All sorts of times in life where you might be inclined to sigh and say, ‘if only’. If you’re a person who’s been getting bigger, heavier, and increasingly unable to fit into pants then you may be starting a sentence the same way. You’ll be lamenting the fact that it’s easy to gain weight but extremely difficult to lose it, and if only it were the other way around. No such luck with human physiology unfortunately, but these days people are leaning on pharmacology to help them slim down. More than of them will be looking into how to use Saxenda for that. So we’ll cover that here with this entry.
That’s fine and dandy, but if we’re going to start at the start then we should be saying you’ll need to get your prescription first. Don’t be surprised if your doctor grills you with a few more questions about your need to go on Rx weight loss drugs though. That’s because usually these meds are indicated for people who are at risk of obesity complications rather than those who want to lose weight for appearance aims. But if you have valid reasons for needing help getting to a healthier body weight then they may well write you the prescription.
The first thing we can say about how to use Saxenda is that you shouldn’t take it alongside other medications that also have Liraglutide as the primary active ingredient. This will include Victoza, although if we look at Liraglutide vs Ozempic there is a lot of similarities with results from weight loss medications plus the proper way to give the injections. They’re both GLP-1 agonist drugs, so this shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.
We’ll talk about the actual injection technique for using Saxenda pens, but first we should say that there’s only 3 spots on your body where this needle can go. Your abdomen, upper legs, and the back of your upper arms. If people are self-administering the medication it is usually easier to put it into the abdomen or legs, but no matter which of the 3 you choose your next injection should go into a different location. Rotating is best because it reduces your chance of having lipodystrophy where skin can harden and appear pitted.
Some people will want to know how long does Saxenda stay in your system, and you can find the information there but regarding how to use Saxenda pen this is what you need to know. Once you’ve chosen the location where you’ll administer your first injection you then grab a pinch of you skin and hold it upright. Line the pen and injector up over it and press down onto the skin. Now press down on the center of the dose button to give the injection and hold it down until you see 0mg line up with the pointer and then continuing for another 6 seconds.
This covers the basics for how to use Saxenda, but as always you are encouraged to read through all of your prescription insert for the most detailed and accurate information about how to take your medication.