Should I get Wegovy? A plain-language guide to making the decision

Do you actually meet the criteria Wegovy is licensed for?

The starting point is straightforward on paper. Wegovy is licensed for adults with a BMI of 30 or above, or a BMI of 27 to 29.9 alongside at least one weight-related condition such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, obstructive sleep apnoea or osteoarthritis. Lower BMI thresholds apply for some ethnic backgrounds under UK guidance, so if your BMI sits close to the cutoff, it is worth raising that with a prescriber rather than ruling yourself out.

What is less obvious is that meeting the licence criteria does not guarantee treatment. A prescriber will also look at your full medical history. Certain conditions, including a personal or family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma or a rare syndrome called MEN2, mean Wegovy is not appropriate. A history of pancreatitis requires careful discussion. Pregnancy, breastfeeding and actively trying to conceive are all situations where semaglutide is not recommended. The Wegovy treatment overview on our site explains the full picture in plain terms.

If you are currently on oral contraceptives, it is also worth knowing that NHS guidance for tirzepatide flags a potential reduction in pill absorption, for semaglutide the evidence is less clear, but it is the sort of thing to mention at consultation so a prescriber can advise you directly.

What results are realistic, and what does the evidence actually say?

The STEP 1 trial, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, followed 1,961 adults without diabetes over 68 weeks. Those on the 2.4mg maintenance dose of semaglutide lost around 15% of body weight on average, compared with about 2.4% in the placebo group. That is a meaningful difference, and for many people it translates into real improvements in blood pressure, cholesterol and joint pain.

A few things temper those numbers, though. Participants also followed a reduced-calorie diet and increased their physical activity, the medicine worked alongside those changes, not instead of them. Weight tends to return when treatment stops if lifestyle habits are not maintained. And results vary: some people lose considerably more than 15%, others less. The semaglutide information page has a fuller breakdown of what the evidence shows and what it does not.

A newer 7.2mg dose of Wegovy received MHRA approval in early 2026, with trials reporting around 20.7% average weight loss over 72 weeks, narrowing the gap with tirzepatide results. Whether that higher dose is appropriate for you is something a prescriber would explore once you are established on treatment.

What does getting started actually involve, and is private treatment right for you?

Wegovy is available on the NHS through specialist weight management services under NICE guidance (TA875), but waiting lists are long in most areas and criteria are strict. Many people who are clinically suitable simply cannot access it quickly through that route. Private treatment through a regulated online pharmacy offers an alternative, though you will need to pay for it. If you want to understand what private costs typically look like, our Wegovy pricing guide covers what drives the variation and what a legitimate price should include.

Through a service like ours at nume, the process begins with a free consultation that a GPhC-registered Independent Prescriber reads the same day. There is no algorithm making that call, a real clinician reviews your answers, and if treatment is clinically appropriate, your prescription is issued and your medicine dispatched the same day you order before noon, arriving free the next working day with DPD. Some people tell us they put off getting started because they expected the process to take weeks. It does not have to.

If you are weighing up whether this is the right moment, or want to think through the decision further, this piece on whether to go on Wegovy walks through some of the practical considerations people most often come back to.

What side effects should you factor into your decision?

The most common side effects of Wegovy are gastrointestinal: nausea, constipation, diarrhoea, bloating and indigestion appear most often in the early weeks or after a dose increase, and for most people they settle down as the body adjusts. Fatigue and headaches are also reported, particularly at the start. The NHS semaglutide page lists the full side-effect profile clearly, and the Patient Information Leaflet that comes with your pen goes into further detail.

There are some less common but more serious effects to be aware of. Acute pancreatitis, though infrequent, is a known risk: severe stomach pain that spreads to the back and does not ease up is a reason to get medical help promptly, not to wait it out. Gallbladder problems and allergic reactions have also been reported. If you experience any side effect that concerns you and want to report it, the MHRA's Yellow Card scheme is the right place to do that.

For most people, the side effects are manageable and ease with time. But going in with realistic expectations matters. If you are still thinking through the practical side of starting, this page on trying Wegovy for the first time addresses the questions people most commonly ask before their first pen arrives. And once you are ready to explore whether it is right for you, our guide to deciding whether Wegovy is right for you can help you think it through before starting a free consultation, no commitment, just a clinical conversation.