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Semaglutide Weight Loss

IVY Infusions & Med Spa

Sasha N. Beatty, MSN, FNP-C

Medical Spa, Aesthetics & Wellness Center located in Greenwich, CT

IVY Men's Health & TRT provides a tailored approach to weight loss with advanced solutions including Semaglutide injections and Liquid Lipo. Our expert team combines the latest medical technology with personalized guidance to help you reach your weight loss objectives.

Semaglutide injections are a prescription medication that reduces hunger and increases fullness, promoting weight loss and overall health.

Liquid Lipo is a non-invasive fat reduction solution that uses ultrasound energy to break down and remove stubborn fat, leaving you with a slimmer physique.

With the right tools and expert support from IVY Men's Health & TRT, you can achieve your weight loss goals and take control of your health.

In June 2021, the FDA approved semaglutide (Wegovy), a once-weekly injection, for chronic weight management when used in combination with a healthy diet and exercise. The medication had made headlines before its approval when the manufacturer reported 15% to 18% weight loss findings during clinical trials. This is higher than we tend to see with other weight loss medications.

What is semaglutide?

Semaglutide is an injectable glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) agonist that’s administered once weekly. It was originally approved in 2017 — at a lower dose under the brand name Ozempic — to help control blood sugar in Type 2 diabetes. People taking Ozempic for blood sugar control also tend to lose weight as an additional benefit.

Because of this, Novo Nordisk studied the medication in people without Type 2 diabetes, but at a higher dose. Now, semaglutide (under the brand name Wegovy) is FDA-approved for weight loss. It can be used by adults with a body mass index (BMI) greater than or equal to 30 mg/kg² alone or 27 mg/kg² with at least one weight-related condition (e.g., high blood pressure, high cholesterol, Type 2 diabetes).

Semaglutide should be used in combination with lifestyle changes, including a healthy diet and exercise.

How does semaglutide work for weight loss?

GLP-1 is an incretin hormone that plays a role in your appetite and digestion. Incretins — hormones released by your digestive tract — are sent out by your body after you’ve eaten a meal. They help lower your blood sugar by triggering insulin release and blocking sugar production. They also slow down how quickly food leaves your stomach (called gastric emptying).

The result of these actions causes you to feel full — lowering your appetite and causing you to lose weight. Medications like GLP-1 agonists are referred to as incretin mimetics since they “mimic” these effects.

As mentioned above, GLP-1 agonists, like semaglutide, were originally used to treat Type 2 diabetes. This was due to their blood sugar-lowering effects. However, the weight loss side effect has been shown to benefit people without Type 2 diabetes as well.

How is semaglutide dosed?

Semaglutide is available as a single-use injection pen. This means that your dose is already pre-set for you, and that you’ll discard the pen after your dose.

You’ll give yourself the injection once a week, on the same day each week. It can be given at any time of day, and you can take it with or without food.

Semaglutide is typically injected just under the skin (subcutaneously) in your abdomen, upper arm, or thigh. Avoid injecting the medication into the same spot every time — change your injection site with each dose. But injecting in the same body area (e.g., thigh) is OK as long as you’re rotating sites within the area each time.

Since semaglutide slows down how quickly food leaves your stomach, you may experience side effects like nausea and vomiting. Once you get started on the medication, your healthcare provider will slowly increase your dosage every 4 weeks. This can help make these effects more manageable.

The target dose is 2.4 mg once weekly. Before reaching the target dose, a typical dosing schedule may look like: