Ozempic is a prescription medication that works as a GLP-1 analogue. It helps lower blood sugar levels and reduces your appetite.
It is injected under your skin in your abdomen, thigh, or upper arm. Rotate between these three injection sites each week to help ensure the best absorption of the medicine.
Needle
If you’re prescribed Ozempic, your medical provider will tell you how to use a needle to inject the medication. The medication works best when injected right under the skin (subcutaneously), into areas of your body that have some fatty tissue.
For this reason, the three best injection sites are on your stomach area, thigh or upper arm. Rotate between these three sites every week to prevent the build-up of lipohypertrophy, a lump of fat under the skin that can make it harder for your body to absorb the medication.
Before injecting your dose, use an alcohol swab to clean the injection site. Allow the area to dry for at least 30 seconds.
Pen
If you’re prescribed ozempic, it should be self-injected once a week into fatty tissue in your stomach. It can also be injected into the thigh or upper arm. However, it’s important not to use the same injection site each time because this can lead to inflammation or even infection.
To inject ozempic, you’ll need an Ozempic pen and an alcohol swab. The needle on your pen is very fine so there’s a low risk of infection, but if you have any concerns about the safety or ease of using an Ozempic pen, ask your doctor.
You’ll need to follow your doctor’s instructions for how to use your Ozempic pen and properly store it. You’ll also need to dispose of your used Ozempic pen in an FDA-approved sharps disposal container.
Before you start injecting yourself, make sure the Ozempic pen works correctly by testing the flow. Simply turn the dose selector until you see a symbol that looks like a droplet of liquid coming out. If the liquid does not flow, it means you need to change your Ozempic pen or contact your medical provider.
Injection site
Ozempic is a once-weekly injectable drug that helps people with type 2 diabetes control their blood sugar. It also helps people lose weight (CADTH, 2019; Chamberlin, 2019).
This injection drug comes in a pen (also called an injector pen), which is more convenient to use than syringes. There are some things you need to know about how to use it, such as priming your pen, using a new needle each time, and accurately administering your dose.
It’s also important to choose a clean, dry injection site. To do this, use a 60-70% alcohol-based solution on a single-use swab or cotton ball and clean the area you plan to inject with the medicine.
You can inject ozempic under the skin (subcutaneously) on your stomach, thigh, or upper arm. There isn’t a “best” injection site, but it’s important to choose different places in the body area each time you take an Ozempic injection. This can lower the risk of injection site reactions.
Injecting
Ozempic is a medication that improves blood sugar levels and lowers your risk of serious cardiovascular problems in people with type 2 diabetes. It works by helping your body release a hormone called insulin, which helps transport glucose (sugar) from your bloodstream into the cells of your body.
Your doctor will likely start you on a low dose of ozempic injection and increase it gradually every 4 weeks to 30 days, depending on your response. The dose is usually 0.5 mg once weekly.
If you need more glycemic control, your doctor may increase the dose to 1 or 2 mg once weekly.
To inject ozempic, insert the needle into your skin in the stomach (abdomen), thigh or upper arm. Press down on the center of the dose button until “0 mg” lines up with the pointer, and then slowly count to 6 before removing the needle from your skin.