Overview
- The Wegovy tablet has begun to be supplied privately in UK pharmacies this month and early users report mixed results, including renewed hunger and common gastrointestinal side effects.
- Pharmacists stress the tablet must be taken on an empty stomach with at least a 30‑minute wait before food, drink or other oral medicines because timing and coffee can reduce absorption.
- Oral semaglutide uses an absorption enhancer and delivers far less drug to the bloodstream than injections, and trials show the pill gives about 17% mean weight loss compared with roughly 21% for higher‑dose injectables.
- Clinicians warn that side effects remain similar to injectable GLP‑1s, that switching formulations needs medical supervision, and that tablets are easier to counterfeit or sell unsafely online.
- Routine NHS funding and NICE appraisal are still unresolved, so private availability creates cost‑based access differences that may widen inequality as demand for oral GLP‑1s grows.