How long does semaglutide stay in your system?
The Ozempic and Wegovy labels give semaglutide an elimination half-life of about one week. Using the usual five-half-lives rule, the Ozempic label says it stays in circulation for about 5 weeks after the last dose (5 to 7 weeks after a 2.4 mg Wegovy dose), and steady state takes 4 to 5 weeks of weekly dosing. Tirzepatide's half-life is about 5 days; liraglutide's is about 13 hours.
The short version: about a week per half-life, about five weeks to clear
People ask how long semaglutide stays in your system for three different reasons: they missed a shot, they are stopping, or they want to know why the first weeks felt like nothing and week six felt like a lot. All three have the same answer, and it comes from one number on the label.
The Ozempic prescribing information says: "With an elimination half-life of approximately 1 week, semaglutide will be present in the circulation for about 5 weeks after the last dose." The Wegovy label, for the higher 2.4 mg dose, says about 5 to 7 weeks. Peppy's catalog stores the half-life as 165 hours for Ozempic, Wegovy and Compounded Semaglutide, which is the same "about a week" expressed in hours so the app can draw a curve.
What a half-life means in practice
A half-life is the time for the amount of drug in your body to fall by half. After one half-life, 50% is left; after two, 25%; after three, 12.5%; after four, about 6%; after five, about 3%. Clinicians usually treat five half-lives as "effectively gone", which is where the 5-week figure comes from: five times one week.
The same arithmetic runs in reverse when you dose weekly. Each shot lands on top of what is left of the previous ones, so the level climbs for the first few weeks before it flattens out. The Ozempic label says steady state is reached after 4 to 5 weeks of once-weekly dosing. That is why the labels hold each titration step for 4 weeks (see the titration schedule guide) and why many people report that a new dose "kicks in" gradually rather than on shot day.
Semaglutide, tirzepatide and liraglutide compared
| Compound | Half-life (label) | Peppy catalog | Roughly cleared (5 half-lives) | Steady state (label) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy, compounded) | Approximately 1 week | 165 h | About 5 weeks (5 to 7 weeks after 2.4 mg, per Wegovy) | 4 to 5 weeks |
| Tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound, compounded) | Approximately 5 days (5 to 6 days in obesity, per Zepbound) | 120 h | About 25 to 30 days | 4 weeks |
| Liraglutide (Saxenda, Victoza) | Approximately 13 hours | 13 h | About 3 days | Not stated; daily dosing |
Liraglutide's short half-life is why Saxenda is a daily shot and why its label treats a gap of more than 3 days differently: after 3 days the drug is essentially gone, so the label says to restart at the lowest dose. The weekly drugs have days of cushion, which is why their missed-dose windows are 4 or 5 days long.
What this chart shows and what it does not
Below is Peppy's "Active in your system" curve for compounded semaglutide. It takes the half-life and a weekly schedule and draws how the estimated level rises toward steady state and then decays after the last dose.
Active in your system — Compounded Semaglutide
estimate for weekly doses, half-life 165 hAn estimate from the half-life, not a measurement. Individual clearance varies. Peppy shows this curve for each protocol under Active in your system.
Read it as a shape, not a measurement. The curve assumes an average half-life, complete absorption and a regular schedule. Real clearance varies from person to person, and the label's own figures are population means. What the chart is good for: seeing how a late shot dents the level a little rather than resetting it, seeing why a dose change takes weeks to show, and seeing how long the tail is after you stop. What it is not good for: telling you the drug is "out" on a particular date, or making any decision about dosing. That is your prescriber's job.
The same curve exists for Mounjaro, Retatrutide and about 60 other catalog compounds that have a published half-life; a daily peptide like BPC-157 (4 hours in the catalog) draws a very different, saw-toothed line.
How to do this in Peppy
The Active level curve lives in Insights on the Progress tab, which is Pro. Logging the doses that feed it is free.
- Add your GLP-1 as a protocol in Protocols. Picking a catalog compound brings its half-life with it; for a custom compound you can enter one yourself.
- Log every shot from the Today tab or the Log shot sheet. The estimate is only as good as the log: a shot you took but did not record is a dip in the curve that never happened. Add it in Calendar ▸ Add a past dose if you forgot.
- Open Progress and scroll to Active level (Pro). The curve plots your logged doses against the compound's half-life and projects forward to the next scheduled shot. The caption reads "An estimate from each compound's half-life, not a measurement."
- Compare it with the side-effect heat-map and the weight trend on the same tab. Many people find that the climb to steady state after a step-up lines up with the weeks their side effects change.
- If you take more than one compound, each protocol gets its own curve in its own color, so a weekly GLP-1 and a daily peptide are never blended into one line.
Any question about stopping, restarting or timing a dose around the wash-out belongs with your prescriber. Peppy shows you the shape; it does not interpret it.
Track it in Peppy
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Free · iPhone · no accountFrequently asked
How long does semaglutide stay in your system after the last dose?
About 5 weeks, according to the Ozempic label, which puts the elimination half-life at approximately 1 week. The Wegovy label says about 5 to 7 weeks after the last 2.4 mg dose. Individual clearance varies, so these are population averages, not a personal timeline.
What is the half-life of semaglutide in hours?
Roughly 165 hours, which is the figure Peppy's catalog uses for Ozempic, Wegovy and compounded semaglutide. The labels round it to approximately one week. Published pharmacokinetic studies report values in the range of about 155 to 184 hours depending on the population.
How long does tirzepatide stay in your system?
The Mounjaro label gives tirzepatide an elimination half-life of approximately 5 days and says steady state is reached after 4 weeks of weekly dosing. The Zepbound label puts it at 5 to 6 days in people with obesity. Five half-lives is roughly 25 to 30 days.
How long does it take semaglutide to reach steady state?
The Ozempic label says steady-state exposure is achieved after 4 to 5 weeks of once-weekly dosing. That is one reason the labels keep each titration step at 4 weeks: the level from the current dose has stopped climbing by then.
Is the amount of semaglutide in my body something an app can measure?
No. Peppy's Active level curve is an estimate from the compound's half-life and the doses you logged, not a measurement. It is useful for seeing the shape of accumulation and wash-out; it is not a blood level.
Sources
- Ozempic prescribing information, section 12.3 — Novo Nordisk (DailyMed)
- Wegovy prescribing information, section 12.3 — Novo Nordisk (DailyMed)
- Mounjaro prescribing information, section 12.3 — Eli Lilly (DailyMed)
- Zepbound prescribing information, section 12.3 — Eli Lilly (DailyMed)
- Saxenda prescribing information, section 12.3 — Novo Nordisk (DailyMed)
- Knudsen LB, Lau J. The Discovery and Development of Liraglutide and Semaglutide. Front Endocrinol 2019
Not medical advice. Peppy is a tracking tool, not medical advice. Dose calculations are mathematical conversions only. Always follow your prescriber's instructions and verify every draw-up yourself.