Beyond the Wegovy 2.4mg Injection Pen? What Wegovy 7.2mg is Promising

Wegovy (semaglutide) has been a life-changing medication for many people over the last few years. At doses up to 2.4mg, patients have reported an average of 14-15% weight loss after one year. However, recently, more studies have been done to look at the potentiality of a higher strength injection. Testing a 7.2mg dose to be injected weekly.

What’s the News?

In two parallel trials, the 7.2 mg dose produced average weight loss of around 20% weight loss. And the maximum weight loss found was up to 25% compared to the maximum of 20% on the 2.4mg dose. Improvements were also found in regard to patients’ blood pressure, waist size, lipids, and glycaemic control.

These new findings may suggest that patients who plateau on the existing 2.4mg dose could be escalated to the 7.2mg dose to further their treatment and benefit further from GLP-1 treatment.

What’s the Catch?

As is often which higher doses of medication, the side effects which usually accompany GLP-1 treatment such as nausea, diarrhoea, and other gastro-intestinal effects, are more likely and potentially amplified. More frequent and more intense side effects are particularly likely during the titration stage, when increasing your dose.

Long-term risks (e.g. pancreatitis, gallbladder disease, retinopathy) still need further studying. For this reason, not all patients will be eligible for escalation to this strength for patient safety.

What Does This Mean for You?

Currently, the 7.2mg dose of Wegovy is not available in the UK under NHS nor private sectors. However, with current trials and new data being released the future may hold options. Regulators will need to fully review the safety of this medication strength before any approval is considered.

Current users of the Wegovy pen should stick with their advised dose, of which the maximum is 2.4mg injected weekly. For maximum effectiveness of Wegovy, or any GLP-1 treatment, it is important to pair your treatment with lifestyle changes and a healthy diet. Regular monitoring is important for safety on GLP-1 treatments and managing side effects.

Coaching and nutritionist advice is also available to pair with your treatment to give you guidance on how to maximise your results or maintain your ongoing weight management.

The Bottom Line

The emergence of a new 7.2 mg weekly Wegovy dose represents a potentially new improvement in treatment for weight management. Offering an option for those who may not find the results they are looking for on the 2.4mg dose. When paired with careful management of side effects and monitoring, the new 7.2mg dose may be the exciting new frontier in weight management treatment.

In the meantime, however, many patients have found significant results on the existing 2.4mg dose.