What Are the Dosage Levels for Wegovy?

The decision you're really making: which dose level is right, and when to move up

Most people starting Wegovy aren't choosing a dose — they're starting the only dose available at the beginning: 0.25 mg. The common misconception is that a higher dose means better or faster results from the start. In reality, the lower early doses exist primarily to let your digestive system adjust. Nausea, the most frequently reported side effect, tends to be most noticeable in the first days after a new level, and the slow ramp is specifically designed to reduce that. The Wegovy treatment overview covers the full clinical picture, but the short version is that rushing the ladder doesn't speed up weight loss; it usually means more side effects and a higher chance of stopping early.

Your prescriber decides when (or whether) to move to the next level. If a particular dose is poorly tolerated, staying at it for longer, or even stepping back temporarily, is an option. The NHS medicines page for semaglutide sets out this approach plainly: the schedule is a guide, not a rigid timetable. That distinction matters when you're mid-treatment and wondering whether to push on.

What each of the Wegovy dose levels actually does

The 0.25 mg starting dose is a tolerability step. It has a measurable effect on appetite, but its main job is settling your system into the medicine before the clinical work begins in earnest. If you want to understand what the dosages for Wegovy are and how they are structured from the very beginning, that page walks through each step clearly. After roughly four weeks your prescriber will typically move you to 0.5 mg, then 1.0 mg, then 1.7 mg, each around a month apart. The 2.4 mg level (reached after about four to five months of consistent titration) was the dose used throughout the maintenance phase of the STEP 1 trial, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, where adults with obesity lost an average of around 15% of body weight over 68 weeks alongside lifestyle changes.

For adults who tolerate 2.4 mg well and are eligible, the 7.2 mg dose is now available following MHRA approval on 14 April 2026. Trials at this level reported average weight loss of around 20.7% over 72 weeks, closing some of the gap with tirzepatide 15 mg results. The 7.2 mg pen is approved for adults with a BMI of 30 or above; it is not licensed at lower BMI thresholds or for the separate cardiovascular indication. If you want a visual breakdown of the full schedule, the Wegovy dose levels chart maps each step clearly. Specific dose availability at any time is confirmed at your consultation, not before it.

When your dose level affects other things: contraception, HRT, and surgery

There is one practical reason to pay close attention to your dose level beyond the weight-loss effect: transitions up the schedule can affect how other medicines work. NHS England's guidance on weight management injections notes that, for tirzepatide specifically, oral contraceptives may be less reliably absorbed in the first four weeks of treatment and for four weeks after each dose increase; there is no equivalent warning for semaglutide, though your prescriber will review your full medicines list regardless. If you're taking HRT or are scheduled for surgery, tell the clinical team: the anaesthetist in particular needs to know you are taking a GLP-1 medicine. These are the kinds of detail a prescriber picks up in a proper assessment that an online checklist won't.

The Wegovy doses page goes deeper on the clinical considerations at each level, and if you want a more detailed look at how those levels are structured over the course of treatment, the page covering the dosage levels of Wegovy is worth reading alongside it. For a broader look at how Wegovy compares with other licensed weight-loss treatments, our treatment overview is a good starting point. And if cost is a factor in deciding whether to start, the guide on where to buy Wegovy sets out the landscape honestly, including what legitimate private prescriptions typically include and what to watch out for.

Getting your dose level set by a real prescriber

At nume, every consultation is personally reviewed by a GPhC-registered Independent Prescriber, a named clinician, not a scoring algorithm. They read your answers the same day, check your eligibility against the licensed criteria, and make the dose decision based on your health profile. If you order before midday Monday to Friday and are clinically approved, treatment is dispatched the same day and delivered free the next working day by DPD in plain packaging. There are no subscriptions: each repeat order goes through its own clinical review before anything is sent. You can see more about our prescribing team on the clinical team page, or read through frequently asked questions if you have something specific in mind before you start. When you're ready, start your free consultation and a prescriber will take it from there.