaflet. This comes in the medication box.
Like all medications, Wegovy can cause side effects. But when side effects are listed as common in the Patient Information Leaflet, it doesn’t mean that everyone that takes the medication will get them. Read more about GLP-1 agonist side effects.
The information about side effects is based on the likelihood of people having them. For example, if it is very common it can affect more than one in ten people and if very rare it affects fewer than one in 10,000 people.
Because medicines can affect people differently, your healthcare team will speak to you about what’s best for you and discuss any side effects.
It’s also important that you take individual advice from your healthcare team before you start taking Wegovy and report any side effects to your healthcare professionals if you experience any.
You can also report these side effects to the Yellow Card Scheme, which is the government system used for recording side effects with medicines in the UK.
More information and support
If you're worried about your medication, struggling with side effects, or want to know if it's right for you, speak with your healthcare team.
Still have more questions? Or is there anything you're not sure about after reading this page? Contact our helpline on 0345 123 2399.
You can visit the NHS website for more information on Wegovy.
