Wegovy
Hacker ApprovedShares rank 4 of 7 weight loss drugs by recommenders
People recommend it for strong appetite suppression and weight loss, with reported health gains. Common caveat: side effects such as low mood and low motivation.
People recommend it for strong appetite suppression and weight loss, with reported health gains. Common caveat: side effects such as low mood and low motivation.
34 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 23
- criticize it
- 11
- approval share
- 68%
Recommended in 7 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Owned for 10 months
Median of the 5 owners who said how long they have had it.
Each square is one year.
Why it carries the badge
- 23 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 2.1 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 7 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Substantial weight loss and health gains
“She went from BMI of 33 to 23 in half a year and it resulted in almost miraculous improvement of all her health metrics.”
Comment from 22 Nov 2025 in “Weightlifting outperforms voluntary wheel running in obese mice” “I've lost 6kg of fat (I've maintained muscle mass) in 2 months with only the 0,25mg monthly dose using Wegovy.”
Comment from 17 Oct 2026 in “GLP-1 may slow biological aging” “The estimated mean change in body weight from baseline to week 64 was -13.6% in the oral semaglutide group”
Comment from 5 Jan 2026 in “Novo Nordisk launches Wegovy weight-loss pill in US, triggering price war” - Comment from 28 Jun 2026 in “GLP-1 drugs led to weight loss and reversed depression-like behavior in mice”
- Comment from 10 Feb 2026 in “Semaglutide improves knee osteoarthritis independant of weight loss”
Effective pill form
“the Wegovy Pill which manages 16% despite the difficulty of getting a peptide into people by the oral route”
Comment from 9 Sep 2026 in “Novo Nordisk's Wegovy helps free 40% of kids from obesity in phase 3 trial” “For those who need pill form and the effectiveness available, it's a slam dunk imho.”
Comment from 5 Jan 2026 in “Novo Nordisk launches Wegovy weight-loss pill in US, triggering price war” “it absolutely delivers what it says it does”
Comment from 5 Jan 2026 in “Novo Nordisk launches Wegovy weight-loss pill in US, triggering price war” - Comment from 5 Jan 2026 in “Novo Nordisk launches Wegovy weight-loss pill in US, triggering price war”
Helps quit drinking and addiction
“the benefits of quitting drinking - especially without making any effort for this, or even trying - are more than worth it.”
Comment from 26 Nov 2025 in “GLP-1 Receptor Agonists in ASUD Treatment” “I have lost fat, kicked drinking, and my lipids improved dramatically.”
Comment from 28 Jun 2026 in “GLP-1 drugs led to weight loss and reversed depression-like behavior in mice” “it's shown to help with addiction”
Comment from 28 Sep 2026 in “13 Months Sober (2025)” Removes urge to eat
“The main effect of wegovy, for me, was having a feeling of not needing to eat rather than just feeling too full to eat.”
Comment from 21 Dec 2025 in “Weight loss jabs: What happens when you stop taking them” “These thoughts are completely gone, I can concentrate for hours and hours without needing to eat something.”
Comment from 9 Feb 2026 in “Can Ozempic Cure Addiction?”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Low mood and motivation
“the body assumes that "i've got almost no food and am starving, perhaps gonna die soon", which naturally makes a person depressed.”
Comment from 26 Nov 2025 in “GLP-1 Receptor Agonists in ASUD Treatment” “Slightly worse(not dramatic) depressive episodes but that's about it.”
Comment from 10 Feb 2026 in “Semaglutide improves knee osteoarthritis independant of weight loss” “it seemed to globally lower any kind of reward-seeking behavior”
Comment from 16 Aug 2026 in “Semaglutide linked to 26% lower 5-year predicted dementia risk” - Comment from 20 Oct 2026 in “Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly Report GLP-1 Signals of Slowed Biological Aging at ARDD”
Less effective than other drugs
“The drug doesn't work almost at all. I get minimal effects, and minimal side effects.”
Comment from 28 Nov 2025 in “People Who Don't Lose Weight on Wegovy May Have Genetic Differences” “I know several people who responded poorly to Wegovy who did great on Zep.”
Comment from 10 Feb 2026 in “Semaglutide improves knee osteoarthritis independant of weight loss” “found it much less effective, started gaining weight again”
Comment from 10 Feb 2026 in “Semaglutide improves knee osteoarthritis independant of weight loss” - Comment from 5 Jan 2026 in “Novo Nordisk launches Wegovy weight-loss pill in US, triggering price war”
Long-term lifelong use
“This is what the wegovy family of drugs is turning into. A maintenance script for life.”
Comment from 1 Nov 2025 in “Obesity Rate Declining in U.S.” “A maintenance script for life. Great for big pharma but not for the person.”
Comment from 1 Nov 2025 in “Obesity Rate Declining in U.S.” “you'll just be on it for the rest of your life”
Comment from 5 Jan 2026 in “Novo Nordisk launches Wegovy weight-loss pill in US, triggering price war” Still expensive
“this pill is ineffective both in terms of medicine and cost”
Comment from 5 Jan 2026 in “Novo Nordisk launches Wegovy weight-loss pill in US, triggering price war” “Still ridiculously expensive.”
Comment from 5 Jan 2026 in “Novo Nordisk launches Wegovy weight-loss pill in US, triggering price war”
Other weight loss drugs people recommend
The four most recommended other weight loss drugs, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ozempic | 52 | 30 | 63% | 11 | 1.5 yrs6 owners | — |
| Semaglutide | 45 | 23 | 66% | 7 | 1 yr10 owners | — |
| Tirzepatide (Zepbound) | 36 | 4 | 90% | 12 | 3 mo6 owners | Approved |
| WegovyThis page | 23 | 11 | 68% | 7 | 10 mo5 owners | Approved |
| Retatrutide | 23 | 8 | 74% | 9 | — | Approved |
What people said
39 of the 40 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“So I am a lot more picky about side effects than I would be if I seriously needed to lose weight or had diabetes.”
“it's been actually life changing”
“I had serious low drive/motivation side effects from Wegovy.”
“I've lost 6kg of fat (I've maintained muscle mass) in 2 months with only the 0,25mg monthly dose using Wegovy.”
“it's shown to help with addiction”
“the Wegovy Pill which manages 16% despite the difficulty of getting a peptide into people by the oral route”
“it worked so well it became popular”
“it seemed to globally lower any kind of reward-seeking behavior”
“I have lost fat, kicked drinking, and my lipids improved dramatically.”
“found it much less effective, started gaining weight again”
“Slightly worse(not dramatic) depressive episodes but that's about it.”
“I know several people who responded poorly to Wegovy who did great on Zep.”
“Zero side-effects besides losing 9 kg.”
“These thoughts are completely gone, I can concentrate for hours and hours without needing to eat something.”
“while they have their place, are simply useful tools in the hands of doctors”
“If you're morbidly obese then it's a no brainer.”
“it absolutely delivers what it says it does”
“Obesity has a known, well established, multi-modal cancer risk”
“oral Semaglutide is a very naive early attempt”
“So far they proved to do the opposite.”
“you'll just be on it for the rest of your life”
“The estimated mean change in body weight from baseline to week 64 was -13.6% in the oral semaglutide group”
“Its still effective though”
“Still ridiculously expensive.”
“this pill is ineffective both in terms of medicine and cost”
“considering the other costs it reduces”
“Could also be great for maintenance dosing.”
“For those who need pill form and the effectiveness available, it's a slam dunk imho.”
“this pill is much less effective than Zepbound”
“We might see the end of the era of metabolic syndrome.”
“for most obesity situations, this is going to be a broad system improvement.”
“The main effect of wegovy, for me, was having a feeling of not needing to eat rather than just feeling too full to eat.”
“The drug doesn't work almost at all. I get minimal effects, and minimal side effects.”
“the body assumes that "i've got almost no food and am starving, perhaps gonna die soon", which naturally makes a person depressed.”
“the benefits of quitting drinking - especially without making any effort for this, or even trying - are more than worth it.”
“She went from BMI of 33 to 23 in half a year and it resulted in almost miraculous improvement of all her health metrics.”
“terrible secondary effects when you eat something”
“This is what the wegovy family of drugs is turning into. A maintenance script for life.”
“A maintenance script for life. Great for big pharma but not for the person.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.