I ditched weight-loss shots for the new Wegovy pill and am astonished by the difference. The pounds are falling off, I have no side effects and it’s cheaper

Colleen O’Connor had just landed in Nice, France, at an upscale hotel. Her excitement about finally stepping off the six-hour flight from her native Long Island, New York, was bubbling over.

She had planned her trip well, even researching local hotels in part to ensure there would be a refrigerator in her room. She packed a particularly finicky item that needed to be kept cold: weekly compounded Wegovy injectables.

But O’Connor told the Daily Mail that when she reached her accommodation, she saw the needed appliance wasn’t there as promised. 

‘After everything I had read, it seemed safer to skip a dose than risk taking something that had been sitting at room temperature,’ she said. ‘So I threw the dose away. That moment made me really frustrated and honestly sad. It felt like wasted money, wasted progress, and unnecessary stress during what was supposed to be an exciting trip.’

Tossing away that $49 was the first moment she realized the blockbuster drugs that had made such huge promises – namely shedding up to 15 percent of her bodyweight – may not be for her.

The shots had worked at first. Since starting them in February 2025, she had dropped around 30lbs and the constant food noise had finally abated. But then came a plateau. Her appetite was still low, but she had stopped losing weight.

‘I had been hearing for a while that an oral option might be coming [to the market], and that immediately caught my attention,’ O’Connor said. ‘Given my lifestyle, especially how much I travel, a pill just seemed more practical and less stressful.’

In January, O’Connor began taking the daily Wegovy pill for weight loss, which contains the main ingredient semaglutide. 

It first became available in US pharmacies starting January 5 and has since taken the country by storm. By January 23, more than 50,000 prescriptions were being filled a week and more than 170,000 people were taking the drug. 

O’Connor gets the FDA-approved Wegovy pills from online pharmacy Ro, and pays $149 for a month’s supply.

The daily oral medication is taken 30 minutes before eating so that it is absorbed in the empty stomach where there is no food to interfere with how the medication gets into the bloodstream. 

Previously, O’Connor was paying $199 a month for compounded versions of weight-loss injections from the online pharmacy Hers. Like many American adults, her insurance would not cover brand-name jabs which, under the six-month paid-up-front sum, cost about $49 per pen.

But after her weight plateaued, she began to develop a feeling she dubbed ‘shot anxiety.’

She was so confused by the stagnant weight that she worried whether the pens she was using actually had the correct amount of medication inside. 

‘I didn’t mind giving myself shots,’ she added, ‘but it just got tedious and worrisome.’ 

It’s not uncommon for people taking Wegovy, Ozempic or compounded versions of either to see their weight loss progress come to a standstill. 

Plus, as weight drops, so does the body’s resting metabolism. 

People taking semaglutide often move less without realizing it because their lower calorie intake can subtly drain their energy. And a lack of energy can lead to a reduction in daily movement that adds up over time.

It’s also crucial to remember that not all weight being lost is from fat.

Studies show that up to 40 percent of semaglutide-related weight loss comes from lean muscle mass, which directly impacts how efficiently the body burns energy.

This plateau can be confusing for a person who seems to be doing everything right.

Up until then, her path to losing weight had not been easy.

She tried the famed Weight Watchers to no avail. She tried Optavia – the rigid, prepackaged meal program she said she absolutely hated – also with no lasting luck.

Along her journey, she said the weight would come off, but it always crept back the moment she stopped whatever program she was on. Dieting felt like a punishment comprised of a joyless cycle of deprivation and calorie counting that made socializing and sharing meals with loved ones a source of stress.

Now, on medication, she said she doesn’t have to choose between enjoying her life and managing her weight. 

So far, the pill has allowed her to eat normally, go out with friends and actually savor food without the constant mental math of calorie restriction.

While some customers have reported lackluster results, O’Connor’s have been nothing but positive.

‘It’s only been about a month since I switched to the pill,’ she told the Daily Mail. ‘I signed up for a prescription almost immediately when it became available because I was eager to try it.

‘In this first month, I’ve lost about 8lbs, which feels significant especially after going a few months on the shots without losing anything. It feels like forward momentum again, which is motivating.’

‘I didn’t experience any noticeable side effects,’ she added. ‘What I did notice was that at dinner, I was naturally taking smaller portions without feeling deprived. That was reassuring because it felt like the medication was working without making me feel sick or uncomfortable.’

For patients who have hit a plateau on weekly Wegovy injections, switching to the daily pill may offer a solution. 

It provides a steady daily dose that keeps appetite and food noise consistently suppressed throughout the week, unlike the weekly injection that can wear off before the next dose is due.

For O’Connor, the new oral iteration is a game-changer.

‘The biggest positive is that I no longer have to give myself a weekly injection,’ she said. ‘That alone feels huge.

‘Pills just fit more seamlessly into daily life and feel more discreet overall. So far, I’m feeling optimistic. It feels simpler, more aligned with my lifestyle and I’m genuinely excited to see how this journey continues.’

There is little difference between the pill and the injection when it comes to side effects. Both versions of the medication overwhelmingly affect the digestive system, leading to nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation and stomach cramps.

Because the oral version of Wegovy is still so new, researchers and clinicians don’t yet have enough real-world data to say definitively whether its side effects will prove better, worse or largely the same as the injectable.

The clinical trials offer early clues that the profile is nearly identical, but those trials cannot always capture what happens when millions of patients take a medication long-term.