How to inject Ozempic

Medical professionals go through extensive training to learn how to use needles to take blood and provide vaccinations. But if you’re prescribed Ozempic, a medication used to treat type 2 diabetes, you might need to get up to speed quickly on how to give yourself an injection every week. Rest assured that while the first injection or two might be a little intimidating, you’ll get the hang of it quickly, says Dr. Brynna Connor, M.D., a family medicine physician in Austin, Texas. This step-by-step guide on how to inject Ozempic can help you get there even faster.

How to inject Ozempic properly

Giving yourself an injection can feel intimidating, so try breaking it down into a few easy steps.

1. Gather your supplies

You’ll need a cotton pad and rubbing alcohol or an alcohol wipe to disinfect the skin where you’ll be injecting Ozempic. Also make sure you’re near soap and water to wash your hands. Grab an FDA-recommended sharps container or other heavy-duty plastic container, like an empty coffee canister or laundry detergent jug, for safe disposal of the pen after use. Next, remove the box of Ozempic from your refrigerator. You can then move on to the next step right away or wait a little. Connor says some of her patients prefer to let the medication sit for about 10-20 minutes, as they don’t like the way an ice-cold injection straight from the fridge feels.

2. Attach a new needle

Wash your hands with soap and water, then open the box and remove the injector pen. Double check that the pen is labeled “Ozempic,” that it’s not expired, and that the liquid inside the pen is clear, not cloudy. You’ll then want to attach a new needle. (Ozempic pens can have multiple doses in them but you use a new needle each time.) Pull the paper tab off the top of a new needle package but leave the needle cap on. Push the needle onto the end of the pen, and twist it clockwise until it’s on tight. Now you can remove the cap from the needle.

3. Select your dose

If using a new pen, turn the dose-selector dial until the arrow points to the flow-check indicator setting, which is a symbol that looks like a dashed line. Holding the pen pointing needle-end up, press the dose button on the other end until the dose counter goes to zero and a tiny drop appears at the tip of the needle. This drop of medication indicates the pen is flowing properly. If you’ve already used the pen before, you can skip that step. Next, select the dose your healthcare provider prescribed, turning the dial until the correct dose appears (0.25 mg, 0.5 mg, 1 mg, or 2 mg).

4. Clean the injection site

Using a clean, sterile cotton swab or pad with a small amount of rubbing alcohol on it or a pre-moistened alcohol wipe, clean the skin where you’ll be injecting Ozempic in a circular motion. “We don't want any of the bacteria that's on the skin to be injected under the skin, because you can develop a little infection or more irritation or a rash,” Connor says. Do not touch the cleaned area with your hands until after you’ve completed the injection.

5. Inject your dose

Press the pen with the needle end firmly into the clean skin. Click the other end of the pen to release the medication through the needle. Hold it against the skin for six seconds and wait for a second click, which indicates the dose has been administered correctly. The dose counter reads “0” when it’s been properly injected. “If you pull it out too quickly, the medicine may not have fully come out of the pen,” Connor says. After the second click, remove the pen from the skin. The needle is very thin, so it will come away from the skin easily.

6. Discard the needle

Unscrew the needle off the end of the pen and dispose of it in your sharps container. Do not throw the needle directly into the trash, as it could stick your garbage collector or someone else. When your sharps container is full, the FDA recommends contacting your state or city’s health department or your local trash-removal service for instructions on how to dispose of it safely. Some hospitals and other medical facilities offer sharps disposal drop boxes. You may also be able to get rid of it at a household hazardous waste collection site. Put the cap back on the pen and place it back in your refrigerator until next week.

Ozempic injection sites: where to inject

First, know this isn’t the same kind of shot as a vaccine, which goes into a muscle and uses a larger needle. Ozempic is given via subcutaneous injections, meaning the medication is injected into fatty areas just under the surface of the skin. Here are the three main areas doctors recommend giving yourself the injection:

Stomach

Connor recommends most people inject Ozempic around their navel, about two inches or so from the belly button, as that area is easy for you to see and access. There’s also less chance of accidentally injecting into muscle or a blood vessel than in the arm or the thigh. The medication needs to go into fat, not into muscle or a vein, for it to work properly.

Upper arm

The fattier part of your upper arm also works as an injection site, but Connor says this spot can be a little awkward, as you have to hold the injector pen with one hand while reaching across your body.

Thigh

The thigh is another area where you can easily inject Ozempic. The upper inner and outer parts of the thigh are the best options, as these areas have more fat and less muscle than the front or back of the thigh.

Ozempic injection site reactions

Reactions on the skin, such as a rash, itch, or other irritation, can occur, but they’re usually mild. Bruising can also occur, Connor says, but it’s very rare. Contact your healthcare provider if a more severe rash or hives develop, or if the injection site area swells.

Ozempic injection tips

To make it easier on yourself, Connor recommends sitting down to do your injections the first few times. This is because using a needle may make some people a little uncomfortable, and doing so in a seated rather than a standing position may give you more control over your body. Here are some other tips:

Rotate injection sites

To reduce the chance of a skin reaction, change where you inject Ozempic week to week. You don’t have to move to a new body part each week, Connor says, but it should at least be a different area of the same part. For example, you can inject into the stomach each week — just do it on the right side one week, then the left side the following week.

Inject Ozempic into healthy skin

Do not inject it into an area where there’s a bruise, rash, cut, or other injury. Injecting into healthy skin reduces the chance of skin reactions and helps the medication work effectively, explains Dr. Brian S. Wojeck, M.D., assistant professor of endocrinology at Yale School of Medicine.

Store pen properly

New, unused Ozempic pens should be kept cold in the refrigerator (but not frozen), between 36 degrees F and 46 degrees F. Opened pens that are in use can be kept in the refrigerator or in a cool space between 59 degrees F and 86 degrees F, according to manufacturer guidelines.

Do Ozempic injections hurt?

Everyone is different and pain thresholds are individualized, but Connor says it’s rare for one of her patients to complain their Ozempic shot hurts. It feels more like a tiny pinch. That’s because the medicine is injected just underneath the surface of the skin with a small needle. “It’s not nearly as painful as an intramuscular injection, like when you get a flu shot,” she says.

The bottom line

Ozempic is simple to inject, though it may take a few times to get used to it. Be sure to wash your hands well and clean the injection area (either your stomach, upper arm, or thigh) with rubbing alcohol before injecting Ozempic. It can also help to gather all of your supplies together first and create a little weekly routine to help the process feel like second nature. Your skin may get irritated where you inject the medicine, but rotating injection spots each week can help.