Every GLP-1 starts low and steps up slowly to keep nausea in check. Here is each drug’s FDA-label titration — the starting dose, how it escalates, and the maximum — taken straight from the prescribing information.
This is the standard label schedule for reference — not instructions. Your clinician sets and adjusts your dose based on how you respond and tolerate it, the pens and tablets come in fixed strengths, and you should never speed up, slow down, or change a dose on your own. Not medical advice.
| Brand | Molecule | For | Form | FDA-label titration | Max dose |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ozempic | semaglutide | Diabetes | Once-weekly injection | Start 0.25 mg once weekly for 4 weeks (this starting dose isn't for blood-sugar control — it's to ease you in). Then 0.5 mg; if more control is needed, step up to 1 mg, then 2 mg, waiting at least 4 weeks at each dose. | 2 mg once weekly |
| Wegovy | semaglutide | Weight | Once-weekly injection | Step up roughly every 4 weeks: 0.25 mg (weeks 1–4) → 0.5 mg → 1 mg → 1.7 mg → 2.4 mg maintenance (from week 17). If 2.4 mg isn't tolerated it can drop to 1.7 mg; a newer label allows going up to 7.2 mg if more weight loss is needed and it's tolerated. | 2.4 mg once weekly (newer max 7.2 mg for weight) |
| Zepbound | tirzepatide | Weight | Once-weekly injection | Start 2.5 mg once weekly for 4 weeks (initiation, not a maintenance dose), then increase by 2.5 mg at a time after at least 4 weeks on the current dose. Maintenance is 5, 10, or 15 mg once weekly. | 15 mg once weekly |
| Mounjaro | tirzepatide | Diabetes | Once-weekly injection | Start 2.5 mg once weekly for 4 weeks, then 5 mg. If more blood-sugar control is needed, increase by 2.5 mg at a time after at least 4 weeks on the current dose. | 15 mg once weekly |
| Rybelsus | semaglutide | Diabetes | Once-daily oral tablet | Start 3 mg once daily for 30 days (initiation, not for glucose control), then 7 mg; if more control is needed, 14 mg after at least 30 days on 7 mg. | 14 mg once daily |
| Trulicity | dulaglutide | Diabetes | Once-weekly injection | Start 0.75 mg once weekly. After 4 weeks it may go to 1.5 mg; if more control is needed, increase by 1.5 mg at a time after at least 4 weeks on the current dose. | 4.5 mg once weekly |
| Victoza | liraglutide | Diabetes | Once-daily injection | Start 0.6 mg once daily for one week (to ease GI side effects, not for glucose control), then 1.2 mg; if more control is needed, 1.8 mg after at least a week on 1.2 mg. | 1.8 mg once daily |
| Saxenda | liraglutide | Weight | Once-daily injection | Increase weekly: 0.6 mg (week 1) → 1.2 mg → 1.8 mg → 2.4 mg → 3.0 mg maintenance. Slower steps are used if side effects aren't tolerated. | 3.0 mg once daily |
General reference, not medical advice. These are prescription drugs; the schedules above are the FDA-label titration for reference only and don’t replace your prescriber’s instructions. Do not start, stop, speed up, or change a dose on your own — talk to a licensed clinician or pharmacist, and read the Medication Guide that comes with your product.