Semaglutide Dosage Chart: Reference Titration From FDA Labels

Ozempic Labeled Titration (Type 2 Diabetes)

Ozempic is the semaglutide product labeled as an adjunct to diet and exercise for glycemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes — and, in separate labeled indications, for cardiovascular risk reduction and kidney outcomes in defined T2D populations. Its dosage section (§2.2 of the prescribing information) specifies one initiation step, then maintenance steps driven by glycemic need:

Two label details matter for reading this chart correctly. First, the 0.25 mg step is explicitly an initiation dosage — the label directs escalation to 0.5 mg after 4 weeks specifically to reduce gastrointestinal adverse reactions. Second, the 1 mg and 2 mg steps are conditional: each requires at least 4 weeks on the prior dose and unmet glycemic need; 2 mg once weekly is the maximum recommended dosage. The label also directs clinicians treating T2D with chronic kidney disease to the 1 mg maintenance dosage after 4 weeks at 0.5 mg.

Wegovy Labeled Titration (Weight Management & Related Indications)

Wegovy is the semaglutide product labeled for chronic weight management, cardiovascular risk reduction, pediatric weight reduction (≥12 years), and — as of the current label — noncirrhotic MASH with moderate-to-advanced liver fibrosis. Its prescribing information uses a fixed 4-week escalation ladder (Table 1) for all approved indications:

Maintenance dosing then depends on the indication (label §2.2):

Two notes from the label that most informal charts omit. The label tells prescribers: if a patient does not tolerate a dose during escalation, consider delaying escalation for 4 weeks — slower ramps are part of the labeled approach, not a deviation from it. And the 7.2 mg maximum for adults is conditional: it applies only after at least 4 weeks of tolerating 2.4 mg with additional weight reduction clinically indicated.

The current Wegovy label also covers a once-daily oral tablet presentation (separate from Rybelsus, the standalone oral semaglutide for T2D). Because the live prescribing information was reviewed for this page, its oral escalation table (Table 2) is included for completeness:

How Clinicians Typically Use Titration (High-Level)

Both labels escalate in small, spaced steps for the same stated reason: gastrointestinal tolerability. That design choice is consistent with the trial and real-world literature. In the STEP 8 randomized trial — which compared weekly semaglutide 2.4 mg against daily liraglutide 3.0 mg in adults with overweight or obesity without diabetes — the studied, labeled 2.4 mg dose was the comparator with the stronger weight outcome (Rubino et al., JAMA 2022; PMID 35015037). A systematic review of GI adverse effects of anti-obesity medications in non-diabetic adults confirms gastrointestinal events are the dominant tolerability class for this drug family (PMID 41303824).

In real-world practice, the labeled schedule is a starting framework, not a script. Analyses of commercially insured US adults found titration and discontinuation patterns that diverge from the label — slower ramps, earlier stops, and dose holds driven by tolerability and cost (Xu et al.,Obesity 2025; PMID 40464214; Skandov et al., Diabetes Obes Metab 2026; PMID 42420793). The label itself makes room for that: the Wegovy prescribing information explicitly permits delaying escalation by 4 weeks when a step is not tolerated, and the FLEX-SEMA study is testing whether flexible semaglutide dosing reduces early discontinuation (PMID 41725422). Meanwhile, the clinical hazard of moving too fast is documented in case literature — a report of semaglutide-associated gastroparesis linked to rapid dose escalation illustrates why the labels insist on patience (PMID 41054677).

The pattern to notice: every legitimate variation on the chart — slower, held, flexible — is a prescriber-managed variation. None of it is self-directed.

What This Chart Is Not

Compounded vs Branded Dosing: One Clear Distinction

Everything on this page describes branded, FDA-approved semaglutide: products whose labels were reviewed by the FDA, whose titration schedules are published in prescribing information, and whose manufacturing is held to approval standards. Compounded semaglutide is categorically different. It has no FDA-approved label, no reviewed titration schedule, and formulations that vary between compounders; published analyses of compounded semaglutide and tirzepatide products found unique formulations whose efficacy and safety are largely unknown — the reason this page deliberately contains no compounded dosing table.

If your prescription involves a compounded product, the dose on the vial comes from your prescriber and compounder, not from an FDA schedule — and the questions to ask are different. Our pages on GLP-1 microdosing and sourcing risk and the end of the compounding era walk through that landscape in detail.

The Evidence Behind the Chart

The table numbers come from the FDA labels. These are the peer-reviewed sources behind the surrounding prose — what each one actually supports.

How LuxeFit Frames Physician-Led GLP-1 Care

A dosage chart answers one narrow question well: what does the label say? The rest of the dosing conversation — which product fits your indication, how fast to escalate, whether to hold a step, what to do about nausea, when a maintenance dose is right — is clinical work. That is the model LuxeFit is built around: a licensed physician evaluates candidacy, prescribes a regulated product, individualizes the titration to your tolerability, and stays in the loop as your dose changes.

If you are comparing GLP-1 options, our guides on semaglutide for weight loss and tirzepatide vs semaglutide cover the evidence; the LuxeFit GLP-1 program page explains how physician-supervised treatment works in practice.

Frequently Asked Questions

References