Semaglutide
Semaglutide (known by the brand name "Wegovy") is our main product used to treat obesity at Dorset Weight Loss. Semaglutide works by making you feel fuller for longer, allowing you to reduce the total amount of food consumed in a day.
How does it work?
Semaglutide is a type of drug known as a GLP1 agonist. These drugs are similar to natural GLP1 released by your gut when you feel full. When your gut released GLP1, this acts on a part of the brain that communicates the feeling of fullness.
By injecting a GLP1 agonist, we can mimic the behaviour of the natural hormone found in the body. When we have high levels of GLP1, we feel fuller for longer, we don't have as many cravings for food.
Semaglutide is injected into the fat just below the skin on a weekly basis. We will guide you during your first injection. Patients are gradually increased on the drug every 4 weeks, with the aim of stabilising on the final dose at week 16.
What results can I expect to see?
During the first 16 weeks, you will gradually increase the dose up to the maintenance. During this period, we may see some weight loss, but it is more important during this "ramp up" phase to get you maintained on the correct dosage. This is a great time to begin your new exercise programme and to alter your diet to suit your weight loss goals. Most will lose at least 10% of their body weight within the first 16 weeks of starting treatment.
89% of patients successfully manage to lose weight with Semaglutide. The average amount of weight lost by patients during trials was 15% of their total body mass, but over 3 in 10 patients achieved more than a 20% of their starting weight.
By ensuring you maintain a good diet and exercise, our aim to make sure you get the most out of the medication by achieving weight loss greater than 20% of your starting weight.
89%
Number of patients achieving clinically significant weight loss
16 Weeks
Average amount of time required to lose 10% of body weight
20%+
The reduction in body weight achievable when coupling semaglutide with a good diet and exercise
What are the common side effects?
Semaglutide slows down gastric emptying - meaning that food may stay longer in the gut. As a result, you may experience some nausea, vomiting, bloating and either diarrhoea or constipation. These side effects tend to subside once you have been stabilised on a dosage, though they may restart when you increase your dosage again.
You may also experience a headache, tiredness and feeling dizzy. This may be due to the reduced calorie intake caused by the medication, but we will check at regular intervals to ensure this is nothing to worry about.
There are some rare side effects that are associated with Semaglutide. Rarely, some may experience something called pancreatitis, which is inflammation of the pancreas. Semaglutide can stimulate the pancreas and it may cause it to become inflamed in rare cases. We will run through these risks with you when you first start treatment. Should you have any concerns about this whilst on treatment, simply book an appointment with us and we can explore this.
What you can expect from us
High quality care: Our prescribers are highly experienced in not only weight loss, but a wide range of clinical areas. We will always ensure we put your care first, ensuring medicines are prescribed safely and effectively.
Appointments to suit you: Whilst initial appointments are carried out in person, we offer follow up and review appointments either in person or online.
Blood testing: Losing weight can make you look and feel better. But there are many benefits that you cant see. We will monitor your cholesterol, lipids and blood sugars throughout your journey to help you achieve a healthier & happier you.
The highest quality medicines: We only supply licensed, MHRA regulated medicines from our GPhC registered pharmacy. We only purchase these from licensed, MHRA wholesalers so you can be assured that you only get the very best in quality.
