If you're nervous about injecting Wegovy, you're not alone. Research from a 2026 study examining concerns before starting a GLP-1 related treatment found that 56.4% of people had moderate concerns about injections (1). Understanding how to use your Wegovy pen correctly, step by step, can help you feel more prepared and confident about your injection routine.
In this article we will share advice and tips on how to inject Wegovy.
Where is the best place to inject Wegovy?
One of the first things you may be considering is where in your body you should inject your Wegovy weight loss medication.
Wegovy is a subcutaneous injection. This means that it should be injected into the fatty area under your skin, rather than into a vein or muscle. There are three recommended injection sites listed in the Patient Information Leaflet (PIL): the thigh, upper arm and stomach (2).
Thigh
In terms of visibility and access, your thigh is probably one of the most convenient places to inject Wegovy. If you choose this injection site, you should always administer your medication into the front part of your thigh, and never into exactly the same spot every week.
Arm
The back of your arm is another injection site listed on the PIL, but you may require the help of another person to successfully be able to administer your injection in this location. Not only will it be awkward to carry out the mechanism of injecting, but you will not be able to see the numbers on the cartridge that will tell you if you have managed to deliver the full dose.
Stomach
Many people who use injectable medicines prefer to use their stomach as their chosen injection site where possible. In one injection-technique study, 88.5% of people reported using their abdomen as their most frequent injection site, compared with 8.4% for thigh and 2.2% for upper arm (3).
If you choose to inject into your abdomen, you should keep at least 5cm away from your belly button (4).
Where you choose to inject Wegovy comes down to personal preference, but the overall recommendation is to only use the suggested injection sites, and to rotate exactly where you administer the injection to try and prevent any sort of localised reaction (4).
How to prime Wegovy pen
Before you can administer your first injection with a new Wegovy pen, you need to prime it. This is to make sure that the medicine reaches the needle tip, and that the pen is working properly. Only check the Wegovy flow before your first injection with each new pen. If your pen has already been used, you can skip ahead to setting your dose (2).
Step-by-step guide to priming your Wegovy pen
Check your pen to ensure that it is the correct dose, and that the liquid is clear, unfrozen and does not contain any particles. Also check the expiry date to ensure that your medication is in date.
Take a new needle and check the paper tab for any signs of damage. If you think your needle is damaged or has been tampered with, discard it and use a new one. Tear off the paper tab.
Push the needle straight onto the pen. Turn it clockwise until it is tight.
The needle is covered by two caps. You must remove both. Pull off the outer needle cap and save it for later as you will need it to remove the needle from the pen after the injection. Then pull off the inner needle cap. This can be disposed of. Even if you see a drop of medicine on the tip of the needle, you still need to prime the pen.
Turn the dose selector until you see the flow check symbol. Make sure it lines up with the dose pointer on the cartridge.
Hold the pen with the needle pointing up. Press and hold the dose button until the dose counter returns to -0-. This symbol must line up with the dose pointer. A drop of Wegovy should appear at the tip of the needle, which indicates that the pen is ready to be used. If a drop does not appear, change the needle and check the flow again. If a drop of Wegovy does not appear, do not use the pen and contact your provider.
How to inject Wegovy
Once your Wegovy pen has been primed, you can set your dose and go about administering your injection (2).
Step-by-step guide to injecting your Wegovy
Turn the dose selector until the dose counter stops and shows your prescribed dose. The dashed line in the dose counter will help guide you towards your dose. The pen will make different clicking noises when turned forwards, backwards or past your dose. Do not set the dose by counting the number of clicks you hear, always watch the dose counter window.
When your prescribed dose lines up with the dose pointer, you have selected your dose. If the dose counter stops before your prescribed dose, you may not have medication left in your pen. This should only happen if you have used all of the doses in your Wegovy pen.
Choose your injection site. Insert the needle into your skin, making sure that you can see the dose counter. Press the pen firmly against your skin so that you will inject at a 90-degree angle.
Press and hold the dose button until the dose counter shows -0-. Keep pressing the dose button with the needle in your skin and slowly count to 6. The -0- must line up with the dose pointer. You may hear or feel a click when this happens. This ensures that the full dose has been delivered.
Remove the needle from your skin. If a stream of Wegovy is coming from the needle tip, the full dose was not delivered. However, a drop of medicine on the tip of the needle is normal and does not affect your dose.
If blood appears at the injection site, use a cotton pad or some gauze to stop the bleeding.
If you are injecting 3 x 2.4mg doses (to create one larger 7.2mg dose) on the same day, place a new needle onto the pen as described in step one and repeat the process twice more (2).
What to do after injecting Wegovy
After injecting Wegovy, you should carefully replace the needle cap that you saved, sliding the needle into it until it is fully covered. Once the needle is covered, carefully push the needle cap completely on. Put the pen cap back on to protect your Wegovy from light and store it until your next dose.
Unscrew the needle and dispose of it carefully in your provided sharps bin.
Do not try to put the inner needle cap back on the needle.
Never store your pen with the needle attached.
Where not to inject Wegovy
You should not inject Wegovy anywhere other than the recommended injection sites listed in the Patient Information Leaflet. If you have any questions about injection sites, speak to your Wegovy prescriber.
Wegovy injection FAQs
How big is the Wegovy needle?
The UK Wegovy FlexTouch pen uses a disposable needle that is approximately 0.23mm thick and 4mm long. This means that they are very small and only penetrate a few millimetres into your skin (5).
Does the Wegovy injection hurt?
Everyone has different tolerance levels for discomfort, but the very small size of the needle used to administer the Wegovy injection means that most people experience little to no discomfort at all. Some say that they do not even notice the injection at all.
You may feel a brief scratch or sting as the needle goes in, and pressure or a clicking sensation when the medication is delivered. Some people also experience some slight tenderness, redness or itching at the injection site after injecting Wegovy (6). This is quite normal.
Do I have to inject Wegovy myself?
No. If you do not feel confident to inject Wegovy yourself, you can ask someone to help you. Make sure that they wash their hands and familiarise themselves with the instructions on how to inject Wegovy before getting started. As well as here, these can also be found on your Patient Information Leaflet (2).
Should I pinch my skin when injecting Wegovy?
The administration instructions that are supplied with Wegovy do not tell you to pinch your skin to inject the medication. Instead, you should press the pen firmly against your skin and inject at a 90-degree angle, as advised (2).
Is it possible to inject Wegovy wrong and what should I do if I have?
Yes. The main ways a Wegovy injection can go wrong are injecting into muscle or a vein, not delivering the full dose, using the wrong dose, or injecting twice. What you do depends on what happened, but do not simply repeat a dose unless the leaflet specifically says you received none.
If it may not have gone in fully
If medicine squirted out, leaked, or appeared on your skin, you may not have received the full dose. Do not inject again. Contact your prescriber for advice.
If you removed the needle too soon, the full dose may not have been delivered. Again, do not repeat it on your own, but speak to your prescriber.
If the dose counter did not return to 0 after holding the button, you may have had a blocked or damaged needle. Speak to your prescriber for more advice.
If you injected into the wrong place
Injecting into your abdomen, thigh, or upper arm is correct. If you injected somewhere else, such as into muscle, near your belly button, into scarred/bruised skin, or into a vein, do not inject another dose unless advised to.
Monitor the area for increasing pain, swelling, redness, warmth, or bruising.
Contact your prescriber for advice, especially if you think it entered a vein or muscle.
Seek urgent help for breathing difficulty, facial/throat swelling, wheeze, dizziness, or a severe allergic reaction.
If you used the wrong dose
Too much Wegovy. Contact your prescriber straight away. Possible effects include nausea and vomiting. Do not take another dose to correct it and do not stop treatment without medical advice.
Too little or a partial dose. Contact your prescriber; they will advise whether to wait for the next scheduled weekly dose. Do not double up.
Used another GLP-1 medicine by mistake: seek urgent advice from your prescriber or NHS 111, because Wegovy must not be combined with other GLP-1 weight loss medications.
If you missed a dose
If you missed a dose of Wegovy, use the five-day rule.
5 days or less late: inject as soon as you remember, then continue on your usual day.
More than 5 days late: skip it and take the next dose on your usual scheduled day.
Never take a double dose to make up for a missed one (2,4,6).
If you have any concerns, always speak to your prescriber or, in an emergency, contact 111/999 or visit your local Accident & Emergency department.
Do I have to prime Wegovy every time?
No. You only do the flow check/priming before the first injection from each new pen. If the pen is already in use, go straight to setting your dose, do not prime it again (2).
References
Kapan A, Brandl T, Waldhör T, Moser O, Felsinger R. Pre-Treatment Concerns and Their Association With Functioning and Well-Being During Incretin-Based Therapy: A Cross-Sectional Study [Internet]. Vol. 28, Diabetes, obesity & metabolism. England; 2026 [cited 2026 Oct 13]. p. 4100–11. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41733056/
Package leaflet: Information for the patient Wegovy FlexTouch [Internet]. [cited 2026 Oct 13]. Available from: https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/files/pil.13800.pdf
Whooley S, Briskin T, Gibney MA, Blank LR, Berube J, Pflug BK. Evaluating the user performance and experience with a re-engineered 4 mm × 32g pen needle: A randomized trial with similar length/gauge needles. Diabetes Ther [Internet]. 2019 Apr [cited 2026 Oct 14];10(2):697–712. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30809762/
How to take Wegovy®▼(SEMAGLUTIDE injection) [Internet]. Wegovy.co.uk. 2026 [cited 2026 Oct 14]. Available from: https://www.wegovy.co.uk/how-do-I-take-my-medicine.html
Wegovy: Package insert / prescribing information [Internet]. Drugs.com. [cited 2026 Oct 14]. Available from: https://www.drugs.com/pro/wegovy.html
Highlights of prescribing information [Internet]. [cited 2026 Oct 14]. Available from: https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2023/215256s007lbl.pdf