How long before Wegovy starts working?

Two different things get called "working". Appetite changes are commonly reported within the first weeks, at doses the label describes as initiation rather than treatment. The weight-loss figure people quote is measured over a full trial at the maintenance dose, which this label does not reach before week 17. A page that answers with one number is answering only one of the two questions.

How much weight can you lose on Wegovy in 3 months?

No average for Wegovy at three months is printed in its label or in FDA's review of it; the early weeks appear there only as a graph. The earliest printed figures: month 3, −5.9% (about 15 lb) in a Mayo Clinic cohort of 175; week 20, −10.6% (about 25 lb) among the 803 in STEP 4's run-in who reached the full dose; month 6, −10.9% (about 27 lb) in the same cohort, 102 followed to six months. Each is an average, and each counts a different group of people.

Can the schedule be moved faster?

That is a prescriber's decision and this page does not advise on it. What the label says is the escalation interval it was studied at; going faster is off-label territory and going slower is common where side effects are hard. The reactions the label lists — nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, constipation — are typically worst just after a step up.

Do I pay for the titration months?

Yes, every one of them. Wegovy is $349 a month at maintenance on this site, and a first year comes to $4,237 once each step is priced and the thirteen fills a 28-day month bills are counted. The months before maintenance are not free trial months; they are billed at the price for that dose.

← Wegovy (semaglutide injection)

How long does Wegovy take to work?

Earliest week the maintenance dose is reachable

Week 17

About 4 months of dose escalation across 4 steps before the maintenance dose — quoted from the label, not estimated.

No clinician has reviewed this page. Label and trial statements are quoted from the FDA label or the trial cited beside them. General guidance is marked as such, and every price carries the date it was verified. That is sourcing, not medical review. What we do and do not check · Who checked the price

Last updated 2026-06-30 — the version of the FDA label this schedule comes from. Read and dated by Alex Seot.

How long does it take for Wegovy to work?

Wegovy reaches its maintenance dose no earlier than week 17, because the FDA label steps the dose up on a schedule rather than starting at the maintenance dose. That is about 4 months of titration across 4 steps before the maintenance dose, and it is the reason an advertised first-month price says so little. The figure people usually ask about comes from STEP 1, Study 2 on the label (NCT03548935), 68 weeks: 14.9% mean weight loss at 2.4 mg against 2.4% on placebo, intention-to-treat. Appetite changes are usually reported within the first weeks, but the trial figure is measured over its full length rather than at any earlier point — the two are different claims and are often quoted as one. Every week of that schedule is billed: $349 a month at maintenance on this site, with its source and the date it was read on its price page.

The schedule, week by week — and what each week costs

Doses and intervals are quoted from FDA prescribing information for Wegovy (semaglutide). Prices are the published figure for that dose where the manufacturer prices per step; where it charges one price throughout, the column says so.

When	Dose	A month at this step	What the label notes
1–4	0.25 mg	$199	Initiation.
5–8	0.5 mg	$199	—
9–12	1 mg	$349	—
13–16	1.7 mg	$349	The last escalation step. From week 17 the label also allows 1.7 mg as the maintenance dose, instead of 2.4 mg.
17 and on	2.4 mg	$349	The recommended maintenance dose. 1.7 mg is a maintenance dose in its own right on the label, which says to consider treatment response and tolerability when choosing between them — not only whether 2.4 mg is tolerated.
21 and on, optional	7.2 mg (Wegovy HD)	$399	Weight reduction in adults only: after at least 4 weeks tolerated at 2.4 mg, and only if more weight reduction is clinically indicated. Not a dose for cardiovascular risk reduction; not established under 18 or in MASH.

What “working” is being measured

The number quoted everywhere for Wegovy is 14.9% mean weight loss, and it comes from STEP 1, Study 2 on the label (NCT03548935), 68 weeks: 14.9% mean weight loss at 2.4 mg against 2.4% on placebo, intention-to-treat. That figure is the endpoint of a trial, not a milestone you pass on a particular week — and it is an average across everyone in the trial, so individual results sit on both sides of it.

Appetite change is the thing most people notice first and it is commonly reported in the early weeks — at doses the label itself calls initiation rather than treatment. Conflating that with the trial figure is how “it works in a week” gets written.

The reactions the label lists in at least 5% of patients — nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, constipation, abdominal pain — cluster just after a step up rather than at a steady dose. The full label list →

How much weight by month 3 or 6?

The trials draw their early weeks as a graph, and this site does not read numbers off a graph. These are the earliest figures printed as text or in a table, each with who was counted — which moves the number more than the week does.

When	Average change	In pounds	Who was counted
Month 3	−5.9%	about 15 lb	175 Mayo Clinic patients on semaglutide at Wegovy's 1.7 mg or 2.4 mg dose; anyone followed for under three months was left out, which the authors say may overstate the loss. Ghusn et al., JAMA Network Open, 2022
Week 20about 5 months	−10.6%	about 25 lb	The 803 people in STEP 4's open-label run-in who reached 2.4 mg and went on to be randomized; the 99 who did not are not counted, so this is higher than a figure for everyone who started. Rubino et al., JAMA, 2021 (STEP 4)
Month 6	−10.9%	about 27 lb	The 102 of the same Mayo Clinic patients followed for six months. Ghusn et al., JAMA Network Open, 2022

Pounds are the source's own kilograms converted, or its percentage applied to the average starting weight of the people it counted. Someone who starts lighter loses fewer pounds at the same percentage.

Full dosing chart →Wegovy cost without insurance →What a year actually costs →Wegovy price and sources →

Everything on Wegovy

Wegovy timeline, answered

How long before Wegovy starts working?: Two different things get called "working". Appetite changes are commonly reported within the first weeks, at doses the label describes as initiation rather than treatment. The weight-loss figure people quote is measured over a full trial at the maintenance dose, which this label does not reach before week 17. A page that answers with one number is answering only one of the two questions.
How much weight can you lose on Wegovy in 3 months?: No average for Wegovy at three months is printed in its label or in FDA's review of it; the early weeks appear there only as a graph. The earliest printed figures: month 3, −5.9% (about 15 lb) in a Mayo Clinic cohort of 175; week 20, −10.6% (about 25 lb) among the 803 in STEP 4's run-in who reached the full dose; month 6, −10.9% (about 27 lb) in the same cohort, 102 followed to six months. Each is an average, and each counts a different group of people.
Can the schedule be moved faster?: That is a prescriber's decision and this page does not advise on it. What the label says is the escalation interval it was studied at; going faster is off-label territory and going slower is common where side effects are hard. The reactions the label lists — nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, constipation — are typically worst just after a step up.
Do I pay for the titration months?: Yes, every one of them. Wegovy is $349 a month at maintenance on this site, and a first year comes to $4,237 once each step is priced and the thirteen fills a 28-day month bills are counted. The months before maintenance are not free trial months; they are billed at the price for that dose.

The schedule is quoted from FDA prescribing information for Wegovy (semaglutide), read directly. This page reports what the label says and does not recommend a dose or a schedule; that is a conversation with a prescriber. Information only, not medical advice.