Wegovy is a once-weekly injectable drug used to assist regulate blood sugar ranges and assist with weight reduction.
Get to know your Wegovy pen
Wegovy is a prescription medicine for weight reduction, containing the identical energetic ingredient — semaglutide — as medication like Ozempic.
It is available in an injector pen, also called a “medicine pen” or just a “pen.” In case you’ve been prescribed Wegovy, it may be your first time taking a self-administered shot.
Most individuals discover injector pens simpler to make use of than syringes as a result of they permit for easy and exact dosing of injectable medication.
Wegovy pens are about 6 inches lengthy, with a pen cap on one finish and a small plunger button on the opposite. The pens are available in 5 colours, every akin to a pre-measured dose. Every field of Wegovy comprises 4 pens, the entire similar dose.
Once you take away the pen cap, you’ll see the pen tip and a transparent medicine chamber proper behind it. On the pen’s physique, you’ll discover the label with medicine and dose info.
In contrast to many different injectable medicine pens, Wegovy pens don’t have a visual needle. It is because they characteristic an auto-injector, much like insulin pens or Ozempic pens, however Wegovy pens administer a single preloaded dose.
In case you’ve by no means used a pen earlier than, your physician or pharmacist can information you on methods to safely use a Wegovy pen. Moreover, the producer supplies detailed directions on its web site.
What does a dose appear to be?
Your prescribed dose in milligrams ought to match the dose listed on the pen’s label. Every pen comprises a single weekly dose and is designed for one-time use earlier than being discarded.
There are 5 totally different dose sizes, every with a definite pen colour:
- 0.25 milligrams (mg) (teal) for the beginning of therapy
- 0.50 mg (pink)
- 1 mg (brown or orange)
- 1.7 mg (blue)
- 2.4 mg (darkish grey)
At all times confirm that each the packaging and the pen are clearly labeled together with your prescribed dose. Pen colours and labels could change, so guarantee accuracy earlier than injecting.
By no means exceed the dose prescribed by your physician, as overdosing can result in important negative effects.
The place is the most effective place on my physique to inject Wegovy?
Wegovy is designed to be administered proper underneath the pores and skin by injection.
Medicine injected underneath the pores and skin do greatest after 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 really useful, as they are usually painful, could bleed greater than regular, and may trigger the drug to be much less efficient.
Wegovy ought to by no means be injected right into a vein or artery.
In keeping with the drug’s producer, the three greatest locations in your physique to inject Wegovy are the entrance of your thighs, your stomach (at the very least 2 inches out of your stomach button), and your higher arms — significantly the backs of your higher arms.
Learn extra: How one can Keep away from Injection Website Bruising.
How one can inject Wegovy
Inject the prescribed quantity of Wegovy underneath the pores and skin into fatty tissue as soon as per week, on the identical day every week. The time of day doesn’t matter.
Listed here are the steps to comply with:
Verify your pen
First, make sure that the pen isn’t broken and the drugs has not handed its expiration date.
If both of those isn’t the case, contact the producer at 1-833-934-6891.
If all of those situations are met, proceed as follows:
- Put together your pen and get an alcohol swab.
- Confirm that you’ve got the proper pen and dose.
- Take away the pen cap and make sure the liquid contained in the pen is colorless and clear.
Put together the injection website
Select an space with extra fatty tissue, corresponding to your stomach, higher thighs, or higher arms.
Clear the realm with an alcohol swab.
Injecting Wegovy
Press the pen firmly towards your pores and skin at a 90-degree angle. The auto-injector will activate as soon as the pen is pressed firmly towards your pores and skin.
Pay attention for the primary click on to point the injection has began.
Maintain the pen in place for about 10 seconds till you hear a second click on, signaling the injection is full.
Watch the yellow plunger bar transfer contained in the pen window because it delivers the medicine.
Re-cap and discard the pen
Change the pen cap and discard the single-use pen.
A tiny quantity of blood is regular; apply strain with an alcohol swab if wanted.
Does the injection harm?
The Wegovy pen makes use of a tiny needle to inject the medicine simply beneath your pores and skin into fatty tissue. The needle may be very skinny and quick, so most individuals don’t even really feel it.
In case you’re delicate to chilly fluid injections, contemplate taking the pen out of the fridge 1 to 2 hours earlier than use.
Letting the medicine attain room temperature earlier than injecting can cut back any potential discomfort. Simply keep in mind to maintain the cap on till you’re able to administer the dose.
How do I do know if I injected accurately?
To substantiate a correct injection:
- Pay attention for the 2 clicks and watch the clear window on the pen to see the yellow plunger shifting the medicine into your physique.
- Make sure the plunger has stopped shifting earlier than eradicating the pen out of your pores and skin.
- Hold the auto-injector in agency contact together with your pores and skin for at the very least 10 seconds.
If in case you have any issues or assume one thing went flawed, seek the advice of your healthcare supplier or pharmacist.
What’s the greatest time of day to inject Wegovy?
There isn’t a clinically confirmed greatest time of day to inject Wegovy. The bottom line is to decide on a constant day every week.
For instance, in the event you resolve to take Wegovy on Mondays, you’ll be able to take it at any time of day — however proceed taking it each Monday on the similar time at some stage in your therapy.
That will help you keep in mind, mark the day on a calendar, on the field your pen is available in, or set cellphone reminders to keep away from lacking a dose.
What do I do if I miss a dose?
In case you miss a dose, take it as quickly as attainable inside 5 days. Nonetheless, if greater than 5 days have handed, skip the missed dose and take your subsequent dose in your commonly scheduled day.
In brief, in case your subsequent scheduled dose is lower than 2 days (48 hours) away, don’t take the missed dose. Merely wait and resume your common dosing schedule.
How ought to I retailer my Wegovy pens?
Correct storage of Wegovy is important to make sure it maintains its effectiveness:
- Refrigerate it at 36°F to 46°F (2°C to eight°C).
- Don’t freeze.
- Retailer the drugs within the unique container to guard it from mild.
Why does my Wegovy pen not have a needle?
Once you open a brand new Wegovy pen, you’ll discover there’s no seen needle, in contrast to insulin pens.
It is because Wegovy pens use an auto-injector, which has a tiny needle built-in into the pen’s physique.
Because of this, you don’t must see or deal with a needle when taking your medicine.
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