A mother of five, unable to afford weight loss injections, has opened up about her experience with the new Wegovy pill.

Sharon Vickers, 46, became one of the first individuals in the United States to receive a prescription for the medication when it launched last month. She was keen to use it to maintain the weight loss she achieved through a gastric sleeve surgery.

“When I heard Wegovy was introducing a pill, I immediately consulted my doctor, who provided me with a prescription,” she said.

“I rushed to the pharmacy, but they were out of stock. A few days later, I returned and was able to purchase them,” Vickers recounted.

“By the fifth day of taking the pills, my cravings completely disappeared,” she added.

Sharon, an enterprise procurement specialist residing in Greenville, South Carolina, has battled with her weight throughout her life. At her heaviest, she weighed 18 stone 11 pounds (263 pounds/119.3 kilograms).

She said: ‘I work from home, so it is so easy for me to get up and grab something to eat. 

‘I ate everything and anything, I did not discriminate with anything, I enjoy all foods and loved everything about food.’

Sharon Vickers was inspired to try the Wegovy pill because of the lower price point 

At her heaviest, she weighed 18st 11lb (263lb/119.3kg)

After her gastric sleeve surgery in January 2025, Ms Vickers lost 5st 3lb (73lb/33.1kg) but said her progress ‘stalled,’ leaving her frustrated and struggling to lose more.

‘Unfortunately, there was only so much weight I could lose – I hit a stall,’ Ms Vickers said. 

No matter what she did, Ms Vickers’s weight would hover between 13st 6lb (188lb/85.3 kg) and 13st 10lb (192lb/87.1kg). 

In September 2025, she considered GLP-1 injections but found them ‘too expensive’ at $500 (£364) a month and wasn’t keen on injecting herself.

But when she learned that pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk was bringing out a Wegovy pill, she paid $149 (£108) for a 30-day supply. 

She said: ‘In September, I started looking at injections for GLP-1, but they were extremely expensive, and my insurance didn’t cover it.

‘When I heard that Wegovy was bringing out a pill in the US, I saw my doctor, and she gave me a prescription for it.

‘The cost of weight loss jabs was just too expensive for me.

Ms Vickers before she lost over 5 stone after a gastric sleeve operation (left), and now 

‘Even the thought of injecting myself, I don’t think I could have.

‘Primarily, it was the cost factor that stopped me from buying them. The cheapest I could get was $500 for the month, and with five kids, I could not afford that.’

And a month in, she has suffered no side effects – apart from finally breaking through her weight plateau, as hoped. 

Before starting the Wegovy pill, Ms Vickers weighed 13st 6lb (188lbs/85.3kg) and is hoping to slim down to 12st 2lb (170lbs/77.1kg).

She said: ‘I am not snacking as much as I used to; hours could pass by, and I won’t even think of food.

‘Since starting the pills, I have been so blessed. It has completely cut out all the food noise for me.

‘I am just not thinking about food anymore.

‘I have no side effects, I workout every day, and have loads of energy – I have lost 2lb so far.’

Initially, Ms Vickers said she was going to take Wegovy pills for two to three months, but is now open to the idea of staying on them to maintain her weight loss.

‘I am also starting to think ahead of schedule, because what happens when I am off? Does the food noise come back?’ Ms Vickers said.

‘I could lose 10-15lb but what happens if the food noise returns and I gain the weight back.

‘If the price is still affordable and the food noise comes back, I might decide to keep taking the pills to maintain my weight.’

Novo Nordisk’s pill was launched on January 5, 2026, and hit over 26,000 US prescriptions in the second full week, IQVIA data revealed.

In December, a spokesman for the Danish drugs giant told the Daily Mail that they are working towards bringing the pill to the UK, with a regulatory submission planned for 2026.

‘Regarding the UK, we are working towards a submission for Wegovy in a pill in 2026,’ a spokesman for Novo Nordisk UK said, adding they could not yet give any further detail on timelines.

While Ozempic is licensed to treat type 2 diabetes and is often prescribed off–label for weight loss, Wegovy was developed and approved specifically for obesity.

In trials involving around 1,300 participants, people taking the Wegovy pill lost an average of 16.6 per cent of their body weight after just over a year, according to Novo Nordisk.

Around a third of participants lost 20 per cent or more.

‘Patients will have a convenient, once–daily pill that can help them lose as much weight as the original Wegovy injection,’ said Mike Doustdar, Novo Nordisk’s chief executive.