Saxenda

Order a Saxenda Pen for Weight Loss

You can request to buy Saxenda injection pens in the UK, online, from our UK registered online pharmacy and doctor service. After completing a short online consultation, your order will pass to our registered doctors for review. 

If approved, a prescription will be passed to our pharmacy team, who can dispense and dispatch your medication. We use Royal Mail as our courier partner, and they are able to facilitate next day delivery if you choose.

What is Saxenda?

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.

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. Do not use Saxenda if there is a family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC). 

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.

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 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.

Alternatives

The best way to lose weight is a healthy diet or meal plan and increased physical exercise. This is the safest and 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. 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.

FAQ

How much weight can you lose on Saxenda?

The manufacturers of Saxenda say that 3 out of 5 people taking it achieved significant weight loss of 5% or more (meaning an average of 12lb). Their website contains further information on the benefits of Saxenda.

How long can you stay on Saxenda?

The duration of treatment should be regularly reviewed by your doctor. It should be stopped if, after 12 weeks on the 3.0mg daily dose, you have not lost at least 5% of your body weight.

Do you gain weight after stopping Saxenda?

It is possible to regain weight after stopping Saxenda.

How do you inject Saxenda?

Saxenda is injected under the skin (subcutaneous injection). The best places to inject are the front of the waist or the front of the thighs. It is important not to inject into a vein or a muscle. The patient information leaflet contains further information on how to inject Saxenda.

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. This is more likely to be a side effect for patients who have type 2 diabetes but can happen in other patients. The signs of low blood sugar are: cold sweat, pale skin, headache, fast heartbeat, feeling sleepy or weak, feeling nervous and difficulty concentrating, among other symptoms.

An uncommon side effect is pancreatitis. This is a serious and potentially life-threatening illness. Symptoms include severe, persistent pain in the abdomen and nausea and vomiting. If you have these symptoms stop using Saxenda and contact your doctor immediately.

Please report any side effects to your doctor or pharmacist.

Before taking any medication, it is important to read the Patient Information Leaflet. You can find information leaflets for your medicines by typing them into the search bar at medicines.org, or by contacting us.

• Saxenda PIL

Warnings

Interactions with other medicines

When filling out our online form, make sure to list any medicines you currently take, including prescription and non-prescription medicines. Some medicines can interact with Saxenda such as:

• Anticoagulants (blood thinning medication) such as warfarin
• Anti-diabetic medication such as sulfonylureas and insulin
• GLP-1 receptor agonists such as Victoza

Other conditions and saxenda

When filling out our online form, make sure to mention any medical conditions that you have.

Saxenda can be dangerous in certain conditions so it is especially important to mention if you have:

• Heart failure
• Aged 75 years or older
• Severe renal (kidney) disease
• Severe hepatic (liver) disease
• Pancreatitis

The manufacturers are uncertain whether Saxenda is safe in patients with the above conditions.

Do not use Saxenda if you or anyone in your family has ever had multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2 (MEN 2) or medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC).