Dose steps
The Wegovy pill dose steps: 1.5, 4, 9 and 25 mg
Four strengths, 30 days each: 1.5 mg to start, then 4, then 9, then 25 mg as the maintenance dose. The label allows a step to be held longer when it is not tolerated, and offers the 1.7 mg weekly injection to people who cannot tolerate 25 mg.
DM, the one who read the label
Sources checked Sep 28, 2026
Published Oct 5, 2026
Updated Oct 7, 2026 · 2 min read
The short answer
Four strengths, 30 days each: 1.5 mg to start, then 4, then 9, then 25 mg as the maintenance dose. The label allows a step to be held longer when it is not tolerated, and offers the 1.7 mg weekly injection to people who cannot tolerate 25 mg.
What the label says
From the labelInitiate WEGOVY tablet with a dosage of 1.5 mg once daily for 30 days. Then follow the dosage escalation schedule, titrating every 30 days to achieve the maintenance dosage. If patients do not tolerate a dose during dosage escalation, consider delaying dosage escalation. The recommended maintenance dosage of WEGOVY tablets is 25 mg orally once daily. If patients do not tolerate the 25 mg once daily maintenance dosage, consider switching to WEGOVY injection 1.7 mg once weekly.
So the calendar is: days 1 to 30 at 1.5 mg, days 31 to 60 at 4 mg, days 61 to 90 at 9 mg, then 25 mg from day 91. Each step is a new bottle.
30 days and the level
Thirty days is about how long a step takes to reach its level in the model, though the label does not give that as its reason. Semaglutide has a one week half-life, and the daily tablets stack for four to five weeks before the amount added each morning equals the amount cleared. Moving up before that would mean climbing on top of a climb.
The label gives one reason for the whole staircase, and it is not effect: the escalation is described as a way to reduce the risk of gastrointestinal adverse reactions. That is also why the two exits the label writes down are both about tolerance: hold a step longer, or move to the weekly injection at 1.7 mg.
What people actually do
On the forums, 4 mg is the step people talk about most, and dread most: it is where fatigue, nausea and night reflux are described most often. It is also the step people most often ask to stay on, sometimes for the stomach, sometimes for the price. The label has an answer for the first reason and none for the second.
The other conversation is impatience: a month at 1.5 mg with nothing to show for it, and a question about whether the low steps do anything. The label does not claim they do. It calls 25 mg the maintenance dose and describes everything below it as the way there.
Oolite counts the days on each step and marks the morning the label allows the next. Whether to take it is the prescriber's call, and the count is there to make that conversation shorter.
Questions people ask
Why start so low if 25 mg is the real dose?
The label says the escalation exists to reduce the risk of gastrointestinal adverse reactions. The lower steps are there for the stomach, not for effect. The label does not promise any result at 1.5 mg.
Can I stay on 4 mg longer than 30 days?
The label says that if a dose is not tolerated during escalation, delaying the escalation can be considered. That is a prescriber decision. The label does not describe staying on a lower step for other reasons.
What if 25 mg is too much?
The label says that if patients do not tolerate the 25 mg maintenance dosage, switching to the Wegovy injection at 1.7 mg once weekly can be considered. Again a prescriber decision.
Do the days restart if I miss some?
The label counts 30 days per step and describes a single missed dose as skipped. It does not say how many missed days would reset a step. Ask your prescriber before stepping up after a rough month.
Sources
- Wegovy prescribing information, Novo Nordisk, §2.2, revised 06/2026 · 1.5 mg once daily for 30 days, titrating every 30 days; consider delaying escalation if not tolerated; 25 mg maintenance; switch to 1.7 mg injection if 25 mg not tolerated.
- Rybelsus and Ozempic tablets prescribing information, Novo Nordisk, §12.3, revised 1/2026 · Steady state after 4 to 5 weeks of daily tablets.
Sources checked Sep 28, 2026. This page is information, not medical advice: read the medical disclaimer, and talk to your prescriber or pharmacist about your own treatment.
Written by
DM, the one who read the label
I make Oolite. I read every label revision the day it comes out and rewrite these answers when they change.
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