Maintenance Dose

Deep dive

Maintenance Dose: complete reference

The maintenance dose is the steady-state dose of a medication at which the patient remains long-term after completing titration. For GLP-1 medications, the standard maintenance doses are: Wegovy 2.4mg weekly (with new high-dose option of 7.2mg), Zepbound 15mg weekly (with lower 10mg or 5mg as personalized maintenance), Ozempic 1mg-2mg weekly, Mounjaro 15mg weekly, Saxenda 3mg daily. Maintenance dose decisions balance maximum efficacy (typically achieved at the highest dose) against tolerability + cost. Many patients use "personalized maintenance" — staying at a lower dose (e.g., 1.7mg semaglutide instead of 2.4mg) once goal weight is achieved, accepting slightly less aggressive weight loss for better long-term tolerability. After discontinuation, the maintenance dose strategy resets — restarting requires gradual titration from 0.25mg or lower starter dose. The maintenance dose is NOT a dose that "weans off" the drug — GLP-1 medications produce regain when stopped regardless of dose at discontinuation.

In practice

After 16 weeks of titration, you reach Wegovy 2.4mg maintenance. Some patients stay there forever; others reduce to 1.7mg once goal weight is stable, accepting slower additional loss for better tolerability.

Clinical context

Personalized maintenance dosing is increasingly common — particularly при transitioning from weight loss to weight maintenance phase.