What's inside a Wegovy pack and how does the treatment work?

Step 1: The pack you start with and why it looks different from the one you'll end on

The first Wegovy pack your prescriber issues contains the 0.25 mg pen. That strength surprises some people, it's lower than any dose that produces meaningful weight loss, and that's deliberate. The first four weeks exist to let your body adjust to semaglutide, reducing the chance of nausea or vomiting coming on strongly. Think of it as acclimatisation rather than treatment in the full sense.

From there, your prescriber moves you through the titration ladder roughly every four weeks: 0.5 mg, then 1.0 mg, then 1.7 mg, before reaching the 2.4 mg maintenance dose that the major STEP 1 clinical trial (published in the New England Journal of Medicine) used to demonstrate an average weight reduction of around 15% over 68 weeks. Each step is a separate pack, a separate pen, a distinct strength. You don't adjust anything yourself; the prescription changes, the pen changes, your job is to inject once a week on the same day each week.

If you want a closer look at how pack sizes and quantities work across the titration stages, including what a Wegovy multi pack looks like and how it fits into the overall course, the Wegovy pack size guide covers the specifics in full. It's worth a read before your first order.

Step 2: What the pen itself looks like and how to use it

Each Wegovy pen is pre-filled and pre-set. There's no drawing up of solution, no dose dial to turn. You press the pen against the injection site (the outer thigh, the abdomen or the upper arm are all suitable) and press the button. The pen clicks, the medicine goes in, done. Rotate your injection site each week to avoid localised irritation.

Storage matters. The pen should be kept refrigerated at 2–8°C before first use. Once you've started a pen, the Patient Information Leaflet sets out how long it can sit at room temperature, always follow the leaflet on that point rather than any online guide, because the window is specific and the numbers shift with formulation updates. The NHS semaglutide medicines page covers practical storage and missed-dose guidance in plain language and is a reliable first reference.

If you're thinking about whether Wegovy or tirzepatide might suit you better, our semaglutide overview explains the two mechanisms side by side without trying to steer you toward either.

Step 3: The 7.2 mg pack and what it changes

In January 2026 the MHRA approved a 7.2 mg maintenance dose of semaglutide, a meaningful step up from the 2.4 mg that was previously the ceiling. The dedicated single-dose 7.2 mg pen was then approved on 14 April 2026: one pre-set weekly injection, a built-in covered needle, locks after use. Early trial data at this strength reported average weight loss of around 20.7% over 72 weeks, which begins to close the gap on the tirzepatide results from the SURMOUNT programme.

That higher dose doesn't replace the titration process, patients still begin at 0.25 mg and step up under prescriber guidance, with 7.2 mg as the new maximum for eligible adults with a BMI of 30 or above. Whether that dose and pen format are the right choice for a given patient is a clinical decision. If you'd like to understand the cost side of the equation before your consultation, the Wegovy cost context page explains how private pricing is structured in the UK without glossing over what that means in practice.

For a broader view of how the pack formats across the titration range fit together, the starter pack page picks up the early stages in more detail.

Step 4: Eligibility, clinical review and what happens with each repeat

Wegovy's UK licence covers adults with a BMI of 30 or above, or 27 or above alongside at least one weight-related condition, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, obstructive sleep apnoea and similar. Lower BMI thresholds may apply depending on ethnic background, in line with UK clinical guidance. A BMI figure alone doesn't determine suitability; your prescriber looks at the full picture, including other medicines you take and your medical history.

At nume, a GPhC-registered Independent Prescriber personally reads every consultation, a real clinician, same day. That review happens again before every repeat order; no prescription continues on autopilot. If you're already on treatment elsewhere and considering switching, the full Wegovy treatment page explains how transfer patients are handled, and our weight-loss treatment overview sets out the broader picture across all available options.

One practical note: if you're planning ahead around a holiday or a bank holiday period (especially the week after payday when orders tend to cluster) placing your consultation request a few days early gives the most breathing room for same-day clinical review and next-working-day dispatch. Wegovy needs refrigeration in transit, so continuity of the cold chain matters more than with tablets.

Ready to talk it through? Speak to our prescribers, the consultation is free, and there's no obligation on either side until a prescription is clinically appropriate.