Semaglutide is administered once per week, ideally on the same day each week. It is given by subcutaneous injection in the skin of the thigh or abdomen. You can inject it by ‘pinching’ the skin at the injection site. It’s important to rotate your injection site to a different area each week. For example, left thigh, right thigh, left abdomen, right abdomen—and repeat. Do not inject into scars or damaged skin or where the skin is tender, bruised, scaly, or hard. If you have any questions, please let us know.
The dosing of semaglutide starts very low and increases gradually over weeks. This dosing strategy is used to reduce the risk of side effects and to find the lowest effective dose so that you aren’t taking more than you need.
The optimum dose of semaglutide is the dose where you feel less hungry and minimal food cravings. And everyone is different. For some people, the lowest dose is all they need. Other patients don’t notice much effect until they get to higher doses. So, it depends on your own body’s physiology and how you metabolize the medication.
Don’t be discouraged if you don’t notice much effect at first. You’ll work with your healthcare provider to find the right dose. Once you’re there, you will notice reduced physiologic hunger—meaning you can put less food on your plate and be good with it. You will also notice much less in the way of food cravings, stress eating, and so on. Once you can check those two boxes, you’ll know that you are at the right dose.
