Wegovy Missed Dose: What to Do

Missing a Wegovy injection happens to many patients managing their weight loss treatment. This guide explains the 5-day timing window, what to do if you miss your dose, and how to get back on schedule without compromising your results.

Understanding the Timing Window

Wegovy is administered as a once-weekly subcutaneous injection. The medication maintains therapeutic levels in your bloodstream for approximately 7-8 days after injection. However, the FDA and most prescribers use a 5-day window as the standard guideline for missed dose management.

This 5-day window means you have flexibility in when you take your injection relative to your scheduled day. If your injection is supposed to be on Sunday, you can safely administer it anywhere from Friday through the following Wednesday (within that 5-day range) without significantly impacting efficacy or requiring dose adjustments.

The logic behind the 5-day window is practical and patient-centered. It accounts for real-life scenarios like weekend travel, unexpected work commitments, or simply forgetting until a few days later. Studies on other GLP-1 medications like Ozempic show that variations within this window don\'t substantially affect weight loss outcomes or patient safety.

If You\'re Within 5 Days: Take It ASAP

If you realize you\'ve missed your Wegovy dose and it\'s been 5 days or fewer since your scheduled injection day, the guidance is clear: inject it as soon as you remember.

The sooner you inject, the better. There\'s no safety concern with injecting a few days late. Your body hasn\'t experienced significant washout of the medication, and the appetite-suppressing effects are still relatively active. Delaying further only reduces the overlap between doses and may cause you to experience increased appetite sooner.

After injecting a late dose, continue your regular weekly schedule from that point forward. For example, if your normal injection day is Sunday and you missed it, remembering on Tuesday and injecting on Tuesday means your next dose is the following Tuesday (one week later from when you injected). Some people prefer to re-synchronize with their original day, which requires discussion with their healthcare provider about adjusting the next dose timing.

If You\'re Beyond 5 Days: Skip and Resume

Once more than 5 days have passed since your scheduled injection, the recommendation changes. At this point, skip that missed dose entirely and resume your regular injection schedule on the next planned day.

Why skip rather than inject? Beyond 5 days, your bloodstream has already begun metabolizing and clearing the previous dose. Injecting at this point creates dosing confusion and may disrupt your maintenance schedule. Additionally, giving a late injection after a long gap could theoretically increase your overall weekly exposure slightly, moving away from the intended once-weekly dosing design.

Skipping is also psychologically simpler and prevents dosing errors. You maintain your regular injection day and avoid having to calculate when future doses should occur. Most practitioners recommend setting a specific day of the week for your injection (e.g., every Monday morning) and treating it with the same commitment as a daily medication.

What Happens When You Miss a Dose

The first thing you\'ll likely notice within 2-3 days of a missed dose is an increase in hunger and appetite. This is because Wegovy\'s primary mechanism of action involves slowing gastric emptying and signaling satiety through GLP-1 receptor activation. Without the medication present at adequate levels, these signals diminish.

You may experience:

• Increased appetite, especially for sweet or high-carbohydrate foods
• Less fullness after meals
• Cravings that had been suppressed by the medication
• Potential slight weight increase over several days, primarily from water retention and food intake, not fat gain
• Mood changes or increased food-focused thoughts

The good news is that a single missed dose won\'t derail your weight loss progress or cause significant weight regain. Clinical data from GLP-1 trials shows that temporary medication gaps don\'t reverse the biological adaptations already achieved. Your body\'s increased insulin sensitivity and metabolic improvements persist.

However, if you miss multiple doses or go several weeks without your injection, you will likely see weight regain. This is why maintaining consistency with your injection schedule is critical, especially in the early phases of treatment when you\'re still titrating up doses or establishing your maintenance dose.

Preventing Missed Doses

Rather than managing missed doses reactively, preventing them is far more effective. Here are practical strategies:

Set Phone Reminders: Create a recurring alarm or calendar notification for your specific injection day and time. Use your phone\'s default reminder app or a medication app like Medisafe or Pill Reminder. Set the alarm for the morning of your injection day so you have the whole day to administer it.

Use a Medication Calendar: Many patients print out a monthly calendar and mark off their injection dates. This provides a physical reference and lets you quickly see upcoming doses and past doses. Some write the exact time they injected to track consistency.

Link to an Existing Routine: Pair your Wegovy injection with something you do consistently, like your weekly grocery shopping, Sunday morning coffee, or Monday work routine. This habit stacking makes the injection automatic.

Store Wegovy Visibly: Keep your pens in a visible location like your nightstand, bathroom, or refrigerator (where they must be stored). Seeing them regularly serves as a reminder and removes the excuse of forgetting where they are.

Travel Preparation: If traveling, pack your Wegovy in a small cooler bag with a temperature-controlled ice pack. Set your injection reminder for your travel dates. If crossing time zones, discuss with your provider whether to shift your injection day or maintain UTC timing.

Enlist Support: Tell a family member or friend about your injection day. They can text you a reminder or check in. Some couples taking GLP-1s inject together on the same day for accountability.

Missing Doses During Titration vs. Maintenance

The impact of a missed dose differs depending on where you are in your Wegovy treatment.

During Titration Phase (Weeks 1-16): Wegovy has a specific titration schedule: 0.25 mg, 0.5 mg, 1.0 mg, 1.7 mg, then 2.4 mg. If you miss a dose during this phase, it can delay your dose escalation. Most providers recommend sticking to the weekly schedule to reach your maintenance dose on time. Missing one week might push you back by a week in the titration schedule, potentially extending the time to reach 2.4 mg.

During Maintenance Phase (Week 17+): Once you\'re at your maintenance dose (typically 2.4 mg), missing one dose is less consequential. You\'re already at therapeutic levels, so one week off has minimal impact on overall efficacy. The main issue is managing hunger that week.

If you\'re still titrating and miss a dose, contact your healthcare provider to discuss whether to skip to the next dose level on schedule or extend that dose level by one week.

Restarting After a Long Gap

If you\'ve missed multiple doses or stopped Wegovy for more than 2-3 weeks, you may need to restart carefully. Some patients can resume at their previous dose level, while others need to retitrate or take a lower dose to minimize side effects.

If you stopped at 2.4 mg and restart after a 4-week gap, your body has largely cleared the medication and adjusted its appetite regulation accordingly. Restarting at 2.4 mg might cause intense nausea or other side effects because your GI system has re-adapted.

Contact your prescriber before restarting after a significant gap. They may recommend:

• Resuming at your maintenance dose with a lower starting meal size
• Stepping back to a lower dose (like 1.7 mg) for one week, then advancing
• Starting fresh with titration if the gap was more than a few months

Storage and Expiration Considerations

Wegovy pens must be refrigerated at 2-8 degrees Celsius (36-46 degrees Fahrenheit) before first use. Once you start using a pen, it remains potent for 28 days at room temperature or refrigerated.

If you miss multiple doses, your pen may approach or pass its 28-day expiration after opening. Using an expired or improperly stored dose could be ineffective. Always check the date on your pen before injecting and ensure proper refrigeration.

This is another reason to maintain consistent injection schedules: expired pens waste medication and money.

Special Situations

Illness or Hospitalization: If you\'re hospitalized or severely ill, discuss your Wegovy schedule with your medical team. Short gaps during acute illness are usually acceptable. If hospitalized for more than one week, your provider may restart you at a lower dose post-discharge.

Surgery: Many surgeons recommend pausing GLP-1 medications 1-2 weeks before surgery due to concerns about delayed gastric emptying and anesthesia. After surgery, wait until you\'re eating normally again before restarting, then follow your provider\'s guidance on re-introduction.

Medication Supply Issues: If your pharmacy runs out or there\'s a shortage, contact your provider immediately. They may recommend delaying your dose slightly (within the 5-day window) or switching to an alternative GLP-1 like Ozempic temporarily.

Drug Interactions and Timing

Wegovy doesn\'t have many direct drug interactions, but some medications may affect how your body processes it or how well it works. If you\'re taking other medications, ensure you\'re spacing your injections appropriately from them.

For example, if you\'re on certain diabetes medications that also promote weight loss or affect glucose levels, your Wegovy dose might need adjustment. Your healthcare provider should review your full medication list at each visit.

Missing doses can sometimes actually help you recognize medication interactions. If you notice improved digestion or fewer side effects during a week you missed your dose, mention this to your provider. It might indicate you need a dose adjustment or medication timing change.

Psychological Impact of Missing Doses

Beyond physical symptoms, missing a Wegovy dose can trigger psychological challenges. Many patients feel a sense of loss of control over their weight when appetite returns. This can be psychologically difficult, especially if you\'ve been doing well on the medication.

It\'s important to reframe a missed dose as a temporary setback, not a failure. One missed injection doesn\'t erase weeks or months of progress. Most patients maintain their weight loss even after missing occasional doses, provided they get back on schedule.

If you\'re frequently missing doses, this might indicate:

• Difficulty with your injection day or time
• Side effects that are making you hesitant to inject
• Ambivalence about your weight loss treatment
• Practical barriers (cost, access, storage)

Discuss these barriers with your healthcare provider. They may adjust your injection day, help manage side effects, or connect you with resources.

How Other GLP-1s Handle Missed Doses

If you\'re considering switching from Wegovy or comparing to other medications, know that most GLP-1s follow similar missed-dose guidelines:

Ozempic (semaglutide) uses the same 5-day window. Mounjaro (tirzepatide) also follows a 5-day guideline. Saxenda (liraglutide) is injected daily, so missing doses is more frequent but individual doses are smaller.

The principle across all injectable GLP-1s is consistent: take missed doses within a reasonable window, then resume your regular schedule.

Keeping Records

Maintain a simple log of your injection dates and times, especially if you miss doses. Write down:

• Scheduled injection date
• Actual injection date and time
• Any reason for the delay (if applicable)
• Any side effects or changes in appetite that week

This record helps you and your provider identify patterns. If you miss doses frequently, the log shows whether it\'s random or related to specific days or circumstances. It also helps your provider determine if dose adjustments are needed.

Key Takeaways

• Wegovy injections can be taken within 5 days of your scheduled dose without safety concerns or dose adjustments
• If you miss your dose and are within 5 days, inject as soon as you remember
• If more than 5 days have passed, skip that dose and resume your regular weekly schedule
• A single missed dose won\'t cause significant weight regain, but expect increased appetite within 2-3 days
• Prevention through reminders, habit stacking, and visible storage is more effective than managing missed doses
• Missing doses during titration may delay reaching your maintenance dose
• After a long gap, consult your provider before restarting to avoid excessive side effects
• Keep records of your injection dates to identify patterns and help your provider optimize your treatment