Everything You Need to Know About Weight Loss Medications
At Felix, we offer a wide variety of weight loss treatments. This blog will provide an overview of all the treatments offered, including:
- Intended use
- Dosage
- Administration
- Cost
Injectable Semaglutide (Ozempic/Wegovy)
Intended Use:
Injectable semaglutide (Ozempic/Wegovy) helps the body to regulate blood sugar levels as well as slowing down digestion, reducing your appetite and helps to make your body feel “full.” The pancreas and gut secretes a hormone called GLP-1. These medications mimic this natural hormone.
Semaglutide is an injectable drug that goes by two different brand names. One brand of this drug, Ozempic, is authorized for sale by Health Canada to manage type 2 diabetes mellitus while its counterpart, Wegovy, is indicated for long-term weight management. Both use the same semaglutide compound and work the same way on the body. Semaglutide is administered once a week using an injection pen that is pre-filled. It’s important to note that injectable semaglutide works best when paired with a balanced diet and regular exercise.
In studies, those who took 2.4mg of semaglutide and had a BMI of 30, saw a mean body weight reduction of almost 15% compared to a reduction of 2.4% in the placebo group over a period of 68 weeks. The lifestyle changes in the studies included both dietary and physical activity changes.
Dosage:
Injectable semaglutide dosing for weight management is generally higher than the dosing for diabetes. Generally speaking, injectable semaglutide dosing starts at 0.25 milligrams (mg) every week. Dosing typically increases every 4 weeks depending on your body’s response to the medication. Once you reach a dosage of above 1mg, the dosage starts to differ depending on if you are using it for diabetes or weight management.
The maximum injectable semaglutide dose for the treatment of diabetes is 1mg. The maximum weight management dose is 2.4mg. From 1mg, the dosage will generally be increased to 1.7mg, then the maximum dose of 2.4mg. The goal of dose increases isn’t to reach the maximum dose available, but to find the lowest possible dose that provides effective results for you. This means that the dose that’s right for you may not be the same as someone else.
Administration:
Semaglutide is injected subcutaneously (under the skin). Semaglutide is administered using an injection pen that is pre-filled with your medication. You will need to select your dose using the dose selector on the pen before administering the injection.
Full instructions on how to administer your medication, will be included in the Weight Loss Patient Resources that comes with your shipment.
Tirzepatide (Mounjaro/Zepbound)
Intended Use:
Like injectable semaglutide, tirzepatide (Mounjaro/Zepbound) functions and works on the body in many similar ways. The pancreas and gut secrete hormones called GLP-1 and GIP. Tirzepatide medications mimic both of these natural hormones, whereas semaglutide only mimics the GLP-1 hormone. The effects of this, however, are similar in that it helps the body to better regulate blood sugar levels as well as slowing down digestion, reduces your appetite and helps to make your body feel “full”. However, in studies, tirzepatide was found to be more beneficial for both glucose control and weight management compared to semaglutide. Tirzepatide is a newer drug, and even though early studies have been promising, we don't have as much long-term experience with it compared to other weight management medications.
Tirzepatide is also an injectable drug that goes by two different names. One form of this drug, Mounjaro, is authorized for sale by Health Canada to manage type 2 diabetes mellitus. Its counterpart, Zepbound, has been authorized for sale in Canada. Tirzepatide is administered once a week using a KwikPen. It’s important to note that tirzepatide works best when paired with a balanced diet and regular exercise.
In studies, those who took 15mg of tirzepatide, saw a mean body weight reduction of almost 20.9% compared to a reduction of 3.1% in the placebo group over a period of 72 weeks in people with obesity or overweight and at least one weight-related complication, but without diabetes.The lifestyle changes in the studies included both dietary and physical activity changes.
Dosage:
Tirzepatide dosing for weight management and for diabetes are the same and typically start at 2.5mg every week. Dosing generally increases every 4 weeks depending on your body’s response to the medication. The maximum tirzepatide dose for weight management and diabetes is 15mg.
Administration:
Tirzepatide is injected subcutaneously (under the skin) using an injection pen that is pre-filled with the medication (also known as the KwikPen).
Full instructions on how to administer your medication, will be included in the Weight Loss Patient Resources that comes with your shipment.
Contrave
Intended Use:
Contrave is a medication that can help with weight management. It is a pill that has two medicines in it: naltrexone and bupropion. Naltrexone can block the effects of opioids, and bupropion is an antidepressant. These two medicines work together in different parts of your brain to help you feel less hungry and have fewer cravings. It does not help with blood sugar management and in most patients is not as effective for weight management as tirzepatide or semaglutide. It does interact with some other medications and can’t be used with certain medical conditions, so please make sure to discuss that with your health care practitioner if you are interested in Contrave. It’s also important to note that Contrave works best when paired with a balanced diet and regular exercise.
In studies, those who took 32mg naltrexone plus bupropion per day saw a mean bodyweight reduction of 6.1% compared to a reduction of 1.3% in the placebo group over a period of 56 weeks in people with obesity or overweight. Those who took 16mg naltrexone plus bupropion per day saw a mean bodyweight reduction of 5%. The lifestyle changes in the studies included both dietary and physical activity changes.
Dosage:
Each Contrave tablet contains 8mg of naltrexone and 90mg of bupropion. Typically, you will start with a low dose and slowly increase your dose each week, if necessary:
- Week 1: Take 1 pill each day.
- Week 2: Take 1 pill in the morning and 1 pill at night.
- Week 3: Take 2 pills in the morning and 1 pill at night.
- After 4 weeks: Take 2 pills in the morning and 2 pills at night.
Administration:
Contrave tablets are taken orally. It can be taken with or without food, but if you do take it with food, it should not be taken with a high-fat meal. Do not cut, chew, or crush the tablets.
Saxenda
Intended Use:
Saxenda (liraglutide) helps the body regulate blood sugar levels and slows down digestion, reducing your appetite and helping the body to feel “full”. The pancreas and gut secretes a hormone called GLP-1. This medication mimics this natural hormone. Saxenda is administered using a pre-filled injection pen.
In studies, those who took 3mg of liraglutide saw a mean bodyweight reduction of 5-10% over a period of 56 weeks in people with overweight or obesity, but without diabetes. The lifestyle changes in the studies included both dietary and physical activity changes.
It’s important to note Saxenda works best when paired with a balanced diet and regular physical activity.
Unfortunately, supply of Saxenda will soon be hard to get, as it will be on backorder from the manufacturer in October 2025, or possibly sooner. This means that the manufacturer will stop distributing Saxenda to pharmacies, and medication supply will depend on what's already in stock. Saxenda will be completely discontinued in Canada by February 2026. As a result, patients are now usually prescribed different weight management medications instead of Saxenda.
Dosage:
The starting dose of Saxenda is 0.6mg per day. The dose is typically increased by 0.6mg each week depending on your body’s response and side effects. Your healthcare practitioner’s aim is to find the lowest effective dose for you — up to a maximum of 3mg.
- Week 1: Start with a 0.6mg injection once a day.
- Week 2: Increase to 1.2mg once a day.
- Week 3: Increase to 1.8mg once a day.
- Week 4: Increase to 2.4mg once a day.
- After 5 weeks: The shot will be 3mg once a day.
Administration:
Saxenda comes in a pre-filled pen that delivers a daily injection, typically injected into the abdomen, thigh, or upper arm.
Full instructions on how to administer your medication, will be included in the Weight Loss Patient Resources that comes with your shipment.
How much does treatment cost?
Treatment costs would depend on your treatment plan, medication brand, dose, pharmacy and province. Without insurance, the cost can range from $315 to $889 per month.
Potential costs for injectable semaglutide:
Please note that there are 4 doses in each Wegovy pen. The number of doses per Ozempic pen varies depending on the dose. Prices listed are per pen.
Potential costs for Tirzepatide KwikPens:
Please note that there are 4 doses in one KwikPen, and one KwikPen per order. Prices listed are per pen.
Learn more about the financial assistance programs for Mounjaro and Zepbound.
Potential costs for Contrave:
Please note there are 120 tablets of Contrave per order.
Potential costs for Saxenda:
Please note there are 5 Saxenda pens per order. Prices listed are per pen.
How much is covered by insurance? Will Felix help fill out my insurance forms to help cover it?
Depending on your private insurance plan or provincial health plan, you may be covered for your treatment. Before speaking with your healthcare practitioner about your treatment, ensure you contact your insurance provider for more information regarding your coverage.
If your insurance provider requires special authorization in order to provide coverage, your prescribing practitioner may be able to complete this form. If the required information is limited to your care through Felix (i.e. does not require information regarding past treatments received externally), and if your practitioner deems it appropriate to do so, they can complete this for a fee.
To learn more about insurance form completion at Felix, please submit your insurance request form here. If the healthcare practitioner agrees to complete the form, a $35 fee per insurance form will apply. Read more here for full details about the insurance special authorization form process.
If you run into any issues, please reach out to our Patient Support team through the chat bubble in the bottom right corner of your account or our Contact Us page.
We recommend that you upload your private and/or provincial benefit card during your online visit so that our pharmacy partner can apply any coverage you are eligible for, before shipping your treatment.
Eli Lilly’s Care Program
Eli Lilly offers assistance for patients that are taking tirzepatide. They offer patient resources to help you better understand your treatment, as well as financial assistance if eligible. Learn more about the Eli Lilly Care programs for Mounjaro and Zepbound.
Mounjaro Patient Support Program
Zepbound Patient Support Program
Novo Nordisk’s Care Program
If you’re having trouble determining whether you have insurance coverage for your medication, Novo Nordisk has patient support programs that can help navigate your coverage options.
OzempicCare Patient Support Program
WegovyCare Patient Support Program
Saxenda Care Patient Support Program
If you have any questions, please reach out to our Customer Support team through the chat bubble in the right corner of your page or our Contact Us page.
Medically reviewed by
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