Saxenda Explained: Uses, Dosage, And Side Effects

According to a study published in Frontiers in Endocrinology, excess weight or obesity happens when energy intake is higher than energy expenditure (when "calories in" exceed "calories out"). In contrast, an energy balance (eating as many calories as you burn) ensures your weight stays the same, while an energy or calorie deficit (when you eat fewer calories than you burn) facilitates weight loss (via Healthline). 

However, obesity is a complex condition that results from a combination of genetic, environmental, dietary, psychological, and behavioral risk factors. Given the role these factors play in its development, researchers believe that the causes of obesity go beyond the calories you eat versus the ones you burn. Therefore, losing weight may not only be about restricting the amount of food you eat. Per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 42% of the adult American population and 20% of American children and teens have obesity. Unfortunately, statistics have shown an upward trend rise in recent years. 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Saxenda (liraglutide) in 2020 for people 12 years and older with obesity who need to manage their weight. Saxenda is an injected prescription drug that helps adults with a body mass index (BMI) of 27 and over (a.k.a. medically considered overweight or obese) and teens with a body weight over 132 pounds lose excess weight. More importantly, it claims to help keep the weight off. This article tells you all you need to know about Saxenda, including how to use it and its potential side effects.

Saxenda helps you lose weight and keep it off because it acts as an appetite regulator. It reduces your hunger levels, which leads to fewer consumed calories and, ultimately, weight loss. Saxenda belongs to a class of drugs known as incretin mimetics or glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs), meaning that they imitate the effects of the hunger-reducing hormone glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) (via Drugs.com). According to Healthline, GLP-1 RAs are commonly used to treat type 2 diabetes because of their blood sugar-lowering effects. Yet, they can also help manage your weight by slowing down gastric emptying (the rate at which your stomach empties its contents). Thus, since food is passed down slowly through your digestive tract, you get a prolonged feeling of fullness.

According to Drugs.com, you can expect Saxenda's effects to show after eight weeks of taking the medicine. While you may start losing weight by the first two weeks of treatment, you should notice a significant weight loss of 5% of your total body weight by the eighth week. Nevertheless, keep in mind that Saxenda should be used alongside a low-calorie diet and a physical activity program for you to see the desired results (per Saxenda). Also, note that Saxenda may not work for everyone. As Drugs.com explains, people who don't see a 4% body weight reduction by the 16th week of treatment may be taken off the drug.

The cost of Saxenda may vary depending on your insurance coverage, as specific insurance plans include Saxenda in their coverage, whereas others do not. Although the list price of Saxenda (the price set by the manufacturer before discounts or price adjustments) is $1,349.02 for each 18-milligram pen, the final cost for patients may be significantly lower depending on their prescription medication insurance coverage. However, people whose insurance policy doesn't cover Saxenda may have to pay the total list price.

Per Novocare (Saxenda's manufacturer), people with private or employer-covered insurance can expect to pay just about $25 for each pen, which should cover 30 days of treatment. Similarly, people with Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare coverage and, in some cases, those with TRICARE coverage can also get their medication at a discounted price, as both plans provide coverage for obesity medications. When it comes to Medicaid, whether your plan covers Saxenda or not depends on each state's prescription drug coverage. Thus, you'd have to personally contact your state's Medicaid office to find out. As for people with Medicare (which doesn't cover obesity medications) or without insurance, you may check your eligibility to apply for the Saxenda Savings Offer, which may also help you get each pen for $25 or save up to $200 per box during the first year of treatment (via NovoCare).

According to Saxenda's instruction manual, the medication is contraindicated in people with a family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma (a type of thyroid cancer) and people with Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia syndrome type 2 (a condition that also causes thyroid tumors) due to the drug's risk of developing thyroid cancer. Additionally, given the increased risk of suicidal thoughts, Saxenda should not be prescribed to people with depression or who have tried to attempt suicide in the past.

Drugs.com explains that Saxenda may interact with other diseases and, thus, should not be the drug of choice for certain people. For example, people with a history of pancreatitis should avoid taking GLP-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) such as Saxenda, due to the increased risk of developing pancreatitis a second time. In addition, people with renal dysfunction have a higher risk of kidney failure while taking GLP-1 RAs. Lastly, avoid taking Saxenda if you have a liraglutide allergy or are taking other liraglutide-containing medicines or GLP-1 RA. People taking Saxenda who haven't lost at least 4% of their total body weight by the 16th week of treatment should discontinue its use, as it is unlikely they'll lose a significant amount of weight or keep the weight off for a long time through continued treatment (via Saxenda).

If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.

According to WebMD, drug interactions happen when you mix two different medications whose mechanisms of action clash with one another or when you combine any drug you're taking with certain foods or alcohol. In any case, drug interactions can lower your medicine's effectiveness, increase its effects to unwanted or unhealthy levels, or trigger potentially harmful side effects. Like most drugs, Saxenda can interact with other medications. In fact, per Drugs.com, it has two known major drug interactions that can lead to significant health risks (it interacts with bexarotene and gatifloxacin, a skin medication, and an antibiotic, respectively). The site lists moderate interactions with 223 other drugs and minor interactions with 26 additional medications.

Moreover, taking Saxenda with alcohol may cause hypoglycemia or dangerously low blood sugar levels in people with diabetes because both have blood sugar-lowering effects on their own. Thus, you can get a combined effect by consuming them together. Plus, since GLP-1 RAs like Saxenda slow down gastric emptying, Drugs.com recommends paying special attention to the effectiveness of drugs with low bioavailability, antibiotics or other drugs that need to reach a specific concentration to work, and painkillers or other medications that need to be absorbed quickly when consumed together with GLP-1 RAs to ensure their effects are not being blocked. 

Finally, it is not known whether or how Saxenda may interact with other weight-loss products, such as herbal supplements and other prescription or over-the-counter drugs (via Saxenda).

Saxenda (liraglutide) and Phentermine are both medications used for weight loss. However, aside from their weight loss effect, they don't have much in common. On the one hand, Saxenda reduces your appetite by inhibiting hunger-reducing hormones, while Phentermine is a Central Nervous System (CNS) stimulant and anorexiant that suppresses appetite by acting on the parts of your brain that control hunger and satiety (via Drugs.com). Moreover, Saxenda is administered via a daily subcutaneous injection, while Phentermine is usually taken once or three times a day orally as a tablet or capsule around your meals.

In addition, Saxenda is designed as a long-term weight-reduction treatment (via Saxenda). In contrast, since Phentermine can be habit-forming (meaning that it can lead to dependency or addiction) and because its weight-loss effects wear off after a while, it is only prescribed as a short-term weight-loss solution (via Drugs.com). Lastly, Saxenda and Phentermine have different side effect profiles. Saxenda can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and constipation. In contrast, Phentermine can cause dry mouth, insomnia, anxiety, and high blood pressure (via Drugs.com). While both drugs may help you achieve your weight loss goals, it is important to consult with a healthcare provider to determine which medication is appropriate for your individual needs.