Mounjaro Dosage Chart: Doses, Schedule, Pens and Missed Doses

Every Mounjaro dose is a once-weekly subcutaneous injection, given at any time of day, with or without meals. The chart assumes each step is taken at the first opportunity the label allows; in practice a person may stay on one rung for longer, or never climb to the top.

The ceiling, and what it takes to get there, has its own page: Mounjaro maximum dose. For the same ladder set beside semaglutide and liraglutide, see the GLP-1 medications comparison.

Two words in the label do most of the work. The first is "at least": 4 weeks is the minimum time on a dose before the next step, not a fixed interval. The second is "if": the label increases the dose only if additional glycemic control is needed. A person whose HbA1c is on target at 5 mg has no label reason to move to 7.5 mg.

The label gives its reason for the slow start plainly. The starting dose and escalation schedule are there "to reduce the risk of gastrointestinal adverse reactions", which are the most common side effects and tend to cluster in the weeks after a dose increase. The tirzepatide side effects guide shows the nausea, diarrhea and vomiting rates at 5, 10 and 15 mg.

Unlike the Zepbound label, the Mounjaro label does not name specific maintenance doses and does not describe stepping down. Holding a dose for longer than 4 weeks, or returning to a lower one after a rough escalation, is a prescriber decision rather than something the label scripts.

Changes around each step

• Oral contraceptives: the label advises switching to a non-oral method, or adding a barrier method, for 4 weeks after starting Mounjaro and for 4 weeks after each dose increase, because delayed stomach emptying can reduce the pill's effect.
• Insulin or sulfonylureas: combining these with Mounjaro raises the risk of low blood sugar; the label notes their dose may need to be reduced.
• Kidney and liver: no Mounjaro dose adjustment is recommended for renal or hepatic impairment, though the label asks for kidney monitoring in people with severe GI side effects.

The August 2026 label lists four presentations, each in all six strengths. The single-dose pen is the familiar one: one pen, one dose, discarded after use. The multi-dose vial and the KwikPen are newer and each hold four weekly doses.

Each multi-dose vial and KwikPen is made for one strength. Moving up a step means a new prescription at the new strength, not drawing more from the old vial or turning the pen further.

Practical differences

• Vials: the label asks for a syringe suited to the dose, for example a 1 mL syringe able to measure 0.5 mL or 0.6 mL, and a new syringe and needle for every injection.
• KwikPen: four fixed doses. The pen is primed before each weekly injection, then the dose knob is turned all the way until it stops. It is not recommended for self-injection by children or by people with visual impairment, and must never be shared, even with a new needle.
• Storage: single-dose pens and vials can be kept unrefrigerated (up to 30°C/86°F) for a total of 21 days. Opened multi-dose vials and KwikPens are discarded after 30 days at room temperature, 30 days after first use, or after 4 weekly doses, whichever comes first.

Injection sites are the abdomen or thigh, or the back of the upper arm if someone else gives the injection, rotating with each dose. The peptide injection sites guide covers rotation.

Not by name. The Mounjaro label does not list maintenance doses the way the Zepbound label does. In effect, the maintenance dose is whichever rung of the ladder gives adequate glycemic control with acceptable tolerability, from 2.5 mg up to 15 mg.

The adult glycemic-control trials summarised in the label (SURPASS-1 to SURPASS-5) randomised patients to fixed 5 mg, 10 mg or 15 mg doses, and the adult adverse reaction tables are reported at those three doses. The pediatric trial (SURPASS-PEDS) studied 5 mg and 10 mg. That is why 5, 10 and 15 mg are the doses with the most published data behind them, even though 7.5 mg and 12.5 mg are equally available as steps.

The label's missed-dose rule is built on a 4-day window:

The label does not say to double up, and it does not set a rule for restarting after several missed weeks. After a longer gap, whether to resume at the same dose or restart lower is a question for the prescriber, given that the escalation schedule exists to limit GI side effects.

Mounjaro is not labelled for weight loss. Its indications are blood sugar control in type 2 diabetes (adults and children 10 and older) and reducing the risk of major cardiovascular events in adults with type 2 diabetes at high cardiovascular risk. The label notes that tirzepatide reduces body weight in people with type 2 diabetes, but weight management is not an approved use.

The same molecule is approved for weight reduction under the Zepbound name. Zepbound uses the same six strengths and the same 2.5 mg start, but its label is more prescriptive: 2.5 mg is explicitly not a maintenance dose, the step to 5 mg comes after 4 weeks, and the named maintenance doses are 5, 10 or 15 mg. Its full ladder, including the sleep apnea indication, is on the Zepbound dosing page.

When Mounjaro is prescribed with weight in mind, the dose numbers are the same tirzepatide doses, but the decision sits outside the Mounjaro label and with the prescriber. The Zepbound label also says tirzepatide products should not be combined with each other or with any GLP-1 receptor agonist. For the wider picture of approved options, see weight loss injections.

Pediatric use was added to the label in December 2025, supported by a 30-week placebo-controlled trial with a 22-week open-label extension in 99 patients. The ladder is the same as for adults, with one difference: the maximum is 10 mg once weekly, so a child's ladder stops at the fourth rung.

Side effects in children were similar to adults except for higher rates of vomiting, abdominal pain and low blood sugar. The KwikPen is not recommended for self-injection by children; the patient leaflet says an adult caregiver should give those injections.

Branded Mounjaro is dosed in milligrams and delivered as a fixed volume: 0.5 mL from a single-dose pen or vial, 0.6 mL from a multi-dose vial, or a fixed dial-to-stop dose on the KwikPen. There is nothing to count in clicks or units.

Compounded tirzepatide is a different product. It is not FDA approved, and the FDA has documented adverse events tied to dosing errors and to doses beyond the approved label. Because compounded vials come in varying concentrations, the number of units on a U-100 syringe has to be calculated for each vial:

units = dose in mg ÷ (vial mg ÷ mL of liquid) × 100

The 10 mg/mL figure is only an example to show the formula; your vial's concentration will differ, and so will every number in the table. Use the tirzepatide calculator or the mg to mL converter with the exact label of the vial in hand, and the syringe measurement guide for reading the barrel. The tirzepatide dosage page collects the label schedules, and access questions are covered in cheapest tirzepatide.