Missed doses, storage and travel

Weekly injections are forgiving, but not infinitely so. These are the situations people actually write in about.

As always, your own prescriber’s instructions take priority — formulations differ, and compounded products do not all behave identically. Ask your programme for its specific guidance and keep it somewhere you can find it.

If you miss a dose

The general guidance for weekly GLP-1s is that if you remember within a few days, take it and carry on with your usual day. If it has been longer and your next dose is nearly due, skip the missed one rather than doubling up. Never take two doses close together to catch up.

If you have missed several weeks, do not simply resume at the dose you were on. Tolerance fades, and restarting high is how people end up very unwell. Message your provider and expect to step back down.

Storage

• Most compounded GLP-1s need refrigeration, typically 36–46°F (2–8°C).
• Do not freeze. A frozen vial is a ruined vial, even once thawed.
• Keep it in the body of the fridge, not the door, where the temperature swings most.
• Keep it in its box. Light matters for some formulations.
• Check your own product’s stated out-of-fridge window before relying on it.

Travel

1. Carry it on, never check itHold luggage freezes and goes missing. Medication belongs in your hand luggage.
2. Take an insulated bag and a cold packNot a frozen block pressed against the vial — you are aiming for cool, not frozen.
3. Bring the pharmacy label or a copy of the prescriptionThis resolves nearly every security or customs question before it becomes one.
4. Plan your injection day around the tripShifting your weekly day by a day or two is usually fine; ask your provider what window they are comfortable with.

Sharps disposal

A rigid, puncture-proof container with a lid, never household rubbish. Pharmacies and local councils usually take full containers; some programmes ship a mail-back container. Ask before your first box arrives rather than after.

Programmes that ship supplies with the medication

Not all of them do. Bundled programmes such as TrimRx include injection supplies in one price, and Coreage Rx ships supplies alongside the medication. Others expect you to source needles yourself, which is worth knowing in week one.