Semaglutide Administration: A Step-by-Step Video and Injection Guide

Step 1, Getting the pen ready

Take the pen from the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for roughly 30 minutes. A cold injection is more likely to cause discomfort at the site. While you wait, wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water. Check the pen's label: confirm it is your prescribed dose of semaglutide and that the expiry date has not passed. Then inspect the liquid through the window, it should be clear and colourless. If it looks cloudy, discoloured or contains visible particles, do not use it and contact your prescriber or pharmacist. Remove the pen cap when you are ready but not before, and never re-cap the pen once it is uncapped. The Wegovy pen does not require priming; the mechanism handles that internally. Everything you see in a reputable semaglutide administration video will confirm this sequence, and the official Wegovy administration instructions page walks through it with the same rigour.

Step 2, Choosing a site and injecting

Pick your injection site for this week. The three options are the soft skin of the abdomen (at least two inches from the navel), the front of the thigh, or the upper outer arm. Rotating between these areas, and moving to a different spot within the same area each time, gives the skin time to recover. Once the site is chosen, clean it with an alcohol swab and let it dry fully, damp skin can sting. Pinch a fold of skin gently, hold the pen flat against the surface at the angle shown in your leaflet, and press the injection button. You will hear a click and then a second click when the dose is complete; keep the pen in place for the full count of ten seconds after that second click before removing it. There is a common misconception that you need to pull the skin taut, as you might for an intramuscular jab, for subcutaneous injections like this one, the pinch-and-hold method works better for most people. For a more detailed look at the physical sites themselves, the guide to Wegovy administration sites explains each location and what to avoid in the surrounding area.

Step 3, After the injection

Once the pen is removed, a safety shield will cover the needle automatically. Do not rub the injection site; gentle pressure with a clean piece of gauze or cotton wool is fine if there is a small bleed. Place the used pen immediately into a sharps container, never into your household bin. Most people tolerate the injection itself with minimal discomfort; the side effects people notice, if any, tend to be felt in the stomach rather than at the site. Nausea is most common in the days after a dose increase and usually eases as the body adjusts. Mark your injection day in your diary so that the following week's dose lands on the same day. If you ever miss a dose by more than five days, your Patient Information Leaflet and your prescriber's guidance will tell you the right course of action, do not try to double up without clinical advice. The semaglutide route of administration page covers more on how the subcutaneous route compares with other delivery methods, including the oral Wegovy tablet.

Video resources and written guides from the manufacturer

Novo Nordisk provides official semaglutide administration video content through their UK patient support channels and the wegovy.co.uk website. These videos show the exact pen used in your treatment and are produced in line with the licensed instructions. Your prescriber or the aftercare team can point you to the current link if you cannot locate it, since URLs for manufacturer resources sometimes change. A Wegovy administration PDF is also available from Novo Nordisk UK and can be printed for easy reference at home. If you prefer reading over watching, the written step-by-step instructions and the how to administer Wegovy page cover the same ground in text form. It is also worth reading about semaglutide more broadly if you are still building your understanding of how the medicine works, and Wegovy's licensed uses if you want the full clinical picture. Once you are confident in the technique, the clinical part (dose progression, side effect management and whether the treatment is working well for you) is where your prescriber's support matters most. If cost is a factor in your thinking, the Wegovy prices page explains what a legitimate private prescription includes. The NHS semaglutide page and NHS England's guidance on weight-management injections are worth bookmarking for ongoing reference.