Wegovy is a brand name for semaglutide, a GLP-1 receptor agonist made by Novo Nordisk. It is not a compounded product and it is not a supplement. It is an FDA-approved prescription medicine, and the FDA label sets out specifically who it is intended for. Understanding that label is the starting point of any honest conversation about it, because a medicine that is right for one person can be genuinely unsafe for another.
According to the current FDA prescribing information, Wegovy is approved to reduce excess body weight and help keep it off in adults with obesity, and in adults who are overweight and have at least one weight-related condition such as high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, or high cholesterol. The label also covers adolescents aged 12 and older with obesity. In 2024 the FDA added a second indication: reducing the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events — cardiovascular death, non-fatal heart attack, and non-fatal stroke — in adults who have established cardiovascular disease along with obesity or overweight. More recently the label was expanded again to include certain adults with non-cirrhotic MASH (metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis) with moderate to advanced fibrosis, under the FDA's accelerated approval pathway. There is now an oral tablet form of Wegovy in addition to the familiar once-weekly injection.
That breadth is real, but none of it means Wegovy is right for everyone who wants to lose weight. Semaglutide carries a boxed warning — the FDA's most serious warning — because it caused thyroid C-cell tumors in rodents at clinically relevant exposures. Whether it does so in humans is unknown. The label makes Wegovy contraindicated in anyone with a personal or family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma or Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia syndrome type 2, and in anyone who has had a serious hypersensitivity reaction to semaglutide. Sorting through that history is a physician's job, not a questionnaire's.
At Atlanta Medical Institute, our Wegovy program is built around that evaluation. Dr. Leslye Pace and Dr. Elbridge Bills have supervised medical weight management at our Buckhead office since 2010. Whether Wegovy is appropriate for you, which form and which dose, and how long you stay on it are decisions made by your physician after reviewing your history, your labs, and your goals — and revisited at every follow-up.
Program Benefits
- A full physician evaluation before any prescription is written, including labs and a careful review of your thyroid, pancreatic, gallbladder, and kidney history
- FDA-approved, brand-name Wegovy dispensed through a licensed pharmacy — we do not build our program around compounded semaglutide
- Gradual, physician-directed dose escalation, which the label uses specifically to reduce gastrointestinal side effects
- Regular in-office follow-up to track weight, blood pressure, labs, tolerability, and whether the medication is still the right choice for you
- Nutrition and resistance-training guidance aimed at protecting lean muscle mass during weight loss, not just moving the number on the scale
- A realistic maintenance conversation, informed by what the withdrawal data actually show, before you start rather than after
Is Wegovy Right for You?
Eligibility is defined partly by the FDA label and partly by your individual medical picture. The label's adult weight-management criteria are a BMI of 30 or greater, or a BMI of 27 or greater with at least one weight-related condition. The cardiovascular indication applies to adults with established cardiovascular disease and obesity or overweight. Meeting a BMI threshold, though, is the beginning of the assessment, not the end of it.
There are people for whom Wegovy is clearly not appropriate, and there are people for whom it needs extra caution. We go through the following before anything is prescribed:
- Personal or family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma, or Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia syndrome type 2 — both are contraindications in the label
- Prior serious hypersensitivity reaction to semaglutide
- History of pancreatitis, gallbladder disease, or diabetic retinopathy
- Severe gastroparesis, which the label notes makes Wegovy not recommended
- Use of insulin or a sulfonylurea, which raises hypoglycemia risk when combined with a GLP-1
- Pregnancy, plans to become pregnant, or breastfeeding
- Any other semaglutide-containing product or GLP-1 you are already taking — the label advises against combining them
What the Evidence Actually Shows
The weight-management data come primarily from the STEP trial program. In STEP 1, published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2021 by Wilding and colleagues, 1,961 adults with overweight or obesity and without diabetes received once-weekly semaglutide 2.4 mg or placebo alongside a lifestyle intervention for 68 weeks. Mean body weight change was -14.9% with semaglutide compared with -2.4% with placebo. Roughly half the semaglutide group lost 15% or more of their body weight.
The cardiovascular evidence comes from SELECT, published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2023 by Lincoff and colleagues. Among 17,604 adults aged 45 and older with pre-existing cardiovascular disease, a BMI of 27 or greater, and no diabetes, a primary cardiovascular event occurred in 6.5% of the semaglutide group versus 8.0% of the placebo group over a mean follow-up of about 40 months, a hazard ratio of 0.80. Notably, 16.6% of semaglutide patients discontinued for adverse events, versus 8.2% on placebo — the benefit and the tolerability burden both show up in the same trial.
These are group averages from controlled trials with structured lifestyle support, not predictions about you. Some patients in those trials lost far more than the average; some lost very little. We will not tell you what your number will be, because no one honestly can.
What to Expect in Our Atlanta Program
Your first visit at our Roswell Road office is a medical appointment, not a sales consultation. We take a full history, order baseline labs and a metabolic panel, review your medications, and discuss what you have already tried. If Wegovy is appropriate, your physician explains the risks and the realistic timeline before writing anything.
Wegovy is started at a low dose and stepped up gradually over roughly four months before reaching a maintenance dose. This is deliberate — the escalation schedule exists to limit nausea and other gastrointestinal effects, and your physician may slow it down or hold a step if you are struggling. Specific doses are determined individually and adjusted at follow-up visits; they are never something to set or change on your own.
Appetite changes often appear within the first few weeks, but meaningful weight change typically unfolds over months, not weeks. We schedule regular follow-ups to check in on weight, blood pressure, side effects, labs, and how you are actually eating and moving — and to decide together whether to continue, adjust, or stop.
Side Effects, Risks, and How We Monitor You
The most common adverse reactions in the Wegovy label are nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, constipation, abdominal pain, headache, fatigue, dyspepsia, and dizziness. For most people these are worst during dose escalation and ease over time, but they are not trivial, and for some patients they are the reason to stop.
The label also carries warnings for less common but more serious problems: acute pancreatitis, including fatal and non-fatal cases reported with GLP-1 receptor agonists; gallbladder disease, with cholelithiasis reported more often on Wegovy than placebo; acute kidney injury, usually in the setting of dehydration from vomiting or diarrhea; hypoglycemia when combined with insulin or sulfonylureas; and delayed gastric emptying, which is why you must tell any surgeon or anesthesiologist that you are taking it before a procedure.
Our monitoring reflects those risks rather than a generic schedule. We repeat labs, ask directly about abdominal pain and vomiting, review blood pressure and heart rate, and revisit your medication list at each visit. Severe or persistent abdominal pain is a call-us-now symptom, not a wait-for-your-appointment symptom. Our office number is (404) 264-9553.
Wegovy, Ozempic, and Compounded Semaglutide
Semaglutide is the active ingredient in Wegovy, Ozempic, and Rybelsus. They are not interchangeable products: Ozempic is approved for type 2 diabetes and for cardiovascular risk reduction in adults with type 2 diabetes, while Wegovy is the formulation approved for weight management. Tirzepatide is a different molecule entirely — it is the active ingredient in Mounjaro and Zepbound, and there is no FDA-approved generic tirzepatide.
Compounded semaglutide is a separate category again. The FDA has stated plainly that compounded drugs are not FDA approved, meaning the agency does not review them for safety, effectiveness, or quality before they are marketed, and that it has received adverse event reports linked to dosing errors with compounded injectable semaglutide. The FDA's position is that compounded drugs should only be used when a patient's needs cannot be met by an FDA-approved drug. We think patients deserve to know that distinction rather than have it blurred.
How Wegovy Fits with the Rest of Your Care at AMI
Weight is rarely a standalone problem. Thyroid function, sex hormones, sleep, insulin resistance, and joint pain all interact with it, and a GLP-1 does not address all of them. Because AMI is a single practice at one Buckhead address, your weight management, hormone care, and metabolic follow-up stay under one roof and one chart.
If Wegovy turns out not to be the right fit — because of a contraindication, side effects, cost, or simply preference — there are other routes to discuss. Related pages on this site cover the broader picture:
- /services/weight-loss-atlanta-ga — our overall physician-supervised weight loss program
- /services/semaglutide-program — semaglutide therapy more broadly
- /services/ozempic-program — the diabetes-indicated semaglutide formulation
- /services/mounjaro-program and /services/tirzepatide-program — tirzepatide-based options
- /services/obesity-treatment — medical management of obesity as a chronic condition
- /services/hormone-replacement-therapy and /services/bioidentical-hormone-replacement-therapy — when hormones are part of the picture
- /about/dr-leslye-pace, /about/dr-elbridge-bills, /about/dr-jeff-semel — the physicians who would be seeing you
Related Patient Videos
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Wegovy the same thing as Ozempic?+
Both contain semaglutide, but they are different products with different FDA approvals. Ozempic is approved for type 2 diabetes and for cardiovascular risk reduction in adults with type 2 diabetes. Wegovy is the formulation approved for chronic weight management, and it also carries an approval for reducing major cardiovascular events in adults with established cardiovascular disease and obesity or overweight. Your physician will explain which one, if either, fits your situation.
Do you use compounded semaglutide instead of brand-name Wegovy?+
Our Wegovy program is built around FDA-approved, brand-name Wegovy dispensed by a licensed pharmacy. The FDA has stated that compounded drugs are not reviewed by the agency for safety, effectiveness, or quality before marketing, and that compounded drugs should generally be reserved for patients whose needs cannot be met by an FDA-approved product. We are happy to walk you through that distinction at your visit.
How much weight will I lose?+
We will not give you a number, because no one can predict an individual result. In the STEP 1 trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine, adults on once-weekly semaglutide 2.4 mg with lifestyle support lost an average of 14.9% of body weight over 68 weeks, compared with 2.4% on placebo. That is a trial average, not a forecast. Individual results in those trials ranged widely, and some participants did not respond.
Can I stop Wegovy once I reach my goal?+
This is worth understanding before you start. In the STEP 4 withdrawal trial published in JAMA in 2021, participants who continued semaglutide after a 20-week run-in lost a further 7.9% on average, while those switched to placebo regained 6.9% on average over the same 48 weeks. Obesity is treated as a chronic condition, and for many patients stopping is followed by regain. Whether, when, and how to taper is a decision to make with your physician, not a milestone that happens automatically.
What are the most common side effects?+
Per the FDA label, the most frequent are nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, constipation, abdominal pain, headache, fatigue, indigestion, and dizziness. These are usually most noticeable during dose escalation. The label also carries warnings for pancreatitis, gallbladder disease, acute kidney injury, hypoglycemia when combined with insulin or sulfonylureas, and delayed gastric emptying that matters before surgery or anesthesia. Severe or persistent abdominal pain should be reported to us right away.
Who cannot take Wegovy?+
The label contraindicates Wegovy in anyone with a personal or family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma or Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia syndrome type 2, and in anyone who has had a serious hypersensitivity reaction to semaglutide. It carries a boxed warning because semaglutide caused thyroid C-cell tumors in rodents; whether it does so in humans is unknown. It is also not recommended alongside other semaglutide products or other GLP-1 medications. Caution applies with a history of pancreatitis, gallbladder disease, severe gastroparesis, or diabetic retinopathy, and in pregnancy. Your physician reviews all of this before prescribing.
Is Wegovy covered by insurance, and what does the program cost?+
Coverage varies considerably by plan, and some plans exclude weight-management medications entirely. We can provide superbills you may submit for reimbursement, and we offer cash-pay options. Our front desk can go over current pricing with you before you commit to anything — call (404) 264-9553.
Where is your office and when can I be seen?+
Atlanta Medical Institute has one location: 5009 Roswell Road NE, Suite 201, Atlanta, GA 30342, in Buckhead. We are open Monday through Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Call (404) 264-9553 or use our contact page to schedule an evaluation.
Costs and appointment planning
Review pricing questions, insurance and coverage information, and telehealth visit planning before booking. Confirm the costs and services that apply to your individual care.
Ready to Get Started?
Call us at (404) 264-9553 or book a telehealth consultation. New patients qualify for our 1st month Semaglutide special — $399 (regularly $450).