Clinically reviewed: Wed 31 July
There are a few simple steps to follow before you administer your injection and you must do these each time. This helps keep everything safe and makes for a successful injection experience.
1. Check your weight loss pen
Unused pens should be refrigerated between 2°C to 8°C before first use and after the first injection can be stored at room temperature (up to 30°C for no more than 30 days).
Inspect your pen to check:
The medication name and dose match your prescription
The pen isn’t out of date or damaged
The medicine isn’t frozen
The medicine is colourless to slightly yellow
The medicine doesn’t contain any particles, or is cloudy or discoloured
2. Choose your injection site
You can choose from a few different injection sites depending on what works for you. But there are a few things to remember:
You can self-inject into your stomach or thigh areas
You can ask someone else to inject into the back of your upper arm
You should never inject into the exact same spot – rotate the injection spot each time
You can inject in the same area (the thigh, for example), but you need to choose a different spot each time (rotating the injection spot reduces the risk of infection and hard lumps forming)
If you inject into your stomach, you must inject at least 2 inches away from your belly button
3. Wash your hands
It’s important to practice good hand hygiene and make sure you’re always injecting your dose with clean hands. Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and hot water. You can also use and anti-bacterial hand sanitiser as an extra measure.
If someone is administering the injection for you, make sure they’ve followed these hand hygiene instructions too.