Hey everyone, I just picked up my first Wegovy pen (0.25mg) and my start date is this Saturday. I'm both excited and terrified lol.

For those who've been through it — what should I actually expect week by week? My doctor was pretty vague, just said "you might feel nauseous" and sent me on my way. I want the REAL talk from people who've done this.

Stats: 38F, 5'6", SW 224lbs, T2D diagnosed last year, A1C 7.4. Goal is to get both weight and blood sugar under control.

Any advice for the first injection? I'm nervous about needles tbh 😬

Welcome to the club! I started almost exactly a year ago and I wish someone had given me a realistic timeline, so here goes:

Weeks 1-4 (0.25mg): This is your "get used to it" phase. Honestly, at this dose most people feel very little. I had mild nausea for about 2 days after my first injection, then nothing. Some people get nothing at all. Appetite suppression was barely noticeable for me at this dose — maybe 10-15% reduction. Don't be discouraged if the scale doesn't move much.

Weeks 5-8 (0.5mg): This is where it starts to get real. Nausea came back for me on the first 0.5mg dose, lasted about 3 days. Appetite suppression kicked in noticeably. I went from thinking about food constantly to genuinely forgetting to eat lunch. Lost about 5lbs in this period.

Weeks 9-16 (1.0mg): The sweet spot for many people. I had significant appetite reduction, food noise basically disappeared. Nausea was manageable. Lost another 8lbs. My A1C went from 7.1 to 6.2 in this window.

Weeks 17-24 (1.7mg): This is where side effects can ramp up again. I had a rough 2 weeks transitioning but it settled. Weight loss continued steadily.

Weeks 25+ (2.4mg): Maintenance dose. Side effects had largely resolved by this point for me. Weight loss slowed but continued.

Key tips: inject in your thigh or abdomen (I prefer abdomen), eat small meals, stay VERY hydrated, and keep ginger candies on hand for nausea.

following! I start next week too 🙋‍♀️

Previously posted:

Key tips: inject in your thigh or abdomen (I prefer abdomen), eat small meals, stay VERY hydrated, and keep ginger candies on hand for nausea.

All of this is great advice. I'd add a few things from the clinical side:

The 0.25mg starting dose is intentionally sub-therapeutic for weight loss. It's there purely for GI tolerability — the STEP 1 trial used this exact titration schedule (0.25 → 0.5 → 1.0 → 1.7 → 2.4mg, each step lasting 4 weeks) and it significantly reduced dropout rates from GI side effects compared to faster titration.[1]

A few things to watch for:

• Nausea is the most common side effect (~44% in STEP 1) but is usually transient and mild-to-moderate
• Constipation affects about 24% of patients — start a fiber supplement NOW, don't wait until it's a problem
• Stay on top of hydration — semaglutide slows gastric emptying, which can cause dehydration if you're not conscious about fluid intake
• If nausea is severe, your doctor can slow the titration (stay at a dose for 8 weeks instead of 4)

For the needle anxiety — the Wegovy autoinjector needle is 29-gauge, which is extremely thin. Most patients report they barely feel it. Let the pen sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before injection.

One thing nobody warned me about — the burping. Oh my god the burping. Weeks 2-6 I was burping like a frat boy after a keg stand. It went away eventually but my husband was NOT amused 😂

Also +1 on the ginger candies. Gin Gins are the GOAT. I bought them in bulk on Amazon.