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MEDICATION GUIDE
SAXENDA (sax-end-ah)
(liraglutide) injection, for subcutaneous use
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What is the most important information I should know about SAXENDA?
Serious side effects may happen in people who take SAXENDA, including:
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Possible thyroid tumors, including cancer. Tell your healthcare provider if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, hoarseness, trouble swallowing, or shortness of breath. These may be symptoms of thyroid cancer. In studies with rats and mice, SAXENDA and medicines that work like SAXENDA caused thyroid tumors, including thyroid cancer. It is not known if SAXENDA will cause thyroid tumors or a type of thyroid cancer called medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) in people.
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Do not use SAXENDA if you or any of your family have ever had a type of thyroid cancer called medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC), or if you have an endocrine system condition called Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia syndrome type 2 (MEN 2).
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What is SAXENDA?
SAXENDA is an injectable prescription medicine used for adults with obesity or overweight (excess weight) who also have weight related medical problems, and children aged 12 to 17 years with a body weight above 132 pounds (60 kg) and obesity to help them lose weight and keep the weight off.
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- SAXENDA should be used with a reduced calorie diet and increased physical activity.
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- SAXENDA is not recommended for people who also take liraglutide or other medicines called glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists.
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- It is not known if SAXENDA is safe and effective in children under 12 years of age.
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- It is not known if SAXENDA is safe and effective in children aged 12 to 17 years with type 2 diabetes.
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Who should not use SAXENDA?
Do not use SAXENDA if:
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- you or any of your family have ever had a type of thyroid cancer called medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) or if you have an endocrine system condition called Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia syndrome type 2 (MEN 2).
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- you have had a serious allergic reaction to liraglutide or any of the ingredients in SAXENDA. See the end of this Medication Guide for a complete list of ingredients in SAXENDA. See “What are the possible side effects of SAXENDA?” for symptoms of a serious allergic reaction.
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Before taking SAXENDA, tell your healthcare provider about all of your medical conditions, including if you:
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- have or have had problems with your pancreas.
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- have severe problems with your stomach, such as slowed emptying of your stomach (gastroparesis) or problems with digesting food.
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- are scheduled to have surgery or other procedures that use anesthesia or deep sleepiness (deep sedation).
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- are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. It is not known if SAXENDA passes into your breast milk. You and your healthcare provider should decide if you will use SAXENDA or breastfeed.
Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take including prescription, over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. SAXENDA may affect the way some medicines work and some other medicines may affect the way SAXENDA works.
Tell your healthcare provider if you take diabetes medicines, especially insulin and sulfonylurea medicines. Talk with your healthcare provider if you are not sure if you take any of these medicines.
Know the medicines you take. Keep a list of them to show your healthcare provider and pharmacist when you get a new medicine.
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How should I use SAXENDA?
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- Read the Instructions for Use that comes with SAXENDA.
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- Use SAXENDA exactly as your healthcare provider tells you to.
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Your healthcare provider should show you how to use SAXENDA before you use it for the first time.
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- Use SAXENDA with a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity.
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- SAXENDA is injected under the skin (subcutaneously) in your stomach area (abdomen), upper leg (thigh), or upper arm. Do not inject into a muscle (intramuscularly) or vein (intravenously).
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SAXENDA is injected 1 time each day, at any time during the day.
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- Start SAXENDA with 0.6 mg per day in your first week. In your second week, increase your daily dose to 1.2 mg. In the third week, increase your daily dose to 1.8 mg. In the fourth week, increase your daily dose to 2.4 mg and in the fifth week onwards, increase your daily dose to the full dose of 3 mg. After that, do not change your dose unless your healthcare provider tells you to. Children may reduce their dose to 2.4 mg daily if the maximum dose is not tolerated.
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- If you miss your daily dose of SAXENDA, just take your next daily dose as usual on the following day. Do not take an extra dose of SAXENDA or increase your dose on the following day to make up for your missed dose. If you miss your dose of SAXENDA for 3 days or more, call your healthcare provider to talk about how to restart your treatment.
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- SAXENDA may be taken with or without food.
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- Change (rotate) your injection site with each injection. Do not use the same site for each injection.
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Do not share your SAXENDA pen with other people, even if the needle has been changed. You may give other people a serious infection or get a serious infection from them.
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- If you take too much SAXENDA, call your healthcare provider or Poison Helpline at 1-800-222-1222 or go to the nearest hospital emergency room right away.
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- Throw away the used SAXENDA pen after 30 days.
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What are the possible side effects of SAXENDA?
SAXENDA may cause serious side effects, including:
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See “What is the most important information I should know about SAXENDA?”
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inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis). Stop using SAXENDA and call your healthcare provider right away if you have severe pain in your stomach area (abdomen) that will not go away, with or without nausea or vomiting. You may feel the pain from your stomach area (abdomen) to your back.
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increased risk of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) in adults with type 2 diabetes, especially those who also take medicines to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus such as an insulin or a sulfonylureas and in children who are 12 years of age and older without type 2 diabetes mellitus. Low blood sugar in patients with adults with type 2 diabetes and in children without type 2 diabetes mellitus who receive SAXENDA can be both a serious and common side effect. Talk to your healthcare provider about how to recognize and treat low blood sugar. You should check your blood sugar before you start taking SAXENDA and while you take SAXENDA. Signs and symptoms of low blood sugar may include:
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- dizziness or light-headedness
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- sweating
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- confusion or drowsiness
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- headache
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- blurred vision
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- slurred speech
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- shakiness
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- fast heartbeat
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- anxiety, irritability, or mood changes
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- hunger
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- weakness
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- feeling jittery
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- Talk to your healthcare provider about how to recognize and treat low blood sugar. You should check your blood sugar before you start taking SAXENDA and while you take SAXENDA.
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increased heart rate. SAXENDA can increase your heart rate while you are at rest. Your healthcare provider should check your heart rate while you take SAXENDA. Tell your healthcare provider if you feel your heart racing or pounding in your chest and it lasts for several minutes.
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dehydration leading to kidney problems. Diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting may cause a loss of fluids (dehydration) which may cause kidney problems. It is important for you to drink fluids to help reduce your chance of dehydration. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea that does not go away.
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severe stomach problems. Stomach problems, sometimes severe, have been reported in people who use SAXENDA. Tell your healthcare provider if you have stomach problems that are severe or will not go away.
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serious allergic reactions. Stop using SAXENDA, and get medical help right away if you have any symptoms of a serious allergic reaction including:
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- swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat
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- problems breathing or swallowing
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- severe rash or itching
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- fainting or feeling dizzy
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- very rapid heartbeat
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gallbladder problems. SAXENDA may cause gallbladder problems including gallstones. Some gallbladder problems need surgery. Call your healthcare provider if you have any of the following symptoms:
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- pain in your upper stomach (abdomen)
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- fever
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- yellowing of your skin or eyes (jaundice)
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- clay-colored stools
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food or liquid getting into the lungs during surgery or other procedures that use anesthesia or deep sleepiness (deep sedation). SAXENDA may increase the chance of food getting into your lungs during surgery or other procedures. Tell all your healthcare providers that you are taking SAXENDA before you are scheduled to have surgery or other procedures.
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The most common side effects of SAXENDA in adults include:
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- nausea
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- diarrhea
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- constipation
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- vomiting
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- injection site reaction
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- low blood sugar (hypoglycemia)
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- headache
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- upset stomach (dyspepsia)
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- tiredness (fatigue)
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- dizziness
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- stomach pain
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- change in enzyme (lipase) levels in your blood
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Additional common side effects in children are fever and gastroenteritis
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- Talk to your healthcare provider if you have any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away.
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- These are not all the possible side effects of SAXENDA. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.
Keep your SAXENDA pen, pen needles, and all medicines out of the reach of children.
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General information about the safe and effective use of SAXENDA.
Medicines are sometimes prescribed for purposes other than those listed in a Medication Guide. Do not use SAXENDA for a condition for which it was not prescribed. Do not give SAXENDA to other people, even if they have the same symptoms that you have. It may harm them.
You can ask your pharmacist or healthcare provider for information about SAXENDA that is written for health professionals.
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What are the ingredients in SAXENDA?
Active ingredient: liraglutide
Inactive ingredients: disodium phosphate dihydrate, propylene glycol, phenol and water for injection. Hydrochloric acid or sodium hydroxide may be added to adjust the pH.
Marketed by: Novo Nordisk Inc., Plainsboro, NJ 08536
For information about SAXENDA go to www.SAXENDA.com or contact: Novo Nordisk Inc., 800 Scudders Mill Road, Plainsboro, NJ 08536 1-844-363-4448
SAXENDA® and VICTOZA® are registered trademarks of Novo Nordisk A/S.
Patent Information: http://novonordisk-us.com/products/product-patents.html
© 2026 Novo Nordisk
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