Saxenda vs. Wegovy - Battle of the GLP-1s for weight-loss!

Which is better?! Saxenda or Wegovy? Y'all wanted to know and it just so happens a trial published in January of 2022 answered this very question!

The authors of this paper directly compared Saxenda 3mg daily and Wegovy 2.4mg once weekly. One thing that is exciting about this paper is that it is a superiority trial - the goal was to see which drug was superior to the other. Who came out on top? Let’s take a look!

⚠️ Which did/do you think is better? Are you surprised by the trial's findings?

References
Rubino DM, Greenway FL, Khalid U, et al. Effect of Weekly Subcutaneous Semaglutide vs Daily Liraglutide on Body Weight in Adults with Overweight or Obesity Without Diabetes: The STEP 8 Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA - Journal of the American Medical Association. 2022;327(2):138-150. doi:10.1001/JAMA.2021.23619

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Join me on social media:

[Sonora]

I've been on Saxenda for about 6 months and I've lost 39 Lbs! I found that raising the dose every 3-4 weeks instead of every week has worked much better for me. Raising the does after only a week made me super nauseous and gave me bad stomach cramps. When stretching it out It's only mild symptoms after I raise the dose.

[elenaflores]

When I stared my diet I was 310 I did everything and lost 50 lbs in 8 months.than I was on ozempic for 3 weeks and lost only 5 lbs now I've been on saxenda 1 week and I already lost 5 lbs I'm on the low dose still but it's working great I don't have any symptoms or issues and my insurance covers 100% I'm so happy im at 248 lbs currently... I was

[m.macdog]

Hi from Australia . Not able to get ozempic because it's been held for diabetics only. OK diabetes is a serious condition so is obesity so can't get it. Just like to point out that diabetics as stated in literature by doctors can access literally 11 other drugs to manage their condition. Those who are obese can now only access one injectable which is double the cost . I don't want anyones health to suffer but I am really really salty on being priced gouged. It's not safe or fair.

[kellycorona]

I wonder if more people discontinued Saxenda ended up switching due to it being a once a week shot vs. daily and not because of side effects at all.

[kellycorona]

Hello! Great video! I'm just starting my journey. I've been "keto" since 2014 and went off the rails last fall and gained 50lbs. My husband passed in December 2023 after a 3 year battle with cancer and I just didn't give a crap and carbed out. Doc prescribed Zepbound but Prior Auth wouldn't go through because of the shortage. She then prescribed Phentermine and said even if I take it once and find I can't tolerate it, that's enough for them to approve Saxenda. So that's the plan. I took Phentermine yesterday and was bouncing off the walls. I plan on calling Monday and asking for Saxenda. I'm a teacher and off for the summer so the once daily injection will be easier to do and I can do it when I wake up which is more like 9 or 10am in the summer. By the fall when school starts again, the shortage is predicted to be over so I'm hoping to switch to Zepbound or Wegovy then so I can do just the once a week dose on a weekend and not have to do it at 6am every morning before work. I'm glad you said that starting with Saxenda and then switching is what you do with a lot of patients so this sounds like a plan! I purposely waited until summer due to the expected side effects and of course now insurance won't approve it. Hopefully in the fall, supply won't be an issue. Thanks for all of your wonderful info!

[Gromobran]

On saxenda almost two months- no side effects. Actually, I’ve notice if I overeat I’ll have throwing up feeling only that. Lost 11 kilograms. My doctor wants to put me on Ozempic after 3 months but there is a shortage of this medicine in the whole world so we’ll see next month- maybe I’ll be lucky to get Ozempic as I need to lose 10 more kilograms. The only downside of Saxenda here in Dubai is the price of the medicine. Crazy expensive

[SG-hmbb]

Excellent presentation! I've been on Saxenda for 8 months and have found that after slowly titrating up I'm just now reaching the 3 unit per dose injection! Yes, it took all of 8 months due to side effects and I was told just to titrate as often as I was comfortable. However, I've also found the initial weight loss has really slowed down and I'd like to see if I can get moving in the right direction again. I've been slowly gaining during the last 3 months. I feel that I'm eating too many carbs (I crave carbs and often 'think' that eating carbs will help with the slight nausea and uneasy tummy feeling). It seems to and I lean toward carbs for that reason...and most likely that's caused my weight gain? At any rate, I've listened to your encouraging words about eating more protein and will give that a try. I was wondering if should ask my doctor if I can switch to Wygovy or if after finally titrating up to the 3 unit dose should I stick with Saxenda for a while longer to see if I can turn things around? And yes, I'm one of those people who has been fighting with my weight for over 50 years, yo-yoing up/down 40-50 pounds several times in my life. I lost 60 pounds ten years ago and have been slowly gaining it back - at this point maintaining a 35 pound weight loss is a struggle. I'd like to maintain at least a 50 pound weight loss for the rest of my life. Thank you for sharing all this excellent information for a long-misunderstood and often overlooked chronic disease.

[janahal-juboori]

Thank you so much. I was confused about what to choose and I am more clear now.

[NiniEJ]

I asked my doctor for Wegovy, but she told me that it’s such a shortage of the drug, most of her patients can’t find it. She prescribed me the new drug Zepbound, but it won’t be available for another few weeks. Therefore, I’m starting on Saxenda. I’ve loss 63 lbs all on my own but am having the hardest time getting under 200. I’m hoping this drug can help me with feelings of hunger and cravings. Thank you so much for the insight!

[sharonwillbanks]

I have been on ozempic now for 5 weeks. The first 4 weeks the nausea was bad but I took zofran to help. This is my 5th week and i did not have to take anything for nausea but I now have a huge burning type feeling/pain in my upper stomach. Will this go away? A little afraid to go up to .5

[KingCotton-]

As of Aug 2022 the veteran hospital and my local weight loss clinic have claimed a shortage of Wegovy. The VA are forced to push saxenda as Wegovy been put on hold according to doctors . Have you heard of this ?

[temperancetaylor]

My patients complain of more cravings and show less weight loss with Saxenda over Wegovy/Ozempic. When Wegovy was on backorder, I substituted Saxenda and weight loss plateaued. The patient had to take more than the max recommended dose to lose weight at a much slower rate.

[downinahole]

It's interesting that Wegovy causes more GI symptoms than Saxenda. I actually stopped taking Saxenda because it never stopped making me sick. I'm finding the opposite on Ozempic so far. Maybe a good potential warning for Wegovy and the higher doses. Another great video!

[PrettyPortUK]

I take escitalopram 10 mgs for depression. Have many people found their mental health gets worse on Saxenda. I haven't started it yet as was worried about depression. Thanks Dr Dan

[whitelight]

I was taking saxenda for 5 months with a total weight loss of 45 pounds in the first 3 months and hit a plateau for the last 2 months. I switched to weygovy 2.4 this week and feel like I had better appetite control on saxenda. Is this normal or does it take a little bit of time for weygovy to kick in ?

[AlphaGeekgirl]

So, if Wegovy is 2.4mg paw… and Saxenda is 3mg per day (= 21mg per week), Does that mean Wegovy, being just over 1/10 of the weekly dose of Saxenda, is less expensive? Somehow I doubt that the pharmaceutical company would be pushing a cheaper alternative.

[markdeeming]

Hardly surprising that more dropped out of the saxenda group. Daily jabs vs weekly.

[jkarimal]

Dr. Dan - just stared following you on YouTube. I am on Mounjaro 2.5mg and am trending to my goal weight. Knowing my insurance will most likely not cover it for weight management in the long term, what have you seen done using approved weight loss drugs for long term weight management? Thank you.

[isobel]

Switched from sax to wegovy. Very few side effects, working really well and loosing faster. Plus able to actually eat!. Saxenda gave me horrendous stomach pains whereas wegovy doesn’t

[medebomb]

I lost 10 pounds in 1 month. On my second month now hoping to lose another 5 to 10 pounds. Was on 0.6 dose on 1.2 now. Barely can eat without feeling overly full.