Saxenda Injections

What are Saxenda Injections?

Saxenda® injections contain a medicine called liraglutide, which is a prescription medication used to help adults with a BMI greater than 27 to effectively lose weight. Saxenda injections are also useful for adults with weight-related health issues or obesity and struggle to lose weight.

These injections are also safe for use with obese children aged 12-17 that weigh over 60 kg and need to reduce their weight and keep it off for the benefit of their health.

Doctors prescribing Saxenda injections also recommend that their patients follow a carefully planned healthy diet and take some regular exercise to help boost their metabolism, tone their muscles and aid the weight loss process.

The benefits of Saxenda injections

For those people who have gained weight over the years and find it difficult to lose weight and keep it off, you can check with your doctor to see if using Saxenda injections are right for you and would benefit you.

Long-term clinical trials of these injections on 3,731 test subjects showed that 85% of the participants lost some weight during the study.

This was a 56-week trial of 3,731 adults with body mass index (BMI) of 27-29.9 with at least 1 weight-related condition or BMI of at least 30 not including adults with type 2 diabetes.

In this study, 2,487 patients received Saxenda® and 1,244 received placebo. Both groups also received a reduced-calorie diet and physical activity counselling.

The results showed that:

• 3 out of 5 people taking Saxenda® achieved a significant weight loss of 5% or more. This means those patients lost an average of ~12 lb (from before they entered the study)
• 1 out of 3 people taking Saxenda® achieved a significant weight loss of more than 10%. This means those patients lost an average of ~23 lb (from before they entered the study)
• 6% of people taking Saxenda® achieved a weight loss of 20% or more. This means those patients lost an average of ~47 lb (from before they entered the study)

Reducing obesity

Many people develop chronic obesity despite trying hard to eat well and follow a healthy lifestyle. There are so many people that yo-yo diet because they struggle with losing weight and keeping it off long term.

Each time people do a crash diet they regain the lost weight and gain a little more, leading to frustration and developing an unhealthy relationship with food.

Sometimes developing chronic obesity can require medical assistance that goes beyond diet and exercise, and eliminating contributing stressors such as smoking, alcohol, anxiety and stress.

In a clinical study taking over 3 years, 56% of people taking Saxenda achieved significant weight loss at the end of year one, and half of them went on to maintain their weight loss at the end of the 3-year trial compared to those not using the injections while continuing to follow a healthy diet and exercise programme.

How quickly do Saxedra injections work?

On average, patients taking Saxedra injections see around a 4% reduction in body weight by their 4-month follow up appointment with their doctor. Results may vary so your weight loss could be more or less, depending on your current weight when starting the injections and if you have any weight-related health conditions.

As Saxenda is a prescription medicine that contains the active ingredient, liraglutide, it should not be used together with other medications that may interfere with its effectiveness. Your doctor will check any current prescription medications that you are taking to see if anything will clash with the injections.

You should also tell your doctor if you are taking any herbal weight loss aids or over the counter medicines that could react negatively with Saxenda. Your doctor may recommend you cease taking any diet aids or over the counter medications while you are undergoing Saxenda injection treatment.

As it is not known yet whether it is safe or effective to take Saxenda with other prescription medications, your doctor may decide that taking your other prescription medication is more important to continue for your health at this time.

How to use Saxenda injections

Saxenda injections can be applied under the skin of your upper arm, upper thigh, or in your abdomen. The injection should go into the subcutaneous layer of your skin just below the skin surface and should not be injected into a vein, bone or muscle.

The medication is used once per day at the same time and can be injected with or without consuming food or drink. Saxenda comes as a pre-filled pen that uses additional disposable needles for each application.

You mustn’t share your Saxenda pen with other people even if you change the needle. This is because you could give or get a serious infection from sharing the pen.

Your doctor will show you how to administer the injection and change the disposable needle. They will also monitor you for your first injection to make sure you do not react to the medication.

Should you develop any worrying reactions to the injections such as light-headedness, racing heart rate, dizziness, nausea or vomiting, stop taking the medication and consult your doctor immediately.

Using Access Doctor

We offer a simple, confidential and discreet prescriptions service. Simply use our online ordering form and choose the Saxenda medication that you need, including the quantity required.

Complete our health consultation form so our doctors can review and assess your needs. We will also need proof that you are over 18 years of age. You can then pay for your order and your payment will only be processed once our prescribing doctor approves your consultation and issues your prescription.

Our pharmacy team will then process your prescription and post it to you using our discreet next-day delivery service.