A mixture of various pills and capsules in different colors, shapes, and sizes scattered on a surface.

Medications

Wegovy (Semaglutide)

Saxenda logo with the text 'liraglutide injection'

Saxenda (Liraglutide)

  • Saxenda is in the class of GLP-1 receptor agonists.
    It is 97% similar to the naturally produced gut hormone GLP-1, a physiological regulator of appetite.

  • GLP-1 is released in your body after eating.
    Like the natural hormone, it helps to control your appetite, making you feel fuller and less hungry.

  • It is a once daily injection underneath your skin.

  • You start from a dose of 0.6mg and increase by 0.6mg every week to 3.0mg.

Note (June 2025):

While Wegovy will eventually supersede Saxenda, it will remain an available option after a discussion during your consultation.

Saxenda can be for you, if you:

  • Feel hungry soon after you have a meal

  • Have type 2 diabetes

You may consider other options if you:

  • Have history of pancreatitis

Common side effects may include:

  • Nausea, vomiting, reflux, change in bowel habit, abdominal pain, injection site reaction, headaches, fatigue, dizziness

Contrave medication logo with orange and yellow tablet graphics, purple text, indicating it contains naltrexone HCl and bupropion HCl, for weight management, 8 mg/90 mg extended-release tablets.

Contrave (Naltrexone/Bupropion)

  • Contrave combines 2 medications (naltrexone/bupropion) together. Both medications have been used in the past for many years to treat depression, smoking cessation, and addictions. When combined, it helps you reduce your hunger and control cravings, helping you to lose weight.

  •  It comes in a tablet form with a slow dose increase from 1 tablet daily to 4 tablets daily divided into morning and evening doses.

Contrave can be for you, if you:

  • Have a particularly sweet tooth, or suffer from emotional/stress-related eating behaviours including binge-eating

  • Would like to give up smoking at the same time

  • Want to try a pill rather than an injection

You may consider other options if you:

  • Have uncontrolled high blood pressure

  • Have a history of seizures

  • Have a personal/family history of glaucoma, a condition in the eye where you have high eye pressures

  • Have bipolar disorder

  • Alcohol/drug withdrawal

  • If you take opioid pain-killers

Please Note:

FAQs

    • The average amount of weight loss for Wegovy is 15% of your current weight.

    • However, it is important to note that some patients can lose 5%, while others can lose up to 25%.

    • This effect is not entirely predictable.

    • Continued medical therapy is required to maintain weight loss for sustainable treatment.

    • This is a difficult question. There is still work to be done in this field, but it seems that certain obesity profiles suit certain medications better than others.

    • We will consider potential cost of treatment, presence of other medical problems, side effects, and personal preference.

    • If your initial choice of treatment is not helpful, you should try a different medication.

    • Patients who are eligible for bariatric surgery should consider this option too.

    • You should never blame yourself. Is it likely that the medication is not the right fit for you.

    • Most side effects with anti-obesity medications will eventually fade away as your body adjusts to the effects of medications.

    • It is important to discuss with us if you have any side effects of treatment.

    • We can talk about ways to improve side effects and discuss continuing treatment or not.

    • If you find the side effects persist 2-3 months after treatment, you may consider alternative treatment.

    • Once you stop medical treatment, you will gain weight again.

    • Currently, medications that are used to treat obesity are non-funded and we understand that they can be a significant financial burden.

    • We can discuss strategies to minimise weight re-gain after stopping/reducing treatment.

    • Patients between the BMI range 25 – 27.5 may be considered for treatment depending on their medical problems and clinical picture.

    • Weight loss medications should not be used if you are pregnant, plan to become pregnant, or currently breastfeeding.

Off-label usage of anti-obesity medications

  • Metformin

  • Topiramate

  • Others

  • These will be further discussed with you in the consultation

Future exciting anti-obesity medications

  • There are further promising new medications on the horizon for patients suffering from obesity. We hope that soon, these medications will be available and hopefully funded in NZ. These upcoming medications have 20-25% of weight loss potential.

  • We are looking forward to sharing exciting news with you once these medications are available in New Zealand.

Our treatment options