If you’ve been prescribed ozempic, it’s important to know how to inject the medication safely. This includes preparing your injection pen, using a new needle each time and correctly administering your dose.
Ozempic is a once-weekly drug that’s injected under the skin (subcutaneously). It can help manage blood sugar levels, lower HbA1c and reduce weight.
Abdomen
The abdominal area is home to a variety of important organs, including the stomach, duodenum (parts 2 and 4), pancreas, spleen, gallbladder, intestines, and more. It also houses important blood vessels, including the aorta and inferior vena cava.
Insulin enters the bloodstream fastest from the abdomen, making this an ideal site for insulin injection. It is best to inject insulin into this area right after a meal to get the most effective results.
Ozempic is a prescription drug that can help you control your blood sugar levels, lower HbA1c, and lose weight by increasing a hormone called GLP-1. It comes in a pre-filled syringe that is injected under the skin.
To prepare for an injection, swab an alcohol swab around your chosen site to make sure it is clean and dry. Once you are ready, place your pen needle over your selected spot and rotate it clockwise until it reaches the correct dose that your doctor prescribed.
Upper Arm
Ozempic is a once-weekly injection for people with type 2 diabetes. It helps control blood sugar levels and can help you lose weight if used with a healthy diet and exercise (CADTH, 2019; Chamberlin, 2019).
Injecting Ozempic into your stomach, thigh, or upper arm is a safe and effective way to get the medication. But it’s important to remember that where you inject isn’t as important as how you administer the injection and how you care for the site.
First, priming your new pen is essential for getting a smooth injection. To do this, turn the dose selector dial until the flow check symbol lines up with the pointer. Then, press the dose button and hold it until the dose counter reads “0 mg.” A drop of Ozempic will appear at the tip of the needle.
Thigh
The thigh is one of the three best ozempic injection sites (the abdomen, upper arm or thigh). It’s important to get it right so that it enters the bloodstream and helps to control your blood sugar.
Insulin is a hormone that helps regulate blood sugar. It’s injected into fat tissue under the skin, so that it can be absorbed slowly and predictably.
This is called subcutaneous insulin. Injections into fatty tissue are easier on your body, because the area is thicker and has few nerves to make you feel uncomfortable.
But, there’s a downside to this: repeated injections in the same spot can lead to lipohypertrophy—a lump of fat under your skin that affects how your body absorbs insulin.
To prevent this, you should change your injection site every week. This will help to avoid overuse and the development of lipohypertrophy. It also helps to ensure that your thigh isn’t injured by repeating injections in the same place.
Stomach
The stomach is a large, circular organ that makes the food we eat into a liquid or a soft, digestible form. It’s made up of several layers of mucous membrane, connective tissue with blood vessels and nerves, and muscle fibers.
The muscles move the contents of the stomach around so vigorously that solid parts of the food are crushed and ground, and mixed into a smooth food pulp. The stomach is also surrounded by parasympathetic (stimulant) and sympathetic (inhibitor) plexuses, which regulate both the secretory activity of the stomach and its motor activity.
Ozempic is a drug that’s injected right under the skin (subcutaneously). Drugs injected subcutaneously do best when they’re inserted into parts of your body with some fatty tissue, like your upper arms or the front of your thighs.