Wegovy Tablet

It is semaglutide in tablet form - the same active ingredient as the Wegovy injection, formulated to be swallowed rather than injected. It is a prescription-only medicine taken once a day, licensed for weight management in adults alongside a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity. It comes as a carton of 30 tablets, one month's supply at a single strength.

Semaglutide imitates GLP-1, a hormone released by your gut after eating. It slows stomach emptying and acts on appetite centres in the brain, so hunger is less insistent and smaller meals feel sufficient. Taken by mouth, semaglutide would normally be broken down before it could be absorbed, so the tablet includes an absorption enhancer that lets it pass through the stomach lining. That is precisely why the timing rules below matter so much.

Take one tablet a day, first thing in the morning, on an empty stomach. Swallow it whole with no more than a sip of plain water - about half a glass. Do not split, crush or chew it. Then wait at least 30 minutes before eating, drinking anything else, or taking other medicines. Food, other drinks and other tablets in that window all reduce how much medicine your body absorbs, so the habit is worth building carefully. If you miss a day, skip it and take the next tablet at the usual time the following morning; do not take two in one day.

In trials of oral semaglutide at weight-management doses, adults lost in the region of 13 to 15% of their body weight on average over roughly 15 to 17 months, alongside diet and activity changes. Those are averages across large groups - some people lost considerably more, others little. How consistently you follow the empty-stomach routine genuinely affects absorption, and therefore results, which is less of a factor with the injection. Nobody can tell you in advance what your own figure will be.

Digestive effects are the common ones: nausea, diarrhoea, vomiting, constipation and indigestion. They are usually mild to moderate, most likely in the weeks after a strength increase, and often settle with time. Smaller meals, avoiding rich or fatty food and keeping fluids up all help. Less commonly, gallbladder problems and pancreatitis can occur - severe, persistent stomach pain spreading to your back needs urgent medical attention. Because the tablet must be taken well apart from other medicines, tell your prescriber everything else you take, including supplements such as levothyroxine.

Treatment is generally considered for adults with a BMI of 30 or above, or 27 and above alongside a weight-related condition such as high blood pressure, sleep apnoea or type 2 diabetes. It is not suitable in pregnancy, while breastfeeding or when trying to conceive, and some medical histories and medicines rule it out or need extra care. It also asks for a consistent morning routine, which is worth being honest with yourself about. A prescriber decides from your consultation answers; the calculator on this page is only a guide.

This treats a long-term condition rather than running as a fixed course. Appetite generally returns once the medicine stops and weight regain is common, so stopping is something to plan rather than simply do. Some people continue long term, some step down to a lower strength, and some stop with support and a plan to hold their weight through diet and activity. If the daily empty-stomach routine proves hard to sustain, say so - the weekly injection covers the same ground and may suit you better.