How to read a tirzepatide chart — and what the licensed schedule actually means

What a tirzepatide dosing chart actually shows, and what it doesn't

When people search for a tirzepatide chart, they're usually trying to answer one of two questions: where am I in the schedule, or where am I going? The licensed progression is straightforward on paper, 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5, 15 mg, each step separated by about four weeks. But the chart only describes the ceiling and the floor. It says nothing about which rung is right for you at any given point.

The first dose (2.5 mg) exists primarily to let your digestive system adjust. Nausea, loose stools and fatigue are most common in the early weeks, and starting low is the reason those effects tend to settle. The NHS medicines page for tirzepatide explains this plainly: the 2.5 mg period is about tolerability, not yet about meaningful weight reduction. Understanding that reframes the chart considerably. Some people spend longer at a given dose because they're managing side effects well at that level or because life gets in the way of a timely review.

It's also worth knowing that the chart stops at 15 mg for a reason. Going beyond the licensed dose doesn't happen through a private prescription, a legitimate prescriber works within the range the MHRA has approved. If you've seen references to doses above 15 mg, those belong to compounded or unlicensed preparations, a very different and legally distinct situation from the branded Mounjaro KwikPen, whose full dosing chart is dispensed by a GPhC-registered pharmacy.

Charts circulating online, how the licensed schedule differs from what some sites describe

A significant proportion of tirzepatide charts online were created for compounded tirzepatide, a product manufactured outside the licensed supply chain and measured in units drawn from a vial. Pages like the tirzepatide dosing chart in units exist precisely because the unit-based calculation is entirely different from reading the pre-filled KwikPen dial, and confusing the two carries real risk.

The Mounjaro KwikPen removes that calculation entirely. Each pen is pre-set to its labelled dose: if the box says 5 mg, the pen delivers 5 mg. There's no mixing, no syringe measurement, no conversion from milligrams to units. A quick habit worth building: before each weekly dose, read the pen's label, confirm it matches the strength your prescriber has you on, and check the expiry date. That takes under a minute and catches the most common patient errors.

Mixing charts and conversion tables come up on sites selling reconstituted peptides. If you want to understand how those calculations work and why they don't apply to your KwikPen, the tirzepatide peptide mixing chart page walks through the reconstitution process in detail, making clear why it is categorically separate from the licensed medicine. The MHRA has warned about fake and unlicensed weight-loss preparations seized at UK borders and in domestic raids. Any chart that instructs you to add bacteriostatic water or measure from a vial does not apply to Mounjaro dispensed by a regulated UK pharmacy.

Where the chart fits into your prescriber's clinical picture

The dose schedule is a framework, not a timetable. Your prescriber uses it alongside your weight-loss progress, any side effects you've reported, and whether you've reached a meaningful response at your current level. NICE's appraisal of tirzepatide (TA1026) notes that continuing treatment beyond six months at the highest tolerated dose is reviewed if weight loss has been less than 5%, which means the chart has an evidence-based exit point as well as an entry point.

In the SURMOUNT-1 trial (2,539 adults with obesity, 72 weeks), average body-weight reduction at the 15 mg dose reached around 20–21%. That figure is often quoted alongside the chart as a destination. In practice, many people see meaningful progress at intermediate doses and stay there with their prescriber's agreement. The 15 mg ceiling isn't a required endpoint. For more on what the evidence shows across the full dosing range, the tirzepatide treatment overview covers it in detail.

Cost is a practical part of the decision too: higher doses carry higher list prices. For a realistic sense of what private treatment involves financially, the Mounjaro cost guide sets out what the market looks like and what a legitimate price should include. One transparent price that covers consultation, clinical review and dispensing is a cleaner picture than a low headline that adds fees later.

Getting your own chart, the right way

A prescriber reviewing your case gives you something a public dosing chart can't: a schedule that accounts for your health history, your starting point, and your response as treatment progresses. At nume, our clinical team reviews every consultation the same day it's submitted, a named GPhC-registered prescriber reads the information, not a decision algorithm. If you're approved, treatment is dispatched that day (orders in before 12pm on weekdays) and delivered the next working day, tracked, in plain packaging.

Understanding where a tirzepatide chart comes from (and which version applies to your situation) is a genuinely useful thing to know before you start treatment. The licensed UK schedule through Mounjaro is the one your prescriber will work from. Everything else is context. If you'd like that clinical conversation, our FAQs cover common questions, or you can go straight to the consultation. There's no obligation to proceed.