Key benefits include: Like all medications, semaglutide may cause some side effects, especially when first starting treatment
Ozempic is FDA-labeled for type 2 diabetes dosing up to 2 mg weekly, while Wegovy is the weight-management version that titrates to 2.4 mg weekly
The STEP TEENS study [107] evaluated the effect of SMG (versus placebo) in adolescents with obesity
The predominant side effects include: Gastrointestinal symptoms : nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, constipation, and abdominal pain (affecting 10-50% of patients depending on the specific product and dose, particularly during dose escalation) Injection site reactions : redness, itching, or discomfort at the subcutaneous injection site Hypoglycaemia : particularly when combined with insulin or sulphonylureas Decreased appetite : an intended therapeutic effect that contributes to weight loss However, some patients do report changes in urinary frequency or patterns
11 Results showed that subcutaneous semaglutide had a hazard ratio (HR) of 1.76 compared to placebo for developing worse diabetic retinopathy (DR) after treatment