Saxenda Pens

Buy Saxenda For Weight Loss Online

You can buy Saxenda online from our UK registered online doctor service.

After completing an online assessment with our GPs, your eligibility will be assessed. If a prescription is approved, this is passed to our pharmacy team, who will then prepare and post your treatment.

There is now a new generation of GLP1 weight loss injections are Mounjaro and Wegovy. These treatments can help patients achieve 15-20% body weight loss. This is in comparison to around 10% for Saxenda.

You can request to buy weight loss injections online with our online doctor service. We use Royal Mail as our courier partner, and they are able to facilitate next day delivery if you choose.

Due to the extra cost involved in keeping this medication cold during transit, a £4 delivery charge will apply.

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. 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

We also have a collection of reviews from real Saxenda patients, both good and bad, for you to make an informed decision before beginning treatment.

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.

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. 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 vs Saxenda

Another GLP-1 agonist available to buy in the UK, is Ozempic. While this treatment is not actually licensed for weight loss, GP's are allowed to safely prescribe this treatment for this purpose. However, it can sometimes have an impact on it's supply chain, which in turn, can impact diabetics, who rely on this medication. Ozempic contains Semaglutide, which is the same active ingredient that's contained in Wegovy.

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

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.

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).

Written by Qualified Experts

All of our medication and condition content is written by UK qualified pharmacists and doctors.

Authored: 19/03/2023

Hywel McGlinchy

GPhC Reg: 2215744

Clinical Pharmacist

MPharm | Cardiff University

Reviewed: 20/03/2025

Karim Nassar

GPhC Reg: 2064752

Pharmacist

MPharm | Strathclyde University

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