When to increase your Wegovy dose?
Doses of Wegovy® are typically increased every 4 weeks so long as a person is tolerating the medication and their appetite is not overly suppressed. The goal of increasing the dose of the medication is to help reduce calorie intake and promote weight loss. Throughout the process of increasing your dosage, continue taking Wegovy once weekly.
Your healthcare provider will need to write a new prescription for each dose strength of Wegovy until you reach the 2.4 mg dose. Unless directed otherwise by your healthcare provider, you will typically follow this dosing schedule:
- Week 1-4: 0.25 mg weekly
- Week 5-8: 0.5 mg weekly
- Week 9-12: 1 mg weekly
- Week 13-16: 1.7 mg weekly
- Week 17-20: 2.4 mg weekly
Additional dosing considerations:
A higher dose of 7.2 mg is available. Escalation beyond 2.4 mg will be considered on an individual basis by your clinician, weighing potential benefits against risks of increased side effects.
Do you have to increase your Wegovy dose?
Wegovy is FDA-approved for long-term use at 1.7 mg and 2.4 mg doses; however, in some cases patients do not end up taking these higher doses. For example, some patients find that their medication is working well for them at a lower dose or they are having side effects at their current dose. In these cases, it may be preferable to stay at a lower dose rather than increase to higher doses according to the normal schedule.
Learn more about how Form Health clinicians prescribe Wegovy to help patients achieve their weight loss goals.
Brooke Marsico, PA-C
Brooke Marsico completed her physician assistant training at Midwestern University in 2011. She began her practice in the field of Obesity Medicine at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago where she practiced from 2016 to 2021. She went on to treat patients living with obesity at Cleveland Clinic from 2021 to 2022 prior to joining the team at Form Health. Brooke is passionate about helping patients living with obesity achieve meaningful weight loss and improve their health. Her practice focuses on individualized behavioral and pharmacological intervention to help patients reach their goals. She is also experienced in managing patients who have a history of bariatric surgery.
