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Semaglutide is a glucagon‑like peptide‑1 receptor agonist that mimics a natural gut hormone (GLP-1). It's used to treat type 2 diabetes, help with long-term weight management, and in certain patients, lower the risk of heart problems. It comes in two forms: a once-weekly injection under the skin (sold as Ozempic or Wegovy) and a once-daily pill (sold as Rybelsus).
It's clinically proven to support weight management, in combination with lifestyle changes. Patients have lost up to 16% of their body weight over time*
GLP-1 is a physiological regulator of insulin, glucagon, appetite and caloric intake.
Semaglutide mirrors a hormone your body naturally produces: GLP-1. This single action sets off a chain of effects: it triggers insulin release only when blood sugar is high, lowers a hormone that raises blood sugar, slows down digestion, and reduces appetite. Together, these effects lower blood sugar and help people eat less and lose weight.
Many patients describe a phenomenon known as "food noise", a persistent, intrusive thoughts about food that make it hard to stick to healthy habits. In a US-based survey of people taking GLP-1, 62% of participants reported constant food-related thoughts before starting treatment, compared with only 16% while on GLP-1, a meaningful drop in the mental "noise" around eating. This effect appears to go beyond simple appetite suppression: researchers have observed that GLP-1 affects areas of the brain involved in appetite and reward-seeking behavior, including the hypothalamus, suggesting the medication may help quiet food-related thoughts at a neurological level, not just a physical one.
Semaglutide is an injectable prescription medicine used with a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity to help adults with:
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Obesity
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Excess weight (overweight) in whom also have weight-related medical problems to lose weight and keep the weight off.
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Reducing the risk of major cardiovascular events such as death, heart attack, or stroke in adults with known heart disease and with either obesity or overweight.
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Semaglutide prescribed dose can be used once weekly at any time of the day.
Need to switch the day you take your dose? Just make sure you leave at least 3 days (72 hours) between injections.
If you miss a dose, take it as soon as you remember as long as it's within 4 days (96 hours) of the missed dose. If more than 4 days have passed, skip that dose entirely and simply resume on your regular scheduled day.If prescribed, you'll self-administer the medication as a subcutaneous injection in the stomach, thigh, or upper arm. Change (rotate) your injection site each week. You'll be given clear, step-by-step instructions to guide you through the process.
In rats, Semaglutide causes dose-dependent and treatment-duration-dependent thyroid C-cell tumors at clinically relevant exposures. It is unknown whether Semaglutide causes thyroid C-cell tumors, including medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC), in humans as human relevance of Semaglutide-induced rodent thyroid C-cell tumors has not been determined.
Semaglutide is contraindicated in patients with a personal or family history of MTC or in patients with Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia syndrome type 2 (MEN 2). Be aware of the potential risk for MTC with the use of Semaglutide and inform your health practitioner of symptoms of thyroid tumors (e.g., a mass in the neck, dysphagia, dyspnea, persistent hoarseness).Semaglutide is contraindicated in patients with:
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A personal or family history of MTC or in patients with MEN 2.
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Known serious hypersensitivity to Semaglutide or any of the excipients in Semaglutide. Serious hypersensitivity reactions, including anaphylaxis and angioedema, have been reported with Semaglutide.
Semaglutide adverse reactions include:
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Gastrointestinal: nauseas, vomiting, diarrhoea, constipation, abdominal distension and/or discomfort, dyspepsia, reflux, flatulence, eructations.
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Other warnings, adverse reactions and side effects: Injection site reactions, fatigue, hair loss (associated with weight reduction), dizziness, hypotension, acute pancreatitis, acute kidney injury due to volume depletion, hypoglycemia, dry mouth, Amylase and Lipase increase, diabetic retinopathy complications in patients with type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.
Drug Interactions: Semaglutide can interact with other medications. Be sure to give your medical provider a full list of everything you're currently taking including prescriptions, over-the-counter drugs, vitamins, and herbal or dietary supplements. It can lower blood sugar levels if concomitant use with Insulin or an Insulin secretagogue (e.g. Sulfonylurea).
Semaglutide delays gastric emptying and thereby has the potential to impact the absorption of concomitantly administered oral medications. Caution should be exercised when oral medications are concomitantly administered with Semaglutide.
Patients on oral medications should be monitored dependent on threshold concentrations for efficacy and those with a narrow therapeutic index (e.g., warfarin) when concomitantly administered with Semaglutide.
Advise patients using oral hormonal contraceptives to switch to a non-oral contraceptive method, or add a barrier method of contraception for 4 weeks after initiation with Semaglutide and for 4 weeks after each dose escalation. Hormonal contraceptives that are not administered orally should not be affected.
Specific populations use:
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Pregnancy: Semaglutide is not recommended during pregnancy and it should be to discontinued if trying to get pregnant or when a pregnancy is recognized.
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Lactation: There are no available data on the effects of Semaglutide on the breastfed infant or on milk production.
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Pediatric Use: The safety and effectiveness of Semaglutide have not been established in pediatric patients.
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Renal Impairment: No dosage adjustment of Semaglutide is recommended for patients with renal impairment.
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Hepatic Impairment: No dosage adjustment of Semaglutide is recommended for patients with hepatic impairment.
Overdose: In the event of an overdose, contact the Poison Help Line (1-800-222-1222) or a medical toxicologist for additional overdose management recommendations.
Semaglutide should not be used with other GLP-1 medications including Tirzepatide, Mounjaro, Zepbound, Wegovy, Ozempic, Saxenda.
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Wegovy and Zepbound are all FDA-approved for weight loss, while Ozempic and Mounjaro is FDA-approved for type 2 diabetes, though it can be prescribed off-label for weight loss when appropriate.
The key difference between these medications comes down to their active ingredient. Non-branded Semaglutide, Ozempic and Wegovy all contain Semaglutide as an active ingredient, while non-branded Tirzepatide, Mounjaro, and Zepbound contain Tirzepatide. Tirzepatide works differently, it has dual action, activating both GLP-1 and GIP receptors, while Semaglutide activates only the GLP-1 receptor. Despite this difference, both medications work similarly in helping curb hunger and regulate appetite, so you feel fuller, faster and for longer.
(1) Rubino DM, Greenway FL, Khalid U, O'Neil PM, Rosenstock J, Sørrig R, Wadden TA, Wizert A, Garvey WT; STEP 8 Investigators. Effect of Weekly Subcutaneous Semaglutide vs Daily Liraglutide on Body Weight in Adults With Overweight or Obesity Without Diabetes: The STEP 8 Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA. 2022 Jan 11;327(2):138-150. doi: 10.1001/jama.2021.23619. PMID: 35015037; PMCID: PMC8753508.
** Note: Not available in all 50 states. Prescription required. Tirzepatide is prescribed based on what the health provider determines is medically appropriate for you.
(1) Rubino DM, Greenway FL, Khalid U, O'Neil PM, Rosenstock J, Sørrig R, Wadden TA, Wizert A, Garvey WT; STEP 8 Investigators. Effect of Weekly Subcutaneous Semaglutide vs Daily Liraglutide on Body Weight in Adults With Overweight or Obesity Without Diabetes: The STEP 8 Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA. 2022 Jan 11;327(2):138-150. doi: 10.1001/jama.2021.23619. PMID: 35015037; PMCID: PMC8753508.
** Note: Not available in all 50 states. Prescription required. Tirzepatide is prescribed based on what the health provider determines is medically appropriate for you.
Weight Loss & Metabolic Health
The Vitaria Difference
Not just treatment. A more complete way to feel well. A body you live in, not fight with.
GLP-1 medications such as Semaglutide aid blood sugar control and work with your hunger signals, not against them, changing not just your weight, but your relationship with food entirely. The result isn't just weight loss. It's feeling like yourself again.
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Your plan includes :
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Initial provider evaluation & ongoing clinical oversight
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Medication & Shipping cost
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Direct access to the health care providers whenever you need through the patient portal
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Medication shipped discreetly to your door
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​HSA/FSA eligible
Your plan includes :
Other weight loss & metabolic health treatment options
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Our treatment approach of proven therapies with lifestyle guidance to help you keep the weight off for good
Metabolic Support
First, the weight starts to come off
The treatment works with your body to target and address what's actually driving the weight gain in the first place.
Reduce cravings
It quiets the constant mental noise around food, giving you the space to build lasting healthy habits that help keep the weight off.
Time for exercise reset
Your metabolism does respond to things you do. Building muscle through resistance training and adding daily movement is important while using GLP-1s
Build long lasting nutrition habits
Develop sustainable eating patterns rooted in adequate protein, fiber and diverse food groups for long-term health.
In the pancreas, controls de release of glucagon
Glucagon is a hormone that tells the liver to release more sugar into the blood, both while fasting and after meals.
Slows down digestion
It slows how quickly food leaves the stomach and reaches the small intestine. This softens blood sugar spikes after eating and helps people feel full sooner, but it's also why nausea is common, especially when starting the medication or increasing the dose.
Curbs appetite, drives weight loss
In the brain (the main reason people lose weight), it acts on appetite-control centers (and related nerve pathways), which reduces hunger and how much people eat.
Boosts insulin, but only when blood sugar levels are high
Signals the pancreas to release more insulin after meals, but only when blood sugar level is actually elevated. This is called the "incretin effect," and it's why the risk of low blood sugar stays low. At the cellular level, the drug attaches to a receptor that triggers an internal chain reaction in pancreatic cells, ultimately prompting them to release insulin and supporting the health of those cells.
Semaglutide effects explained...
The mechanisms involved in how Semaglutide helps with weight management and glucose control
