Drug Comparisons with Saxenda
If you have heard about Saxenda, you may have heard about its many uses. With more and more people becoming obese and developing type 2 diabetes, medications like Saxenda are increasingly in use. As the populace has gained weight, medications have been developed to help people lose some of their excess weight. It’s helpful to know about Saxenda and how it compares to some of the other medications on the market.
Saxenda is the brand name for a medication called Semaglutide. This is a medication that delivers to patients a compound that’s called liraglutide. This compound was approved originally for the treatment of type 2 diabetes that was to be used with a better diet and more exercise to treat the disease. Since that time, clinical trials pointed to its effectiveness at helping people lose weight. This has led to Saxenda being prescribed to patients who have a 30 or higher BMI and also suffer from a metabolic disease. However, Saxenda itself is not for treating type 2 diabetes. It’s approved for weight loss.
Saxenda vs. Ozempic
Ozempic is a drug that is the same medication as Saxenda- Semaglutide. However, Ozempic is a medication that is approved for use as a treatment for type 2 diabetes. This medication is available in both tablet and injection form, while Saxenda is only an injection. Both of these medications work by mimicking a natural hormone called glucagon like peptide-1, or GLP-1. This is a hormone that is naturally made by the lining of a patient’s intestines. This gets the pancreas to create insulin, slows the speed of food that goes through the intestines, and helps patients to feel less hungry.
Saxenda vs. Victoza
Another drug that is the same as Saxenda is Victoza. This is a medication that has the same chemical makeup, Semaglutide, but it’s prescribed for something different. Victoza is not approved to treat excess weight. Instead, it is approved by the FDA as a treatment for type 2 diabetes. It’s common for people to experience some weight loss as a side effect of this drug when they’re treating their diabetes, and this is because it’s the same medication as
Saxenda.
The two are different, however, in their dosage amount. The amount of Saxenda that is prescribed to patients for type 2 diabetes is more than the dosage used for Victoza. In other words, the higher dosage of Victoza is important for causing weight loss in many cases. For a significant amount of weight loss, Saxenda is needed.
Saxenda vs. Trulicity
Trulicity is the brand name for a drug called dulaglutide. It is not approved for use as a weight loss aid. However, this drug is also administered by an injection, and it is a GLP-1 receptor agonist that is used to create a specific reaction in diabetics. Trulicity is supposed to be taken by adults only to treat diabetes by improving the amount of glycemic control their bodies have. It is indicated for use along with a healthy diet and regular exercise to treat the condition.
While Saxenda and Victoza can have nausea, bloating, insomnia, and low blood pressure as side effects, Trulicity can have these as well as frequent bowel movements and malaise. Like Saxenda, Trulicity can also have interactions with oral medications that are taken alongside the Trulicity dose.
Saxenda vs. Wegovy
Wegovy is a medication that is a glucagon-like peptide-1s receptor agonist, also known as GLP-1s, like Saxenda is. These medicines are also called incretin mimetics. They have been found to be effective for treating both excess weight and type 2 diabetes. Both Saxenda and Wegovy have been found to work well with diet and exercise to help patients to lose weight.
Both Saxenda and Wegovy are GLP-1 medications, but each has a different active compound. Several years had gone by without any new weight loss medications hitting the market until Wegovy was approved in 2021 as a weight loss drug. Wegovy delivers a much higher dose of the drug Semaglutide than is in Ozempic and Saxenda. Both Saxenda and Wegovy are made by the same pharmaceutical company, a Danish company called Novo Nordisk. Though they may have differing active compounds, both of these drugs work in a similar way to help people lose weight and have better metabolic health.
Both of these medications work to help the body produce insulin in the patient’s pancreas. They also work, as GLP-1s do, to keep food in the stomach longer to keep the patient feeling full and suppress hunger. While all of these medications are similar, if not the same compound in some cases, they also have their differences. Depending on what the drug is approved for, whether it’s for weight loss or treating type 2 diabetes, it will have a specific dosage that makes a big difference.
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We are not affiliated, associated, authorized, endorsed by, or in any way officially connected with the Novo Nordisk Inc, or any of its subsidiaries or its affiliates. The official Saxenda® website can be found at www.saxenda.com