Ozempic® stays in your system for a little over a month when taken at the highest dose of 2 mg. This is based on the half-life of the medication which is the time it takes for 50% of the drug to be removed.
If you use the 0.5 mg, 1 mg or 2 mg maintenance dose per week, your pen will hold 4 doses and last for one month.
If you take too much Ozempic, you could develop severe hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). In the event of an overdose, call your healthcare provider right away and monitor for signs and symptoms of low blood sugar using a glucometer. Call 911 if you have severe symptoms that are not improving with consuming carbohydrates.
The maximum dose of Ozempic is 2 mg, administered once weekly on the same day and at the same time. It can be taken both with and without food. You can change the day of the week that you take Ozempic, as long as your last dose was taken 2 or more days before. Never take more Ozempic than you are prescribed.
The maximum dose of Ozempic® is 2 mg once a week. Always follow your health care provider's instructions on how to dose Ozempic®.
No, Ozempic is not approved as a weight-loss medicine. In Ozempic clinical trials, weight loss was a secondary endpoint. The primary endpoint in the majority of Ozempic studies was mean change in A1C in patients with type 2 diabetes.
Ozempic® is proven to lower blood sugar and A1C. Ozempic® lowers the risk of major cardiovascular events such as stroke, heart attack, or death in adults also with known heart disease. Ozempic® may help you lose some weight. Ozempic® is not for weight loss.
During a 40-week study, people receiving the 1 mg Ozempic dose lost an average of 13 lbs. And people receiving the 2 mg Ozempic dose lost an average of 15 lbs.
The half life of Ozempic is 1 week, so if you take 2 mg on Monday the following Monday you'll have 1 mg (half the dose) in your system. One week later there will be 0.5 mg and so on. As Ozempic is long-acting, it can be dosed once a week and maintain adequate drug levels in the body rather than having to take it daily.
You start feeling those usual hunger pangs again, and consequently, you may start eating more to satisfy that hunger. An increase in your consumption can lead to the regaining of weight that was lost. A 2022 study found that most individuals gain weight back a year after stopping the medication.
High fat foods or sugary foods
Ozempic can cause nausea and vomiting if taken after eating foods high in fat or sugar. It is recommended that you take Ozempic before meals, rather than after, to minimise any potential side effects from eating high-fat or high-sugar foods.
Ozempic® lowers fasting and postprandial blood glucose by stimulating insulin secretion in a glucose-dependent manner. With Ozempic®, the insulin secretion rate in patients with type 2 diabetes was similar to that of healthy subjects.
The starting dose of Ozempic is 0.25 mg injected once weekly for 4 weeks. Then, your dose is moved up to 0.5 mg once weekly. After that, your dose may be increased every 4 weeks up to 2 mg once weekly, depending on how you respond to the medication.
Red-label pen (starting March 2023)1:
Contains 2 mg of semaglutide in a 3 mL (0.68 mg/mL) pen. Delivers doses of 0.25 mg or 0.5 mg per injection.
You've hit a plateau
It's normal to eventually hit a point where your weight loss slows down, especially if you're not working on keeping or building up your muscle mass. Losing muscle along with fat slows your metabolism and can slow down your weight loss.
Will Ozempic or Wegovy reduce belly fat? The answer appears to be yes. That Novo Nordisk-funded study of almost 2,000 overweight or obese adults without diabetes also found their visceral fat — the type that accumulates in the belly — was reduced from baseline with semaglutide, along with their total fat mass.
Ozempic works by binding to GLP-1 receptors and stimulates insulin release from the pancreas when you need it. It helps to lower your blood sugar levels and A1C. It also helps to reduce the amount of sugar released by your liver and slows down food leaving your stomach to help prevent blood sugar spikes.
What happens if I overdose on Ozempic (Subcutaneous)? Overdose may cause severe nausea, vomiting, or low blood sugar.
Ozempic stimulates the release of insulin and lowers blood sugar. When you abruptly stop using it, the amount of glucose in your body can spike, especially if you have diabetes. Some may end up in the ER due to sheer exhaustion from the blood sugar spikes and crashes.
The pens for the 1mg and 2 mg doses of Ozempic each contain 4 doses. Note that once the Ozempic pen is opened and used, it should only be used for up to 56 days per the manufacturer's instructions.
Refined carbohydrates
This can make it harder to manage blood sugar levels in people both with and without diabetes. These types of foods are typically lacking fiber, which can send blood sugar levels soaring. It is best to avoid refined carbohydrates if you're taking Ozempic.
Avoiding alcohol and caffeine with Ozempic®
Caffeine may also cause your blood sugar levels to fluctuate, possibly increasing the risk for hypoglycemia when taking Ozempic® at the same time.