10 hard facts about Simeglutide oral medication! How do you eat? How many pounds can be reduced? Will it rebound? Where to buy? Side effects
- Share
- Issue Time
- Apr 11,2025
Summary
With the soaring popularity of semaglutide in the fields of weight loss and sugar control, more and more people are paying attention to the efficacy and safety of its oral dosage form.
As the world's first approved oral GLP-1 drug, how should it be used? What are the key details to pay attention to?
This article combines the latest clinical data to compile the top 10 issues that users are most concerned about, helping you scientifically avoid pitfalls and efficiently lose weight!
1、 How many pounds can be reduced? Is it really worse than the injection version?
OASIS 1 study (68 weeks): Obese patients with a baseline weight of 105.4kg lost an average of 17.4% (approximately 18.3kg) in the oral 50mg semaglutide group, and those who completed the treatment achieved 19.1% (approximately 20.1kg).
OASIS 4 study (64 weeks): The average weight loss of the 25mg dose group was 13.6% (14.4kg), with good compliance reaching 16.6% (17.6kg).
Key details: The oral version needs a higher dose (up to 50mg) to approach the injection version (for example, Wegovy loses about 15% of its weight by 2.4mg per week), but at present, the maximum dose approved in China is 14mg (for type 2 diabetes), and the weight loss indication is still under approval.
2、 Are side effects common? Who should use it with caution?
30% of patients experience gastrointestinal reactions, with nausea (15%), diarrhea (12%), and vomiting (8%) mostly occurring 2 weeks before medication, and 80% of patients experience symptom relief 4-6 weeks later.
Special population contraindication: it is forbidden for patients with type 1 diabetes, family history of medullary thyroid cancer, and severe gastrointestinal diseases (such as Crohn's disease); Pregnant women, lactating women, and those with severe liver and kidney dysfunction need to be evaluated by a doctor.
Key details: Before medication, it is necessary to check thyroid ultrasound, and long-term users should monitor liver and kidney function every 6 months.
3、 How to eat for the best effect?
Take on an empty stomach at a fixed time every day (recommended before breakfast), with ≤ 118ml of white water. Fasting and drinking (including coffee and tea) should be avoided within 30 minutes after taking the medication to avoid affecting the effectiveness of SNAC absorbents.
Dose escalation adjustment: From the first month: 3mg/day (adaptation period) → From the second month onwards: 7mg/day (maintenance dose) → For those with poor efficacy, it can be increased to 14mg/day (maximum dose).
Key details: The tablet should be swallowed whole and should not be broken or chewed to avoid damaging the enteric structure.
4、 Will it rebound after stopping the medication? How to maintain weight?
In terms of rebound risk, the STEP-4 study on injection version data shows that 60% of patients experience a weight rebound of ≥ 5% within one year after discontinuation, and only 27% can maintain their weight loss effect.
Slowly discontinue medication: gradually reduce dosage from 14mg to 7mg to 3mg, with each stage lasting 2-4 weeks. Lifestyle transition: After discontinuing medication, maintain a daily intake of 1500-1800 calories and engage in 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise per week (such as brisk walking and strength training).
Key details: It is recommended to use semaglutide as a "bridge" and cultivate habits such as low GI diet and slow chewing (≥ 20 minutes per meal) during medication to reduce the probability of rebound.
5、 Besides weight loss, what are the benefits for blood sugar and blood pressure?
Sugar control: the highest decrease of HbA1c (glycosylated hemoglobin) in type 2 diabetes patients was 1.6%, and the reaching rate was 92.3% (single drug treatment), which was superior to most oral hypoglycemic drugs.
Cardiovascular protection: The PIONEER 6 study showed that patients with concomitant cardiovascular risk had a 51% reduced risk of cardiovascular death and an average decrease in systolic blood pressure of 7mmHg.
Blood lipid regulation: Total cholesterol (TC) decreased by 12%, triglycerides (TG) decreased by 15%, "bad cholesterol" (LDL-C) decreased by 10%, and "good cholesterol" (HDL-C) increased by 8%.
Key details: people with type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome (abdominal obesity+dyslipidemia) or high cardiovascular risk are preferred.
