Section
Weeks
6 pages in this section, most recently updated September 4, 2026. Each opens with a plain-English summary and cites its sources.
01 · Weeks
FeaturedYour first injection: what it is actually like
You'll get: The first shot is a two-minute task. Check the box shows the starting dose, read the instructions once, and pick a site.
Where the needle goes, what each device does, how long the shot takes, what you feel in the first three days, and the six things to have sorted before you open the box. Pens and compounded vials covered separately.
Updated September 4, 2026
02 · Weeks
FeaturedWeeks 1 to 4: the initiation dose
You'll get: The first four weeks are a starting dose meant to get your body used to the medicine, not a treatment dose.
What the labels say the first four weeks are for, what happens to the drug level in your blood, which side effects show up, and why to ignore the scale.
Updated September 4, 202603 · Weeks
Weeks 5 to 8: the first step up
You'll get: Week five is the first dose increase, and it is a prescriber's decision, not automatic.
What changes at the first dose increase, why side effects often come back for a few days, what the label lets a prescriber do if a step is not tolerated, and what the trials measured at this point.
Updated September 4, 202604 · Weeks
Weeks 9 to 12: the second step and the first real numbers
You'll get: By week nine most people have a routine, and nausea has become predictable. Constipation and fatigue often persist.
The third label step, what settles and what does not, the follow-up a prescriber may want by now, and why a flat patch at week ten is not a plateau.
Updated September 4, 202605 · Weeks
FeaturedWhen weight change typically starts: the STEP 1 and SURMOUNT-1 curves
You'll get: Two large trials produced the numbers everyone quotes. Treatment curves separated from placebo at the first weigh-in at week four.
What the two pivotal trials measured and when, how early the curves separated from placebo, the final totals, and why none of it is a forecast for you.
Updated September 4, 202606 · Weeks
Plan your first 12 weeks
You'll get: Give the planner your first injection date and the label schedule your prescriber follows. It returns a dated week-by-week plan.
Pick a start date and the label schedule your prescriber follows, get a dated calendar of every injection and step up, then export it to your phone.
Updated September 4, 2026