How Long Does Wegovy Stay in Your System?

Short answer: Wegovy (semaglutide) has a half-life of about 1 week, which is why it is injected once a week, and the UK product information (SmPC, section 5.2) says semaglutide stays in the circulation for about 7 weeks after the last 2.4mg dose. After the last 25mg Wegovy tablet, it gives about 5 to 7 weeks. Because it lasts so long, Wegovy is stopped at least 2 months before a planned pregnancy (section 4.6). The product information describes no way to speed up how fast it leaves your body; side effects would be expected to ease as the level falls, and severe symptoms need urgent help.

This guide sets out what the UK product information says, as of October 2026: what the half-life means, how long Wegovy pens and tablets stay in your body after the last dose, whether a lower dose clears sooner, what it means for side effects, pregnancy and operations, and how Wegovy compares with Mounjaro and Foundayo.

How long does Wegovy stay in your system?

Semaglutide, the medicine in Wegovy, stays in your bloodstream for about 7 weeks after a last 2.4mg injection, according to section 5.2 of the UK product information. That is the figure it gives for the 2.4mg dose. For Wegovy tablets it gives about 5 to 7 weeks after the last 25mg tablet. The timeline shows what happens after a last injection.

So Wegovy does not stop acting on the day you stop. The level falls gradually over those weeks, and its effects would be expected to fade gradually too. What to expect when you stop, and how to plan it with your pharmacist, is in our guide to coming off Wegovy.

What is the half-life of Wegovy?

The half-life of Wegovy is about 1 week: that is how long it takes for the amount of semaglutide in your blood to fall by half. The UK product information gives this figure for Wegovy pens and Wegovy tablets alike (section 5.2), and says it makes semaglutide suitable for a once-weekly injection.

Compared with the GLP-1 hormone your own gut makes, semaglutide lasts far longer. The product information explains why: more than 99% of it is bound to albumin, a protein in the blood, which slows its removal by the kidneys and protects it from being broken down.

A long half-life also means levels take a while to build up. The Wegovy tablets product information says levels settle, or reach a steady state, after 4 to 5 weeks on the same daily dose. The Wegovy pen's product information gives no figure in weeks for this. How the doses build up, and when appetite and weight usually change, is in our guide to how long Wegovy takes to work.

How long does it take Wegovy to leave your body completely?

About 7 weeks after the last 2.4mg dose: the UK product information says that, with a half-life of about 1 week, semaglutide will be present in the circulation for approximately 7 weeks after the last 2.4mg dose. It gives no separate figure for any other dose. It is a general figure, not a measurement for you, so treat it as a guide rather than an exact date.

What about Wegovy 7.2mg?

The product information for the 7.2mg pen repeats the same 7-week figure for the 2.4mg dose and gives none for 7.2mg. It also says average levels on a steady 7.2mg dose are about three times those on 2.4mg (about 236 against 75 nmol/L). It does not say whether that changes the time in the circulation, and we do not work out a figure of our own. The pregnancy advice is the same at 7.2mg: stop at least 2 months before a planned pregnancy. More on this dose is in our guide to Wegovy 7.2mg.

Does a lower dose such as 0.25mg leave your system faster?

Not in the sense of a shorter half-life: that is about a week whatever the dose, though there is less medicine to clear, and the UK product information gives no figure in weeks for 0.25mg. It gives one half-life for semaglutide without tying it to a dose, and says levels rise in proportion to the dose. Our reading of section 5.2 is that after a last 0.25mg dose the level halves each week in the same way, starting from a much lower level. We do not calculate a number of weeks from that.

Two things do not change with the dose: Wegovy is stopped at least 2 months before a planned pregnancy, and if you have had a break and want to start again, the dose you restart on depends on how long it has been since your last one. Our guide to restarting Mounjaro or Wegovy after a break explains how we work that out.

How long does the Wegovy pill stay in your system?

About 5 to 7 weeks after the last 25mg tablet, according to the Wegovy tablets product information (section 5.2). The tablet contains semaglutide, the same medicine as the injection, with the same half-life of about 1 week. It is taken every day rather than once a week, and the product information says that daily dosing, together with the long half-life, reduces the ups and downs in the level from one day to the next.

As with the injection, the tablets are stopped at least 2 months before a planned pregnancy (section 4.6). How to take them so that they are absorbed properly is in our guide to how to take the Wegovy pill.

Can you get Wegovy out of your system faster?

No. Semaglutide leaves your body at its own pace, and the UK product information describes no treatment that speeds this up. Even after an overdose, its advice is that the person is watched for signs and given supportive care, which means treating symptoms such as sickness and dehydration while the medicine wears off (section 4.9). It says an overdose may cause stomach and bowel problems that could lead to dehydration.

So we do not suggest any product, drink or diet that claims to clear it faster. If you have had more Wegovy than you should, the Wegovy leaflet says to talk to a doctor straight away, and the NHS advises getting help from NHS 111, by phone or online, because too much semaglutide can sometimes be dangerous. For severe symptoms, such as stomach pain that will not go away, the "When should you get help?" box below says exactly what to do.

When do side effects stop after your last Wegovy dose?

They would be expected to ease as the level of semaglutide falls over the weeks after your last dose, rather than stop the next day; the UK product information gives no timeline for this. In the trials it describes, most stomach side effects were mild to moderate and short-lived, and were reported most often while the dose was going up. Constipation tended to last longer.

How to manage each side effect while you are still taking it is in our guide to Wegovy side effects.

How long before trying for a baby should you stop Wegovy?

At least 2 months before a planned pregnancy, for Wegovy pens and Wegovy tablets alike. The UK product information gives this gap because of semaglutide's long half-life (section 4.6), and the Wegovy leaflet and the NHS say the same. It also recommends contraception while you take Wegovy. This is the counselling every Wegovy patient receives from us:

Everything, medicine by medicine, is in our guide to contraception and pregnancy on GLP-1 treatment, and what to do if you find you are pregnant on treatment, including on Wegovy, is in our guide to Mounjaro and pregnancy.

Do you need to stop Wegovy before an operation?

Not unless your surgical or anaesthetic team tells you to. Because semaglutide stays in your body for weeks after a last dose, tell the team you take Wegovy even if you have stopped it in the last few weeks. This is our advice to every patient:

Why it matters for anaesthesia, and what the MHRA says, is in our guide Is Wegovy safe?

How does Wegovy compare with Mounjaro and Foundayo?

Each medicine has its own half-life, so each has its own gap before a planned pregnancy. These figures are from each medicine's UK product information, as of October 2026. Where a figure is not given, the table says so.

Mounjaro's product information says steady levels are reached after 4 weeks of weekly doses, and Foundayo's after about a week of daily doses; neither gives a time in the blood after the last dose, and we do not work one out. The Mounjaro version of this guide is how long Mounjaro stays in your system.

These figures are not a plan for changing medicine. Moving from one to another is arranged with your pharmacist, and our guide to switching between Mounjaro and Wegovy explains how it works.