# Semaglutide Dose and Dosage: The Schedules Documented in the Trials > Semaglutide dose and dosage as documented in the label and trials: subcutaneous titration ladders, oral schedules, the injection, and compounded semaglutide context. Research summary, not advice. Every titration ladder, route, and storage note documented in the label and clinical-trial literature. Reported as findings, never as advice. ## Before the details This page lists the semaglutide dose schedules that appear in the approved label and the published trials. It is a research summary, written in the third person. It does not tell anyone what to take, and there are no instructions here — only a record of what was studied and prescribed in the literature. The pattern is the same everywhere: start low, climb slowly. Because semaglutide lasts about a week in the body and because the most common side effect is stomach upset that is worst when the dose goes up, the schedules step the dose up over months rather than days. The weight-management target dose is higher than the diabetes target dose. There is an injectable version given once a week and a tablet taken once a day on an empty stomach. Any decision about using a medicine belongs with a qualified prescriber, not a website. The reasons behind the slow climb are on the [semaglutide half life](/half-life) page. ## Semaglutide dosage: the subcutaneous titration ladders The semaglutide dosage schedules for the injection are stepwise. For chronic weight management, the documented subcutaneous ladder is 0.25 mg once weekly for weeks 1-4, then 0.5 mg (weeks 5-8), 1.0 mg (weeks 9-12), 1.7 mg (weeks 13-16), and 2.4 mg as the maintenance dose once weekly [1][15]. For type 2 diabetes, initiation is 0.25 mg once weekly, escalating to a 0.5 mg or 1.0 mg maintenance dose, with up to 2.0 mg studied in the SUSTAIN FORTE setting [15]. These are documented label and trial schedules; the slow escalation exists specifically to limit the gastrointestinal effects that peak during titration [16]. ## Semaglutide dose: the oral schedule The oral semaglutide dose is a separate ladder. The tablet, co-formulated with the absorption enhancer SNAC, is dosed 3 mg daily for 30 days, then 7 mg, then 14 mg daily [11][23]. It must be taken on an empty stomach with no more than about 120 mL of water, at least 30 minutes before the first food, drink, or other oral medication [23]. Investigational obesity dosing has gone higher — 25 mg and 50 mg once daily in the OASIS and PIONEER PLUS programs — and an investigational high-dose subcutaneous arm reached 7.2 mg once weekly in STEP UP [15]. All values here are study- or label-attributed. ## Semaglutide injection: route and administration in studies The semaglutide injection studied across the SUSTAIN, STEP, SELECT, and FLOW programs is a once-weekly subcutaneous administration [1][2][3][6]. Subcutaneous means into the fatty layer just under the skin. The once-weekly interval is possible only because the elimination half-life is about one week, so a single weekly dose maintains relatively steady drug levels [13][15]. The trials report the injection as well tolerated overall, with injection-site reactions described as minor where they occur (community reports, not a trial endpoint, on the [effects](/effects) page). ## Compounded semaglutide: the regulatory context Compounded semaglutide is semaglutide prepared by a compounding pharmacy rather than the approved manufactured product. During a federally declared shortage from roughly 2022 to early 2025, compounding pharmacies were permitted to produce it. The FDA documented dosing errors, adverse events requiring hospitalization, and products with unverified or non-pharmaceutical active ingredients during that period. After the shortage was declared resolved in 2025, the compounding pathways were curtailed, generating ongoing regulatory and telehealth uncertainty. Compounded or non-pharmaceutical sources fall outside the approved-product evidence base summarized on this site and carry documented quality and safety concerns. This is a factual summary of the regulatory record, not a recommendation. ## Storage and stability notes Pre-filled pens are typically stored refrigerated (2-8 C) before first use and may then be kept at room temperature (at or below 30 C) for a defined in-use period — commonly cited as up to 56 days — per the approved labeling [15]. Pre-reconstitution lyophilized material is stable refrigerated; reconstituted research preparations are generally kept at 2-8 C and used within about 28 days. The oral tablet is supplied co-formulated with SNAC and is not reconstituted [23]. These are documented stability parameters, summarized for completeness; storage practice should follow the specific product's approved labeling. --- A documentation-grade reading of the semaglutide literature, indexed by half-life and dose; not a clinic, not a pharmacy, and nothing here prescribed or dispensed.