Semaglutide essentials for weight loss
A new approach for managing weight
Drug Class
GLP-1 agonist
Availability
Prescription only
Overweight is a growing health concern worldwide, affecting millions and contributing to numerous health problems. Fortunately, medical science advancements offer new tools in the fight for a healthier weight. Semaglutide is one such advancement, a prescription medication showing great promise for chronic weight management
What is Semaglutide?
Semaglutide is a once-weekly injectable medication initially developed to treat type 2 diabetes. However, its significant applicability in weight loss has made it a revolutionary treatment in this field. It belongs to the GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) receptor agonists class, which mimic the actions of a natural hormone that controls appetite and food intake
How does Semaglutide work?
Semaglutide mimics GLP-1, an incretin hormone that plays a role in appetite and digestion. It’s thought to work in a few different ways to help you lose weight. These include:
Reducing appetite
It not only gives you a feeling of satiety but fills you instead of depriving you, making you eat less
Digestion slowing
It lessens hunger by allowing your body to digest nutrients far more than expected
Enhancing metabolism
It enables an increase in energy metabolism, which will increase the rate at which your body burns calories
Blood sugar regulation
It lowers blood glucose levels and improves insulin function, enhancing metabolic health.
What is the Semaglutide dosage for weight loss?
Semaglutide is injected once a week, on the same day each week. It can be given at any time of day, without regard to meals. You’ll typically start with a low Semaglutide dose and work your way up every 4 weeks until reaching 2.4 mg once weekly — the target maintenance dose. But if you can’t tolerate the 2.4 mg dose, you may be instructed to inject 1.7 mg weekly as your maintenance dose
This Semaglutide dosing schedule is meant to help manage potential side effects. If you’re unable to tolerate semaglutide, your prescriber may lower your dose or have you stop taking it
How fast does Semaglutide start to work?
Everyone’s experience with weight loss medications is unique, and the time it takes to notice effects can vary. The graphic below illustrates the average time it took participants in clinical trials to observe weight loss results
What do we know about Semaglutide side effects?
Gastrointestinal side effects tend to happen most frequently with Semaglutide for weight loss. They’re usually more pronounced when you first start Semaglutide and after your dose is increased. Examples of common Semaglutide side effects include:
Nausea and vomiting
Diarrhea
Stomach pain
Constipation
Headache
Fatigue
While rare, Semaglutide has been linked to potentially serious side effects. These include:
Pancreatitis (inflamed pancreas)
Gallbladder problems
Kidney damage
Low blood glucose (sugar)
Fast heart rate
Worsening eye problems in people with diabetes
Increased risk of thyroid C-cell tumors
Can Semaglutide interact with other medications?
Yes. Semaglutide can interact with diabetes medications, especially insulin and those that increase insulin release (such as sulfonylureas). This combination can increase the risk of your blood glucose levels dropping too low (hypoglycemia).
Since Semaglutide slows gastric emptying, it may potentially interfere with how your body absorbs oral medications. As mentioned above, this effect may only be a concern within the first several months of treatment. Your healthcare team can determine which interactions potentially affect you and how to manage them.
How does Semaglutide compare to other weight-loss medications?
The largest clinical trial studying semaglutide in adults showed an average weight loss of about 15% of initial body weight over 68 weeks (almost 16 months)
Semaglutide vs. oral medications
There are several oral weight loss pills available. Oral weight-loss medications tend to be less expensive than the injectable options. But you may not lose as much weight.
Phentermine: Phentermine (Adipex-P) is a popular oral weight-loss medication that has been around since 1959. It’s approved for short-term use (a few weeks), and it’s inexpensive. However, it’s possible to develop a tolerance to the medication where it’s no longer working for you. Plus, it’s a controlled substance
Qsymia: Phentermine is also available in combination with topiramate under the brand name Qsymia. Compared to phentermine alone, Qsymia can be taken for a longer period of time. Study results have shown average weight loss ranging from about 5% (at lower doses) to around 10% (at higher doses)
Contrave: Contrave (bupropion / naltrexone) is another medication used for weight loss. One study showed that people taking Contrave in combination with diet and exercise lost an average of about 9% of their baseline body weight after 56 weeks. Contrave also has several drug interactions to consider.
Tirzepatide vs. Semaglutide
Tirzepatide is a once-weekly injection. Like Semaglutide, Tirzepatide mimics GLP-1. But it also mimics another incretin called glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP). During the largest Tirzepatide clinical trial for weight loss, people receiving the medication lost between 15% and 21% of their starting body weight, on average. This was compared to 3% weight loss in those receiving a placebo (injection without medication). So it’s possible that you may be able to lose more weight with Tirzepatide
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