Jump to: Where can I get a private prescription of Wegovy? | How much does a private UK Wegovy prescription cost? | Is there a waiting list for Wegovy prescriptions? | Are there any supply constraints for private Wegovy prescriptions? | How should I decide which provider to choose for a private Wegovy prescription? | Should I choose a Wegovy or a Mounjaro prescription?
Wegovy is currently available to purchase as a private prescription in the UK for weight loss.
The drug in Wegovy is called ‘semaglutide’. It makes you feel less hungry by mimicking a hunger-related hormone in your body called GLP-1.
You may have heard of the more popular brand version of semaglutide called Ozempic.
Ozempic was originally approved for people living with type 2 diabetes. Having noticed that Ozempic also let to impressive weight loss results, Novo Nordisk ran a number of additional clinical trials of semaglutide but focused the trials more on weight loss, rather than specifically on type 2 diabetes outcomes.
Following on from these successful trials, Wegovy was subsequently launched as a separate brand by Novo Nordisk and was specifically approved to help people with weight loss. Both Wegovy and Ozempic contain the same drug (semaglutide) but are just approved for different use cases. Yes it can be confusing!
What’s important to note is that Ozempic is no longer available in UK to purchase for weight loss, but Wegovy is.
Many providers and online pharmacies currently sell Wegovy. Some sell the medication alone, while others pair it with a habit-change programme to further enhance the weight-loss results.
For example, Second Nature sells Wegovy as part of its Wegovy weight-loss programme.
Our programme combines the Wegovy medication alongside daily coaching from our team of registered nutritionists to help people change their habits alongside taking the medication.
Our general opinion is that there’s no point taking Wegovy unless you also change your habits alongside it.
Where can I get a private prescription of Wegovy in the UK?
You can buy a private prescription of Wegovy in the UK from providers like Second Nature and also other online pharmacies.
There are strict eligibility criteria in-order to be approved for a Wegovy prescription, and you’ll typically have to complete an online health questionnaire to establish whether you’re eligible or not. Second Nature’s health quiz can be found here.
How much does a private UK Wegovy prescription cost?
From Second Nature, a private prescription of Wegovy starts from £229 per month for the lower doses of Wegovy (0.25mg and 0.5mg). If you decide to move up to the higher doses of Wegovy, the price rises to £269 (1mg), and the highest price is £299 for 1.7mg and 2.5mg.
If you’re looking to purchase the drug alone without any support alongside it, then there will be various online pharmacies that offer this. We’d strongly recommend against this as to have effective long-term weight-loss results after you eventually come off the medication, you’ll have needed to change some of your lifestyle and nutrition habits, and this typically takes both time and support to successfully achieve.
Is there a waiting list for Wegovy prescriptions?
Currently there’s no waiting list for a Wegovy prescription with Second Nature. As far as we are aware, this is also the case for most other providers and online pharmacies in the UK.
Are there any supply constraints for private Wegovy prescriptions?
While there were restrictions in Wegovy supply during the second half of 2023, there are currently no supply constraints for Wegovy. It’s expected that this will remain true for the ongoing future, with additional manufacturing capacity being developed by Novo Nordisk, as well as additional weight-loss medications entering the market to add further competition (e.g. the newer weight loss medication called Mounjaro)
How should I decide which provider to choose for a private Wegovy prescription?
Firstly, you should decide whether you want a Wegovy prescription by itself without any further support, or whether you’re open to changing your habits alongside taking the medication and doing a combination medication and habit-change programme.
As noted above, our opinion is that there’s no point taking Wegovy unless you also change your habits, so you might guess that our recommendation would be to take Wegovy alongside a supportive weight-loss programme that helps you change your lifestyle and nutrition habits for the long term.
There are a number of companies that offer this service. Second Nature is one, but you’ll likely also see companies such as Voy, Numan, and MyJuniper.
So if you’ve made the decision to try Wegovy (assuming you’re eligible), why should you choose Second Nature over other these other providers?
For peace of mind.
Second Nature has worked with the NHS for over 6 years providing weight-loss programmes across the UK. Something that none of these companies have done.
Whilst our Wegovy and Wegovy weight-loss programmes are private and not currently used by the NHS, we’ve built the programmes with a focus on scientific evidence, patient safety, and data security.
We hope that our 6+ years of working with the NHS and building a track record of effective weight-loss results will give you peace of mind to give us a try.
Should I choose a Wegovy prescription or a Mounjaro prescription?
This is a personal decision for you to make. Both Mounjaro and Wegovy are relatively similar: they both consist of a weekly injection of the medication. With Second Nature, they are also the same price.
Clinical trials have generally shown that Mounjaro has slightly better weight-loss results than Wegovy. The exact reason is still hypothesised, and it will be interested to see whether these clinical trial results hold true over the coming years with more real-world data to evaluate the effectiveness of both medications.
Wegovy prescriptions in the UK – take home message
Weight-loss injections are designed as additional tools for weight management interventions and shouldn’t be considered lifelong medications.
Instead, they should be used to help you kickstart your weight loss and healthy journey while you commit to living a healthier lifestyle.
Consider the use of antidepressants for people living with depression. They’re not designed to cure the condition. Instead, they’re designed to allow room for therapy to treat the condition’s underlying cause.
Wegovy and other weight loss injections, like Mounjaro, are similar. They can allow you to make lifestyle changes to support long-term weight loss maintenance.
Wegovy can help silence food-related thoughts and also give you a boost of confidence with more immediate weight-loss results.
This helps to buy you the time and headspace to understand why your body may have struggled to lose weight previously, and to build new long-term healthy habits.
The core focus of our medication programmes is to calm down the feeling of food noise, lower your cravings, and allow you to build healthier habits to keep the weight off for good.
The ultimate goal is to make losing weight feel second nature.
Second Nature’s medication-supported programmes
Second Nature has two medication-supported programmes: a Wegovy weight-loss programme and a Mounjaro weight-loss programme. Ozempic is no longer available in the UK for weight loss.
If you’ve made the decision to purchase a UK prescription of Wegovy (assuming you’re eligible), we hope that Second Nature will give you peace of mind that we are a provider you can trust for authenticity and proven results.
