Guide to Wegovy Dosage from Starting to Maintenance

What is Wegovy? 

Wegovy is an FDA-approved medication commonly prescribed for weight management in adults. The active ingredient in Wegovy is semaglutide, which works by mimicking the body’s glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptors (1). This stimulates various functions including insulin secretion, appetite suppression, and promoting feelings of fullness to help with weight loss.

Wegovy can be an extremely effective weight loss tool for:

1) those struggling with obesity (BMI ≥ 30) or
2) those who struggle with being overweight (BMI > 27) and have a weight-related health condition such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and or high cholesterol (1). 

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Wegovy Recommended Dosage

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Wegovy is a weekly injection intended to work in conjunction with a calorie-restricted diet and regular exercise (1). It is available in five different dose strengths. The target dose is generally 1.7 or 2.4 mg once weekly, depending on which dose is needed for the desired weight loss (1). This can be different for every individual, so it’s important to work with a provider you trust.

The starting dose is generally much lower, typically 0.25 mg once weekly, and gradually worked up over the course of months. Starting at a lower dose allows your body to adjust to the new medication and minimizes the occurrence of common side effects such as stomach upset, diarrhea, constipation, nausea, and vomiting. Remember that these side effects are generally mild to moderate and usually improve with time (2). 

Regimen schedule by week

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Doses generally increase at four-week intervals until you reach the recommended target dose of 1.7 or 2.4 mg once weekly. Depending on your ability to tolerate the medication due to side effects (e.g., diarrhea, vomiting), you and your provider may decide to delay a dose increase by one to four weeks. 

A typical dosing schedule looks something like this: 

Wegovy Maintenance Dosage

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As stated, the target dose is typically 1.7 – 2.4 mg once weekly and varies from person to person. Your provider will advise you to monitor your weight loss and any associated side effects as the doses gradually increase. 

For instance, you were losing weight consistently at the 1.7 mg dose with minimal side effects. After increasing your dose and reaching the recommended 2.4 mg target, you started experiencing side effects, and your provider determined that this higher dosage was not well tolerated. In that case, you would likely benefit from continuing at 1.7 mg long-term (1). While this is standard practice and has been used as an effective strategy for many of patients, data on lower doses is more limited.

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How to safely administer Wegovy

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Wegovy comes in a one-time-use, disposable pen with the medication already pre-dosed. This means you’ll get new pens for each week. The medication is administered subcutaneously into the lower abdomen fat (two inches away from the belly button), thigh, or upper arm once weekly. 

Wegovy.com

Before beginning, it is recommended that you inspect your Wegovy pen for signs of damage or discoloration to ensure it has not passed the expiration date. 

To safely administer Wegovy, first wash your hands with soap and water. Then use an alcohol swab to clean the injection site.

You will first remove the pen cap then simply line the pen up to your chosen injection site and press the pen firmly against your skin for about 5-10 seconds to allow the medication to be properly administered.  You will hear two clicks once the injection has started. You will also see a yellow bar moving during this process, when it stops moving that’s your indication the injection has finished (3).

For more detailed information on safely administering Wegovy, check out this page.  

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More on Wegovy and Weight Loss

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Sources:

1. WEGOVY (semaglutide) injection, for subcutaneous use. US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved product information. Revised July 2023. fu.
2. Wilding, J. P. H., Batterham, R. L., Calanna, S., Davies, M., Van Gaal, L. F., Lingvay, I., McGowan, B. M., Rosenstock, J., Tran, M. T. D., Wadden, T. A., Wharton, S., Yokote, K., Zeuthen, N., Kushner, R. F., & STEP 1 Study Group (2021). Once-Weekly Semaglutide in Adults with Overweight or Obesity. The New England journal of medicine, 384(11), 989–1002. https://doi-org.offcampus.lib.washington.edu/10.1056/NEJMoa2032183
3. Wegovy® PEN Instructions: Wegovy® (SEMAGLUTIDE) injection 2.4 mg. (2024). Retrieved from https://www.wegovy.com/taking-wegovy/how-to-use-the-wegovy-pen.html