The rule by drug
| Drug | Take the missed dose if… |
|---|---|
| Ozempic (semaglutide) | Within 5 days of the missed dose |
| Wegovy (semaglutide) | Your next dose is more than 2 days (48h) away |
| Mounjaro (tirzepatide) | Within 4 days (96 hours) |
| Zepbound (tirzepatide) | Within 4 days (96 hours) |
Straight from each drug's FDA label. In every case, if you're past the window, skip the missed dose and take the next one on your regular day — don't double up.
Why not double up?
Taking two doses close together — or a double dose — to make up for a miss stacks the drug and sharply increases the odds of nausea, vomiting, and other GI effects. It doesn't help you “catch up.” One skipped dose in a week is not a problem; a double dose can ruin your week.
What a longer gap does
Miss a single dose and resume next week, and you'll barely notice. But if you go a couple of weeks or more without any dose — traveling, a lapse in refills, etc. — your body partly loses its adjustment to the medication. Restarting at your full maintenance dose can then bring back the early nausea and GI side effects, as if you were starting over. After a long gap, it's worth asking your prescriber whether to step the dose back down and re-titrate. Keeping the pen usable also matters — see Ozempic storage.
Work out what to do in three questions
When you realise you have missed one, the answer depends on where you are in the week — not on how bad you feel about it.
- How many days late are you?Within your drug's window (about 5 days for semaglutide, 4 for tirzepatide — confirm on your own label), take it when you remember and keep your usual schedule.
- Is your next scheduled dose close? If you are past the window, or your next dose is nearly due, skip the missed one and take the next on schedule. Do not take two doses to catch up, and do not take a double dose.
- Has it been weeks rather than days? That is a different question — call your prescriber before restarting, because resuming at your full maintenance dose can bring back early side effects and re-titration may be appropriate.
Note that taking a late dose shifts your weekly anchor. If you take a missed dose on a different day and want to move back to your original day, that is the same as changing your dose day and the minimum-gap rule applies — see changing your dose day.
Why doses get missed — and how to stop it happening
Most missed doses trace to a handful of predictable causes. Each has a fix that is easier than managing the consequences:
- Refill ran out mid-week. Order when you open your last pen, not when you finish it — pharmacy delays and prior-authorization holds are common.
- Travel disrupted the routine. Set the reminder to your home time zone and keep it there; the weekly interval matters more than the local clock.
- Dose day drifted. Pick a day you are reliably at home and anchor to it, rather than to a day that varies with your schedule.
- You were unwell and skipped it. Reasonable in the moment, but tell your prescriber rather than deciding alone — especially if you are also on medication that needs adjusting during illness.
- Nobody knows your schedule but you. A shared calendar entry or a partner who knows the day is a genuinely effective backup.
This page summarizes the FDA labels as of 2026-07-18 and is educational, not medical advice. Always follow your specific drug's Instructions for Use, and ask your prescriber after any long interruption.