Wegovy

Wegovy is used to help lose excess weight alongside a healthy diet and exercise.

Wegovy is only available in the UK by prescription and cannot be purchased over the counter.

There are many health benefits that come with reaching and maintaining a healthy weight. Losing weight in a healthy, sustained way can reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and certain types of cancer. In clinical trials, semaglutide has been shown to reduce the risk of heart attacks, stroke and death in people who have been diagnosed with heart disease. They also saw improvements in blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol and inflammation. These heart benefits were even seen in those who didn’t lose much weight.

Wegovy does not burn fat. It works by suppressing your appetite and slowing down how quickly your stomach empties. By reducing your appetite and helping you feel fuller for longer, you lose weight by burning more calories than you eat.

At Boots Online Doctor, the cost of Wegovy depends on the strength prescribed. To find a complete list of our prices, take a look at our Weight Loss Treatment service page. You can also get additional Advantage card points on all return orders (Terms and conditions apply).

You should not use Wegovy if you’re pregnant since it’s not yet known how it might affect the unborn child. As a precaution, it’s recommended that you use contraception when taking Wegovy. If you become pregnant, or think you might be pregnant when taking this medicine, let your doctor or healthcare provider know straight away, as you’ll need to stop treatment.

If you’re planning to become pregnant or starting IVF, you should stop using this medicine at least two months in advance.

You should not use this medicine if you’re breastfeeding, since it’s not known if it passes into breast milk.

Wegovy may not be suitable for you if you’re taking certain medicines or have medical conditions such as a history of pancreatitis or thyroid cancer, or some gastrointestinal conditions. It’s important you provide us with your full medical history when completing our online questionnaire to ensure that we can prescribe Wegovy safely for you.

For a complete description of any Wegovy side effects and restrictions, please make sure to read the Patient Information Leaflet.

Wegovy injections come in a pre-filled injection pen. To use it, you inject yourself just under the skin once a week. The pen has been designed to make it very easy to use, even if you’ve never used something like this before. You can watch our video to see how to use Wegovy.

Wegovy should be injected on the areas with the most fat, such as your belly (but not within 5cm of your belly button), your upper arms or thighs. You can inject Wegovy in the same area each time (like the upper thigh) but it’s important to change your injection sites and choose a different spot each time.

The newly approved Wegovy pill is a once-daily tablet. It should be taken each morning on an empty stomach, at least 30 minutes before consuming any food or beverages. The tablet should be swallowed with a small amount of water.

A new, higher 7.2mg dose of Wegovy was made available in the UK on 12 January 2026.

This Wegovy 7.2mg dose has been developed for patients who are stable at the highest current dose of 2.4mg with minimal to no side effects, but who might need to lose more weight or have reached a weight loss plateau.

The new 7.2mg dose of Wegovy was first made available as three 2.4mg pens where three doses were taken together to make up a once weekly dose of 7.2mg. This was changed to a single 7.2mg pen (one pen per dose) from 1 June 2026.

Wegovy is a once-weekly injection. However, if you do miss a dose (or doses), what you need to do next depends on how many doses you’ve missed and the date of your last dose.

If you miss a dose for more than two weeks, please send us a message via your online account and we’ll advise you on what to do next.

Yes, you need to store Wegovy injection pens in a fridge (with a temperature between 2°C and 8°C) before your first dose. After your first dose, you can keep Wegovy at room temperature for 6 weeks (below 30°C) or in a fridge (with a temperature between 2°C and 8°C). Do not freeze Wegovy injection pens. You need to keep the cap on to protect it from light and discard it after 6 weeks

Yes, Wegovy is now available as a tablet. The Wegovy pill (oral semaglutide) contains the same medicine as the Wegovy injections (semaglutide) and is taken daily.

Wegovy begins working immediately on GLP-1 receptors in your digestive system, but most people don’t notice that their appetite has been reduced until about 2 weeks in, sometimes only after increasing the dose. This is normal.

This medicine is meant to be taken gradually, with dose increases every 4 weeks as prescribed. Sticking to this schedule is key for effectiveness. Most see significant weight loss within 3–7 months. Studies have also shown that semaglutide can help to improve heart health and reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke over time when used alongside changes in diet and physical activity.

This slow and steady approach helps you focus on lifestyle changes that support lasting weight loss and improved health.

It’s important to remember that slow, steady weight loss is what results in long-term weight loss. Clinical trials have shown that patients may lose an average of 20.7% over 18 months use when Wegovy injections (semaglutide) are used alongside healthy lifestyle changes.

Patients using Wegovy pills have shown an average 16.6% weight loss over 16 months at the 25mg dose. However, it’s important to remember that these weight loss rates are the result of using Wegovy alongside a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity.

Yes, support is available. If you’re undergoing weight loss treatment and finding it challenging to manage your mental health or feel you need additional help, we’re here for you. Visit our Mental Health Hub to learn how we can help you. You can send us a message through your patient account or submit a consultation through our Depression and Anxiety treatment service. Additionally, you might find our free Boots Online Doctor podcast helpful: Your Better Mental Wellbeing focuses on managing stress and is accessible to everyone

After losing some weight, it’s common to hit a plateau where weight loss slows or stops. This is a normal and important part of your journey.

During this time, keep up your lifestyle and behavior changes to help your body adjust to your new weight. Continue your treatment until you reach your target weight.

Resetting habits like understanding your relationship with food, managing hunger and cravings, and sticking to your plan, is crucial for long-term success.

We’re here to support you with our free weight loss resources which you can access by downloading our free weight loss app:

• iPhone
• Android

Yes, the manufacturers of Wegovy, Novo Nordisk, have developed an oral form of the Wegovy injection. Both the injection and the pill contain the same active ingredient, semaglutide, to help reduce appetite and slow digestion. Like the injectable form, the dosage can be gradually increased until you reach a maintenance dose.

Both the Wegovy pill and Wegovy injection have similar rates of weight loss when used as prescribed, alongside healthy food and lifestyle choices.

In clinical trials, patients taking the Wegovy pill (oral semaglutide) lost an average of 16.6% of their starting body weight over 64 weeks. Patients taking Wegovy injections lost an average of 20.7% of their starting weight over 68 weeks.

Unlike the injectable form of Wegovy, the Wegovy pill is taken once a day.

In order to make sure that the semaglutide in the Wegovy pill is properly absorbed by the body, the Wegovy pill must be taken on an empty stomach after having not eaten for at least eight hours overnight. The pill must be taken on an empty stomach with only a small amount of water. It’s also important to wait at least 30 minutes before eating or drinking, or taking any other medicines.

Because both the Wegovy injection and the Wegovy pill contain the same active ingredient (semaglutide), they both have a risk of similar potential side effects. As with the injections, most people find that these are mild and usually lessen or even disappear completely after a few weeks of starting treatment.

If you forget to take a dose, skip the missed dose and just take your normal dose the next day.

If you’ve missed more than one dose, please send us a message via your online account and we’ll advise you on what to do next.

To begin with, both the Wegovy pill and Wegovy injection will cost the same. This is because of the price set by the manufacturer, Novo Nordisk.

Rybelsus is a prescription treatment for diabetes. Although it contains the same ingredient as Wegovy (semaglutide), it’s licensed to treat type 2 diabetes, not for weight loss.

There are other weight loss treatments available through our Weight Loss Treatment service to help support weight loss, if suitable for you. Mounjaro works in a similar way to Wegovy by helping to regulate blood sugar and reducing appetite and cravings. Mounjaro comes in a pre-filled injection pen and is used once a week.

We also currently offer Orlistat or Xenical as prescription treatments to help support weight loss. These are taken with food and act by binding to the fat in food so that it passes through the digestive system without being absorbed by the body. Xenical is the branded version of Orlistat and both contain the same medicine (orlistat 120 mg).

Xenical and Orlistat are best used alongside a lower fat healthy eating plan. Eating less fat at meal times while taking your treatment can help to reduce any potential side effects and can help to support weight loss.

For more information on the alternative weight loss treatments we offer, visit the Boots Online Doctor Weight Loss Treatment service.

If you decide that prescription weight loss treatments aren’t for you, there are ways that you can help yourself to lose weight in a healthy and sustained way.

You’re more likely to lose weight if you keep track of what you eat and your daily movement which can help you become more aware of which habits support your weight loss and which ones can lead to weight gain. An easy and free way to keep track of your diet and exercise is by downloading our free Weight Loss Tracker app, where you can set goals, track habits and follow our 10-week programme.

Whether you take prescription weight loss treatment or not, you’re also more likely to achieve lasting, healthy and sustainable weight loss if you have support. Boots Online Doctor offers several ways to help support your weight loss, many of which are free to use:

• free, live webinars: speak directly with our clinical weight loss team to help you make sense of your weight loss journey
• exercise videos: gentle, expert-led 10-minute exercises to help you move more confidently at your own pace
• Weight Loss 360° podcast: hear our clinical and lifestyle team talk about the ups and downs of weight loss, and what you can do to get the best results from your weight loss journey

If you need extra support, you can also sign up for one-to-one coaching through our Weight Loss Treatment service (there is a charge for this). Your coach can provide guidance on nutrition, help with your goals and activity, and offer regular check-ins to help keep you motivated. You’ll also have access to our weight loss community so you can chat with other people on their weight loss journey for support.