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Does Saxenda Work Immediately?

When you start taking Saxenda you'll be eager to see results as soon as possible. Our experts explain whether Saxenda works immediately.
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Unfortunately, Saxenda won’t often work immediately.

Some people do feel the effects of the medicine within the first 1-3 days of taking it, but any weight loss probably won’t be evident for a little while yet.

Saxenda contains Liraglutide which is a GLP-1 receptor agonist.

These medicines will always need some time to start working for weight management.

This is because losing weight is unfortunately a slow process that takes time and patience.

Even with Saxenda, weight loss won’t happen overnight, in fact, weight loss products that do work immediately are likely to be unsafe and unregulated.

With Saxenda, you must complete a titration period.

This is because the full dose of the medication can make you ill if you take it all at once without starting at a lower dose.

This titration period should last 4 weeks, with you increasing your dose each week until you reach 3.0mg a day at week 5.

Because of this, it’s common to not see any results right away.

You should treat the first 4 weeks of treatment as a time for your body to adjust to the medicine in time for week 5.

You could also use this time to start implementing some lifestyle changes.

This may also help to speed up how fast you see results.

We’ve also created a Saxenda dosing guide to help you understand when to change your dosage, and how long a pen should last.

There are several ways that you can help Saxenda to start working as soon as possible.

Firstly, you should make sure that you’re in a calorie deficit.

You should do this through a combination of physical activity and dietary changes.

We have some great information on how you could achieve this over at our advice section. 

How Long Does it Take for Saxenda to Work?

 

Because Saxenda is titrated over the course of four weeks, it can take some time to start working.

Some lucky people do see results from the first week.

However, most find that it takes 2-3 weeks or more to start seeing any movement on the scales.

This is completely normal and doesn’t mean that you’re doing anything wrong.  

How Long Does it Take for Saxenda to Work

It’s generally advised that you try Saxenda for around 3 months once you’ve reached the 3.0mg dose.

This is because it can take this amount of time to achieve any kind of medically significant weight loss.

The manufacturers advise that if you haven’t managed to lose 5% of your starting weight after 12 weeks at 3.0mg, Saxenda should be discontinued.

Whilst this can sound daunting to some, 5% may be a surprisingly small amount.

There’s more information in our advice section about how to calculate weight loss percentages.  

Some people find it difficult to tolerate the side effects of medicines like Saxenda and Semaglutide.

Because of this, it can sometimes be difficult to keep taking the treatment for a few weeks.

If you have difficulties with side effects, please speak to your prescriber at your next consultation.

There may be something available to help with the symptoms.

This is a service that myBMI offer for free to make sure that you have the best chance possible.  

If you don’t see any progress within 6-8 weeks of treatment, you should speak to your prescriber.

There may be something that they can suggest to help you.

There are also other treatments available, which work in a similar way to Saxenda but are much longer-acting and is taken weekly instead of daily. 

It’s important to remember that Saxenda and other weight management treatments are prescription medications that are given to people who have a medical need to lose weight and shouldn’t ever be used as cosmetic treatments.

Health and physical appearance are two very different things.

Saxenda shouldn’t be used as a fast-track to weight loss for cosmetic reasons.

It should only ever be used under the supervision of a medical professional.  

Saxenda isn’t designed to cause rapid weight loss.

It’s designed to help with maintainable weight loss over several months.

Because of this, we recommend committing to this kind of timeframe before starting treatment.

This can help you to manage your expectations and lose weight at an appropriate pace

Weight loss happens when you’ve been in a calorie deficit for a sustained amount of time.

This is important to remember, as perseverance is paramount.

If you’ve only been in a calorie deficit for a few days, it’s unlikely that you’ll see much change.

However, if you keep it up over several weeks you should begin to see a difference.

You can then increase your calorie intake once you reach a weight that you’re happy with.  

Essentially, you’ll still need patience when it comes to managing your weight even if you’re taking Saxenda.

Remember, it’s best to take a steady approach to weight management for long-term success.

Losing weight too quickly can be dangerous for your health.

That’s why we’d always recommend speaking to a weight management specialist to make sure that you’re following a safe plan.

Content Written By

Laura Henderson

Laura Henderson

Reviewed & Fact-Checked By

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Content Written By

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James O'Loan

James O'Loan

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