You have been prescribed compounded semaglutide. Your medication comes in a glass vial with instructions on how to prepare and administer it safely. If you have any trouble with the medication injection process, please contact your provider.
Your medication should be taken through injection under the skin weekly, on the same day each week.
Potential risks:
- Injecting a higher dose than prescribed may increase your risk of common or even severe side effects.
- Injecting a lower dose than prescribed can lead to ineffective treatment.
- Failure to clean and care for the injection site or improper reuse of needles or syringes can lead to infection.
Critical steps overview:
- Always inject the prescribed amount on the same day each week. If you miss a dose, see here: (link to missed dose guide)
- Rotate your injection site each time
- Monitor for side effects like bumps, rashes, or other abnormalities at the injection sites.
Start or Review: Storing Your Medication
Before getting started, please review how to store your medication through this article: Handling and Storing Compounded Semaglutide
Be sure to store your medication according to the guidelines above as soon as it arrives in the mail.
Detailed Steps
Read all the steps before beginning your injections.
- Decide on your weekly day to take your injection
- You will inject your compounded semaglutide medication once a week, on the same day each week.
- We recommend considering a weekend or other off-work day to reduce the possible impact of side effects on your work schedule.
- To decrease the chance of side effects, you can reduce your intake of starches and high-fat foods in the week or days before your first injection.
- Check your medication
- Your medication should appear clear and colorless. There should not be any frozen particles or other crystallization.
- When you first receive your medication, ensure you refrigerate it immediately. For medication storage, see (link to storage article)
- Check the information on your prescription bottle, including your dose amount and expiration date.
- If your medication is not clear and colorless, was not refrigerated immediately, or is expired, please contact your provider.
- Lay out your materials
- One (1) prescription compounded semaglutide vial
- One (1)
- One (1) sterile syringe with needle
- Never reuse or share needles or syringes. Always dispose of your needles or syringes safely after use.
- Two (2) alcohol wipes
- Wash your hands with soap and water, and allow to dry.
- Review the information on your prescription bottle, including your dose amount. If you haven’t completed checking your medication as in step 2 above, please return to that step and verify.
- Prepare your injection
- Gently shake the vial. For a new vial, remove the plastic cap. For a vial that has already been used for previous doses, remove the seal sticker you previously placed.
- Wipe the top of the vial with 1 alcohol wipe to clean.
- Pick up your syringe and remove the caps from the plunger and the needle. Be sure not to touch the needle. If you do, please discard the needle and start with a new, sterile one.
- While holding the syringe with the needle pointed up, pull the plunger down to the correct dose. Use the chart below:
- For example, if your Dose is 0.25mg one time per week, then you will draw the plunger down to the “10 unit” mark on the syringe. This will be 0.1 mL of medication by volume.
| Compounded Semaglutide Dosage, Once Per Week | Volume per Dose (Once per Week) | Syringe Units to Draw per Dose (Once per Week) |
| 0.25 mg | 0.1 mL | 10 units |
| 0.5 mg | 0.2 mL | 20 units |
| 1 mg | 0.4 mL | 40 units |
| 1.7 mg | 0.68 mL | 68 units |
| 2 mg | 0.8 mL | 80 units |
| 2.4 mg | 0.96 mL | 96 units |
- Insert the needle into the rubber part of the vial top and press down on the plunger completely to inject all of the air from the syringe into the vial.
- While the needle is still in the vial, turn the vial upside down. Make sure the needle tip is surrounded by liquid. Pull back the plunger past your dose amount. For example, if your dose is 10 units of medication, pull the plunger back beyond the 10 units mark.
- Remove any air bubbles by tapping the syringe with your finger.
- Push the plunger to the prescribed dose level on the syringe. For example, if your prescribed dose is 10 units, push the plunger to the 10 units mark.
- Turn the vial upright and then remove the needle.
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Do not put the needle cap back on the needle. You can put the syringe down by resting it on the needle cap so the tip of the needle doesn’t touch anything.
- Apply a new vial seal sticker to the cap of the vial after each use. Press firmly to ensure adherence to the cap to prevent contamination.
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To administer your injection,
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Select your injection site.
- Pick an area where you can inject into fat tissue. Your front or outer thigh, upper arm, or abdomen minimum two inches away from your navel are all good options.
- Change your injection site by at least 2 finger widths each time. The same area of the body is okay. Changing the site by alternating between your options, such as by switching sides of the body, helps prevent permanent, fatty nodules from forming due to injection.
- Clean the area you want to inject with an alcohol wipe and allow the skin to dry.
- Hold the syringe with the needle facing toward the ceiling. Push the plunger slightly until a drop of liquid forms at the end of the needle.
- Pinch and hold the skin that you will inject. Holding the syringe pointing directly at the pinched skin, quickly push the needle through the skin into the fat tissue, making sure to insert the entire length of the needle. Then, slowly push the plunger to inject all of the medication.
- Pull the needle out and clean the skin with an alcohol wipe or tissue. It’s normal to see a drop of blood at the injection spot. Press gently on the site for a few seconds for the bleeding to stop.
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Select your injection site.
- Discard the syringe in a sharps container or a heavy plastic container with a tight-fitting lid, like an empty detergent bottle. Do not throw away the syringe directly in your household trash.
- Place your medication back in your refrigerated storage following this guide: Handling and Storing Compounded Semaglutide
If you take more than prescribed, contact your provider and monitor your symptoms.
The primary side effects of taking more than prescribed are severe nausea, vomiting, and possibly low blood sugar. Should symptoms persist, worsen, or are very severe, contact your primary care practitioner and, if necessary, seek emergency medical attention.