Saxenda 6mg/ml (5 Pens)

Saxenda is an injection used for weight loss. It contains the medicine liraglutide. It can be used alongside diet and exercise to help aid weight loss. The Saxenda pen is a registered trademark of Novo Nordisk.

The drug can be prescribed for people with a body mass index (BMI) over 30. It can also be used for people with a BMI over 27 who have also been diagnosed with weight-related medical problems. These include:

Pre-diabetes and diabetes type 2
Hypertension (high blood pressure)
High cholesterol
Obstructive sleep apnoea
How does Saxenda work?
Saxenda contains the active ingredient liraglutide. Liraglutide is similar to a hormone in the body called glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1). This is an appetite hormone that helps regulate hunger and is released by the intestines after a meal.

Due to being similar to GLP-1, Saxenda regulates appetite causing you to feel fuller and less hungry. This can lead to eating fewer calories and losing weight. Focussing on eating a reduced-calorie diet will further enhance the benefits of Saxenda.

Is it for me?
Saxenda should only be used to help with weight loss if you have already tried and failed to lose weight through exercise and diet alone.

Certain patients can not use Saxenda. You should also avoid Saxenda if:

You have an allergy to the active ingredient, liraglutide or any of the ingredients in Saxenda
You are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. Saxenda can harm your unborn baby.
You are breastfeeding
How effective is it?
When using Saxenda pens to suppress appetite, you can expect to lose a minimum of 5% of your initial body weight after completing a 12-week course of treatment. You should stop using Saxenda if you have been unable to lose at least 5% of your starting body weight at this time.

In clinical trials of Saxenda, patients saw better results in losing weight when compared to using a placebo injection over 56 weeks. The results are summarised below;

63% lost at least 5% of body weight
33% lost at least 10% of body weight
15% lost at least 15% of body weight
Dose
Saxenda Dosage Instructions

Saxenda comes as an injectable pen. The Saxenda pen is injected once daily subcutaneously. The usual injection sites will be the upper arm, upper thigh or abdomen.

The starting dose is a daily injection of 0.6mg. This dose is increased at intervals of usually 1 week until a dose of 3.0mg once daily is reached. An example schedule is shown below:

Week 1 – 0.6mg dose once daily
Week 2 – 1.2mg dose once daily
Week 3 – 1.8mg dose once daily
Week 4 – 2.4mg dose once daily
Week 5 – 3.0mg dose once daily continuing
The dose is gradually increased in 1-week intervals to reduce the chances of stomach side effects like nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea.

If you increase the dose and find the side effects problematic for two weeks or more you should discuss this with your doctor or pharmacist.

For those who would prefer once WEEKLY injections, rather than daily, a new and very similar treatment, Wegovy, containing a medicine from the same drug family has recently been approved in the UK and will be available from our service at release early to mid 2022.

Alternatives
The best way to lose weight is a healthy diet or meal plan and increased physical exercise. This is the safest and most effective method of weight loss. The NHS offers a 12-week weight loss plan here. Further information is available for exercise and diets.

There are a number of reasons why people improving diet and exercise may fail to lose weight. For these people, medicines like Saxenda may prove useful.

Wegovy (available soon) is another licensed UK injection pen for weight loss. It is made by the same company as Saxenda and contains medicine in the same family. It only requires injections ONCE WEEKLY as opposed to daily and is ideal for those who struggle with daily injections.

Another medication used for weight loss is Orlistat. Orlistat capsules work by preventing around one-third of the fat from the food you eat from being digested. By decreasing the amount of fat the body absorbs and improving your diet and exercise routine, it is possible to achieve significant weight loss. Orlistat is a prescription/over the counter medicine.

Another option is weight loss surgery. This is used for people who are very obese. You should discuss this with your GP, who will be best placed to decide if this is a suitable option for you.

Summary
Price

How it works

Suppresses appetite

Effectiveness

5% loss in 63% of patients

Side effects

Can include fatigue, dizziness, insomnia

Side effects
The most common side effects with Saxenda affect the digestive system: nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and constipation. These should subside after a few days or weeks.

Other common side effects include:

Feeling weak or tired
Dizziness
Insomnia
Injection site reactions such as bruising, pain or a rash
Another side effect can be hypoglycaemia. This is the medical name for low blood sugar.