What's the maintenance dose for Mounjaro?

What the trial data tell us about higher doses

The SURMOUNT-1 trial, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, followed adults with obesity over 72 weeks and found that participants on 15mg tirzepatide lost around 20–21% of their body weight on average, a figure that's hard to ignore when setting dose targets. The 10mg group saw slightly lower but still substantial reductions. What the trial makes clear is that the dose-response relationship is real: moving from a lower to a higher strength generally produces greater weight loss, within the limits of individual tolerance.

NICE's appraisal of tirzepatide (TA1026) noted this dose-response pattern when assessing clinical effectiveness. It also established that if someone hasn't lost at least 5% of their body weight after six months at the highest dose they can tolerate, continuing treatment should be reviewed. That benchmark is built on the trial evidence, not arbitrary, and it underlines why dose optimisation matters.

None of this means 15mg is the target for everyone. Tolerability, health history and how your appetite and weight respond at each step all feed into a prescriber's decision. The trial involved thousands of adults across the SURMOUNT programme, the data are robust, but they describe populations, not individuals.

Why there's no single 'maintenance dose' named in the licence

This is the misconception worth clearing up gently. Many people arrive expecting a specific number (the maintenance dose) as if it were stamped on the box. The Mounjaro SmPC (the product's clinical specification, available on the electronic Medicines Compendium) doesn't work that way. It describes a titration schedule and a maximum of 15mg, but it designates no single strength as the maintenance dose because the right long-term dose depends on the individual.

In practice, most prescribers aim to reach the highest strength a patient tolerates without significant side effects. For many people that's 10mg or 15mg. For some it's 7.5mg. The dose stays at that level (the maintenance phase) for as long as treatment continues and remains clinically appropriate. Dose increases always require a prescriber to review your current response and any side-effect pattern before approving the next step. At nume, our clinical team reviews evidence of progress before every dose change, not as a formality but because the data at that point genuinely guide the decision.

If you're curious what a maintenance dose of tirzepatide actually means, our dedicated page goes into detail on how the term is defined in the context of this medicine and what it means for your treatment journey. Our page on what a Mounjaro maintenance dose looks like in practice goes into more detail on how that phase of treatment is defined and managed.

Side effects, tolerability and how dose decisions are made in practice

The most common side effects are gastrointestinal: nausea, loose stools, constipation, reflux and burping sit at the top of the list. They're most noticeable after starting treatment or stepping up to a new strength, and they often settle within one to two weeks. Starting at 2.5mg exists precisely for this reason, it allows your digestive system to adjust before any therapeutically meaningful dose begins, and if you want to understand whether 2.5mg can itself serve as a maintenance dose, that depends on individual response and is something a prescriber would assess over time. Rushing through the schedule tends to make side effects worse, not results better.

A less common but serious concern is acute pancreatitis. The MHRA issued a Drug Safety Update in January 2026 highlighting this risk across GLP-1 medicines: severe, persistent stomach pain that radiates toward the back, with or without vomiting, needs urgent medical attention. Anyone on tirzepatide should know that symptom pattern. You can report any suspected side effect through the Yellow Card scheme.

Practically, what this means for the maintenance dose question is that your highest tolerated dose and your optimal dose may not be the same thing on a given week, and a prescriber's job is to read those signals over time. If you'd like a broader picture of what the maintenance doses of Mounjaro actually are and how they vary between patients, that page covers the full range in detail. For questions about cost alongside all of this, our treatment and consultation page lays out what's included transparently.

Starting a private prescription with clinical oversight in place

Mounjaro is a prescription-only medicine. The only legal route to it in the UK is a prescription issued after clinical assessment. At nume, that assessment is carried out by a GPhC-registered Independent Prescriber (a real clinician reads your consultation, not software) and it happens the same day you submit it. Weight is verified on video, identity confirmed, and your GP is notified in line with GPhC guidance.

Repeat orders follow the same principle: a prescriber reviews your progress before each prescription is issued. Dose increases require evidence. There's no subscription, no auto-renewal, and no dose is assumed to be right because the previous one was. Orders placed before 12pm on a working day are dispatched the same day once approved, arriving with DPD the following working day in plain packaging.

If you're weighing up whether your circumstances suit tirzepatide or what eligibility looks like in practice, you may also find it helpful to read about whether 5mg Mounjaro qualifies as a maintenance dose, since that question comes up frequently for people partway through their titration. The FAQs also cover common questions about process and eligibility. When you're ready, speak to our prescribers through a free consultation.