The licensed sequence
The product information sets a starting dose of 2.5 mg weekly, moving to 5 mg after four weeks. If you need further increases, they go up in 2.5 mg steps after at least four weeks on the current strength. The recommended adult maintenance doses are 5, 10 and 15 mg. The adult maximum is 15 mg.
The schedule describes the licence. Your own prescription is a separate instruction from your prescriber. A clinician may delay or rethink a planned increase when side effects, illness or poor food and fluid intake make a higher dose unwise. You should know whom to contact before you order the next strength.
Why the intervals matter
A gradual start gives your body time to adjust and gives your prescriber time to review how you are coping. Digestive side effects are especially common while the dose rises. Moving to a stronger dose early because hunger came back for a day can cause problems you will not notice straight after the injection.
Four weeks is the shortest gap the schedule allows. Nobody has to climb a step every month. A steady response on a suitable maintenance dose counts as success. Weight loss, glucose control, nutrition and side effects all matter more than keeping pace with someone else's timeline.
What to review before an increase
Your prescriber needs your recent weight trend and whether you can eat and drink normally. Report bowel symptoms, vomiting, abdominal pain and any dizziness. If you have diabetes, glucose readings and any insulin or sulphonylurea use matter most. New medicines, pregnancy plans or a planned procedure can also change the decision.
Describe how severe each symptom is and what it stops you doing. Nausea that settles quickly differs from nausea that stops you drinking or working. Use a symptom diary to help the conversation. Never treat the diary as a reason to put up with a dangerous problem until the next routine review.
What the 7.5 mg and 12.5 mg strengths are for
The 7.5 mg and 12.5 mg strengths are stepping stones between the adult maintenance strengths. Six strengths exist, and they do not offer six equal long-term targets. If you stay on an in-between strength for a long time, ask your prescriber to explain why. Do not assume someone has misread the schedule.
Never make up a different dose by counting clicks, drawing out leftover liquid or combining pens, unless a clinician has given you a specific plan. The UK KwikPen delivers the stated dose. Calculations found online tell you nothing about whether a modified technique is safe, accurate or sterile.
When weight loss stalls
Short spells of stable weight are common. Fluid shifts, constipation or changing energy needs all cause them. If the benefit stays absent for longer, your prescriber should review how regularly you inject, how you store the pens, how long you have been treated, your health and your goals. A higher dose on its own can add side effects and leave the cause untouched.
Children and adolescents taking tirzepatide for type 2 diabetes have a different maximum dose in the current UK label. Adult weight-management schedules must never be copied into paediatric care. Following the right indication matters as much as following the right number of milligrams.
Sources
Your own medicine leaflet and prescriber come first. A source from another country does not mean the same rule applies in the UK.
- Mounjaro UK Summary of Product Characteristics, updated September 2026 medicines.org.uk
- Mounjaro UK patient information leaflet medicines.org.uk
- NICE: prescribing, reviewing and stopping tirzepatide nice.org.uk
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