Ozempic Dose Chart: Label Steps by Week

The Ozempic dose chart on the US label starts at 0.25 mg once weekly for 4 weeks, then 0.5 mg, with any later step coming at least 4 weeks after the one before. The label's steps are 0.25, 0.5, 1 and 2 mg, and the prescriber decides the pace. This page sets those steps beside Wegovy's, a separate product with its own schedule, so you can see what a next step looks like before your visit. It quotes the labels and gives no advice on changing a dose.

In short

• The Ozempic US label starts at 0.25 mg weekly for 4 weeks, then 0.5 mg (DailyMed).
• Later steps to 1 mg and 2 mg come after at least 4 weeks on the previous dose, and 2 mg weekly is the label maximum (DailyMed, FASS).
• Wegovy is a separate product with a 16-week escalation, maintenance doses of 1.7 mg or 2.4 mg, and an optional step to 7.2 mg after at least 4 weeks on 2.4 mg (DailyMed).

What is the starting dose in the Ozempic dose chart?

The Ozempic US prescribing information on DailyMed gives a starting dose of 0.25 mg injected subcutaneously once weekly for 4 weeks.

After 4 weeks on 0.25 mg, the same label says to increase the dosage to 0.5 mg once weekly. That is the first step up, and it is the only step the label words as a fixed 4 weeks rather than "at least" 4 weeks.

The European schedule matches. The Swedish product information (SmPC) on FASS opens with a 0.25 mg starting dose and uses the same 4-week spacing.

If you want every label's steps in one place, you can see every label's dose steps side by side, including Ozempic's. In every case, your prescriber decides what you actually take and when.

How long do you stay on each dose before the next step?

The Ozempic label places later steps at least 4 weeks apart. Section 2.2 of the US label says the dosage may be increased to 1 mg once weekly after at least 4 weeks on 0.5 mg, if more glycemic control is needed.

It then says the dosage may be increased to 2 mg once weekly after at least 4 weeks on 1 mg, again if more glycemic control is needed.

Two wording points matter here:

• "At least 4 weeks" is a minimum, not a due date.
• "May be increased" is permission for a prescriber to act, not an instruction to anyone.

The label also gives a separate path for chronic kidney disease. There the maintenance dosage is 1 mg once weekly, reached after at least 4 weeks on 0.5 mg.

What is the maximum dose of Ozempic?

The Ozempic US label states that the maximum recommended dosage is 2 mg once weekly (DailyMed, section 2.2).

The Swedish SmPC on FASS says the same in its own words: weekly doses above 2 mg are not recommended.

So the label's ceiling is the same in the US and Sweden. Figures such as 2.4 mg or 7.2 mg do not belong to Ozempic. They appear on the Wegovy label, which is covered below.

The label makes each step after 0.5 mg conditional on needing more glycemic control, so whether a further step is appropriate is a prescriber's call, made from your own results.

Why does the label start so low and raise the dose slowly?

The Ozempic label tells prescribers to follow its dose escalation to reduce the risk of gastrointestinal adverse reactions (DailyMed, section 2.2).

On that wording, the 0.25 mg start is the first step of an escalation built around stomach tolerance. The label ties the 1 mg and 2 mg steps to needing more glycemic control.

To see how semaglutide from earlier doses lingers, you can see a week-by-week decay table for semaglutide after a dose.

The Warnings and Precautions section of the same label names signs that need medical attention: severe, persistent abdominal pain, which can signal pancreatitis; gallbladder symptoms; and vomiting or diarrhea that leads to dehydration, which can affect the kidneys. Contact your prescriber promptly if any of these appear, and seek emergency care if pain is severe.

For everyday meals around a shot, you can read what to eat on Ozempic shot day, which covers small, lower-fat meals and each label's nausea rates.

How does the Ozempic schedule compare with Wegovy's?

Ozempic and Wegovy are separate products with separate labels: Ozempic's maximum is 2 mg weekly, while the Wegovy US label allows up to 7.2 mg weekly (DailyMed, Wegovy).

The table below puts both labels side by side by week. The Ozempic weeks are the earliest weeks each step could start, worked out from the label: 4 weeks on 0.25 mg, then at least 4 on 0.5 mg (4 + 4 = 8, so week 9), then at least 4 on 1 mg (8 + 4 = 12, so week 13).

Sources: Ozempic cells from the Ozempic DailyMed record, Wegovy cells from the Wegovy DailyMed record.

The two labels share the same first 8 weeks, then diverge. In Europe, the German Wegovy Fachinformation on fachinfo.de also describes a 16-week titration to 2.4 mg, with 7.2 mg an option for adults with a BMI of 30 or more. For the full Wegovy table, you can see Wegovy's own 16-week titration schedule in full.

What quietly misleads when reading a dose chart?

A dose chart is a label timeline, and the ways it misleads are mostly about what it leaves unsaid.

• Do not read "at least 4 weeks" as a due date. The label sets a minimum gap, and the prescriber decides whether a step happens at all.
• Keep the two products apart. A week-13 row on the Wegovy label shows 1.7 mg, while the earliest Ozempic row for week 13 shows 2 mg. The numbers are not interchangeable.
• Check which label a chart quotes. A chart should name its source record, such as DailyMed or an EU SmPC, and say which country it applies to.
• Treat week counts as a reference, not a plan. Your own timeline depends on your prescriber's decisions, so bring your dates to the visit instead of counting from a chart.
• Do not borrow a weight-loss reading. Ozempic's US label does not carry a weight-management indication, so its steps are not a weight-loss ladder.

How can Dose & Lose help you keep track of the steps?

Dose & Lose is a tracking app for iPhone and Android where you log each dose with the medication, dose, date and time, injection site, pain level and notes.

From those logs it draws an estimate of how much medication is active over 7, 30 or 90 days. It is an estimate, not a lab value, and it does not give dosing advice. You can log each dose and step and see a medication-level estimate build over time.

On the website, you can already estimate how much semaglutide a logged dose history may leave in the body. The tool uses the label's half-life and never suggests a dose.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a dose higher than 2 mg for Ozempic?

No, the Ozempic US label gives 2 mg once weekly as the maximum recommended dosage. The Swedish SmPC on FASS likewise says weekly doses above 2 mg are not recommended. Higher figures such as 2.4 mg and 7.2 mg belong to the Wegovy label, a separate product.

Can a prescriber keep someone on a lower dose longer than 4 weeks?

The label words its later steps as after at least 4 weeks, so 4 weeks is a minimum, not a deadline, and the dose may be increased, not must be. The timing sits with the prescriber, who decides whether and when to move on. Questions about staying on a dose go to that prescriber.

What if 4 weeks have passed and the prescriber has not raised the dose?

For later steps the label's 4 weeks is a minimum, so a longer wait does not conflict with it. Whether to increase is the prescriber's decision. Raise it at the next visit or message, and ask what the plan is. Severe abdominal pain or persistent vomiting should be reported promptly.

Does Ozempic's schedule ever reach the doses Wegovy uses?

No, the Ozempic label stops at 2 mg weekly, below the 2.4 mg and 7.2 mg that the Wegovy label lists (DailyMed). The two are separate products with separate schedules and maximums. Which one applies is a decision for the prescriber.

Sources

• Ozempic prescribing information, DailyMed: the Ozempic steps, weeks between steps, maximum dose, reason for gradual escalation and warning signs.
• Wegovy prescribing information, DailyMed: the Wegovy escalation table and maintenance doses.
• Ozempic SmPC, FASS (Sweden): the European schedule and its 2 mg ceiling.
• Wegovy Fachinformation, fachinfo.de: the German EU label for Wegovy's 16-week titration and 7.2 mg option.

Figures are checked as described in our editorial policy. Published by Petros IT Solutions SRL, byline Dose & Lose Editorial Team. Corrections: office@doseandlose.com.