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Saxenda contains liraglutide and is the one weight-management pen in this range that is injected every day rather than every week. This page covers handling the pen; your dose comes from the doctor who reviewed your consultation.
The patient information leaflet packed with your own pen, and the instructions your doctor gave you, override everything on this page. Pen designs, needle types and dose steps differ between products and between presentations of the same product. If the two disagree, follow the leaflet and your doctor, and message the medical team.

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What Saxenda is

Liraglutide copies the natural gut hormone GLP-1, which tells the brain you have had enough to eat, so hunger and food cravings go down. Saxenda has been authorised for use in the EU since 23 March 2015 under EMEA/H/C/003780, and a single central authorisation covers all 27 member states. It is used together with a reduced-calorie diet and more physical activity.

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Injecting

The injection itself is a fixed sequence. Work through it in this order every day, and check each step against your own leaflet the first few times.
1

Wash your hands and check the pen

Check the label, the expiry date and the liquid. If anything looks unlike what your leaflet describes, do not use that pen.
2

Attach a new needle

A fresh needle every time. Needles are single-use, and pens are never shared — not even between people on the same treatment.
3

Choose and rotate the injection site

Rotate between abdomen, thigh or upper arm. Clean the area with an alcohol swab and let it dry.
4

Inject just under the skin

The injection goes into the fatty layer under the skin, not into a vein or muscle.
5

Hold the pen still until the dose is delivered

Your leaflet states how long to hold for your pen.
6

Remove the needle and dispose of it safely

Straight into a sharps container, never reused. See injection sites and sharps disposal.

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Once a day, at a time that suits you

Saxenda is injected once daily, any time of day, with or without food. Choose a time that fits your routine and try to stay consistent. If you miss a day, the rule that applies is the one in your pen’s leaflet — it is not the same as the four-day rule used for the weekly pens. Do not take two doses to catch up, and ask in your account chat. See missed or late doses.

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The published dose build-up

Liraglutide is dosed at 0.6 – 3 mg per day, built up week by week:
This is the published ladder, not an instruction. The doctor decides the starting dose and each step, and the authorisation includes a stopping rule: treatment should be discontinued after 12 weeks on the maintenance dose if the patient has not reached the weight-loss threshold set out in the product information.

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Storage

Store unused pens in the refrigerator (2–8°C). Once opened, keep at room temperature below 30°C for up to 30 days. Do not freeze. Keep away from direct heat and light.

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Contact your doctor if

  • severe or persistent nausea, vomiting or diarrhoea prevents you from eating or drinking
  • you have severe abdominal pain that does not go away
  • you notice signs of an allergic reaction — rash, itching, swelling of the face or throat
  • any symptom worries you or feels unusual
For severe, sudden or unexpected symptoms, call your local emergency number first — see Safety. Related: Saxenda · liraglutide · side effects of weight-loss medicines

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Start a consultation

Weight-loss consultation

Answer the weight-loss questionnaire and a registered doctor reviews it. They decide whether treatment is appropriate, which one, and at what dose — and declining is a normal outcome. See what it costs and how the review works.
This page is reference information, not medical advice and not a prescription. Whether a medicine is appropriate for you is decided by a registered doctor after reviewing your consultation.