A doctor-led weight programme in Colombo: assessed, prescribed and supervised.
book a consultationOzempic is a brand name for semaglutide, a prescription-only medicine in a group called GLP-1 receptor agonists. It is not a cosmetic product and it is not something a patient can decide to start alone. In Sri Lanka, as elsewhere, it can only be prescribed by a doctor, for a suitable patient, after a clinical assessment, and it should be reviewed by that doctor for as long as treatment continues.
Semaglutide works on a single gut hormone pathway, GLP-1. It slows the rate at which the stomach empties, increases fullness after eating, and reduces the constant food preoccupation many patients describe. It also improves the way the body handles blood sugar, which is why the medicine first came into use in type 2 diabetes. The weight change comes from eating less over a sustained period; the medicine is what makes that possible to keep up.
At Elegance Aesthetic Clinic in Colombo 06, semaglutide is used only inside a supervised programme, and the starting point is always a consultation. If a prescription therapy is appropriate, treatment begins at the lowest strength and is stepped up slowly at scheduled reviews. If it is not appropriate, we will tell you plainly and discuss what would help instead.
Much of the confusion around semaglutide comes from the brand names rather than the medicine. All three contain the same active ingredient, but they are licensed for different things and dosed differently.
| Ozempic | Semaglutide injection licensed principally for type 2 diabetes, given once weekly |
|---|---|
| Wegovy | Semaglutide injection licensed for weight management, given once weekly at a higher target dose |
| Rybelsus | Semaglutide as a daily tablet, licensed for type 2 diabetes; there is no tablet form of tirzepatide |
Which of them applies to you is a prescribing decision based on your diagnosis and history, not a selection from a menu, and the reasoning is documented at your consultation.
Eligibility comes from your medical history and clinical measurements, not from how much weight you would like to lose.
This list is not exhaustive. Existing diabetic retinopathy, gallbladder disease, severe gastrointestinal conditions, kidney problems and several other medicines also need review first.
| Step 1: Consultation | Medical history, current medications, measurements, goals and eligibility assessment |
|---|---|
| Step 2: Baseline checks | Blood sugar status is reviewed, and anyone with diabetes is asked about their most recent eye check |
| Step 3: Decision | The doctor decides whether semaglutide is appropriate and which product and indication apply |
| Step 4: Starting dose | If prescribed, treatment begins at the lowest strength, with each weekly dose given as a shot in clinic |
| Step 5: Dose review | The first strength is held about four weeks, then increases continue at roughly four-week intervals, each conditional on the previous step being tolerated |
| Step 6: Support and exit plan | Diet and activity guidance continues throughout, and how to step down or stop is agreed before you start |
Escalation is deliberately slow, and it is the biggest factor in whether patients tolerate semaglutide: starting at the target dose would cause nausea severe enough that most people would stop. Reaching a maintenance dose commonly takes several months, and staying at a lower dose is a legitimate outcome if it works.
Semaglutide has real side effects, and you should know them before you decide rather than afterwards.
The cost of Ozempic in Sri Lanka is the question we are asked most often, and a single published figure would mislead you. The total comes from the consultation and review appointments, the medicine at whichever strength you are prescribed, and how long you stay on treatment. The strength changes as the dose is escalated, so the monthly cost early in a programme is not the cost several months in.
What we give you at consultation instead is the breakdown: the consultation fee, the current cost at your own prescribed strength, the review schedule, and what a realistic first three months would total. If the programme is not affordable or not clinically suitable, we will say so and discuss the alternatives honestly.
Semaglutide (Ozempic) is a prescription-only medicine. This page is general information about a clinical service. It is not medical advice, not a recommendation to use any particular medicine, and not an offer to supply one. No medicine is prescribed without an individual medical assessment by a doctor, and suitability can only be determined at consultation.
Please do not obtain this medicine from unregulated sources. Use without medical assessment and supervision carries genuine risk, including missed contraindications and unmanaged side effects.
For how these medicines work, what the published trials reported, and how semaglutide compares with tirzepatide, our guide covers it in detail.
Mounjaro vs Ozempic in Sri Lanka: How They Work, What the Trials Showed
Semaglutide, the medicine known by brand names including Ozempic, is prescription-only. A doctor must assess your medical history, current medications and suitability before prescribing, and must keep reviewing you while you are on treatment. At our Colombo clinic it is considered within a supervised weight management programme, and only if the assessment shows it is appropriate for you.
We do not publish a fixed Ozempic price, because what you pay depends on the dose prescribed, how long you stay on treatment and how many reviews are involved. Semaglutide is supplied at different strengths, and the strength changes as the dose is stepped up, so the first month and the sixth month are not the same cost. We set the figures out in writing at consultation.
Semaglutide cost varies with the brand prescribed, the strength you are on, and how many weekly doses that strength covers. Because the dose escalates over the first months, an average figure quoted online will rarely match your own prescription. We give you the current figure for your prescription and an estimate for a realistic first three months.
Ozempic is the brand of semaglutide licensed principally for type 2 diabetes. Semaglutide is also licensed for weight management under a different brand and dose schedule, and a daily tablet form is licensed for type 2 diabetes. Which one applies to you is a prescribing decision made at consultation, and it is documented for you.
No clinic can promise you a figure. In the STEP 1 trial of semaglutide 2.4 mg (New England Journal of Medicine, 2021), adults with overweight or obesity and without diabetes recorded an average body weight reduction of about 15 percent over 68 weeks, against about 2 percent on placebo, alongside lifestyle support. Those are trial averages, and individual results vary widely.
The most common are gastrointestinal: nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, constipation, abdominal pain and reduced appetite, usually worst after starting or increasing a dose and often settling. Headache, dizziness, fatigue and injection-site reactions also occur. Less common but serious risks include pancreatitis, gallstones, dehydration affecting the kidneys, and worsening of existing diabetic eye disease.
It is not suitable during pregnancy or breastfeeding, or for anyone with a personal or family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma or Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia type 2, or a history of pancreatitis, and it is not a treatment for type 1 diabetes. Care is also needed with existing diabetic retinopathy, gallbladder disease, severe gastrointestinal conditions, and alongside insulin or a sulfonylurea.
In the SUSTAIN-6 safety trial (New England Journal of Medicine, 2016), an increase in diabetic retinopathy complications was seen among participants with type 2 diabetes who already had retinopathy and whose blood sugar fell rapidly. This is why we ask people with diabetes about their most recent eye check before starting. It does not apply to everyone, but it is worth raising at consultation.
Appetite typically returns. The published STEP 1 extension reported that participants regained a large part of the weight they had lost in the year after stopping. That is why diet, activity and habit change carry equal weight from the first appointment, and why an exit plan is agreed before you start rather than afterwards.
Semaglutide acts on one gut hormone pathway, GLP-1. Tirzepatide acts on two, GIP and GLP-1. They have different dose schedules, different published trial programmes, and side-effect profiles that overlap but are not identical. Semaglutide also has a large cardiovascular outcomes evidence base and an oral tablet form, neither of which applies to tirzepatide. Our comparison guide covers this in full.
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