The GLP-1 titration schedule — and the months you pay full price to climb it.

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Titration charts are written in four-week blocks because the labels are. Bills are not. Twelve four-week months is 48 weeks, so a chart that treats a month as four weeks runs the year out four weeks early and puts every escalation step roughly a month ahead of where the invoice actually lands. This planner maps weeks onto months at 52 ÷ 12 = 4.33 weeks per month, which is why a step that begins in week 5 still shows as billing month one. It is a small correction and it is the difference between a schedule you can budget against and one you cannot.

How long does it take to get to 15 mg of tirzepatide?

On the Zepbound label's minimum intervals, 21 weeks — about 5 months. The label starts at 2.5 mg once weekly for four weeks, moves to 5 mg, and then permits 2.5 mg increments after at least four weeks on the current dose: 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5, 15. "At least four weeks" is a floor, not a schedule, so a prescriber holding you longer at a step is following the label, not deviating from it. If a dose is not tolerated the label says to consider a lower maintenance dosage.

How long does semaglutide titration take?

Wegovy's Table 1 reaches maintenance at week 17 — four weeks each at 0.25 mg, 0.5 mg, 1 mg and 1.7 mg, then maintenance from week 17. For weight reduction in adults maintenance is 1.7 mg or 2.4 mg with 2.4 mg recommended. The label adds that if a dose is not tolerated during escalation, escalation may be delayed by four weeks — so a slower climb is an explicitly contemplated outcome rather than a failure.

Can I go faster than the label schedule?

That is a question for your prescriber, and the label is unusually direct about why it matters: the escalation schedule exists to reduce the risk of gastrointestinal adverse reactions. The intervals are minimums, which means the label contemplates going slower and does not contemplate going faster. This planner shows the schedule; it does not shorten it, and it should not be used to argue for a jump.

Does compounded semaglutide follow the same titration schedule?

It has no schedule of its own to follow. Compounded semaglutide and tirzepatide are not FDA-approved products and carry no label; prescribers writing for compounded product commonly titrate against the Wegovy and Zepbound schedules, which is why those are the schedules shown here. A compounding prescriber may deviate, and some programs are built around deliberately sub-therapeutic microdosing, which is a different thing again. Follow the plan you were actually given.

Why does my cost not go down while my dose is low?

Because these are monthly program prices, not per-milligram prices. Every provider on our roster publishes one figure for a molecule, and it does not move between a 2.5 mg starting dose and a 15 mg maintenance dose. The practical consequence is that the early months are the expensive ones per milligram — you pay a full month's price for a quarter of the drug. Some providers do tier by dose; we do not hold tier data, so ask which tier your target dose falls into before you commit to anything.

What happens if I miss a dose during escalation?

The labels differ, so check the one that matches your product. Zepbound says to take the missed dose as soon as possible within four days, and to skip it if more than four days have passed. Wegovy says to administer as soon as possible if the next scheduled dose is more than two days away, and to skip it if less — and that after multiple missed doses, escalation may need to be reinitiated at a lower dosage. Both are linked below.

• The dose calculatorConvert any step on this schedule to units on a U-100 syringe at your vial's strength.
• The true cost calculatorThe full twelve months, with intro step-ups and term commitments applied.
• Semaglutide vs tirzepatideWhich molecule, and what the evidence actually shows about the difference.
• Best tirzepatide providersThe ruling — who we would use, and what each one charges.