What maintenance means
Maintenance is the ongoing prescribed regimen after the starter stages. You may still be losing weight when you first reach 2.4 mg. Later, the same treatment may help you hold a lower weight even when the scale stops moving. These are different phases of care. A stable weight does not prove the medicine has stopped working.
The usual schedule reaches this dose after four weeks each at 0.25 mg, 0.5 mg, 1 mg and 1.7 mg. People who need a slower build-up get there later. If you restart after a significant break, do not assume your old maintenance dose is still the safest place to begin.
Reading the trial evidence
The STEP programme showed the weight-management benefits of 2.4 mg alongside lifestyle support. SELECT studied cardiovascular outcomes in people with established cardiovascular disease and overweight or obesity. The trials asked different questions of different groups of people. Their average weight changes do not contradict each other.
A good review asks whether the medicine is helping you. Weight trend is one measure. Depending on why you take Wegovy, symptoms, function, blood pressure, glucose control and heart care may also count. Trial averages give a reference point. They are no monthly pass mark.
Living with long-term treatment
Keep checking that lower appetite still leaves room for enough food and fluid. Persistent vomiting, severe constipation or troublesome reflux should not become a normal part of life. Even after months on a stable dose, a new symptom may have another cause and needs assessing.
Keep your injection and storage routines steady. FlexTouch pens hold four weekly doses, and the in-use limit applies even if some liquid seems to remain. Use a new needle for every injection and remove it afterwards, as the leaflet directs.
Is 7.2 mg the next step?
UK authorisation allows 7.2 mg for selected adults with obesity, when needed, after at least four weeks on 2.4 mg. Nobody has to move up. Your clinician should weigh the likely extra benefit, side effects, your indication and the practical burden before prescribing it.
The higher dose is not the authorised maintenance target for adolescents or for cardiovascular risk reduction. A plateau on its own does not make 7.2 mg right for you. Look at how long the plateau has lasted, whether you have taken every dose, your nutrition, health and goals before treating a stable weight as a reason to increase.
Questions for a maintenance review
Ask what success means now, how often you need follow-up and what would prompt a dose change or a talk about stopping. Confirm the plan for late deliveries and longer breaks. If you take diabetes medicines, find out who reviews them as your weight and intake change.
Keep a written record of your agreed regimen. This helps if another clinician gets involved, a pharmacy changes the product presentation or a hospital stay disrupts your routine. Care stays safer when every team can see your exact weekly dose and last injection date.
Sources
Your own medicine leaflet and prescriber come first. A source from another country does not mean the same rule applies in the UK.
- Wegovy FlexTouch UK prescribing information medicines.org.uk
- Wegovy FlexTouch patient leaflet medicines.org.uk
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