I missed my GLP-1 dose — what should I do?

The label rules, translated: Wegovy/Ozempic (semaglutide): take the missed dose within 5 days; past that, skip and resume on schedule. Zepbound/Mounjaro (tirzepatide): the window is 4 days (96 hours). Either way, the iron rule is never take two doses to catch up — doubling a slow-clearing drug buys you the worst nausea week of your life, not faster progress. Quick decision table: | Time since missed dose | Action | | --- | --- | | 0–4/5 days | Take it now; next dose on your usual day (keep ≥48 h between doses — shift the next one if needed) | | Past the window, < 2 weeks | Skip; resume on schedule; expect possibly softer appetite suppression that week | | 2–4 weeks off | Call the prescriber — many restart one step down | | 4+ weeks off | Treat as a restart; titrating up from a lower step is the norm | Why the restart caution is real: GI tolerance is use-dependent and decays within weeks. People who resume full dose after a month off routinely recreate week-one nausea, but worse. (Daily liraglutide is more forgiving — skip the missed day, resume; restart guidance applies after ≈3+ days off.) One miss is noise. These drugs have ≈5-day half-lives, so a single late dose barely moves blood levels; don’t let a logistics slip become a quit. If misses are chronic, fix the system: phone alarm, pen by the coffee maker, travel planning — and if cost is why you’re stretching doses, read the cost guide instead; deliberate stretching has a name and a better protocol.