Wegovy dosage: what the full schedule looks like

Your first pen arrives and you're staring at 0.25 mg, here's what that actually means

Most people starting Wegovy expect the dose that produces results. What arrives first is 0.25 mg, and that surprises them. This isn't a clinical dose in the weight-loss sense; its job is to let your gut adjust to a GLP-1 medicine for the first time. Semaglutide slows gastric emptying and changes how your digestive system signals hunger, and doing that at full strength from week one would leave most people feeling quite unwell. So the first four weeks are essentially an adjustment period.

After four weeks on 0.25 mg, the standard step is to 0.5 mg, then 1.0 mg, then 1.7 mg, and finally 2.4 mg. Each rung of the Wegovy dose ladder is typically held for about four weeks, which means reaching 2.4 mg takes around 16 weeks from the first injection. If you want a clear picture of what all the Wegovy dosages are and how they work together, the NHS medicines page for semaglutide sets out the schedule clearly, and the Patient Information Leaflet inside your pen box goes further with missed-dose guidance and storage detail.

One practical thing worth doing before each new pen: check the expiry date on the box before you put it in the fridge. Takes ten seconds and avoids a frustrating discovery on injection day.

What happens at 2.4 mg, and what the 7.2 mg option means for 2026

For most people, 2.4 mg is where Wegovy stays. The STEP 1 trial (published in the New England Journal of Medicine) recorded an average body-weight reduction of around 15% over 68 weeks at this dose, alongside lifestyle changes. That figure comes from a controlled trial; individual results vary, and a prescriber will discuss what's realistic for your situation.

Since January 2026, a 7.2 mg maintenance dose has also been licensed in the UK, initially supplied as three 2.4 mg pens used weekly, then from April 2026 as a dedicated single-dose pen approved by the MHRA. Trials at 7.2 mg recorded approximately 20.7% average weight loss over 72 weeks, which brings semaglutide's results closer to tirzepatide territory. The 7.2 mg pen is approved only for adults with a BMI of 30 or above; it is not indicated for the cardiovascular use-case. For a fuller breakdown, the maximum Wegovy dose page covers the evidence and eligibility in more detail.

Titration to 7.2 mg follows the same prescriber-led approach: there is no automatic upgrade at a certain point. If you are already established on 2.4 mg weekly injections, a move to 7.2 mg requires clinical reassessment.

Side effects that tend to appear with dose increases, and when to take them seriously

Gastrointestinal symptoms are the most commonly reported effects across the Wegovy dosage schedule: nausea, loose stools, constipation, reflux, and sometimes burping or fatigue. They tend to peak in the days after starting a new dose level, then ease as the weeks go on. Plenty of people find they're barely noticeable by mid-titration; others find one particular step harder than the others. There is no way to predict in advance which group you'll fall into.

Most of these effects are transient and mild to moderate. What warrants proper medical attention is severe, persistent abdominal pain that radiates toward the back, with or without vomiting, this pattern can indicate acute pancreatitis, which the MHRA highlighted as an infrequent but serious risk in a Drug Safety Update for GLP-1 medicines in January 2026. If that happens, stop the injection and get medical help rather than waiting to see if it passes. You can also report any unexpected side effects through the MHRA Yellow Card scheme.

Dose increases can also interact with how oral contraceptives are absorbed, though the evidence for semaglutide specifically is less clear-cut than for tirzepatide. Worth raising with your prescriber if that applies to you. Pregnancy, breastfeeding, trying to conceive, and being under 18 are all situations in which Wegovy is not used; a prescriber will go through contraindications at consultation.

What 'the right dose' actually means when it's your prescriber making the call

The schedule above is a framework, not a contract. Some people stay at 1.7 mg because 2.4 mg produces persistent nausea that doesn't settle. Others move through the whole titration without notable difficulty. The prescriber's job is to match the dose to the person, not to push everyone to the top of the ladder as fast as possible. NICE guidance for semaglutide notes that if less than 5% weight loss has occurred after six months at the maintenance dose, continuing treatment should be reviewed.

If you want to understand where semaglutide treatment begins and why, or how Wegovy compares to other options for weight management, the weight-loss treatment overview is a good place to get your bearings. The cost of Wegovy through a private pharmacy is also worth understanding before you start, since the price can vary significantly depending on which dose you're on.

At nume, every repeat order is reviewed by a GPhC-registered prescriber before it goes out, there are no auto-renewals and no skipped checks. If your dose is changing, a prescriber reads your update first. Start your free consultation to see whether Wegovy is clinically suitable for you.