# Semaglutide Dose & Dosage: What the Trials and Label Document > Semaglutide dose and dosage as documented in trials and the FDA label: the titration schedule, oral vs injection, half-life, and storage. Third person, never advice. ## The short version Plain-English first, and a hard line up front: this page describes what was given in the trials and what the FDA label documents. It is not a dosing instruction, and nothing here tells you what to take. Semaglutide is dosed two ways. The injection is once weekly, started low and stepped up over weeks so the stomach can adjust — for weight management the documented schedule climbs from 0.25 mg to a 2.4 mg maintenance dose over roughly four months [12]. The tablet is once daily and must be taken fasting because almost none of it is absorbed otherwise [12]. The drug's standout pharmacology is its half-life: about a week, which is why a weekly shot works and why it takes about five weeks to clear after the last dose [12]. Every number on this page is study- or label-attributed, in the third person. ## Semaglutide dose: the documented escalation The defining feature of semaglutide dosing is slow escalation, because the gastrointestinal effects cluster during titration [5]. For chronic weight management, the documented subcutaneous schedule is 0.25 mg once weekly for weeks 1-4, then 0.5 mg, then 1.0 mg, then 1.7 mg, reaching a 2.4 mg maintenance dose once weekly [12]. For type 2 diabetes, the documented subcutaneous schedule initiates at 0.25 mg once weekly, then 0.5 mg, then 1.0 mg maintenance, with up to 2.0 mg studied in SUSTAIN FORTE — where the 2.0 mg dose lowered HbA1c more than 1.0 mg, supporting the higher approved diabetes dose [20]. These are documented schedules, recorded here as fact, not as a recommendation for any individual. ## Semaglutide dosage across the formulations Semaglutide dosage differs by formulation. Oral semaglutide for type 2 diabetes, taken with the absorption enhancer SNAC, is documented as 3 mg daily for 30 days, then 7 mg, then 14 mg daily [12]. Oral obesity-research programs (OASIS, PIONEER PLUS) studied 25 mg and 50 mg once daily [12]. An investigational high-dose obesity program (STEP UP) studied 7.2 mg once weekly subcutaneously [12]. The injectable doses anchoring the headline trials were 2.4 mg once weekly in SELECT and STEP 1 [3][1], 0.5 or 1.0 mg in SUSTAIN-6 [2], and 1.0 mg in FLOW [7]. Each figure maps to the trial that used it. ## Oral semaglutide and why fasting matters Oral semaglutide is the fussy one. Co-formulated with SNAC (an absorption enhancer that briefly raises local stomach pH to help the peptide cross), it still has an oral bioavailability of only about 0.4-1% [12]. The documented administration is on an empty stomach, 30 minutes before the first food, drink, or other oral medication, with no more than about 120 mL of water [12]. Get the fasted timing wrong and the absorbed dose drops substantially [12][17]. In PIONEER 6, once-daily oral semaglutide was noninferior to placebo for major adverse cardiovascular events in high-risk type 2 diabetes, with numerically lower death rates [8] — the oral form's cardiovascular safety anchor. ## Semaglutide injection and route The semaglutide injection is the once-weekly subcutaneous route — under the skin, not into a vein or muscle [12]. The two routes studied are subcutaneous (once weekly) and oral tablet (once daily) [12]. Community reports describe mild, short-lived injection-site reactions — redness, a small bump, tenderness — as discussed on [the effects page](/effects); those are anecdotal, not clinical findings. The route detail that actually drives the schedule is the slow albumin-mediated clearance, which is what makes once-weekly dosing pharmacologically possible in the first place [12]. ## Half-life and clearance Semaglutide's elimination half-life is approximately one week — commonly cited as about 165-168 hours — for both the subcutaneous and oral forms, with effectively complete clearance roughly five weeks after the final dose [12]. That long half-life is built on two structural features: strong reversible albumin binding via the C18 fatty di-acid side chain, and DPP-4 resistance from the Aib-8 substitution [12]. The practical consequence shows up in the pregnancy caution on [the effects page](/effects): because the drug lingers for weeks, label guidance advises a multi-week washout before a planned pregnancy [17]. ## Storage and stability, as documented Pre-filled pens are typically stored refrigerated (2-8 °C) before first use and may then be kept at room temperature (up to 30 °C) for a defined in-use period — commonly cited as up to 56 days — per the approved labeling [12]. Reconstituted research preparations are generally kept at 2-8 °C and used within about 28 days [12]. Oral semaglutide is supplied as a tablet co-formulated with SNAC and is not reconstituted [12]. These are documented handling notes, not instructions for use. --- A plain-spoken audit of the semaglutide trial record with the cardiovascular outcomes read first and the hype read last — an editorial digest, not a clinic, a prescriber, or a vendor.