Frequently Asked Questions

Counted from the first injection, the Wegovy label allows 28 days anywhere up to 30°C (86°F). Once those days are up the pen goes, whether or not liquid is still in it. What the label assumes by default is a refrigerator, at 2-8°C (36-46°F).

Because they were tested separately and they are not the same formulation. Ozempic runs at 1.34-2.68 mg/mL; Wegovy arrives as higher-strength single-dose presentations. Novo did its own stability work on each, and the labels came back with 56 days for one and 28 for the other. For each drug, its own label settles the question.

Both are given 21 days anywhere up to 30°C (86°F), and are then discarded. The labels behind that are Mounjaro SetID d2d7da5d-ad07-4228-955f-cf7e355c8cc0 and Zepbound SetID 487cd7e7-434c-4925-99fa-aa80b1cc776b on DailyMed, each revised in April 2026.

There is no single answer, because whichever pharmacy dispensed it assigns the date, working to USP <797>. Refrigerated, compounded semaglutide is commonly given 14 to 28 days, but what any particular pharmacy assigns rests on the stability work it has documented for that formulation. The date printed on your own vial governs. Where it disagrees with anything here, the vial wins.

Hours spent above 30°C (86°F) put it outside what the label permits, and the pen should be discarded and replaced by the pharmacy. A few minutes in transit is a different matter, and the label accommodates it. Anywhere between those two, ask your prescriber rather than guessing.

No. A tablet runs to the expiration printed on its bottle, and taking the first one starts no second clock — that mechanism belongs to the injectables. Both oral GLP-1s are stored at room temperature, as their labels direct.

GLP-1 expiration / Beyond-Use-Date tracker

The day your pen or vial has to go

Give it the date of your first injection and where the pen or vial has been kept since. Back comes the day it has to be thrown out and how long that leaves you, taken from the FDA-approved label for each brand and from the usual USP <797> conventions where the product was compounded. Every citation here points at DailyMed.

OK to use· 28-day in-use BUD (refrigerated)

OK to use — discard on 2026-11-01 (27 days from today).

Discard by: 2026-11-01
Days remaining: 27 day(s)

Storage rules for Wegovy (semaglutide injection)

Refrigerated until first use: Until printed expiration
Room-temperature in-use BUD: 28 days once opened, anywhere up to ≤30°C / 86°F
Refrigerated in-use BUD: 28 days after first use

If heat-exposed: Counted from the first injection, Wegovy holds 28 days anywhere up to 30°C (86°F). Hours spent hotter than that put it outside the label — discard the pen and ask the pharmacy to replace it.

Source: DailyMed — Wegovy FDA Prescribing Information

This is not medical advice. Storage rules are sourced from FDA-approved labels (DailyMed) for brand-name products and from USP <797> for compounded products. The Beyond-Use Date (BUD) printed on YOUR pharmacy label always wins — if it differs from the calculator's recommendation (especially for compounded products), defer to your pharmacy. If you're unsure whether your medication is still safe to use, contact your prescriber or pharmacist.

GLP-1 in-use Beyond-Use Date reference table (FDA labels)

Read off the Storage and Handling section of each FDA-approved label, as hosted on DailyMed.

Drug	Refrigerated (until first use)	Room-temp in-use BUD	Refrigerated in-use BUD
Wegovy	Until printed expiration	28 days at ≤30°C	28 days
Ozempic	Until printed expiration	56 days at ≤30°C	56 days
Mounjaro	Until printed expiration	21 days at ≤30°C	21 days
Zepbound	Until printed expiration	21 days at ≤30°C	21 days
Saxenda	Until printed expiration	30 days at ≤30°C	30 days
Rybelsus (oral)	Tablet — store at room temperature; use until printed bottle expiration
Foundayo (oral)	Tablet — store at room temperature; use until printed bottle expiration
Compounded semaglutide	Pharmacy-specific	Pharmacy-specific	Typically 14-28 days (USP <797>)
Compounded tirzepatide	Pharmacy-specific	Pharmacy-specific	Typically 14-28 days (USP <797>)

Related guides

GLP-1 storage, shelf life, and refrigeration guide — the reference article this calculator is built on
GLP-1 pen leftover calculator — what is still in the pen, counted in injections
How to travel with GLP-1 medication — TSA + temperature management

References

1.U.S. Food and Drug Administration / Eli Lilly and Company. MOUNJARO (tirzepatide) injection — Full Prescribing Information, Section 16.2 Storage and Handling. Revised: 4/2026. DailyMed (NLM/NIH). 2026. https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=d2d7da5d-ad07-4228-955f-cf7e355c8cc0
2.U.S. Food and Drug Administration / Eli Lilly and Company. ZEPBOUND (tirzepatide) injection — Full Prescribing Information, Section 16.2 Storage and Handling. Revised: 4/2026. DailyMed (NLM/NIH). 2026. https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=487cd7e7-434c-4925-99fa-aa80b1cc776b
3.U.S. Food and Drug Administration / Novo Nordisk Inc. WEGOVY (semaglutide) injection — Full Prescribing Information, Section 16 How Supplied / Storage and Handling. DailyMed (NLM/NIH). 2026. https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/search.cfm?query=Wegovy
4.U.S. Food and Drug Administration / Novo Nordisk Inc. OZEMPIC (semaglutide) injection — Full Prescribing Information, Section 16 How Supplied / Storage and Handling (56-day in-use period at room temperature). DailyMed (NLM/NIH). 2026. https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/search.cfm?query=Ozempic
5.U.S. Food and Drug Administration / Novo Nordisk Inc. SAXENDA (liraglutide) injection — Full Prescribing Information, Section 16 How Supplied (30-day in-use period). DailyMed (NLM/NIH). 2026. https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/search.cfm?query=Saxenda
6.United States Pharmacopeia. USP General Chapter <797> Pharmaceutical Compounding — Sterile Preparations (Beyond-Use-Date conventions for compounded sterile preparations). USP. 2023. https://www.usp.org/compounding/general-chapter-797

Glossary

The words sellers use, defined. Tap any term.

Wegovy · Drugs and brands
Ozempic · Drugs and brands
Zepbound · Drugs and brands
Mounjaro · Drugs and brands
Semaglutide · Drugs and brands
Tirzepatide · Drugs and brands
Compounded GLP-1 · Pharmacy and drug forms
503A pharmacy · Pharmacy and drug forms

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