Your Wegovy dosage guide: what to expect at every stage

The pen you open on week one is not the dose you'll stay on

A lot of people start Wegovy expecting to feel an immediate effect and are surprised when the first four weeks feel relatively uneventful. That's by design. The 0.25 mg starting dose isn't there to drive weight loss, it's a settling-in period, letting your gut hormones adjust to a GLP-1 receptor agonist before the dose climbs. Think of it less as treatment beginning and more as your system being introduced to the medicine.

From there the schedule moves through 0.5 mg, then 1.0 mg, then 1.7 mg, each step held for around four weeks before the next. Most people reach the 2.4 mg maintenance dose after about 16 weeks, though your prescriber may slow that progression if side effects are significant. The goal is the highest dose you tolerate well, not the highest dose on paper. If nausea or GI discomfort is troublesome at a given step, staying at that level a little longer is a reasonable clinical decision, one for you and your prescriber to make together, not something to push through alone.

The different Wegovy doses each have their own profile, and if you want a clear breakdown of what each step involves, our wegovy dose guide explains the full titration schedule and what to expect at each stage. Reaching 2.4 mg typically takes four months; the therapeutic work is happening throughout, even when the number on the scale moves slowly at first.

What the 7.2 mg option actually means, and who it's for

In January 2026 the MHRA authorised semaglutide at 7.2 mg for weight management, initially supplied as three 2.4 mg pens per week. On 14 April 2026, the regulator approved a dedicated single-dose 7.2 mg pen, one injection a week, with an auto-dosing mechanism and a covered needle that locks after use. That approval covers adults with a BMI of 30 or above, specifically for weight management; it does not apply to the cardiovascular risk-reduction licence.

Clinical trial data reported roughly 20.7% average weight reduction over 72 weeks at 7.2 mg, closer to tirzepatide's results than anything the 2.4 mg dose achieved. You can read about the MHRA's announcement on the GOV.UK news page for the 7.2 mg pen approval. The starting dose remains 0.25 mg even for people who will eventually reach 7.2 mg; titration proceeds at the same roughly four-weekly pace, with 2.4 mg still reached first before any move to 7.2 mg is considered.

Whether 7.2 mg is appropriate for you is a clinical question. If you want to explore what's available, the Wegovy maximum dosage page covers the evidence and the eligibility detail in full.

Side effects tend to cluster around dose changes, here's what to expect

Honestly, the timing of side effects is one of the things people most want to know and least often get a straight answer on. GI effects (nausea, loose stools, constipation, indigestion, sometimes vomiting) are most common in the first few days after starting a new, higher dose. They typically ease within one to two weeks as your body adjusts. If they persist well beyond that window, or are severe, that's a conversation for your prescriber, not something to wait out indefinitely.

A couple of things that actually help: eating smaller portions, eating more slowly, and avoiding high-fat meals during the adjustment period. Keeping well hydrated matters too, particularly if diarrhoea is an issue, dehydration on top of GI illness can put pressure on the kidneys. If you experience severe, persistent stomach pain that radiates to your back, seek urgent medical attention; pancreatitis is a rare but serious side effect the MHRA flagged in a Drug Safety Update in January 2026. You can report any suspected side effects through the Yellow Card scheme.

For a closer look at how dosing choices interact with side effect patterns, the semaglutide dosing guide covers both Wegovy and the broader semaglutide picture.

Staying on track: what your prescriber checks before each repeat

Wegovy is not a set-and-forget prescription. Before each repeat is issued, a clinical review takes place, not to tick boxes, but because the right dose at month two may not be the right dose at month six. Weight, tolerability and any changes in health or other medicines all feed into that assessment. If you're transferring from another provider or requesting a dose increase, evidence of your current treatment and weight is part of the process.

At nume, every repeat is reviewed by a GPhC-registered Independent Prescriber before anything is dispatched. There's no auto-renewal. That's a feature, not a friction point, it's how the safety net stays intact. The cost of treatment, including what's covered in a single price, is laid out on the Wegovy pricing page.

If you're still working out whether Wegovy is the right option given your health history, the Wegovy overview is the place to start, or you can check your eligibility with our prescribers at no cost.