Wegovy (Semaglutide): Your Treatment Path

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Morgan Pennington

October 21, 2025
8:55 am

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Ayesha Bashir

October 21, 2025
8:55 am

Wegovy (Semaglutide): Your Treatment Path

Home » Medical Therapy » Wegovy (Semaglutide): Your Treatment Path

Wegovy is taken over a period of months, where you slowly increase the dose. We call this your ‘treatment path’.

You start on the lowest dose and gradually work your way up to what we call a maintenance dose. This is to prevent side effects and give your body time to get used to the medication.

The Wegovy treatment path has three main phases. During the starting phase, your body adjusts to the medication and you’ll start noticing your appetite reduce.

During the dose increasing phase, you’ll up the strength of your medication each month (if you’re tolerating it well), building new habits around eating and exercise. You’ll also probably start seeing visible weight loss.

The last phase is the maintenance phase. By this point you’ll be seeing meaningful weight loss and will work with your prescriber to keep it going.

Let’s break down in each phase in detail, so you know what to expect from treatment.

Key points:

Wegovy treatment starts at a low dose, which is gradually increased, typically over a four-month period.

This staged approach helps you tolerate the medication better and lowers your chance of experiencing side effects.

Weight loss is a long-term goal, so having a roadmap for safe, gradual weight loss over time and under medical supervision is key.

Why Wegovy’s approach differs

Unlike medications you may be more familiar with, Wegovy has a slightly different approach, where you slowly increase your dose over a few months.

Prescribers do this for safety reasons, so that your body has time to adjust to the medication.

Because Wegovy affects processes in your body relating to your gastrointestinal (digestive) system, it can cause common digestive side effects like:

nausea

vomiting

diarrhoea

constipation

indigestion

acid reflux (heartburn)

Titration helps to minimise these side effects by giving your body time to get used to the medicine.

Most of these side effects, if they occur, can be treated with home remedies and over-the-counter medications and will go away on their own as your body adjusts.

It’s important to follow the dosing schedule outlined by your prescriber and never change Wegovy doses without medical supervision.

Important safety considerations

If you’re taking Wegovy, there are some important things to keep in mind to make sure your treatment is effective and safe.

You should only ever take Wegovy as instructed by your prescriber. We understand that it may be tempting to want to take a higher strength Wegovy dose sooner to increase weight loss, but it’s crucial to stick to your dosing schedule for safety reasons.

In rare cases, Wegovy can sometimes cause more serious side effects, including pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas) and severe allergic reactions.

Seek urgent medical attention if you notice any of the following symptoms:

breathing problems

dizziness

wheezing

swelling of the face, throat, lips, or tongue, with difficulty swallowing

fast heartbeat

skin becoming pale and cold

feeling weak

strong stomach pain that moves to the back, or comes with vomiting or fever

To make sure your treatment is working safely, you should always monitor your weight loss progress with a health professional.

Why can’t you start at the highest dose?

You can’t start at the highest dose of Wegovy (semaglutide) because starting at the highest dose is likely to cause severe digestive side effects like nausea, constipation, diarrhoea, indigestion, and heartburn.

It takes the body time to get used to weight loss medications because of the way Wegovy works.

If you started Wegovy at the highest dose, there’s a strong chance the medication would overwhelm and overstimulate your body’s systems, causing severe side effects.

Managing side effects during titration

The good news is that most Wegovy side effects are mild and tend to go away on their own as your body becomes used to the medication.

But there are habits you can adopt and home remedies you can try to manage these side effects as comfortably as possible.

To help manage digestive side effects, try:

eating frequent, small meals

avoiding high-fat and spicy foods

eating a balanced whole-foods diet high in protein and fibre

limiting caffeine and alcohol

staying well-hydrated

eating high-fibre foods, like vegetables, first and carbs last at mealtimes

prioritising restful, quality sleep

staying physically active

If lifestyle changes aren’t reducing side effects on their own, you can treat some side effects with familiar over-the-counter medicines like antacids and mild laxatives.

If you’re having side effects that last more than a few days or don’t go away with home remedies and over-the-counter treatments, talk to your prescriber.

Maintenance planning

The ‘maintenance dose’ is the dose your prescriber puts you on once you’ve titrated through the lower doses of Wegovy, to help you maintain weight loss in the long term.

Usually, you can stay on a maintenance dose of Wegovy indefinitely from week 17 of your treatment onwards.

Your prescriber will typically recommend a maintenance dose of either 1.7mg or 2.4mg (the highest dose of Wegovy currently available).

Once you’re on a maintenance dose, it’s recommended to check in with your prescriber regularly to make sure you’re tolerating the dose well and to assess your weight loss progress.

Maintenance lifestyle

This phase is about keeping on track after your hard work’s started paying off and weight loss has increased.

This phase is all about keeping results going and sticking to the healthy long-term habits you’ve been creating, so you can maintain the success you’ve achieved.

If you don’t approach maintenance as a lifestyle, you may end up slipping back into old habits and regaining some of the weight you’ve worked so hard to lose.

Wegovy is not a magical cure for obesity. It’s a highly effective weight loss treatment that works best when combined with diet and exercise.

Diet

Your diet should focus on nutrient-rich, unprocessed wholefoods, like:

Protein: beef, chicken, turkey, fish, tofu, lentils, chickpeas, and tempeh

Fibre: kale, chard, broccoli, squash, kiwis, bananas, apples, and berries

Complex carbs: brown rice, oats, wholewheat bread or pasta, and quinoa

Healthy fats: olive oil, avocados, oily fish, nuts, and seeds

Exercise

It’s a great idea to include resistance (strength) training into your exercise routine, as this helps build and maintain muscle mass.

Muscle is crucial to weight loss because it helps you burn more calories, even at rest.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to reach the Wegovy maintenance dose?

Typically, your prescriber will recommend a maintenance dose from week 17 of treatment onwards, once you’ve titrated through the lower doses.

Can I stay on a lower dose if side effects are strong?

Yes, your prescriber will only recommend a higher dose if you’re tolerating your current dose well. Everyone is different, and some people adjust to increased doses more slowly than others.

What happens if I miss a dose?

If it’s been less than four days, take the dose, continue as normal. If more than four days, skip that dose, take your next dose as scheduled. If more than two weeks, speak to your prescriber. You may need to restart or adjust your treatment.

Do I need to stay on Wegovy forever?

No, you don’t need to stay on Wegovy forever. But if you’re tolerating it well, you can stay on a maintenance dose indefinitely under medical supervision. You may find that your appetite returns to normal if you stop taking Wegovy.