Wegovy pills now available
An oral version of Wegovy (semaglutide) has started reaching pharmacies, adding to the injectable pen as an option for people prescribed the medication. For anyone who's put off treatment because of the needle, that's genuinely good news, and it's likely to bring GLP-1 medication into a lot more conversations with GPs and pharmacists.
Pill or pen: what's the difference?
Both contain the same active ingredient, semaglutide, a GLP-1 receptor agonist that works mainly by regulating appetite, so you feel full sooner and stay full longer. The practical differences are about routine. The pen is a once-weekly injection; the pill is taken daily, and because oral semaglutide is absorbed through the stomach there are timing rules around food and drink that matter for it to work properly. Your pharmacist will walk you through the specifics.
Neither form is better for everyone. The right choice comes down to your prescription, your preferences, and what you'll actually stick to, which is a conversation for you and your prescriber.
What the medication doesn't change
GLP-1s quiet the appetite, but the fundamentals of losing weight well still apply. Because the weight can come off quickly, protecting your muscle matters even more than usual: that means eating enough protein and moving regularly, even when you don't feel especially hungry. Eating less overall makes it easier to under-eat protein without noticing.
Progress also still isn't linear, medication or not. Water, sodium and timing push the daily number around just as much as ever, which is why a weekly weigh-in is still the clearest way to see the trend behind the ups and downs. If you want a quiet, private place to log it, My Weight Tracker is free and keeps everything on your device: useful data to bring to your follow-up appointments, too.
This isn't medical advice. Wegovy is a prescription medicine with side effects and eligibility criteria. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about whether either form is right for you.